A rotary joint for a decoking tool. The rotary joint includes a seal assembly that has one or more primary seals and one or more secondary seals. The secondary seals become operative upon the presence of a leak in the primary seals such that the rotary joint can continue to be used until a scheduled maintenance outage. A selective vent is used to route leaking fluid so that one or the other of the primary and secondary seals can be activated.

This invention relates generally to device and method for decoking delayed petroleum coke vessels, and more particularly to a rotary joint used to drive a drill stem and cutting tools, as well as an improved-reliability seal assembly used in the rotary joint. This invention even more particularly relates to a way to reduce operational downtime of a decoking tool by providing enhanced sealing of the rotary joint.
In a delayed coker operation of a petroleum refinery, residual feedstocks are first heated in a furnace and then moved to a vessel where the feed is allowed to coke by operating at a temperature sufficient to drive off the remaining volatile materials. After such heating the residue remaining in the vessel is essentially solidified petroleum coke. These vessels are currently as large as 32 feet in diameter and 150 feet in height.
The solid petroleum coke must be removed from the vessel in a decoking operation in order to prepare the coke for further hydrocarbon processing. Decoking is accomplished using high pressure water jets used to bore and cut the coke. The tool first bores a pilot hole through the coke bed and subsequently cuts the coke to the vessel wall, draining it out of the vessel through the pilot hole. This is accomplished by a tool or tools with arrays of vertical and horizontal nozzles to provide suitable jets for boring and cutting the coke bed. The tool or tools are rotated and reciprocated vertically through the vessel to accomplish the boring and cutting process.
Such tools are attached to a hollow drill stem through which the high pressure cutting water is conveyed to the rotating and reciprocating tool nozzles. The top end of the drill stem is attached to a rotary joint, which is used to bridge a non-rotating water supply line with the rotating drill stem and tool. The rotary joint is hoisted up and down within a tower above the coke vessel to impart the reciprocating motion to the assembly. The water supply line is in the form of a flexible hose that conveys the high pressure cutting water to the non-rotating portion of the rotary joint. The flexible nature of the water supply line allows it to accommodate the reciprocating motion of the assembly.
One important component within the rotary joint is the seal between the non-rotating and rotating portion of the rotary joint's water passage ways. Most current rotary joints in this service use lip type seals or packing, either of which tend to fail very quickly once a small leak develops. Such difficulties with seal leakage are exacerbated by the nature of the water being used in the decoking operation, as during the boring and cutting operations, the water is recycled, containing a quantity of suspended coke fines and related particulate. Changing a seal in a rotary joint can be time consuming and laborious process. Since delays in emptying the coke from the vessel result in loss of throughput in the overall refining process and concomitant operational impact on the refinery, having to shut down the process to change failed seals is commercially disadvantageous.
What is desired is a seal for the rotary joint that is not prone to failure. What is further desired is a seal that is easy and inexpensive to operate.


Computer system provided with a control module for controlling ab initio atomic structure modules for simulating the behavior of structures and materials at multiple scales with different modules, for purposes of evaluating such structures and materials for use in integrated circuit devices. The computer system can simulate the behavior of structures and materials at atomic scale with parameters or a configuration that varies across iterative transformations.

As device dimensions shrink, device designers are turning to materials other than silicon, such as III-V semiconductor alloys. Silicon has been used for decades and is well-understood, but the behavior of these new materials is yet to be fully characterized.
Properties of materials can be calculated from ab initio, or first principles, calculations of electronic structures based on quantum physics theories. First principles models can be used to compute thermodynamic and transport properties of pure materials, defects and dopants. Results of first principles calculations are used to drive higher-level calculations, such as kinetic Monte Carlo and continuum calculations. From these, device properties are derived. In order to model the materials, first principles calculations are used to determine fundamental material properties, such as the equilibrium atomic structures and their energies of materials under evaluation. Such fundamental material properties include such quantities as the defect structure and a migration path of the defect, the atomic forces of the atomic structure, positions of one or more atoms of the atomic structure, atomic coordinates of constituent atoms in a unit cell of the atomic structure, the minimum energy of a unit cell of the atomic structure, formation energy of defects, migration energy of defects, entropy of defect formation, entropy of defect migration, defect concentration, defect diffusivity, and so on.
Performing first principles calculations is difficult and costly. Existing methods for structure optimization suffer from slow convergence and occasional incorrect solutions. To solve the issues, laborious human intervention for analysis and tweaking often are required case-by-case. Such intervention can require in-depth understanding of quantum physics and related theories, and can take a person significant amount of time to understand the calculations. Also, it can require manual work to extract physical parameters from results of the first principles calculations. If not done correctly, the ab initio calculation can become stuck in a saddle point of the iteration, or require enormous amounts of time to converge. Alternatively, if done at too large a granularity, the calculation can result in low accuracy.
It is desirable to provide a computer system with a control module that can optimize utilization of the computing resources, while at the same time automatically sidestepping local optima to guide the calculations toward global optima at high accuracy. Such a computer system can determine the basic properties of new or previously uncharacterized materials, thereby greatly improving both the computer system and the technology for evaluating new materials for use in future integrated circuit devices or their manufacture.


A cooling assembly for cooling a heat source includes a cold plate to absorb heat from the heat source. The cold plate defines a first groove. A thermally conductive clamp is removably secured to a liquid cooling tube. The thermally conductive clamp defines a second groove. A heat pipe includes a first end to fit within the first groove in the cold plate and a second end to fit within the second groove in the thermally conductive clamp. The heat pipe transfers heat absorbed by the cold plate to the liquid cooling tube via the thermally conductive clamp.

A printed circuit board included in a computing device, such as a server, generates large amounts of heat. Heat is emitted by heat sources on the printed circuit board. These heat sources may include electronic components electrically connected to the printed circuit of the printed circuit board and supported by the printed circuit board. The heat sources may also include portions of the board, itself. Liquid cooling systems are sometimes used to cool the heat sources.
While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, the drawings illustrate specific examples herein described in detail by way of example. It should be understood, however, that the description herein of specific examples is not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP


In an aspect, a method includes: providing, to a first client device, an invitation configuration interface for display on the first client device, the invitation configuration interface including a selectable option to specify a date associated with an invitation for a milestone event, a selectable option to configure a value storage account, and a selectable option to define a recipient associated with the invitation; receiving, through the invitation configuration interface, a configuration parameter for the value storage account and a messaging address for the recipient; and providing an electronic invitation to the recipient by sending a message to a recipient device using the messaging address, the electronic invitation including a selectable option to send an electronic response to the invitation and a selectable option to transfer value to the value storage account.

Traditional gift giving for a milestone event, such as a wedding, has numerous drawbacks. For example, wedding attendees often include cash together with a card and place the card and cash in a designated box. This can create security concerns, such as a risk of theft. Parties that cannot attend the event sometimes send such cards in the mail which further causes a risk of loss.
The volume of gifts at large events may also make it difficult for recipients to remember the gift that each invitee gave and processing such gifts (e.g., depositing a cash gift and/or writing thank you cards) may be difficult and time consuming.
It is not only the recipients who are inconvenienced or frustrated by conventional gift giving norms. Indeed, those giving a gift may find it difficult to determine a quantum for the gift. The card, which often simply acts as a container for a gift of cash, can be expensive and also contributes to environmental waste.
Like reference numerals are used in the drawings to denote like elements and features.

