Provided is a production control system of a factory including: a plurality of machines; an air conditioner; a power computation unit for monitoring power consumption of an entire factory; a temperature information generation unit for generating information on temperature inside the factory; wherein running status and processing condition of the machines and running status of the air conditioner are controlled to produce the products dictated by the production plan by a delivery deadline; and a machine learning unit that learns a relationship of operational status including the running status and the processing condition of the machines and the running status of the air conditioner to environmental status including production completion time according to the operational status, the temperature inside the factory, and the power consumption of the factory, and outputs operational status that brings the environmental status to a desired condition in accordance with the production plan.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to production control systems and integrated production control systems and in particular relates to a production control system and an integrated production control system that learn to minimize power consumption for production in a factory with a plurality of machines and an air conditioner, while satisfying temperature requirements inside the factory and product delivery deadlines.
2. Description of the Related Art
Factories are commonly equipped with a plurality of machines (e.g., machine tools) and, in the case of high precision processing, air conditioning (an air conditioner) is provided so as to control environmental conditions inside the factory because the temperature in the factory affects processing accuracy. Production at a factory is dictated by a production plan, and, to produce the products dictated by the production plan within a dictated delivery deadline, the running status and processing conditions of a plurality of machines are controlled, and the running status of the air conditioner is also controlled so as to achieve temperature conditions (temperature and uniformity) inside the factory required for the processing.
The time for proceeding from one processing step to the next in a production process of a product is called takt time, which is an index extensively used in production management. Note that takt time is sometimes used in other meanings but used herein in the meaning of the above-described time. For example, when Nx pieces of a product having a takt time of tXMAX are produced, the production time for the Nx pieces of the product, which is relevant to the delivery deadline, approximates Nx×tXMAX where Nx is sufficiently great.
In conventional factory management, when a production plan is presented, the factory manager makes decisions on running status (starts and stops of operation) and processing conditions of a plurality of machines to produce the products dictated by the production plan by the dictated delivery deadline, and also makes decisions on running status of the air conditioner to achieve required temperature inside the factory, taking into consideration external temperature and temperature changes resulting from running the machines. Working schedule of factory workers is also taken into consideration where the staffing situations affect the range of operational machines.
Contracts between a factory and a power company have a provision on a maximum value of on-peak power supply, with a mandatory curtailment of power supply in the case of demand exceeding the maximum value, which may result in a power failure. In recent years, contracts with power companies also contain a provision that the factories should bring their on-peak power demands even below the maximal value during periods of increased power consumption e.g. during summer, and a violation of the provision may entail a penalty such as raised electricity rates. The difficulty in this case is that factory managers have to consider not only the power consumption in production lines but also power consumption of various factory appliances (e.g., power consumption of office equipment, power consumption of air conditioners in factory offices). The factory managers are responsible for avoiding such a situation and at the same time keeping delivery deadlines and ensuring product qualities. For this reason, conventionally, factory managers are chosen among skilled workers.
However, relying on a limited number of skilled workers for factory management accompanies a lot of risk. To address this, controlling apparatuses have been devised that automatically perform factory production management in accordance with a given production plan by executing factory management program developed on the basis of prevailing factory management experiences.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2011-156598 discloses a power consumption controlling system that includes power monitoring means for machine tools to be controlled and controls rotational acceleration/deceleration rates of the main and feed spindles so that the power consumption of the machine tool may be maintained at not more than a predetermined target value that is changed from time to time.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 5818865 discloses a system for achieving the levelling of power consumption, regarding a production line including a plurality of processes to be carried out by a plurality of line instruments, by making selection of process arrangement combinations based on float periods of processes obtained by the PERT analysis and power consumption per unit period, based on information on each of the processes, and thereby controlling progress of the processes as well as turning off unused line instruments. The above document also discloses that the system measures power consumption in real time, and when power consumption exceeds a predetermined target value, the rotational speed or rotational acceleration/deceleration rate of a motor is reduced.
However, there has been a problem of complicated work and large expenditure involved in developing a factory management program to be installed in an apparatus that performs automatic factory production management.

Production control system and integrated production control system


In combination with a golf club holder, sometimes referred to as a golf bag, an alarm system reminds golfers when golf clubs are missing from the golf bag. The alarm system includes a plurality of signaling devices which can be light emitting diodes. The golf bag includes a plurality of stations into which the golf club shafts fit grip first. Each station includes a switch, the switches being electrically connected in parallel to a source of electricity. The switches are biased to such a position that the signaling device is energized when a golf club is withdrawn from the station and de-energized when the golf club is returned. The LED display may be mounted on the golf bag or may be connected to an extension cord to be mounted in the front of a golf cart.

This invention relates to an alarm system for a golf bag or the like to inform golfers when golf clubs are missing from the bag. The term "bag" is used broadly to include any holder or carrier, such, for example, a metal or plastic rack in which club receiving tubes are supported, as well as a conventional leather, cloth or plastic bag.
On many golf courses, golf carts are restricted to golf cart paths and may not be driven on the fairway or the green. Thus, when golfers use golf carts, they often take more then one club from the bag when they expect to make several shots before returning to the cart. The golfer generally lays the extra clubs on the ground while he uses the needed club. Often times, he will forget to pick up the clubs. Not infrequently, especially if the extra clubs are not needed for the next few holes, he will forget where the clubs were left, resulting in the inconvenience of not having the clubs when next they are needed, and the considerable expense of replacing the clubs if they are not found.
One of the objects of this invention is to provide a device to alert a golfer that one or more of his golf clubs have not been replaced in his golf bag after being previously withdrawn;
Another object is to provide such a device that is reliable, durable and relatively inexpensive as compared with the cost of replacing golf clubs.
Other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the following disclosure and accompanying drawings.


A seal for a piezoactuator in a fuel injector as simply, reliably and, in respect of the useful life of the piezoactuator, as favorably as possible has a support element (28), positioned on terminal posts (20) projecting in an axial direction (A) out of the piezoactuator (12) and pressed in an axial direction toward a top arrangement (14, 18) of the piezoactuator (20). An external sealing ring (36) is clamped along a circumferential region (14) of the top arrangement between the support element (28) and the top arrangement. Internal sealing rings (38) each enclose one of the terminal posts (20) and are each clamped between a face of the support element (28) facing radially inward and a circumferential face of the terminal post (20).

Such an arrangement is known for example from DE 102 51 225 A1. With this prior art, to create a durable, in particular oil-tight, seal between a piezoactuator and an external contact arrangement, it is proposed that a fuel-resistant sealing ring (O ring) be inserted into each opening of a top plate positioned thereon. A collar made of an insulating material is also inserted below the sealing ring in each through opening, said collar ensuring the centering and electrical insulation of the terminal post.
It is a disadvantage of this known piezoactuator contact arrangement that it requires a comparatively thick top plate, in order to accommodate a sealing ring and a centering collar respectively in its through openings.
Also with this prior art a number of individual sealing components have to be used during assembly of the injector, thereby making it a comparatively complex operation.
The piezoactuator sealed with the known arrangement also has a limited useful life. It has proven that this useful life is a function of the installation environment of the fuel injector.

Sealing arrangement of a piezoactuator in a fuel injector


A mechanism is provided for adapting vocabulary levels in a collaborative session. A vocabulary level indicator is received for a first user in the collaborative session. During generation of an electronic communication by a second user in the collaborative session, text entered in the electronic communication is scanned in order to identify a vocabulary level associated with text. The vocabulary level associated with the text is compared to the vocabulary level indicator for the first user. Responsive to the text exceeding the vocabulary level indicator for the first user thereby indicating violating text, an indication is provided to the second user that the violating text is above a vocabulary level of the first user.

The present application relates generally to an improved data processing apparatus and method and more specifically to mechanisms for an adaptation of vocabulary levels for enhanced collaboration.
Collaboration is a recursive process where two or more people or organizations communicate together to realize a shared objective. Much of today's collaboration is performed using collaborative software designed to help people involved in a common task achieve a given objective. The design intent of collaborative software is to transform the way documents and rich media is shared to enable more effective collaboration. Collaborative software helps facilitate action oriented groups by providing tools that aid communication, collaboration, and the process of problem solving. Additionally, collaborative software may support project management functions, such as task assignments, time-managing deadlines, and shared calendars. The artifacts, the tangible evidence of the problem solving process, and the final outcome of the collaborative effort, require documentation and may involve archiving project plans, deadlines and deliverables. Understanding the differences in human interactions is necessary to ensure that appropriate technologies are employed to meet interaction needs.
One issue with current collaborative systems is a difficulty of understanding a meaning behind entered text when unfamiliar vocabulary is used in the electronic communication. That is, during a collaborative session, the level of vocabulary of the various participants in the collaborative session regarding the subject at hand may vary widely. For example, if a collaborative session is occurring between a doctor and a patient, a term may be used by the doctor that is unfamiliar to the patient. If the doctor were aware of a vocabulary level of the patient prior to sending the electronic communication, then the doctor would be able to replace the unfamiliar term prior to sending the electronic communication. By not having an indication of the vocabulary level of the other users in the collaborative session, additional interactions are required, which may be prevented if a vocabulary level of the other users is initially known.