System and method for secure data transfer


A device for controlling an optical recognition unit with the help of a capacitive filling level measurement in liquid containers having a sensor with a measuring electrode, a conductive base plate suitable for arranging at least one liquid container or a carrier unit having at least one receptacle for receiving a liquid container, a sensor electronics unit that is connected to the measuring electrode and the base plate adapted to determine a capacitance between the measuring electrode and base plate, an evaluation unit, and a control unit for controlling the optical recognition unit, is disclosed.

Whenever large quantities of samples have to be examined in medical, chemical, analytical, pharmaceutical or forensic laboratories, automated laboratory systems or equipment are usually used today, which enable each individual sample to be processed quickly and reliably. Such laboratory systems are often designed as liquid processing systems to handle liquid volumes. Usually, one or more robots are used for the fully automated operation of such laboratory systems. These robots are particularly specialized in handling liquid containers and are therefore referred to as "liquid handling robots" in technical jargon. The samples are usually delivered in sample containers, such as sample tubes, several of which are arranged in a carrier unit (also called "rack" in technical jargon). In addition, reagents, which are added to the samples in the course of sample processing, are often provided in vessels such as vials or troughs.
Sample tubes and reagent vessels typically have varying levels or are sometimes empty when they are prepared for processing by the liquid processing system. To ensure fast and efficient processing, the filling level of each liquid container should be known before the robot starts working. In particular, empty containers should be identified, and the system should also be able to detect if there is a sample tube in a particular carrier unit receptacle, what type of sample tube is in a particular carrier unit receptacle, or what type of carrier unit it is. It can also be helpful to recognize certain features of a carrier unit.
Therefore, there is a need for means that allow easy (and therefore cost-effective) and reliable determination of the above-mentioned features in automated liquid processing systems, thus enabling more efficient processing of large quantities of samples.
Often, an optical recognition unit is used to recognize identifiers on and/or characteristics of laboratory objects (such as carrier units, liquid containers, troughs, sample tubes, etc.) and/or samples (liquids) contained therein. In order to be able to recognize the identifiers and characteristics as easily, quickly and reliably as possible, and in particular to keep the amount of data that must be processed for this purpose as low as possible, there is a need for suitable means to control the optical recognition unit.

Device and method for controlling an optical recognition unit with the help of a capacitive filling level measurement in liquid containers


An apparatus for ciphering data in a wireless communication system. The apparatus includes a memory which stores data to be ciphered; a controller which outputs a cipher command for each layer of a wireless protocol; a protocol processing unit including a cipher hardware, which receives the cipher command outputted from the controller, reads data to be ciphered from the memory, ciphers the data and outputs the ciphered data, and a transmission data processing unit, which receives ciphered data that is directly outputted from the cipher hardware, adds a header for transmission and generates a data packet; and an RF communication unit which directly receives the generated data packet and transmits the received data packet.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a method and apparatus for ciphering data in a wireless communication system, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for ciphering data, which transmits ciphered data directly to a Radio Frequency (RF) communication unit, which operates at the physical layer, without transmitting the data to a memory, using a protocol processing unit which can simultaneously perform ciphering and transmission data processing.
2. Description of the Related Art
In W-CDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) and HSPA (High Speed Packet Access) of 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project), the ciphering process of security level 1 is stipulated to process in each protocol and layer of RRC (Radio Resource Control)/RLC (Radio Link Control)/MAC (Media Access Control). Here, security level 1 refers to a security level in a layer, where a terminal and a base station directly transmit and receive data.
With respect to a layer where ciphering is processed, in the RRC layer, a control message is transmitted, and in the RLC/MAC layer, user data is transmitted. Particularly, the method of transmitting data when transmitting user data is classified into UM (Unacknowledge Mode), AM (Acknowledge mode) and TM (Transparent Mode), and UM/AM mode data are ciphered in RLC layer and TM mode data are ciphered in MAC sub-layer.
Further, the existing method of implementing ciphering can be classified into a method of using software and a method of using hardware. When ciphering is implemented using software, the controller of a transceiver (a terminal or a base station) should read and cipher data stored in a memory, and then store the data in the memory again. Such a method can be easily implemented in case the data transmission rate does not have to be as high as in control message processing, but the processing time can be delayed if high data transmission rate is needed.
Additionally, if the case ciphering is implemented in hardware, if the controller of a transceiver transmits information for ciphering data stored in a memory to a cipher hardware, the cipher hardware reads data from the memory, ciphers the data, and stores the ciphered data in the memory again. Such a method is a general ciphering method that is used to process data with a high transmission rate.
However, in order to transmit data, a MAC packet needs to be generated by adding a MAC header to the ciphered data. To this end, the cipher hardware should access a memory again and read ciphered data. Thus, the number of times of memory accessed by the cipher hardware increases, thereby finally delaying the data processing.
Hence, there is a need for a method of ciphering data, which can quickly perform data ciphering and transmission processing.

Method and apparatus for ciphering data in wireless communication system


A unitary optical ferrule is molded to include one or more elements for receiving and securing one or more optical waveguides one or more elements for affecting one or more characteristics of light from the optical waveguide while propagating the light within the ferrule. The optical ferrule also includes one or more first alignment features and one or more second alignment features that, when the ferrule is mated with a mating ferrule, each controls alignment of the ferrule with the mating ferrule along three mechanical degrees of freedom. The surface of the optical ferrule can be divided along the thickness axis into a first section and an opposing second section, wherein the first section of the surface includes the receiving and securing elements, the light affecting elements, and the first alignment features and the second section of the surface includes the second alignment features.

Optical connectors can be used for optical communications in a variety of applications including telecommunications networks, local area networks, data center links, and internal links in computer devices. Expanded optical beams may be used in connectors to provide an optical connection that is less sensitive to dust and other forms of contamination and so that alignment tolerances may be relaxed. Generally, an expanded beam is a beam that is larger in diameter than the core of an associated optical waveguide (usually an optical fiber, e.g., a multi-mode fiber for a multi-mode communication system). The connector is generally considered an expanded beam connector if there is an expanded beam at a connection point. The expanded beam is typically obtained by diverging a light beam from a source or optical fiber. In many cases, the diverging beam is processed by optical elements such as a lens or mirror into an expanded beam that is approximately collimated. The expanded beam is then received by focusing of the beam via another lens or mirror. Optical connectors including expanded beam optical connectors can include optical ferrules that include elements for receiving and securing optical waveguides, elements for affecting light from the optical waveguides, and features for aligning the optical ferrule to a mating ferrule.

Optical ferrules and optical ferrule molds


The present invention provides a process for producing a substituted alkylamine represented by formula (3): ##STR1##. or a salt thereof, which process comprises reacting a 2-aminothiophenol derivative metal salt represented by formula (1): ##STR2##. with an amino acid-N-carboxy anhydride represented by formula (2): ##STR3##. and then subjecting the reaction product to cyclization under an acidic condition. A substituted alkylamine typified by 1-(2-benzothioazolyl)akylamine, or a salt thereof can be produced from a 2-aminothiophenol derivative industrially at a high handleability and a high yield, and even when the intended substituted alkylamine is an optically active compound, the intended product can be produced without reducing the optical purity of the optically active raw material.

As a substituted alkylamine having a condensed heterocyclic ring, useful for the above usage, there are known 1-(2-benzothiazolyl)alkylamines represented by the following formula: ##STR4##
For synthesis thereof, a process is known which uses a condensation reaction between 2-aminothiophenol derivative and amino acid-N-carboxy anhydride (see JP-A-8-325235).
However, for example, (RS)-1-(6-fluoro-2-benzothiazolyl)ethylamine produced by the above conventional process is low (34%) in yield; moreover, the 2-aminothiophenol derivative used as a raw material is unstable in air and emits an odor and, therefore, has been difficult to handle industrially.
Thus, there has been proposed no industrial process capable of synthesizing a 1-(2-benzothiazolyl)alkylamine from a 2-aminothiophenol derivative at a high yield with easy handling of the derivative.
In view of such a situation of the prior art, the present invention has been completed with an aim of providing an industrial process capable of synthesizing a 1-(2-benzothiazolyl)alkylamine or its salt from a 2-aminothiophenol derivative at a high yield with easy handling of the derivative.

Process for producing substituted alkylamines or salts thereof


A power consumption of a semiconductor integrated circuit is reduced. A semiconductor integrated circuit comprises a first path P1 for performing data processing in a data processing circuit and a second path P2 for bypassing the data processing circuit or for performing data processing in a simplified circuit. The semiconductor integrated circuit exclusively selects the first path and the second path depending on an operational mode, and stops a data input into a path that is not selected, resulting in a reduction of the power consumption.

In general, a LSI that is a semiconductor integrated circuit handling image data in a digital camera and the like is mounted with an image processing circuit that is a data processing circuit performing image processing of input image data. As described in Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Kokai Publication No. H7-30374, for example, a most part of this image processing circuit comprises an arithmetic unit such as an adder, a multiplier, a divider, and the like.
However, this image processing is not always performed. In some cases, an image of input image data is not processed and then output as-is.
For example, when an image processing circuit is a moving image filter circuit, it is required not to use a moving image filter for still image shooting. In this case, a filter coefficient of a targeted pixel is set to be 1 and filter coefficients other than the targeted pixel are set to be 0, resulting in that a filter function becomes OFF to output input data as-is.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating one example of a conventional filter circuit.
In FIG. 1, the symbol 10 represents a horizontal filter in a semiconductor integrated circuit.
Herein, the horizontal filter 10 comprises registers 101 to 105, multipliers 111 to 115, and adders 121 to 124.
Now, a filter function of this horizontal filter 10 is allowed to be OFF and then input pixel data T0 is output as-is. Data of targeted pixel is designated as T8; and then a filter coefficient T3 of the multiplier 113 for multiplying the data of targeted pixel T8 by the coefficient is set to be 1, and filter coefficients T1, T2, T4, and T5 of those other than the multiplier 113 are set to be 0. This coefficient setting causes output data T13 of the multiplier 113 to have the same value as the data of targeted pixel T8. In addition, output data T11, T12, T14, and T15 of the multipliers 111, 112, 114, and 115 have a value of 0, respectively. Therefore, a value of output data, a filter output, T19 of the adder 124 at a final stage becomes the same value as the data of targeted pixel T8. In other words, the filter function of the horizontal filter 10 becomes OFF and then input data is output as-is without undergoing filtering.
However, in the horizontal filter 10, even when input data processing is unnecessary, the multipliers and the adders configuring the horizontal filer 10 still operate, resulting in a large amount of power consumption.
In this manner, a semiconductor integrated circuit provided with a conventional data processing circuit has produced a problem that even when data processing using a data processing circuit is unnecessary, arithmetic units configuring the data processing circuit still operate, resulting in power consumption.


One aspect of the embodiments utilizes a branch instruction predicting unit includes a history memory to store a branch address as history information, a selecting unit to select a storing place with reference to selection information for selecting either one of storing places when the branch address of the branch instruction is stored as the history information, In the case that there are a plurality of branch addresses to be stored at a storing place, when a first branch address is stored at a storing place, a second branch address is stored at a storing place in accordance with selection information updated by the updating unit.

The embodiment relates to a branch prediction mechanism of a computer.
The branch prediction mechanism of the computer predicts a branch destination in the case of executing a branch instruction next by managing an execution history of the branch instructions on the basis of storage addresses (which will hereinafter be termed instruction addresses) in a memory of the instructions executed in the past.
In this case, the branch prediction mechanism determines a set in a storage device based on a set associative system by using a portion of the instruction address (a branch source address) with which the branch instruction is acquired (which means that the instruction is fetched) from a storage source in the past. Then, the branch prediction mechanism stores a branch destination address in one way within the set by tagging still another portion of the branch source address.
Then, the branch prediction mechanism searches the storage device by using the instruction address at an instruction fetch stage. Then, if the branch destination address is stored in the storage device through the branch instruction that was already executed in the past, the branch prediction mechanism predicts that the instruction having the instruction address is the branch instruction and further predicts that a branch to the branch destination will occur.
Then, the branch prediction mechanism obtains the branch destination address from a way in which a content of the tag within the relevant set is coincident with a portion (that should be stored in the tag) of the instruction address of the now-being-fetched instruction. Thus, the branch prediction mechanism can determine in parallel with the instruction fetch whether the instruction is the branch instruction or not (whether or not the branch destination address is stored by tagging a portion of the instruction address of the branch source).
Moreover, this technique enables a computer to obtain the branch destination address predicted if the instruction is the branch instruction. Accordingly, the computer can, even when performing a pipeline process, prepare the instruction fetch at a next stage from the branch destination predicted beforehand in parallel with the present instruction fetch.
Then, if the branch destination obtained from the now-being-executed instruction is the predicted branch destination, the parallel operations at the respective stages can be conducted without stopping the pipeline process. Whereas if the branch destination obtained from the now-being-executed instruction is not the predicted branch destination, it follows that the instruction fetch from a correct branch destination resumes. If the branch destination is not stored in the storage means in the manner of being associated with the instruction address of the now-being-executed branch instruction (if the branch instruction is executed though the branch prediction is not hit) also, the branch prediction can not be utilized, and it follows that there resumes the instruction fetch from the branch destination address acquired by decoding the post-fetching branch instruction.
On the occasion of registering the branch destination address in this conventional branch prediction mechanism, for example, when the branch source address is stored in the storage device (which is referred to as "the address is hit"), a hit way number is attached together with the branch destination address to the branch instruction. Then, data existing in the way specified by the way number is updated based on a result of executing the branch instruction. Namely, for instance, if the branch prediction is correct and if there is a high possibility of similarly branching to this branch destination next, the branch prediction mechanism keeps the way information and updates management information so that the way information is retained to the longest possible degree.
Further, the address is not hit (the branch is off in prediction), and nevertheless the branch actually occurs with the result that the branch destination should be newly stored in the storage device, in which case the branch prediction mechanism stores the branch destination in the way that is predetermined by the management information and should be newly registered with the branch destination, and updates the management information so that the way information is retained as long as possible.
The present applicant already presented a proposal (refer to Patent document 1 given below) for efficiently conducting the way management (for efficiently selecting which way should be preferentially retained within the set determined from the branch source address). This technique is that each way is provided with items of information such as a 1-bit replace flag and a 1-bit valid flag, wherein the associated replace flag is updated so that a next rewriting process to the way, to which the branch destination address is newly written, is set as late as possible.
Then, if there occurs the branch destination that should be newly stored, the way in which the information should be stored next (the information on the present branch prediction destination is to be discarded) is determined from one set of present replace flags (a pattern of bits corresponding to the number of ways).
The following problem, however, is caused in a computer that fetches a plurality of instructions, e.g., four (4) instructions in one fetch operation. To be specific, there is a case where the 4 instructions contain a plurality of branch instructions, and such a necessity arises as to store each branch instruction in a storage device. This is typically a case in which, for example, the branch instruction appearing first in the 4 instructions is not executed, but the branch instruction appearing second is executed. In such a case, generally, the branch destination of the branch, which actually occurs, is registered in the storage device.
In another circumstance, e.g., in a branch prediction mechanism performing the branch prediction based on a global history (global branch history), however, there is a case of having a necessity for storing the branch destination address with no occurrence of the branch in addition to the branch destination with the actual occurrence of the branch. To give one example, if dual loops are formed by two branch instructions, according to the global history, the branch destination, which is not executed at the present, becomes a target to be stored in the storage means as the branch destination that will be executed in the future. Note that the global history was already proposed by the present applicant.
Similarly, as by a superscalar machine, in the case of simultaneously decoding and executing the plurality of instructions by providing a plurality of pipelines, there is also a possibility that the plurality of branch instructions might be retrieved at the same stage. Namely, a set generated from the instruction addresses of the plurality of branch instructions gets coincident, and such a case exists that a conflict occurs between the ways within the set.
Moreover, not even by the system of fetching the plural instructions, if the branch prediction dose not hit, there is a case in which both of the branch destination predicted from the global history and the actual branch destination should be stored.