Adaptation of vocabulary levels for enhanced collaboration

International Business Machines Corporation


In an FSM circuit, look-ahead-cascade modules are coupled to receive possible states and corresponding subsets of data inputs. Merge modules are coupled to a second-to-the-lowest to highest order of the look-ahead-cascade modules. The second-to-the-lowest to highest order of disambiguation modules are coupled to at least a portion of the merge modules. The lowest order of the disambiguation modules is coupled to the lowest order of the look-ahead-cascade modules. The lowest-to-highest order of the disambiguation modules are coupled to receive respective sets of interim states of rN states each to select respective sets of next states of r states each. A state register is coupled to receive a portion of the highest order of the sets of next states to provide a select signal. Each of the disambiguation modules is coupled to receive the select signal for selection of the sets of next states of the r states each.

Various encoders, decoders, and other circuits use finite state machines ("FSMs"). Generally, an FSM makes a state transition sequentially for each data item input. For example, for a 64B/66B encoder/decoder in an Ethernet Physical Coding Sublayer ("PCS"), a state transition is made for every 64-bit data block. For high throughput, wide data buses, such as for example 1280 bits (i.e., 20 64-bit data blocks), are used to process a large amount of data per clock cycle at high clock rate. In the past, this involved cascading multiple copies of the same FSM circuit so as to process multiple data blocks per clock cycle. However, the length of the critical path for state propagation is generally linearly increased, which offsets negatively the throughput increase in such cascaded FSM circuits. Accordingly, it has been problematic to meet a timing requirement in a 400 Gb/s PCS with a clock rate above 300 MHz.
Hence, it is desirable and useful to provide an FSM circuit that facilitates high data rates for meeting or exceeding high throughput of high-speed applications.


A method and system for performing Maximum Likelihood Detector (MLD) preprocessing in a Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) communication system, the method including, obtaining a received signal Y a corresponding channel matrix H and a vector of noise samples n; calculating a whitening filter L−H; whitening a channel matrix H; selecting one of a first calculation or a second calculation, based on estimated complexity of the calculations; and performing preprocessing of the received signal using the selected calculation. The first calculation includes: whitening the received signal and performing a Cordic based QR decomposition to the whitened channel matrix {tilde over (H)} and the whitened received signal {tilde over (Y)} to obtain triangular matrix R and Y=QHL−HY. The second calculation includes: performing a Cordic based QR decomposition to the whitened channel matrix {tilde over (H)} and the whitening filter L−H to obtain triangular matrix R and QHL−H, and multiplying the received signal Y by QHL−H to obtain Y=QHL−HY.

A MIMO receiver may include receiving antennas that receive a radio signals and an estimation section that may find channel estimation of the recovered radio signals. In order to demodulate the signal, one of the approaches is to use Maximum Likelihood Detector (MLD).
Various standards for wireless communication are known, for example, to ensure interoperability between equipment from multiple vendors. The standards typically aim to ensure that an allocated spectrum for the wireless communication system is used efficiently. One such widely adopted standard is the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standard. The 3GPP standard has had many revisions, including an evolution into 5G New Radio (5G NR) together with Long-Term Evolution LTE standards.
Due to the enormous rate at which information may be decoded, there is a great need in the art for providing a system and method that manages decoding signals in MIMO systems at an acceptable complexity while maintaining performance.

System and method for performing MLD preprocessing in a MIMO decoder


A method of predicting photoresist patterns defined by a plurality of photomask patterns is described. The measurement data of photoresist patterns defined by patterns on a photomask that are arranged similar to the photomask patterns are provided. A physical optical kernel and a mathematical load kernel as a part of a Gaussian distribution function or other distribution function or as a combined function including a part of a Gaussian distribution function or other distribution function are provided. The optimal values of the parameters of the mathematical load kernel are determined by fitting the experiment data with a simulation based on the graphic data of the patterns on the photomask and the kernels. Photoresist patterns defined by the photomask patterns are simulated based on the graphic data of the photomask patterns, the physical optical kernel, and the mathematical load kernel with the optimal values of the parameters determined.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the lithography technology. More particularly, this invention relates to a method of predicting photoresist patterns defined by a plurality of photomask patterns, a method of analyzing the measurement data of real photoresist patterns defined by a plurality of patterns on an existing photomask, and a simulation of photoresist patterns defined by a plurality of photomask patterns.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the linewidth of IC process is much reduced, optical proximity correction (OPC) is usually required in the design of a photomask. To check the effects of OPC, photomask patterns with OPC have to be verified based on the prediction of photoresist patterns defined thereby, which is conventionally based on a simulation of the exposure intensity distribution at the photoresist layer. By setting a threshold intensity, predicted photoresist patterns are obtained from the distribution. According to the photoresist patterns predicted, further OPC is done to further modify the photomask patterns so that the later predicted photoresist patterns are closer to those required by the IC process.
When only the setting of the exposure optical system is considered, the exposure intensity at a position of the photoresist layer can be calculated by numerical integration of the following Hopkins integral as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,079,223:I0({right arrow over (r)})=∫∫∫∫{right arrow over (dr)}′{right arrow over (dr)}″h({right arrow over (r)}−{right arrow over (r)}′)h*({right arrow over (r)}−{right arrow over (r)}″)j({right arrow over (r)}′−{right arrow over (r)}″)m({right arrow over (r)}′)m*({right arrow over (r)}″)  (1),wherein h is the lens impulse response function also known as the point spread function (PSF), j is the coherence function, m is the mask transmission function, "*" indicates the complex conjugate and "r" is the position of the image. I0({right arrow over (r)}) is the intensity of the aerial image at the position "{right arrow over (r)}", and is also the basis of the physical optical kernel.
However, when aspects of the other photoresist exposure and chemical kinetics, such as the diffusion of the photoacid in the photoresist layer, are taken into account, a mathematical load kernel is usually used in the simulation to represent the effect of the photoresist chemical kinetics, because the photoresist chemical kinetics is very complex and is difficult to simulate by mathematical formulae satisfying chemical principles.
A traditional mathematical load kernel is a full Gaussian distribution function which is expressed as formula (2):
                                          1                                                            2                                    π                                                          σ                                ·                      ⅇ                                                            -                                      r                    2                                                  /                2                                                                                σ                2                                                    ,                            (        2        )            wherein σ is the standard deviation of the Gaussian function, as the only one parameter capable of modifying the shape of the kernel. However, since the proximity behaviors of patterns with different line widths and pitches are usually relatively different, it is difficult to fit all photoresist patterns of different pitches and linewidths with only one parameter. For example, photoresist patterns with a small critical dimension cannot be fitted well enough with a load kernel as a full Gaussian distribution function with only one parameter (σ).


The present invention discloses an automatic door systems related to a fail safe method of controlling an automatic door operating system. One aspect of the present invention provides a method for controlling an electric motor of an automatic door system, the motor being operatively connected to a door panel to enable the motor to perform a door moving operation wherein the motor moves the door panel between the open and closed positions thereof using an electric power signal delivered to the motor from an electric power supply. Another aspect of the present invention provides a machine readable medium encoded with a plurality of machine executable instruction sequences for performing a method for controlling an electric motor of an automatic door system. Another aspect of the invention provides a control system for an automatic door system, the automatic door system including a door panel mounted for movement during a door moving operation between open and closed positions.