Branch prediction apparatus of computer storing plural branch destination addresses


A subsea flexible pipe, including an internal sealing sheath (18), at least one tensile pressure armor layer (14, 16) wound around the internal sealing sheath, a retaining layer (12) having at least one reinforcing strip (34), the reinforcing strip having filamentary strands (36) directed substantially longitudinally. The filamentary strands (36) having polymer fibers (38). The polymer fibers have, at room temperature, an elastic modulus in excess of 55 GPa so that the reinforcing strip is able to prevent radial expansion of the armor layer, when the armor layer experiences radial force; and the polymer fibers furthermore have an elongation at break in excess of 4% such that the reinforcing strip is able to undergo deformation without breaking.

The present invention relates to a subsea flexible pipe for conveying hydrocarbons in deep water.
Flexible pipes for conveying hydrocarbons are already well known, and they generally comprise, from the interior to the exterior of the pipe, a metal carcass, a polymer internal sealing sheath, a pressure armor layer, tensile pressure armor layers, and a polymer external sheath to protect the overall pipe and in particular to prevent seawater from penetrating its thickness. The metal carcass and the pressure armor layer comprise longitudinal elements wound in a short pitch, which enable the pipe to withstand radial forces, while the tensile pressure armor layers comprise metal yarns wound in a long pitch to absorb the axial forces. The type, number, dimensions and organization of the layers constituting the flexible pipes are essentially related to their conditions of use and installation. In the present application, the short pitch winding concept designates any helical winding at a helix angle close to 90°, typically between 75° and 90°. The long pitch winding concept concerns helix angles lower than 55°, typically between 25° and 55° for the armor layers.
These flexible pipes are suitable for conveying hydrocarbons, in particular on the seabed and at great depths. More precisely, they are referred to as unbonded, and are thus described in the standards published by the American Petroleum Institute (API), API 17J and API RP 17B.
When the flexible pipe, regardless of its type, is subjected to an external pressure that is higher than the internal pressure, an axial compression may occur, known to a person skilled in the art as the reverse end cap effect. The reverse end cap effect tends to compress the flexible pipe axially, to shorten it, and to increase its diameter, thereby tending to cause a swelling of the tensile pressure armor layers. In the case in which the external sheath of the pipe is sealed, the hydrostatic pressure prevailing outside the pipe effectively opposes the swelling of the tensile pressure armor layers. On the contrary, if the external sheath is no longer sealed, for example due to an accidental tear, the hydrostatic pressure no longer opposes the swelling of the tensile pressure armor layers. In the absence of an additional means for limiting this swelling, the yarns constituting the tensile pressure armor layers are then liable to buckle radially, which may cause an irreversible local deformation of said armor layers into a "birdcage" shape, and thus lead to the failure of the pipe.
One known solution for reducing this risk of radial buckling into a "birdcage" is the short pitch winding of reinforced strips of aramid fibers, and more precisely of poly(paraphenylene terephthalamide) (PPTA) homopolymer fibers, around the tensile pressure armor layers. Such strips have a high mechanical tensile strength along their longitudinal axis, thereby limiting the swelling of the tensile pressure armor layers. They also have great bending flexibility, which facilitates the operations of handling and winding around the armor layers. Finally, with equivalent mechanical properties, they are much lighter than metal strips, thereby reducing the weight of the flexible pipe. Reference can be made in particular to document FR 2 837 899 in which such a pipe is disclosed.
These reinforcing strips are in the form of bundles of rovings comprising PPTA homopolymer fibers directed parallel to the longitudinal axis of the strip. These longitudinal rovings can be joined together into a relatively flat bundle having a substantially rectangular cross section like that of a strip or tape. It is also possible to use a reinforcing strip comprising a substantially rectangular central section and two longitudinal edges thinner than the central section, as described in document EP 1419338. The means for joining and restraining these rovings generally comprise transverse elements which are shaped so as to surround and clamp said rovings together into a relatively flat bundle. In common configurations, these transverse elements are treated as weft yarns, the rovings forming the warp, and the strip can then be considered as a woven material. Various embodiments of these reinforcing strips are described in documents WO 97/12753 and WO 9713091.
However, despite this, it has been found that in extreme service conditions, these reinforcing strips can deteriorate. These extreme conditions are chiefly encountered when the flexible pipe is submerged at great depth, typically at more than 2000 m, and simultaneously subjected to severe dynamic bending loads, thereby causing fatigue of the reinforcing strips.

Flexible pipe for conveying hydrocarbons in deep water


A speech coder employs vector quantization of LPC parameters, interpolation, and trellis coding for improved speech coding at low bit rates (400 bps). The speech coder has an LPC analysis module for converting input speech to LPC parameters, an LSP conversion module for converting LPC parameters into line spectrum frequencies (LSP) data, and a vector quantization and interpolation (VQ/I) module for encoding the LSP data into vector indexes for transmission by applying LPC spectral amplitude as weighting coefficients to the LSP data. The VQ/I module outputs one vector index for every two LPC frames in order to reduce the transmission bit rate, and the omitted frames are interpolated on the receiving end. A decoder correspondingly decodes incoming indexes to LPC parameters and synthesizes them into output speech. Trellis coders with an adaptive tracking function encode the pitch and gain parameters of the LPC frames. A universal codebook stores codewords according to a plurality of accents. The speech coder automatically identifies a speaker's accent and selects the corresponding vocabulary of codewords in order to more intelligibly encode and decode the speaker's speech.