The present invention is generally related to automatic door systems and more particularly related to a fail safe method of controlling an automatic door operating system.
Automatic door operating systems are frequently used in commercial, industrial, and residential settings for power operated opening and closing of interior or exterior door panels. A door operating system may include an electric motor that is operatively connected to a door panel of a door assembly by a linkage assembly. Door panel movement in opening and closing directions may be affected by energizing the electric motor to drive the same in a selected direction and at a selected speed. A control system may be included in the automatic door operating system to control the electric motor and thereby control door panel movement.
The control system monitors door panel movement and stops the door panel movement when the control system detects a predetermined condition. A predetermined condition may occur when a door panel reaches an end of its travel cycle (that is, when it is fully open or fully closed) or when the door panel encounters an obstruction. The control system stops door panel movement by de-energizing the electric motor. Because door panels are often operated automatically to allow persons to pass through the associated doorway, it is important that the door panel stop when the control system attempts to de-energize the electric motor.
To ensure that the door panel stops during an attempt to de-energize the motor, one aspect of the present invention provides a method for controlling an electric motor of an automatic door system, the motor being operatively connected to a door panel to enable the motor to perform a door moving operation wherein the motor moves the door panel between the open and closed positions thereof using an electric power signal delivered to the motor from an electric power supply. The motor is communicated to a motor controller that controls the electric power signal delivered to the motor to control the door moving operation. The door system includes a switch connected between the motor and the motor controller, the switch being movable between (a) an open position disabling the delivery of the electric power signal from the motor controller to the motor and (b) a closed position enabling the delivery of the electric power signal from the motor controller to the motor. The method comprises (1) while the motor controller is delivering the electric power signal to the motor to affect the door moving operation, monitoring the door moving operation for an occurrence of a predetermined condition and (2) responsive to detecting the occurrence of the predetermined condition, (a) instructing the motor controller to terminate the delivery of the electric power signal from the electric power supply to the door operator and (b) affecting movement of the switch from the closed position thereof to the open position thereof to ensure termination of the delivery of the electric power signal in the event the electric power signal is not terminated by the controller. These acts (a) and (b) may be performed simultaneously or in any order.
The method may be carried out using a computer processor. The processor may be programmed with computer code that includes instructions for controlling and monitoring door panel movement. Accordingly, another aspect of the present invention provides a machine readable medium encoded with a plurality of machine executable instruction sequences for performing a method for controlling an electric motor of an automatic door system. The motor is operatively connected to a door panel to enable the motor to perform a door moving operation wherein the motor moves the door panel between the open and closed positions thereof using an electric power signal delivered to the motor from an electric power supply. The motor is communicated to a motor controller that controls the electric power signal delivered to the motor to control the door moving operation. The door system includes a switch connected between the motor and the motor controller, the switch being movable between (a) an open position disabling the delivery of the electric power signal from the motor controller to the motor and (b) a closed position enabling the delivery of the electric power signal from the motor controller to the motor. The automatic door system further includes a processor communicated to the motor controller. The processor is adapted to execute the instruction sequences. The instruction sequences comprise (1) while the motor controller is delivering the electric power signal to the motor to affect the door moving operation, monitoring the door moving operation for an occurrence of a predetermined condition and (2) responsive to detecting the occurrence of the predetermined condition, (a) instructing the motor controller to terminate the delivery of the electric power signal from the electric power supply to the door operator and (b) affecting movement of the switch from the closed position thereof to the open position thereof to ensure termination of the delivery of electric power signal in the event the electric power signal is not terminated by the controller. The executable instructions may be provided so that the acts (a) and (b) are performed simultaneously or in any order.
Other aspects of the invention provide an automatic door system comprising a door panel mounted for movement between open and closed positions and an electric motor. The motor is operatively interconnected to the door panel to enable the motor to perform a door moving operation wherein the motor moves the door panel between the open and closed positions thereof using an electric power signal delivered to the motor from an electric power supply. A control system comprises (1) a motor controller is communicated to the motor, the motor controller being operable to control the delivery of the electric power signal to the motor to control the door moving operation and (2) a switch is connected between the motor and the controller, the switch being movable between (a) an open position disabling the delivery of the electric power signal from the motor controller to the motor and (b) a closed position enabling the delivery of the electric power signal from the motor controller to the motor. The control system is operable to (1) monitor the door moving operation to detect the occurrence of a predetermined condition while the motor controller is delivering the electric power signal to the motor to affect the door moving operation and (2) in response to detecting the occurrence of the predetermined condition, (a) instruct the motor controller to terminate the delivery of the electric power signal from the power supply to the motor and (b) affect movement of the switch from the closed position thereof to the open position thereof to ensure termination of the delivery of the electric power signal to the motor in the event the electric power signal is not terminated by the controller.
Another aspect of the invention provides a control system for an automatic door system, the automatic door system including a door panel mounted for movement during a door moving operation between open and closed positions. The control system comprises an electric motor operatively connected to the door panel to enable the motor to perform the door moving operation wherein the motor drives the door panel between the open and closed positions thereof using an electric power signal delivered to the motor from an electric power supply. The control system further comprises a motor controller electrically communicated to the motor and to the power supply, the motor controller being operable to control the electric power signal delivered to the motor and thereby control operation of the motor. The control system further includes a switch connected between the motor and the motor controller. The switch is movable between (a) an open position disabling the delivery of the electric power signal from the motor controller to the motor and (b) a closed position enabling the delivery of the electric power signal from the motor controller to the motor. The control system is operable to (1) monitor the door moving operation to detect the occurrence of a predetermined condition while the motor controller is delivering the electric power signal to the motor to affect the door moving operation and, (2) in response to detecting the occurrence of the predetermined condition, (a) instruct the motor controller to terminate the delivery of the electric power signal from the power supply to the motor and (b) affect movement of the switch from the closed position thereof to the open position thereof to ensure termination of the delivery of the electric power signal to the motor in the event the electric power signal is not terminated by the controller.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, the accompanying drawings, and the appended claims.


A tag assembly for a faucet that includes a housing, a cover and an electronic article surveillance tag. The housing has a base plate with a top side, a bottom side and a perimeter, an internal wall defining a first section and a second section on the bottom side and an outer perimetrical side wall. The first section has an opening in the base plate defined by an inner perimetrical side wall. One or more flexible members extend into the opening from the inner perimetrical side wall. The second section has a compartment for an electronic article surveillance tag enclosed by the cover and bounded by the internal wall and the outer perimetrical side wall. The threaded pipe on a faucet is inserted in the opening of the tag assembly housing and the flexible members engage the threads to secure the tag assembly.

Tags with electronic identification devices have been attached to articles and have a wide variety of uses, including tracking, inventory control and security. These devices can also provide electronically readable information pertaining to the articles. These tags or markers may include radio frequency identification ("RFID") tags or electronic article surveillance ("EAS") tags. The term "EAS tags" is used collectively herein to refer to RFID tags, EAS tags and any other electronic devices that are used with merchandise for security and anti-theft purposes. EAS tags attached to articles may be used with an alarm system to provide theft deterrence by monitoring the location of the tags and any unauthorized movement of the article containing the electronic tag from a predetermined area. The tags can be enclosed in or attached to a variety of different devices, such as holders or housings, which accommodate the electronic tag and are used to attach the tags to articles. The tags are secured to the article so that they remain with the article until after the time of purchase.
With respect to some articles, such as plumbing fixtures, various security tags have been attached to different locations on the packaging. However, most of these tags can be easily removed by a thief and do not provide adequate security protection. Because these plumbing fixtures can cost hundreds of dollars, there is a need for a security device that can be attached to the fixtures without damaging them and that cannot be easily removed by a thief.


Aqueous polyurethane coating compositions are disclosed in this specification. The aqueous polyurethane coating compositions contain a polycarbonate-polyurethane resin component, an aminoplast resin component, and a polyacrylic polyol component.

Glass substrates may be coated, for example, to provide a decorative effect or to enhance substrate properties. For instance, glass substrates may be coated to provide anti-shattering properties, abrasion resistance, increased elasticity, and solvent resistance. Glass containers, for example, may benefit from clear coatings that provide mechanical protection to the external surfaces to help minimize mechanical damage, such as scuffing or marring, to the containers during transportation, storage, filling operations, and distribution.

Waterborne polyurethane coating compositions


An antenna apparatus arranged in accordance with the invention has a plurality of element antennas 1 arranged on a plurality of concentric circles 2 assumed to exist on a plane and differs in radius from each other, and forms a beam in a direction inclined by xcex80 at the maximum from a direction perpendicular to the plane. If the radius of the n-th concentric circle 2 from the inner side is an; the number of element antennas 1 arranged on the n-th concentric circle 2 from the inner side is Mn, and the number of waves is k, the number Mn of element antennas 1 arranged on each concentric circle 2 is determined so as to satisfy the following equation:

This invention relates to an antenna apparatus, and more particularly, to an antenna apparatus, for example, in the antenna apparatuses used for telecommunications or a radar, in which beam formation is performed by arranging a plurality of element antennas.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the construction of a conventional antenna apparatus, e.g., one described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Hei 7-288417. In the figure, reference numeral 1 designates a plurality of element antennas arranged on a plane and reference numeral 2 designates concentric circles (or concentric circumferences) along which the element antennas are arranged. A feeder means (not shown), which adjusts the excitation amplitude and the excitation phase, is connected to each element antenna 1.
The operation will next be described. This antenna apparatus can have desired radiation characteristics by adjusting the excitation amplitude and the excitation phase with respect to each element antenna 1 by the feeder means.
The conventional antenna apparatus thus arranged has a problem in that if the spacing between the element antennas 1 in a circumferential direction along each concentric circle 2 is increased, high-level sidelobes are generated and the desired radiation characteristic cannot be obtained.
The element antenna spacing may be reduced to avoid such sidelobes. However, if the spacing is reduced to a value smaller than necessary, the number of element antennas is increased and an increase in cost results. Moreover, a problem arises in that mutual coupling between the element antennas is increased and it is therefore difficult to obtain the desired radiation characteristic.
This invention has been achieved to solve the problems described above, and an object of this invention is to provide a low-cost antenna apparatus having the minimum number of element antennas required to suppress unnecessary sidelobe levels.
The present invention relates to an antenna apparatus in which a plurality of element antennas are arranged on a plurality of concentric circles assumed to exist on a plane and differing in radius from each other, and which forms a beam in a direction inclined by xcex80 at the maximum from a direction perpendicular to the plane, said antenna apparatus being characterized in that if the radius of the nth concentric circle from the inner side is an; the number of element antennas arranged on the nth concentric circle from the inner side is Mn; and the number of waves is k, the number Mn, of element antennas arranged on each concentric circle is determined so as to satisfy the following equation:
Mn+0.81xc2x7Mn1/3 greater than kxc2x7anxc2x7(1+sin xcex80)
and in that the element antennas are arranged on each concentric circle by being generally equally spaced apart from each other in the circumferential direction of the concentric circle.
Further, in the apparatus, it is configured such that if the radius of the innermost concentric circle is a1; the number of element antennas existing on the circumference thereof is M1; the radius of the n-th concentric circle form the inner side is na1; and the number of element antennas existing on the circumference thereof is nM1; the number M1 of element antennas existing on the innermost concentric circle is determined so as to satisfy the following equation:
xe2x80x83M1+0.81xc2x7(M1/n2)1/3 greater than kxc2x7a1xc2x7(1+sin xcex80)
Further, in the apparatus, it is configured such that the number Mn of element antennas arranged on the nth concentric circle from the inner side is set to an odd number.
Further, in the apparatus, it is configured such that the number M1 of element antennas arranged on the innermost concentric circle is set to an odd number.
Further, in the apparatus, it is configured such that with respect to an imaginary straight line passing through the center of the plurality of concentric circles, the element antennas on the concentric circles are arranged so as not to be aligned on any straight line parallel to the imaginary straight line.
Further, in the apparatus, it is configured such that the element antennas arrangement start position on each concentric circle has an angular displacement through an randomly selected angle of xcex94n from a straight line passing through the center of the concentric circles.
Further, in the apparatus, it is configured such that with respect to an imaginary straight line passing through the center of the plurality of concentric circles, the number of element antennas existing on one side of the straight line and the number of element antennas existing on the other side of the straight line are made approximately equal to each other.
Further, in the apparatus, it is configured such that feed to the plurality of element antennas is performed by means of a radial waveguide.

Abstract: Mn+0.8xc2x7Mn1/3 greater than kxc2x7anxc2x7(1+sin xcex80)

Abstract: Also, the element antennas 1 are arranged on each concentric circle 2 by being generally equally spaced apart from each other in the circumferential direction of the concentric circle.


The invention relates to a method and device for removing water from a steam plant and to a steam plant with which, according to the degree of impurity of a number of partial volumes of water, a separate collection of the relevant partial water volumes is carried out.

A steam plant of this type conventionally includes one or more steam drum(s) with associated evaporators with which, in particular at different pressure levels, steam is generated which can be supplied to a steam turbine. Impurities in the water-steam circuit of the steam plant have to be removed. Concentration of the impurities takes place in the steam drum. Non-volatile substances remain in the steam drum owing to removal of wet steam from the steam drum. These non-volatile substances are removed from the circuit by blowing down. Waste water and steam also occur in the water-steam circuit, in particular during start-up and shutdown of the steam plant, as a result of removed water, which does not contain any impurities but is nevertheless largely discarded and not used further. In the process the circuit loses water which has to be re-supplied by make-up water, or what is known as deionized water. The replenished deionized water has high oxygen and carbon dioxide contents which require degassing of the deionized water, so the start-up time of the steam plant is extended. Costs also result and the environment is polluted.
It is known that with the steam drum of an individual pressure level the blown down water is relaxed in a separator tank and water and steam are separated from each other. The separated steam is subsequently conveyed at low pressure into a collecting tank for degassing and heating of water contained therein. The separated contaminated water is treated in a water treatment plant and subsequently supplied to the water-steam circuit. It is also known that water removed from steam conduits is supplied to the turbine condenser directly or via separator bottles.

Method and device for removing water from a steam plant


An air distribution connector valve mechanism includes a pair of mating cectors, each having a self-closing, one way valve arranged and adapted to interfere with the self-closing, one way valve of the other connector when the two connectors are coupled together, such that the two valves will then open for unrestricted passage of air therethrough. Each connector has a coupling mechanism for releasably coupling the two connectors together to cause the interference between them. Each of the valves includes a valve body, and a compression spring associated and aligned therewith, in a valve housing having an axis of symmetry within the associated connector. Each valve body is retained and slidable axially within the housing against the force exerted by the associated compression spring, the latter normally urging the valve body against an end wall of the housing to block an opening therein. The valve body has projecting spacers with passageways therebetween on its cylindrical surface for separation from the inner surface of the associated valve housing. Thus, air is allowed to pass from one end to the other of the coupled connectors by virtue of the respective valve bodies having been unseated from their associated end walls.

The present invention relates generally to air distribution systems, and more particularly to an air distribution connector valve for rapidly and positively connecting and disconnecting a life support system to and from a main supply of air.
Various life support systems have been proposed in the past to provide air flow or distribution to one or more human subjects under conditions in which a breathable atmosphere is otherwise unavailable. Exemplary of such conditions are heavy smoke encountered by fire fighters in burning buildings or during forest fires, exhaust fumes encountered by traffic observers in tunnels or other restricted areas, toxic gases which may be encountered by soldiers in the field of battle, or the loss of oxygen in a passenger aircraft in flight. Some life support systems comprise a breathing apparatus employing a filter to remove the noxious or toxic elements from the air. In general, however, most life support systems are characterized by a self-contained source or supply of breathable air, a mask or hood to be placed over the head or simply the eyes, nose, and mouth of the user, one or more hoses to convey the breathable air, and a valve system for turning on and shutting off the supply of air to the user under the user's control. In some instances, the system is intended for a single user, while in many others a single air supply is available for use by several persons.
In any event, prior art air distribution techniques in life support systems utilizing valving arrangements suffer certain disadvantages, principal among which are a lack of free flow of air through the open valve(s); difficulty of manually opening and closing the valve by the user, particularly in emergency situations; lack of a positive indication to the user that the valve is fully open or closed; and inadequate coupling mechanisms for the valves.
It is a principal object of the present invention to provide an improved life support system, and particularly to enhance the valve mechanism for air distribution in such a system.

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army


A silicon-based negative electrode material, a preparation method therefor and a use thereof in a lithium-ion battery. The silicon-based negative electrode material comprises a silicon-based active material and a composite layer that coats the surface of the silicon-based active material and composes a flexible polymer, flake graphite and a conductive material. The method comprises: 1) dissolving the flexible polymer in a solvent; 2) adding the flake graphite and the conductive material into the flexible polymer solution obtained in step 1) while stirring; 3) adding an anti-solvent to the mixed coating solution obtained in step 2) and stirring; 4) adding the silicon-based active material to the supersaturated mixed coating solution obtained in step 3) while stirring, and then stirring and separating; and 5) carrying out thermal treatment to obtain the silicon-based negative electrode material.

With the development of lithium ion batteries toward large-scale application fields, performance indexes such as energy density and power density of the lithium ion batteries are required to be further improved. In regard to anode materials, traditional graphite carbon anode materials, having limited specific capacity (372 mAh/g), has been difficult to meet the demands of batteries with high energy density. Therefore, anode materials with high specific capacity have become the current research focus. Silicon-based material is of great interest due to its theoretical specific capacity of up to 4,200 mAh/g. However, severe volume effect and poor conductivity result in low reversible capacity and poor cycle stability of silicon anode material. In order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the silicon-based material, researchers have conducted a great deal of experimental studies, such as conductive polymer coating, carbon coating, compounding with metal oxides, nanocrystallization and porosification.
For instance, patent CN 106229495 A discloses a conductive polymer coated silicon-based anode material and preparation method thereof, with the technical key points comprising: a silicon-based material is coated with a conductive polymer (polythiophene, polyaniline and polypyrrole) through in-situ polymerization, sodium alginate is added to enhance stability, and a three-dimensional network structure is constructed for buffering expansion of silicon material. However, the conductive polymer coated by this method has low conductivity and also unstable conductivity, and is prone to dedoping to lose conductivity, resulting in reduced cycle performance of the material, and the preparation process by in-situ polymerization is complicated. CN 105186003 A discloses a method for preparing anode material of lithium ion battery with high capacity, which comprises: a polymer, a conductive agent and a non-carbon anode material are dispersed into a suitable solvent to form a uniform emulsion, then freezing or spray drying are conducted to obtain a uniform black powder material, and vacuum drying is conducted to obtain a conductive polymer coated high-capacity anode material. Wherein, the volume change of the non-carbon anode during cycling is optimized by utilizing the polymer. However, in the material prepared by this method, the conductive agent which is dispersed around the active material will lose its connection with the active material during cycling, moreover, the polymer has relatively low strength and has failed to improve the expansion of the non-carbon anode material effectively.
Hence, it is still a technical puzzle in the art to develop a silicon anode material having excellent cycle performance and low volume expansion effect as well as a preparation method thereof.