An effective low-bit-rate speech coder should have the characteristics of high speech intelligibility, speaker independence, ease of real time implementation and short throughput delay. To maintain low-bit-rate transmission and simultaneously achieve these goals is conventionally considered contradictory.
Various speech encoding algorithms and techniques have been proposed for encoding and decoding low-data-rate speech parameters from and to speech signals. Techniques for vector quantization of line spectrum pairs (LSP) data converted from standard linear predictive coding (LPC) parameters derived from input speech signals has been suggested, for example, in "Application of Line-Spectrum Pairs to Low-Bit-Rate Speech Encoders", by G. S. Kang and L. J. Fransen, Naval Research Laboratory, at Proceedings ICASSP, 1985, pp. 244-247. A tree-encoding technique using adaptive or time-varying quantization wa disclosed by N. S. Jayant and S. A. Christensen, Bell Laboratories, at IEEE Transactions on Communications, COM-26, September 1978, pp. 1376-1379. For transmitted speech signals encoded by vector quantization, an improvement in decoding performance at the receiver end by optimization of the codebook for decoding words from the incoming signals was disclosed in "Improving The Codebook Design For Vector Quantization", by Y. J. Liu, ITT Defense Communication Division. at Proceedings IEEE Military Communications, 1987, pp. 556-559.
However, the prior art proposals leave much to be desired in terms of achieving high intelligibility and reliability at low data rates, e.g. 400 bauds-per-second (bps), and particularly for speaker independent speech coding in communications over a high frequency (HF) channel in a hostile environment. In the prior systems, LSP coefficients are computed by fast Fourier transform (FFT). Also, the group delay function is utilized as weighting coefficients to compensate for distortion in the vector quantization. The latter is a time consuming process which may require even more time than that required to compute the LSP coefficients.

Low-bit-rate speech coder using LPC data reduction processing


The present disclosure provides a swappable card module for a computer component. The swappable card module can be configured to positioned in either the front side or back side of a server system. Some examples of the present disclosure provide for a card module holding at least one computer card, an adapter board, and a module housing.

As the server industry develops and matures, server system designs are becoming more complex, with more varied architecture. Add-on card modules in a server system allow computer cards of certain sizes to fit into matching locations (in the server system) that might have shapes or sizes that differ from the selected computer card. For example, an add-on module can provide structural support for a smaller card to fit into a larger space in the server system. However, such add-on cards are typically non-swappable, that is, they are received in a single location in a server system. Therefore, if a user needs to switch the orientation of a server system so that a particular side of the server system is accessible by the user, an add-on card can become inaccessible. For example, if an add-on card that is typically accessed from a front side needs to be accessed from a rear side due to the change in orientation of the server system, a conventional add-on card module remains in the front side, and cannot be relocated to the rear side.
These concerns and restrictions in the orientation of a server system creates a demand for add-on card modules to have high compatibility and flexibility in what the expansion card holds, and where, in the server system, that the expansion card can be placed. However, conventional add-on card modules do not provide this flexibility.
Therefore, there is a need for an add-on card module that can be installed at different locations within a server system.


Managing ridesharing vehicles by receiving passenger data comprising pick-up and drop-off location data of passengers, recording the passenger data in one or more queues corresponding to one or more pick-up locations of the pick-up location data, and sending information associated with a first pick-up location to a first vehicle. In response to the first vehicle arriving at the first pick-up location, extracting data of passengers exiting the first vehicle at the first pick-up location, retrieving passenger data from a first queue corresponding to the first pick-up location according to a capacity of the first vehicle, and updating a passenger ledger of the first vehicle according to the data of the passengers exiting the first vehicle at the first pick-up location and the passenger data retrieved from the first queue.

The present invention relates generally to the field of transportation resource management, and more particularly to distributed transportation resource sharing.
Ridesharing is a term used to describe a transportation service where the driver of a vehicle and a rider have a common destination. The driver will then share the vehicle with the rider and, in turn, the rider will make a payment to the driver, which subsidizes the cost of the trip for the driver. Ridesharing is typically booked in real-time over the internet using a website or with a smartphone application to connect passengers with ridesharing drivers.
A distributed public ledger (e.g., a blockchain) is a system in which information is recorded and maintained across a plurality of computing devices that are linked together in a peer-to-peer network. The recorded ledger entries can comprise many forms, including a transfer of money, ownership, a financial transaction, a person's identity, personal information, or an agreement between two parties.

Distributed ridesharing vehicle management


An Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) test apparatus includes an IEEE 1394 chip, an IEEE 1394 plug, an IEEE 1394 outlet, a test header, and a switch module. The IEEE 1394 chip, plug and outlet each include a ground pin, two pairs of differential signal pins, and a power pin. The test header includes ground pin sockets, two pairs of differential signal pin sockets, and a power signal pin socket. The three power pins and the power signal pin socket are electrically connected together. The switch module is operable to electrically connect the two pairs of differential signal pins of the IEEE 1394 chip to the two pairs of differential signal pins of the IEEE 1394 plug or electrically connect the two pairs of differential signal pins of the IEEE 1394 chip to the two pairs of differential signal pins of the IEEE 1394 outlet.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to test apparatuses, and particularly to a test apparatus to test Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1394 interfaces.
2. Description of Related Art
The IEEE 1394 interface is a serial bus interface standard for high-speed communications and isochronous real-time data transfer, frequently used in personal computers, as well as in digital audio, digital video, automotive, and aeronautical applications. Before shipment, IEEE 1394 interfaces should be tested. A common method to test IEEE 1394 interfaces requires the use of an IEEE 1394 device known to be working properly along with an oscillograph. However, the IEEE 1394 device is expensive and not easy to use with the oscillograph.

Hong Fu Jin Precision Industry (ShenZhen) Co., Ltd.


This invention relates to a retractable truck canopy frame and in particular to one utilizing: two rails, fixed at the sides of a truck bed; several sliding elements connected with the rails; several main frames having each end connected with one sliding element; and several linking rods crossly connected with every two main frames along the two sides of the bed. By pushing or pulling the main frames along the rails, the truck canopy may be either retracted or extended as desired.

Trucks have long been used by businessmen to deliver goods and also by people to move their household possessions. The prior canopies used on trucks are generally of two types, one is a fixed metal canopy and the other is an open truck. The benefit of the fixed metal canopy is to prevent the sun from directly shining, and rain directly falling on goods, but the loading and unloading is very inconvenient because of the limited space. The goods to be delivered are limited by their size so as not to protrude over the canopy.
The open truck has the benefit of easy loading and unloading goods but, on the other hand, the goods will be exposed to sun and rain. Therefore, an assembled canopy has been adapted for the open truck, which maybe assembled or disassembled as a whole. When assembled, it possesses both the same benefits and the defects like the fixed metal canopy, and it has the same benefits and defects like the open truck when disassembled.
The inventor, in view of this, invented this invention which possesses the merits of both the fixed metal canopy and the open truck.