Silicon-based negative electrode material, preparation method therefor and use thereof in lithium-ion battery


A bucket for a skid loader has a screw auger with right-hand and left-hand auger fighting which meet in the center on a single shaft. Rotation of the shaft in one direction causes sand or other granular material in the bucket to move toward the end outlets for loading into conventional sandbags. Rotation of the shaft in the opposite direction advances the material in the bucket to the center where it is discharged through a bottom outlet into a bulk bag such as an FIBC bag which is supported on tubes suspended from the bucket on lines. A cover is releasably attached to the bucket to block the bottom outlet when a bulk bag is not being filled.

The present invention relates to equipment for filing in-place a flexible intermediate bulk container (FIBC) or bulk bag utilizing earthmoving equipment.
Sandbags have been used since at least the late 1700s. Sandbags are bags, typically of burlap, cotton and most commonly polypropylene, which are filled with sand or soil and used for flood control, the construction of military fortifications, and even for low-cost housing. Sandbags can be filled by hand or by equipment such as shown in my previous U.S. Pat. No. 8,100,301, issued Jan. 24, 2012, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,510,365 issued Mar. 31, 2009. Sandbags are typically constructed of circularly woven polypropylene and have dimensions of 14″×26″ and are designed hold to in the neighborhood of 30-70 pounds of sand so as to be carried by a single person.
More recently so-called flexible intermediate bulk container (FIBC) bulk bags or big bags have been used as sandbags. FIBC bulk bags were originally developed as an industrial container made of flexible fabric for storing and transporting dry, flowable products, such as sand, fertilizer, and granules of plastic. These bulk bags are often made of thick woven polyethylene or polypropylene, either coated or uncoated, and typically measure approximately 36×36 or 45-48 inches in maximum dimension or diameter and vary in height from 35 to 80 inches. A bulk bag's capacity is typically about 2,000 lbs, but larger bags are also used. A bulk bag weighing only 5 to 7 pounds can contain over a ton of material. Bulk bags may have a spout off the top for loading and/or a spout on the bottom for unloading, or bags may have an open top with or without a portion of the bag which folds over the bag opening.
When used as sandbags to build a retaining structure, the bags are typically filled in a stand or by a special purpose front-end loader with a large opening in the bottom of the loader bucket which fills the bag as sand or rock is scooped into the loader bucket. The bags are then transported to the place of use.
What is needed is a bucket which can be mounted to lighter weight equipment such as a skid-steer loader which, in addition to supplying a feed to fill conventional sandbags, can load one or several buckets of material into a bulk bag positioned in its final resting place.

Method and apparatus for filling in-place bulk container sandbags


A heating system includes: a heat generation unit which generates heat using electricity supplied through a second power system of a lower electricity rate; a heat storage unit which stores heat generated by the heat generation unit; a heat radiation unit which radiates heat stored in the heat storage unit; and a control unit which causes, when receiving a signal from a power supplier indicating that a supply of electricity through the second power system is to be stopped after an elapse of a predetermined period of time, the heat generation unit generates additional heat that is required while the supply of electricity through the second power system being suspended, during a period of time from when the signal is received to when the supply of electricity through the second power system is stopped.

Energy suppliers in some European counties (such as Germany), for the purpose of electric-load leveling, are offering lower electricity rates to customers in exchange for permitting forcible shutoff of a power source for a heat-pump heater from outside (hereinafter referred to as a shutoff), under a contract with the customers, a predetermined number of times a day for a predetermined period of time (hereinafter referred to as a "shutoff hour").
In this context, to respond to the control from outside as described above, the heat-pump hot water heater includes a relay switch which turns on and off the power source when receiving a ripple signal from an energy supplier.

Heating system and heating system control method


An aligning structure for an optical actuator is disclosed. The optical actuator includes a main structure, a base and an optical element disposed on the base. The aligning structure includes a bracket and an adjusting element. The bracket has a first extending portion disposed corresponding to a second extending portion of the main structure. The adjusting element connects to the first extending portion and the second extending portion and is capable of adjusting the position of the second extending portion relative to the first extending portion.

1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to an optical mechanism and in particular, to an optical actuator.
2. Related Art
In the present projecting systems, the digital light processing (DLP) projector has the advantages of high brightness, better color appearance, fast response time and no noise. Thus, the DLP projector has been wildly used in theatre, office and family. In order to obtain better images smoothness, the DLP projector has an image smoothing device with an optical actuator fixed at a position on the light path. Therefore, the aligning structure for the optical actuator can critically affect the image quality of the DLP projector.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional aligning structure 13 for an optical actuator 1. The optical actuator 1 includes a main structure 10, a base 11 and an optical element 12. The optical element 12 is a lens or a reflective mirror and is disposed on the base 11, which is connected to the main structure 10. The aligning structure 13 includes a bracket 14 and an adjusting element 15. The main structure 10 is disposed inside the bracket 14. The plate 101 of the main structure 10 has a connecting member 102, which is fixed to the bracket 14. The adjusting element 15 has an elastic member 151 and a locking member 152. The elastic member 151 is a spring, which is not rigid and telescoped to the locking member 152. The locking member 152 is a screw or a bolt.
After the optical actuator 1 is connected with a lens set of the projector (not shown), the adjusting element 15 adjusts the optical element 12 to retrieve an aligning position according to the imaging result. Then, a glue G is applied to fix the connecting member 102. As the result, the optical element 12 can function normally during the oscillation. However, the aligning structure 13 for the optical actuator 1 must be fixed by other glue or assistant objects after the adjustment.
FIG. 2 shows another conventional aligning structure 23 for the optical actuator 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the optical actuator 2 includes a main structure 20, a base 21 and an optical element 22. The optical element 22 is disposed on the base 21, and the base 21 is connected to the main structure 20. The aligning structure 23 includes a bracket 24 and an adjusting element 25. The main structure 20 has a first plate 201 and a second plate 202. The adjusting element 25 has an elastic member 251 and a locking member 252. The first plate 201 is fastened to the bracket 24 by screws S and the adjusting element 25 is connected to the first plate 201. The elastic member 251 is sandwiched between the first plate 201 and second plate 202. The elastic member 251 is a plate with higher rigidness. The locking member 252 is disposed on the bottom of the bracket 24 and pushes against the second plate 202.
In the adjusting procedure, the locking member 252 is adjusted to push against the second plate 202. Thus, the optical element 22 can be adjusted to align with a datum plane P of the bracket 24 so as to finish the adjusting procedure of the optical actuator 2.
However, the elastic member 251, which has higher rigidness, is disposed between the first plate 201 and second plate 202, and the second plate 202 can only be adjusted upwardly, so that utilizing the locking member 252 to push against the second plate 202 is hard to precisely align the optical actuator 2.
Therefore, it is an important subject to provide an aligning structure for an optical actuator that can simplify the aligning procedure for the optical element, enhance the reliability of the aligning structure and simplify the structure of the optical actuator.


An optical fiber (18) payout system for a missile (10) which is to be hot-launched from a tube (12) reinforces that part of the fiber to be exposed to propulsion gases by juxtaposing with one or more wires (24) and encasing within a thermally protective sheath (22) forming a so-called leader (20). The leader (20) extends outwardly of the missile aft end (16) and is releasably secured within a rail assembly (32) by a flexible strip (46) having a line of perforations (48) extending along its longitudinal axis. The outer end portion of the leader (20) is secured to an anchor block (52). On launch, the leader (20) tears loose from the flexible strip (46), the restraining action of which prevents optical fiber predispensing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an optical fiber payout system, and, more particularly, to such a system for paying out a fiber from an airborne missile dispenser to form a data link with launch site equipment.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many present day weapon systems include a missile having a filament data link that is maintained with launch site apparatus throughout a part or all of the missile flight. Specifically a length of metal wire or an optical fiber is wound into a stack aboard the missile and, in the usual situation, the other end of the fiber is anchored at the launch site. On launch, the dispenser allows the filament to unwind at a sufficiently rapid rate in order to maintain the link.
A number of criteria must be met achieving a satisfactory filament dispensing system for serving as a missile data link. Initially, payout has to be accomplished with a minimum of tension on the filament to prevent breakage and, in the case of an optical fiber, it is even necessary to prevent micro-bending which has been found can substantially reduce the quality of signal transmission. Because of this problem, placement of the dispenser on the missile has to be carefully considered and ducting or guiding of the filament during dispensing can only be accomplished in a manner not tending to stress or bend the optical fiber.
Also, where the missile is being hot launched, difficulty is presented in that either the fiber must be dispensed in a manner to avoid the hot propulsion gases, or steps must be taken to prevent the fiber from being injured or destroyed by contact with the hot gases. Still further, it is necessary to prevent a condition termed "pre-dispensing" which, in essence, is the initial increase in the dispensing rate due to the rapid flow of propulsion gases resulting in excess filament being dispensed during the early stages of missile flight.
It is desirable to be able to pass the filament through the propulsion gases on dispensing in order to avoid the mentioned difficulties of bending, breaking or stressing the filament that frequently occurs when the fiber is directed along an out of the way path in order to avoid passing through the propulsion gases.

Open breech hot launched fiber optic payout system


A medical image processing apparatus according to one of present embodiments includes processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to calculate fluid information including a velocity vector based on three-dimensional phase image data in multiple time phases, the three-dimensional phase image data being collected by phase contrast magnetic resonance imaging, and the three-dimensional phase image data representing a fluid flowing through a lumen. The processing circuitry is configured to identify a wall region of the lumen based on the velocity vector. The processing circuitry is configured to calculate wall shear stress using the wall region and the fluid information.

A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) apparatus is an imaging apparatus which excites nuclear spins in a patient placed in a static magnetic field with a radio frequency (RF) signal of Larmor frequency and thereby generates an image by reconstructing a magnetic resonance signal generated from the patient as a result of the excitation. Unlike medical image generating apparatus which uses X-rays, the MRI apparatus does not cause radiation exposure, and thus has spread in medical scenes as an apparatus capable of low-invasive diagnostic imaging.
In the field of MRI, a technique is available which can obtain information about a four-dimensional three-directional velocity vector made up of three spatial dimensions and multiple time phases. This field is generally known as 4D Flow. 4D Flow uses a technique which is called a phase contrast method and is capable of measuring flow velocity as a phase, and blood flow information can be obtained non-invasively from data provided by 4D Flow.
Flow velocity, flow rate, and, wall shear stress (WSS) can be found from the data provided by 4D Flow. A conventional technique obtains vascular information from intensity images provided by 4D Flow and images obtained by a separate scan and uses vascular information for WSS calculation.
WSS heavily depends on vascular information, i.e., extraction accuracy of a vascular wall region. However, in the conventional technique, four-dimensional image data which is provided by 4D Flow and can be used to calculate four-dimensional velocity vector data has a low spatial resolution, making it difficult to find a correct vascular wall region from the image data.
Also, changes in the vascular wall region caused by cardiac cycles cannot be drawn from high-resolution image data obtained by scanning separately from 4D Flow according the conventional technique, which results in reduced calculation accuracy of WSS.
One of problems to be solved by the present invention is to provide a medical image processing apparatus and a medical image processing method which can improve calculation accuracy of WSS.

Medical image processing apparatus and medical image processing method


Phase change ink carrier compositions comprising an admixture of (1) at least one urethane resin; and/or (2) at least one mixed urethane/urea resin; and/or (3) at least one mono-amide; and/or (4) at least one polyethylene wax are provided. In addition, a phase change colored ink of such carrier compositions comprising a phase change ink compatible colorant are also provided. Embodiments of the present invention also include methods for producing a layer of the above phase change colored ink on the surface of a substrate by either direct or indirect printing. Such methods also encompassing using a polyethylene wax as an overcoat layer above such a phase change ink layer on a printed substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to phase change inks. Still further, the present invention relates to processes of using phase change inks in printing devices. Additionally, the present invention relates to processes of using polyethylene wax as a transparent overcoat layer on a printed substrate to provide improved document feed capability from photocopiers.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, phase change inks (sometimes referred to as xe2x80x9chot melt inksxe2x80x9d) are in the solid phase at ambient temperature, but exist in the liquid phase at the elevated operating temperature of an ink jet printing device. At the jet operating temperature, droplets of liquid ink are ejected from the printing device and, when the ink droplets contact the surface of the printing media, they quickly solidify to form a predetermined pattern of solidified ink drops. Phase change inks have also been investigated for use in other printing technologies such as gravure printing as referenced in U.S. Pat. No. 5,496,879 and German patent publications DE4205636AL and DE 4205713AL assigned to Siegwerk Farbenfabrik Keller, Dr. Rung and Co.
Phase change inks for color printing generally comprise a phase change ink carrier composition, which is combined with a phase change ink compatible colorant. Preferably, a colored phase change ink will be formed by combining the above-described ink carrier composition with compatible subtractive primary colorants. The subtractive primary colored phase change inks can comprise four component dyes, namely, cyan, magenta, yellow and black. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,889,506; 4,889,761; and 5,372,852 teach that the subtractive primary colorants employed typically may comprise dyes from the classes of Color Index (C.I.) Solvent Dyes, Disperse Dyes, modified Acid and Direct Dyes, and a limited number of Basic Dyes. The colorants can also include pigments as exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 5,221,335, assigned to Coates Electrographics LTD. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/381,610, filed Jan. 30, 1995, and assigned to Tektronix, Inc. (now U.S. Pat. No. 5,621,022), is directed to the use of a specific class of polymeric dyes in phase change ink compositions.
Phase change inks are desirable for ink jet printers since they remain in a solid phase at room temperature during shipping, long-term storage, and the like. Also, the problems associated with nozzle clogging due to ink evaporation are largely eliminated, thereby improving the reliability of ink jet printing. Furthermore, ink droplets can be applied directly onto a printing medium (substrate) and be configured to solidify immediately upon contact with the substrate. Migration of ink along the printing medium can thus be prevented and dot quality improved.
In addition to the above-referenced U.S. patents, many other patents describe materials for use in phase change ink jet inks. Some representative examples include U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,653,932; 4,390,369; 4,484,948; 4,684,956; 4,851,045; 4,889,560; 5,006,170; and 5,151,120; as well as EP Application Nos. 0187352 and 0206286. These materials can include paraffins, microcrystalline waxes, polyethylene waxes, ester waxes, fatty acids and other waxy materials, fatty amide-containing materials, sulfonamide materials, resinous materials made from different natural sources (tall oil rosins and rosin esters are an example) and many synthetic resins, oligomers, polymers and co-polymers.
Separately, PCT Patent Application WO 94/14902, which was published on Jul. 7, 1994 and is assigned to Coates Brothers PLC, teaches a hot melt ink containing a colorant and, as a vehicle for the hot melt ink, an oligourethane having a melting point of at least 65xc2x0 C. and obtained by reacting an aliphatic or aromatic diisocyanate with at least a stoichiometric amount of either: (i) a monohydric alcohol component; or (ii) a monohydric alcohol component followed by another different monohydric alcohol component; or (iii) a monohydric alcohol component, followed by a dihydric alcohol component, followed by a monohydric alcohol component.
This PCT patent application defines the monohydric alcohol component as either a monohydric aliphatic alcohol (e.g. C1 to C22 alcohols), an etherified dihydric aliphatic alcohol (e.g. propylene glycol methyl ether (PGME), dipropylene glycol methyl ether (DPGME), ethylene glycol butyl ether (EGBE), diethylene glycol butyl ether (DPGBE), tripropylene glycol butyl ether (TPGBE) and propylene glycol phenyl ether (PPL)); esterified dihydric aliphatic alcohol (e.g. the esterifying acid may be an ethylenically unsaturated acid (such as acrylic acid or methacrylic acid), thereby introducing ethylenic unsaturation into the oligourethane and rendering it suitable for eventual further additional polymerization (curing) after having been applied to a substrate by hot melt printing), or dihydric polyalkylene glycol. This PCT Application further defines the dihydric alcohol component as a dihydric aliphatic alcohol or a dihydric polyalkylene glycol (e.g. ethylene glycol, polyethylene glycol (PEG 1500), polypropylene glycol (PPG 750, 1000 and 1500), trimethylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, methylpropanediol and 1,6-hexanediol).
Also, PCT Patent Application WO 94/04619, assigned to the General Electric Company, teaches the use of ionomeric materials in combination with image forming agents to form a hot melt ink jet ink. The ionomeric materials can include many different types of copolymeric or polymeric ionomers, including carboxyl-functional polyurethanes prepared from a diol or polyol and a hydroxyl acid. Many other carrier materials and colorants for the image forming agent of the invention are included in this PCT application.
Furthermore, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/672,815, (now U.S. Pat. No. 5,830,815) assigned to the Assignee of the present invention, teaches phase change carrier compositions that comprise the combination of a urethane resin with a urethane/urea resin that may optionally contain other ingredients such as mono-amides and polyethylene waxes,
However, there is still a need for new materials for novel and different applications of phase change carrier compositions and inks containing such carrier compositions. There is a also a need for low viscosity phase change carrier compositions and inks having non-polymeric resins and waxes designed for phase change ink jet and other forms of phase change ink printing. Such carrier compositions and inks being substantially transparent and having a reduced surface coefficient of friction as compared to presently known carrier compositions and inks. It would be advantageous if ink sticks which have an improved surface appearance and better release from molds and waste collection trays than previously known ink sticks could also be formed from such carrier compositions and inks. Additionally, it would be desirable if such phase change ink and carrier compositions include improved blocking performance of finished prints than has been previously known.