A data processing system connected to and controlling an infrared emitter may be utilized to control remote control devices such as video cassette recorders and cassette recorders, allowing the data processing system to program recording by such devices. The data processing system may, for example, be a set-top box located in proximity to remote controlled record/playback devices, relying on line-of-sight or reflected infrared signal transmission, or may be utilized in connection with suitably placed infrared repeaters. The data processing system may also be employed in conjunction with the "server push" network technique, in which a data stream is transmitted to a subscribing client without intervention by the client. The data stream is monitored for user-defined data items. When detected, the data processing automatically controls the appropriate record/playback device to record a broadcast associated with the detected data item.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to remote control of consumer electronic devices and in particular to computer-based programming of recording in remote controlled record/playback devices. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to utilizing a computer to control record programming in remote controlled record/playback devices in connection with a server push mechanism.
2. Description of the Related Art
Control over typical consumer electronics devices which utilize infrared remote control interfaces is typically extremely limited. In particular, programming such devices to record or play at specific times, etc. is generally constrained by the capabilities built into the device hardware. Programming such remote controlled devices may also be confusing, as has been frequently noted in connection with video cassette recorders (VCRs) and more recently in connection with unitary compact disc (CD) players, cassette recorders, and AM/FM receivers (often colloquially referred to as "boom boxes"). Flexibility over program control is not generally found in such devices.
The advent of set-top boxes, also referred to variously as a network computer (NC), Internet appliance, Web PC, Internet access device, browser box, etc. (all names for the same concept with minor variations), has introduced a new consideration. Frequently such set-top boxes are themselves capable of being controlled by an infrared remote control. Additionally, the purpose of the devices generally results in the devices being situated in close proximity to a television, VCR, or other remote controlled electronic device, often within the same entertainment center. Much of the same hardware and control software utilized to interface an infrared receiver to a set-top box could be reused to interface the set-top box to an infrared transmitter.
It would be desirable, therefore, to provide a method of controlling programmable electronics devices utilizing the infrared remote control interface under the control of a set-top box or other data processing system. It would further be advantageous to provide such control in a manner consistent with the network technique known as "server push."

Controlling record/playback devices with a computer

International Business Machines Corporation


A method of the present invention of manufacturing a semiconductor memory device provided with a capacitor over a semiconductor substrate, which has a lamination of a lower electrode made of a first conductive film, a capacitor dielectric film made of a dielectric film, and an upper electrode made of a second conductive film, comprises the steps of forming an insulating film, forming a capacitor on the insulating film, forming a dielectric monitor that is made of same material and has a same layer structure as the capacitor on the insulating film, measuring characteristics of the dielectric monitor in middle of a step of forming the capacitor, and evaluating the capacitor based on measured results of the characteristics of the dielectric monitor.

This application is based upon and claims priority of Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-251953, filed on Aug. 29, 2002, the contents being incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory device manufacturing method and, more particularly, a method of manufacturing a nonvolatile semiconductor memory using ferroelectric material as a capacitor dielectric film (FeRAM: Ferroelectric Random Access Memory).
2. Description of the Prior Art
After the memory chip of FeRAM has been manufactured, the monitor test and the device test are carried out in order to decide whether or not the chip can be delivered.
FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing FeRAM manufacturing steps containing these tests.
The FeRAM chip is completed by executing sequentially the CMOS process of forming the control MOS transistor, the ferroelectric process of forming the ferroelectric capacitor over the control MOS transistor, and the wiring process of forming the wirings over the capacitor. Then, the monitor test as the first delivery decision test and the device test as the second delivery decision test are executed successively in the wafer state. Then, if the chip is decided as the defective in the monitor test or the device test, the wafer having the chip is dumped or the manufacture is started over again from the first CMOS process.
The monitor test is performed by using the cell test pattern connecting circuit elements each having the same structure as the main chip in parallel, and measuring transistor characteristics, contact resistance, wiring resistance, inter-wiring leakage, ferroelectric capacitor characteristics, etc. Such chip is defined as the non-defective if these measured values are within the criteria, but such chip is defined as the defective if these measured values are out of the criteria.
The ferroelectric capacitor characteristics out of the above measurement items are the ferroelectric capacitor characteristics such as an amount of residual dielectric polarization (QSW), an amount of effective residual dielectric polarization (Qeff), saturation voltage (V90), capacitor leakage current (Lcap), capacitor capacitance (Ccap), and the like. These measurement items are measured by using the cell test pattern as set forth in Patent Application Publication (KOKAI) Hei 11-176195. These measurement items are particularly effective to evaluate the results such as crystallinity and composition of the ferroelectric substance, etc.
The device test is composed of the direct current test for measuring operation states of the input protection circuit, the alternating current test for measuring operation states of peripheral circuits and all the cells, and the retention test for checking whether or not data of the ferroelectric capacitor can be held. Test results are evaluated in accordance with predetermined criteria to define whether or not the chip is the non-defective or the defective.
Meanwhile, in FeRAM, particularly the ferroelectric capacitor characteristics are important and also yield of the retention test is important because FeRAM is the nonvolatile memory. The ferroelectric capacitor forming step is the most important process to affect the ferroelectric capacitor characteristics and the retention performance (data retention capability).
However, even if any trouble is present in the ferroelectric capacitor forming step, the FeRAM must be completed by executing the manufacturing steps up to the final step, in order to make the above delivery decision in the prior art. Therefore, if the device is defined as the defective according to the result of test, reduction in yield is brought about and also man-hours needed for executing the manufacturing steps are totally wasted, so that throughput is lowered. Under such circumstances, it is desired that, if there is any trouble in the intermediate steps, the delivery decision should be made in the early stage without executing the steps until the final manufacturing step.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a semiconductor memory device manufacturing method capable of achieving improvement of yield and improvement of throughput by feeding back trouble to the manufacturing steps in its early stage if such trouble is caused in the middle of manufacturing steps.
A semiconductor memory device manufacturing method of the present invention, in the method of manufacturing a semiconductor memory device provided with a capacitor over the semiconductor substrate, which has a laminated structure of a lower electrode made of a first conductive film, a capacitor dielectric film made of a dielectric film, and an upper electrode made of a second conductive film, is characterized in comprising the steps of forming an insulating film over the semiconductor substrate; forming a capacitor on the insulating film; forming a dielectric monitor, which is made of same material and has a same layer structure as the capacitor, on the insulating film; measuring characteristics of the dielectric monitor in middle of a process of forming the capacitor; and evaluating the capacitor based on measured results of the characteristics of the dielectric monitor.
Meanwhile, in the situation that, when process failure is caused in forming the capacitor, an amount of residual dielectric polarization does not satisfy the criterion, it is desired to decide immediately in the relevant step whether or not the in-process wafer should be abandoned or such wafer should be reproduced. However, in the prior art, the delivery decision is made by the monitor test or the device test after all manufacturing steps have been completed. Therefore, if the wafer is reproduced, the reproducing operation becomes complicated to bring about reduction in the yield. Also, wasteful man-hours are consumed in the subsequent manufacturing steps after the relevant step in which the trouble is generated, and thus reduction in throughput is brought about.
The present invention comprises the step of forming the dielectric monitor in addition to the step of forming the capacitor. And it further comprises the step of measuring the characteristics of the dielectric monitor in the middle of the process of forming the capacitor, and the step of evaluating the capacitor based on measured results of the characteristics of the dielectric monitor.
Since the characteristics of the dielectric monitor are measured in the middle of the process of forming the capacitor, the abnormality of crystallinity, composition, etc. of the dielectric film can be detected via the measured value of the capacitor characteristics such as the amount of residual dielectric polarization (QSW), etc. Therefore, before completion of the formation of the capacitor, the evaluation of the capacitor can be made to decide in the early stage whether or not the capacitor forming step should be continued, or the concerned wafer should be abandoned, or the step should go back to the step of reproducing the capacitor. Even if the failure is caused in the capacitor forming process, the evaluation can lead to elimination of wasteful man-hours in the subsequent manufacturing steps after the relevant step in which the failure is caused, and thus improvement in throughput can be achieved. In addition, if the reproduction is selected, merely the defective manufacturing step is required as the reproducing operation, and thus the reproducing operation can be simplified and also improvement in yield can be achieved.
Also, the yield of the retention characteristics of the capacitor, etc. can be predicted via the measured values of the capacitor characteristics such as an amount of residual dielectric polarization (QSW), etc. Therefore, only the in-process wafers with high yield can be shifted selectively to later steps, and thus improvement in the device yield can be achieved.