Phase change ink formulation containing a combination of a urethane resin, a mixed urethane/urearesin, a mono-amide and a polyethylene wax


Apparatus for feeding sheets seriatim from a sheet supply stack. The apparatus comprises a sheet feed head assembly including a plenum, a vacuum source in flow communication with the plenum, and a mechanism, such as a feed belt, for example, associated with the plenum for urging a sheet acquired by vacuum in a sheet feeding direction away from the sheet supply stack. The sheet supply stack is supported, for example in a hopper on a support platform, so as to maintain the topmost sheet in such stack at a predetermined level in spaced relation with respect to the urging mechanism of the sheet feed head assembly. A first positive air supply directs a flow of air at the sheet supply stack to levitate the top several sheets in the supply stack to an elevation enabling the topmost sheet to be acquired by vacuum from the sheet feed head assembly plenum; and a second positive air supply directs a flow of air at an acquired sheet to assure separation of any additional sheets adhering to such topmost sheet.

The present invention relates in general to sheet handling apparatus for reproduction apparatus for example, and more particularly to a receiver sheet supply and feed apparatus, including a vacuum corrugation belt feeder and a positive air pressure separator.
In typical reproduction apparatus such as copiers or printers, for example, information is reproduced on individual cut sheets of receiver material such as plain bond paper or transparencies. Such receiver sheets are stored in a stack and fed seriatim when copies are to be reproduced. The sheet feeder for the reproduction apparatus must be able to handle a wide range of sheet types and sizes reliably and without damage. Sheets must be fed individually; that is, without misfeeds or multi-feeds.
Reproduction apparatus sheet feeders are typically of two types, vacuum feeders or friction feeders. One type of vacuum feeder is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4, 169,676, issued Oct. 2, 1979, in the name of Russel. This vacuum feeder, commonly referred to as an oscillating vacuum feeder, includes an oscillating tube through which vacuum is applied to tack a sheet to the surface of the tube (sheet acquisition) for withdrawal from the sheet supply stack. Nip rollers, in cooperative relation with bearings on the tube downstream of sheet acquisition zone in a sheet feeding direction, urge a separated sheet from the sheet supply stack along a feed path away from the supply stack. While such feeder is considered to be highly effective, it does have some limitations in feeding extremely light or heavyweight papers. It is also noisy due to both its mechanical oscillation requirements and its need to utilize a high flow/high pressure vacuum source.
Another type of vacuum feeder is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,635,921, issued Jan. 13, 1987, in the name of Thomas. This vacuum feeder, commonly referred to as a vacuum corrugation feeder, includes a vacuum plenum for acquiring a sheet from a supply stack. The top sheets in the stack are levitated by fluffer (positive air pressure) jets. Ported belts entrained about the plenum are driven to transport a sheet vacuum tacked to the belts from the supply stack. This type of feeder is highly efficient but is still subject to misfeeds/multi-feeds, and has certain limitations with regard to the range of types of sheet materials that can be reliably handled.
Yet another type of vacuum feeder is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,184,672, issued Jan. 22, 1980, in the names of Watkins et al, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,327,906, issued May 4, 1982 in the names of Frolich et al. This type of vacuum feeder, commonly referred to as a vacuum picker or sucker, includes a plurality of cup-like structures connected to a vacuum source and movable to selectively pick up a sheet from a supply stack for transport from the stack. Such feeder requires a complicated mechanical arrangement to accomplish its desired pick up and transport function.
One type of friction feeder is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,374,212, issued Feb. 5, 1983, in the names of Martellock et al, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,381,860, issued May 3, 1983, in the name of Silverberg. This type of friction feeder, commonly referred to as a scuff feeder, includes a member (respectively shown as a belt or paddle wheel, but may also comprise a roller) which relies on frictional engagement with a sheet for removal of the sheet from a supply stack. Scuff feeders are of the simplest construction and are the cheapest to manufacture. However, since sheet materials exhibit a wide variation in friction characteristics, scuff feeders are the least reliable of the discussed group of feeders.

Vacuum belt feeder having a positive air pressure separator and method of using a vacuum belt feeder


A relevance system determines the relevance of a query term to a document based on spans within the document that contain the query term. The relevance system aggregates the relevance of the query terms into an overall relevance for the document. For each query term, the relevance system calculates a span relevance for each span that contains that query term. The relevance system then aggregates the span relevances for a query term into a query term relevance for that document. The relevance system may aggregate the query term relevances into a document relevance.

Many search engine services, such as Google and Overture, provide for searching for information that is accessible via the Internet. These search engine services allow users to search for display pages, such as web pages, that may be of interest to users. After a user submits a search request (i.e., a query) that includes search terms (i.e., query terms), the search engine service identifies web pages that may be related to those search terms. To quickly identify related web pages, the search engine services may maintain a mapping of keywords to web pages. This mapping may be generated by "crawling" the web (i.e., the World Wide Web) to identify the keywords of each web page. To crawl the web, a search engine service may use a list of root web pages to identify all web pages that are accessible through those root web pages. The keywords of any particular web page can be identified using various well-known information retrieval techniques, such as identifying the words of a headline, the words supplied in the metadata of the web page, the words that are highlighted, and so on. The search engine service may generate a relevance score to indicate how relevant the information of the web page may be to the search request based on the closeness of each match, web page importance or popularity, and so on. The search engine service then displays to the user links to those web pages in an order that is based on a ranking determined by their relevance.
Search engines can more generally be used to search a corpus of documents with a web page being one type of document in the corpus. The other types of documents may include articles published in journals, dissertations, technical reports, patents, and so on. With such a corpus, it may be desirable to present the documents ranked based on their relevance to the query. One common technique for ranking the relevance of a document to a query is based on term frequency and inverse document frequency. Term frequency refers to the number of occurrences of a query term within a document, and inverse document frequency refers to the inverse of the number of documents that contain that query term. Generally, a document with a more occurrences of a query term tends to be more relevant, and a query term that occurs in fewer documents is a more important term. One approach for combining term frequency and inverse document frequency into a relevance score for a document is given by the following equation:
                              ∑                      t            ∈            Q                                                        w                          (              1              )                                                                                (                                                      k                    1                                    +                  1                                )                            ·              tf                                      K              +              tf                                                          (        1        )            where t is a query term of query Q, tf is term frequency of t within the document, k1, is a constant, and K and w(1) are defined by the following equations. K is represented by the following equation:
                    K        =                              k            1                    ·                      [                                          (                                  1                  -                  b                                )                            +                              b                ·                                  l                  avdl                                                      ]                                              (        2        )            where l is the document length, avdl is the average document length in the corpus, and b is a constant, w(1) is a Robertson/Sparck Jones weight represented by the following equation:
                    log                                      N            -            n            +            0.5                                n            +            0.5                                              (        3        )            where N is the number of documents within the corpus and n is the number of documents containing the query term t within the corpus. Equation 3 is based on inverse document frequency. Thus, the score of relevance given by Equation 1 is based on term frequency, inverse document frequency, and document length.
The relevance of Equation 1 considers each query term independently. It is well known that the proximity of one query term to another query term affects relevance. For example, if the query is "home buying," then a document that contains the phrase "home buying" may be more relevant than a document that contains the words "home" and "buying" separated by 100 words. One approach for factoring in the proximity of query terms into relevance uses relevance derived from "adjacent" pairs of query terms. Query terms are considered adjacent when the only intervening terms are non-query terms. For example, if the document contains the phrase "at the home page, you can select the buying option for tips" and the query is "home buying tips," then "home" and "buying" are adjacent query terms that are separated by five non-query terms, a distance of five. However, "home" and "tips" are not adjacent, because the query term "buying" is between them. The relevance of adjacent pairs of query terms is represented by the following equation:
                              ∑                                    (                                                                    t                    i                                    ·                                                                  t                  j                                            )                        ∈            S                                                        min                                      (                                                w                  i                                      (                    1                    )                                                  ,                                  w                  j                                      (                    1                    )                                                              )                                ·                                                    (                                                      k                    1                                    +                  1                                )                            ·                                                ∑                                      occ                                                              (                                                                        t                          i                                                ,                                                  t                          j                                                                    )                                                                                tpi                                                        (                                                                  t                        i                                            ,                                              t                        j                                                              )                                                                                K              +                                                ∑                                      occ                                                              (                                                                        t                          i                                                ,                                                  t                          j                                                                    )                                                                                tpi                                                        (                                                                  t                        i                                            ,                                              t                        j                                                              )                                                                                (        4        )            where ti and tj represent a pair of adjacent query terms and tpi is represented by the following equation:
                              tpi                                (                                          t                i                            ,                              t                j                                      )                          =                  1.0                                    d                                            (                                                      t                    i                                    ,                                      t                    j                                                  )                                      2                                              (        5        )            where d(ti, tj) is the distance between the query terms ti and tj. The relevance of a document based on query term pairs (i.e., bigrams) is then combined with the relevance based on single query terms (i.e., unigrams) to give the overall relevance of a document.
A disadvantage with combining the unigram relevance and bigram relevance into document relevance is that it is difficult to estimate what their relative contributions should be. Moreover, a linear combination of these relevance scores may be inconsistent with the non-linear nature of traditional term frequency and inverse document frequency metrics.