Semiconductor memory device manufacturing method


An analog-to-digital converter circuit for digitalizing a high-frequency signal with large dynamics has a first analog-to-digital converter and a second analog-to-digital converter connected in parallel, a level converter connected to one of the two analog-to-digital converters, a level recognition element for determining a level range in which the high-frequency signal lies and for generating a control signal dependent on the level range, and a correction memory that is connected to the level recognition element, the correction memory having address inputs connected to outputs of the analog-to-digital converters. The control signal is used as a selection criterion which identifies which analog-to-digital converter address data are taken from for producing a digital output signal, the digital output signal being linearized according to a characteristic of the selected analog-to-digital converter in order to correct for distortion arising in the selected converter. The overall analog-to-digital converter circuit thus has an overall linear characteristic, even as the input signal varies between low and high amplitudes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to an analog-to-digital converter circuit for digitization of a high-frequency signal in the megahertz range with large dynamics.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,546,081 discloses an analog-to-digital converter circuit for digitizing an amplitude-modulated analog high-frequency signal. For example, the analog-to-digital converter can be utilized in the high-frequency receiver of a diagnostic magnetic resonance apparatus. The analog-to-digital converter circuit has a controllable amplifier that precedes the actual analog-to-digital converter. The output of the analog-to-digital converter is connected to a divider that in turn reduces the digitized signal according to the preceding amplification. Control signals for the amplifier and the divider are determined by a level recognition element. The gain is set on the basis of the recognized level so that the analog-to-digital converter operates with maximum modulation. A disadvantage of this known circuit is that it can satisfy high demands on the linearity of the analog-to-digital conversion only if the amplifier has a constant gain factor that can be exactly set, and a correspondingly linear analog-to-digital converters must be employed. It is thereby a serious problem to operate this circuit for converting signals which require that the modification of the gain ensue rapidly within a sampling time interval.

Analog-to-digital converter with level converter and level recognition unit and correction memory


An electrocatalytic polymer-based powder has particles of at least one electronically conductive polymer species in which particles are dispersed of at least one catalytic redox species, in which the particles of the polymer species and of the catalytic species are of nanometric dimension.

A fuel cell is a power source that converts chemical energy into electrical energy by exploiting the oxidation of a fuel. The fuel, generally hydrogen or methanol, is contained in a cartridge that can be substituted in a few seconds.
PEMFCs are particular types of fuel cells (Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell) that function at low temperatures and which therefore are well suited for a quickly growing market like that of portable applications.
The functioning of a PEMFC is essentially assured by two electrodes, anode and cathode, where the electrochemical reactions take place that generate electrical energy, and by an electrolyte which transports the ions from the anode to the cathode, which in the specific case comprising the aforesaid polymer membrane.
In the case of hydrogen fuel cells, the reactions involved are:H2→2H++2e− (anode)½O2+2e−+2H+→H2O (cathode)
while in the case of direct methanol fuel cells, the following reactions take place:CH3OH+H2O→6e−+6H++CO2 (anode)3/2O2+6e−+6H+→3H2O (cathode)
FIG. 1 shows a typical diagram of the assembly comprising the electrodes and the polymer electrolyte membrane of a PEMFC, commonly defined MEA or "Membrane Electrode Assembly."
Such a polymer electrolyte membrane, or polyelectrolyte membrane, is positioned between the electrodes of the cell and has the function of electronically isolating the anode and cathode, allowing however the protons developed in the anode to pass through.
In turn, the electrons developed at the anode are provided to an external load, to then be consumed together with the protons once they have reached the cathode.
An electrode is typically formed by a catalytic layer where the related electrochemical reaction is triggered, and by a diffusive layer which supports the catalytic layer and which acts as a collector of the electrons participating in the electrode reactions in addition to acting as a diffuser of the chemical reagents, that is, as a diffuser of the fuel and oxygen that participate in the aforesaid reactions.
The catalytic layer may therefore favor the transport of the reagents, the ionic one (proton) and the electronic one, which occurs in respective so-called porous phase, electrolyte phase or proton transport phase, and electronically conductive phase or electron transport phase, the latter being the phase that supports the catalyst.
The catalytic layer may therefore also favor the simultaneous contact between the aforesaid three phases. Regarding the catalyst, it should be added that it may advantageously have a good efficiency, i.e. the catalyst may have a high dispersion coefficient, which is defined as the ratio between the number of surface atoms and the total number of atoms.
The higher the ratio, the more efficiently the catalyst is used, since the surface area on which the electrochemical reactions can take place is greater. A known process for making the catalytic layer involves the deposition of a catalyst ink comprising a proton transport polymer phase, a catalyst supported by electronically conductive particles, and possibly pore-forming agents for the creation of porosity, in addition to additives of a binder type to favor a continuity in the contact between the proton transport phase and the electron transport phase.
In turn, the proton transport phase is generally formed by the same material of the electrolyte membrane to favor, in this case, the continuity of such phase at the interface between the catalytic layer and the polyelectrolyte membrane. Once again, with regard to the catalyst, it should be said that the anode electrode and the cathode electrode are generally made with metals of a different nature. For the cathode electrode, the preferred catalytic metals are platinum and alloys of such metal with cobalt or chromium, while ruthenium, rhodium, iridium, palladium, platinum and their alloys are preferred for the anode electrode. Particularly in the case of the methanol fuel cells, the anode catalyst preferably comprises platinum or iridium alloys.
The electron transport phase, supporting the catalyst, is generally carbon-black (CB), and may contain organic groups on the surface, which favor their dispersion inside the polymer phase. The pore-forming agent can be any polymer which is soluble and/or removable via heat treatment (for example polysaccharides, polyethylene glycols etc.), or it can be a salt or a mixture of salts that can be removed via washing, like carbonates. As binder, polyolefins can be used, like polyethylene or polypropylene and other polymers like polyesters, polycarbonates, polyimides and the like.
As an electronically conductive load for PEMFC, the prior art has also provided the use of conductive polymers supporting the catalyst. The interest towards electronically conductive polymers arises from the higher conductivity which they have with respect to Carbon black (CB). The electronic conductivity of the Carbon black varies, for example, between 10−2 and 10−1 S/cm, while that of the conductive polymers can be up to 102 S/cm.
Studies have also been conducted on catalytic activity confirming that, the catalyst used being the same, the capacity to activate the electrochemical reactions is increased when conductive polymers are used as supports. For example, the catalytic activity of the platinum dispersed on the polyaniline (PANI) towards the oxidation of the methanol is greater than that of the platinum dispersed on Carbon black, as is described in Akira Kitani, Tetsuro Akashi et al., "Electrocatalytic oxidation of methanol on platinum modified polyaniline electrodes" Synthetic Metals 121 (2001) 1301-1302.
Analogously, platinum particles dispersed on the polyaniline favor the oxygen reduction reaction more than the platinum supported on Carbon black does, as described for example in Evelyn K. W. Lai, et al., "Electrocatalytic Reduction of Oxygen by Platinum Microparticles Deposited on Polyaniline Films", Synthetic Metals 84 (1997), 87-88.
One study conducted on polyaniline moreover demonstrates that such polymer is capable of oxidizing the methanol even in the absence of catalyst, nevertheless in this case the power produced from the fuel cell is very low.
In any case, in each of the different studied conditions, it was shown that the increased catalytic activity permits reducing the quantity of catalyst, giving the same performance—the catalyst being a costly part in the making of the catalytic layer.
Generally, in the case of support such as Carbon black, the catalyst is deposited on the surface of the Carbon black either by chemical reduction or by electrodeposition, while if the electronically conductive phase comprises a polymer of the above-considered type, it is possible to incorporate the catalyst inside the polymer support.
In this second case, it is the entire three-dimensional structure of the polymer that acts as support for the catalyst, with consequent advantage of an increased overall catalytic capacity. The conductive polymers, in addition to the above-described advantages, can also improve the humidification conditions of the electrode due to the presence of different atoms along the chain, such as nitrogen (N), oxygen (O) and sulphur (S) atoms; this characteristic is enhanced in the case of conductive polymers which are sulfonates.
Improving the humidification of the electrode signifies reducing the electrical contact resistance, linked to the exchange of protons from the catalyst surface to the proton transport phase. In this manner, the loss of electrical power following such phenomenon is reduced, improving the efficiency of the entire fuel cell.
There is therefore a growing interest towards electronically conductive polymers supporting redox catalysts, in particular, for making catalytic layers of fuel cell electrodes, which can be an increasingly valid and improved alternative to the use of Carbon black.