Determining relevance of a document to a query based on spans of query terms


A steerable vascular catheter having an expandable cage mounted on the distal end of a tubular member which is radially expanded and contracted by means of a guidewire which is disposed within an inner lumen in the tubular member and secured to the distal end of the expandable cage. A helical coil is disposed about the secured to a distal portion of the guidewire which extends out the distal end of the expandable cage facilitate steering the catheter through the patient's coronary anatomy. The catheter assembly is particularly adapted to hold open a blood vessel after a vascular procedure therein such as an angioplasty.

This invention generally relates to vascular catheters suitable for maintaining the patency of a blood vessel after a vascular procedure therein, such as, an angioplasty procedure.
In typical percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) procedures, a guiding catheter having a preformed distal tip is percutaneously introduced into the cardiovascular system of a patient through the brachial or femoral arteries and advanced therein until the distal tip thereof is in the ostium of the desired coronary artery. A guidewire and a dilatation catheter having a balloon on the distal end thereof are introduced through the guiding catheter with the guidewire slidably disposed within an inner lumen of the dilatation catheter. The guidewire is first advanced out of the guiding catheter into the patient's coronary vasculature until the distal end thereof crosses the lesion to be dilated and then the dilatation catheter is advanced over the previously advanced guidewire until the dilatation balloon is properly positioned across the lesion. Once in position across the lesion, the flexible, relatively inelastic balloon is inflated to a predetermined size with radiopaque liquid at relatively high pressures (e.g., greater than about 4 atmospheres) to radially compress the atherosclerotic plaque of the lesion against the inside of the artery wall to thereby dilate the lumen of the artery. The balloon is then deflated so that the dilatation catheter can be removed and blood flow resumed through the dilated artery.
Further details of angioplasty procedures and the devices used in such procedures can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,323,071 (Simpson-Robert); U.S. Pat. No. 4,332,254 (Lundquist); U.S. Pat. No. 4,439,185 (Lundquist); U.S. Pat. No. 4,168,224 (Enzmann et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 4,516,972 (Samson); U.S. Pat. No. 4,538,622 (Samson et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 4,582,181 (Samson) U.S. Pat. No. 4,597,755 (Samson); U.S. Pat. No. 4,616,652 (Simpson); U.S. Pat. No. 4,748,982 (Horzewski et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 4,771,778 (Mar et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,350 (Mar et al.), which are hereby incorporated herein in their entirety.
Steerable dilatation catheters with built-in guidewires or guiding elements are being used with greater frequency because the deflated profile of such catheters are generally smaller than conventional dilatation catheters having the same inflated balloon size. Further details of low-profile steerable dilatation catheters may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,582,181 (Samson) which is hereby incorporated in its entirety by reference thereto. The lower profile of these catheters allows the catheter to cross tighter lesions and to be advanced much deeper into the patient's coronary anatomy. Moreover, the use of steerable low-profile dilatation catheters having a built-in guidewire or guiding element shortens considerably the time for the angioplasty procedures because there is no need to first advance a guidewire into the patient's coronary anatomy to a desired location therein and then advance a conventional dilatation catheter over the previously inserted guidewire.
Frequently, the stenotic plaque or intima of the blood vessel or both are dissected during angioplasty procedure by the inflation of the balloon, so that upon the deflation of the balloon the dissected lining or flap will collapse, closing off blood flow through the vessel and thereby abruptly stopping or significantly reducing the passage of blood therethrough. In these instances, emergency bypass surgery is usually required to avoid a myocardial infarction distal to the blockage.
A dilatation catheter which also allows for the perfusion of blood distally of the catheter when the balloon is inflated, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,790,315, could be used but such intravascular devices have relatively large profiles which may preclude their advancement through the blockage and thus leave emergency bypass surgery as the only recourse.
Copending application Ser. No. 283,729, filed Dec. 13, 1988, describes an intravascular catheter having an expandable cage on the distal end thereof which is designed to hold a detached lining against an arterial wall for extended periods to facilitate the reattachment thereof. However, this vascular device does not have effective means to guide the device through tortuous coronary anatomy.
What has been needed and heretofore unavailable is a steerable low-profile intravascular device which can be readily advanced through or around a flap which collapses within the bloodstream and which can maintain the patency of the blood vessel by holding the flap against the vessel wall for sufficient time to cause the natural adhesion of the flap to the vessel wall while simultaneously allowing for the perfusion of blood to locations distal to the catheter. The present invention satisfies that need.

Expandable cage catheter with a rotatable guide


An improved method of making interconnect structures with self-aligned vias in semiconductor devices utilizes sidewall image transfer to define the trench pattern. The sidewall height acts as a sacrificial mask during etching of the via and subsequent etching of the trench, so that the underlying metal hard mask is protected. Thinner hard masks and/or a wider range of etch chemistries may thereby be utilized.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to methods of making integrated circuits. More specifically it relates to methods of fabricating interconnect structures in semiconductor devices.
2. Description of Related Art
The need for lower resistance and capacitance in interconnect dielectric films caused by the ever-increasing miniaturization of semiconductor devices has led to the use of copper to form interconnects and vias rather than aluminum. When those structures are formed from copper a dual damascene process is typically used, in view of the difficulty in dry etching copper.
Dual damascene processes are loosely classified into trench first and via first types, each of which includes a variety of subtypes. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,083,824 discloses patterning a hard mask to define a trench pattern to be formed in an underlying interlayer dielectric, and then forming a photoresist layer bearing a via hole pattern overlapping the hard mask, to improve alignment of the trenches and vias. The vias are etched through the photoresist and the hard mask, and following removal of the photoresist the trenches are formed through the hard mask.
However, as chip sizes and circuit layouts continue to shrink, the aspect ratio of the layers utilized to form the interconnect structures increases, and in particular increasingly thick hard masks are needed. Moreover, in trench first techniques where the hard mask bearing the trench pattern is used also to align the vias, the mask is often exposed to two etching steps. Such processes are therefore limited in that, even with increased hard mask thickness and selection of dielectric etch chemistries for via formation that are selective against the metal hard mask, the hard mask layer is increasingly eroded. Moreover, the need for thicker mask layers unnecessarily increases the aspect ratio of overlying layers, which can lead to pattern collapse of the intermediate structures.


A corn-shelling machine has a front head and a rear auger to collect and channel the cobs after shelling. The front head has at least one sheller roller fitted with blades to pull a stalk of a corn on the plant downwards. Sheller plates are positioned above the sheller roller, on the side opposite the ground. The sheller plates have an upper wall, opposite the ground and suitable to receive the cobs upon threshing and to retain them during the shelling phase. A blower generates a flow of air to channel the kernels of corn, removed from the cobs during shelling, towards the rear auger. The air flow is directed from the front head of the machine towards the rear auger.

In particular, the corn-shelling machines of the prior art have a head fitted with a rotating roller, and preferably pairs of rollers counter-rotating in relation to rotation axes substantially horizontal to the ground or incident with the ground on the side of the direction of advancement of the machine.
The counter-rotating rollers are fitted with blades which pull the stalks of the plants downwards, picking the cobs.
The blades therefore rotate in a direction which pushes the stalk of the corn on the cob plant downwards, towards the ground; contemporarily the cobs, positioned on the upper part of the stalk, are forced to pass through a meatus delimited by pairs of sheller plates. The sheller plates interfere with the cobs, preventing them from falling through the meatus onto the ground. The cobs are then channelled towards an auger of the corn-shelling machine.
During the shelling phase of the cobs, the latter by coming into contact with the sheller plates inevitably lose corn grain or kernels which pass through the meatus identified by the sheller plates and fall to the ground. The loss of corn grain may be significant and notably reduce the harvest.
Once dropped onto the ground the kernels are no longer recovered, in part because this would be a time-consuming and expensive operation, and rot on the ground together with the stalk of the plant.

Corn-shelling machine fitted with blower means and relative corn-shelling method