Electrocatalytic polymer-based powder, method of production and use thereof


In one embodiment of the present invention, a device for supporting and storing wound material thereon may include a substantially cylindrical, hollow bobbin having a thickness defined by an inner and outer diameter for supporting and storing material wound around the exterior surface thereof, and a reinforcing apparatus located at one end of the bobbin, the apparatus having generally a cylindrical shape and a length comprising two zones, the outside surface of the first zone being in contact with a portion of an inner surface of the bobbin, and the second zone of the apparatus extending beyond the end of the bobbin.

Many sheet-like materials are stored, transported, and supplied in the form of rolls, where the sheets are rolled up around a bobbin. These rolls are commonly known as "roll stock." Materials sold in rolls include fabrics, plastic films, paper products, aluminum foils, nets, yarn and wire products, and others.
Bobbins are generally cylindrical tubes and the most common types are made of cardboard of a great variety of thicknesses and strengths. To prepare roll stock, the bobbin is placed on a mandrel and the sheet material is wound onto it. Similarly, the roll stock may be placed onto a mandrel for dispensing the sheet material.
Cardboard, even in the form of rolls, is not a particularly strong material and can fail under circumstances in which it is bent, crushed and even cut into multiple pieces. As the rolled sheet material is wound more tightly around the bobbin, or where a heavier sheet-like material is used, the pressure on the bobbin increases, requiring a stronger bobbin to withstand the higher pressure. A common technique to increase the strength of a cardboard bobbin is to increase its wall thickness. In the case of wound material such as netting, not only is a bobbin subjected to greater pressure due to the heavy nature of the netting, but, by virtue of its make-up, netting applies a non-uniform concentrated pressure on certain points along the bobbin length. Cardboard bobbins are not sufficiently strong and resilient for supporting all sheet stock material. Moreover, when long rolls of material are stacked on top of one another, in transport or storage, the cardboard bobbins are subject to crushing. Therefore, the thickness of a cardboard bobbin is dependent on the particular type, length and width of the material to be rolled thereon, the circumstances of its use, as well as the length and diameter of the bobbin itself.
Cardboard bobbins are particularly vulnerable to water and humid conditions and as such must be protected from wet weather conditions as well as damp conditions present during storage, transport, and dispensing. Cardboard bobbins used in roll stock have limited reuse because of their susceptibility to damage from rain and humidity and from physical handling in transport, and because of the cost for protected storage space for bobbins between uses. Also, stronger cardboard bobbins, which may include additional cardboard layers for added protection from these damage issues, increase the expense of bobbins while not necessarily assuring reuse.
Other bobbins in common use are extruded PVC plastic tubes. These have some advantages over the cardboard bobbins in that they are largely weatherproof and can be manufactured by extrusion to infinite length and thereafter can be readily cut to different sizes as required. Their disadvantage is that they tend to crack when subjected to stress, particularly under low temperature conditions, and they are expensive to manufacture. Older plastic bobbins are also particularly brittle, especially if exposed to temperature extremes or sunlight.
Common cardboard bobbins presently in use comprise a series of paper layers, glued one layer to the next. If a particular area along the length of the bobbin must possess increased strength to support a greater weight of rolled material, the entire bobbin must be strengthened. This is because additional layers of cardboard needed to increase the strength of that particular area, must be added to the entire length of the bobbin, even if the area which requires the increased strength is only a small percentage of the overall length of the bobbin.


A system is provided for detecting moisture at an absorbent article. The system includes a device arranged to be attached on the absorbent article and a resonance circuit including a moisture sensitive part, wherein the resonance circuit has a first resonance frequency when the moisture sensitive part is in a dry condition and a second resonance frequency when the moisture sensitive part is in a moist condition. The system further includes a monitoring unit being arranged to transmit a test signal to the device, receive a response signal from the device, determine a frequency of the response signal and generate a detection signal if the determined frequency corresponds to the second resonance frequency. There is also provided a method for detecting moisture at a device attached on an absorbent article.

Moisture detection is important in a number of different situations. One such situation is in relation to absorbent articles, such as diapers. In the prior art, there exists solutions for alerting e.g. nursing staff upon detection of moisture in a diaper of a wearer, whereby the nursing staff knows that it is time to change the diaper.
WO 2007/069945 discloses a wetness detecting means comprising an electrical circuit which is integrally formed into an absorbent article, such as a diaper. However, this wetness detecting means may be unpractical and uneconomical since it requires integration with the diaper and hence specially made diapers.
Thus, there is a need in the prior art for a convenient, reliable and economical solution for detecting moisture in absorbent articles.

Method and system for detecting moisture at an absorbent article


According to a method for making a resin hollow body, in a primary-formation process, molten resin is injected into spaces defined by dies to form resin components. In a die-moving process, each component is held in at least one die. Joining edges of the components are brought close through relative movement of the dies to make a predetermined arrangement of the components. In a secondary-formation process, molten resin is injected into a region where the edges are adjacent. The edges are joined to form an outer wall, partition wall, and hollow portion of the hollow body. At least one of the edges constituting the partition wall includes a linear groove. In the die-moving process, the partition-wall-constituting edges are brought into contact to define by the groove a linear hollow cavity surrounded with the edges. In the secondary-formation process, the cavity is filled with molten resin to join the partition-wall-constituting edges.

Conventionally, a thermal-type air flow measuring device for measuring an air flow rate by use of heat transfer from a heating element to a flow of air is widely known. This air flow measuring device is employed, for example, for measuring a flow rate of intake air taken into an internal combustion engine. In the air flow measuring device, a sensing part is configured by disposing an element such as a heating element on a semiconductor substrate in the light of improvement in responsivity and improvement in measurement accuracy. The air flow measuring device is obtained by inserting a subassy holding this sensing part into a housing, which defines a passage of air.
The housing of the air flow measuring device is a hollow body made of resin and having a hollow portion, and the hollow portion is used as, for example, the passage of air. For this reason, the housing is obtained for example, by injection-molding components made of resin for forming the hollow portion, and then, by joining together the respective resin components through adhesive bonding (see, for example, JP-A-H11-258019 and JP-A-2006-234766). However, the adhesive may protrude into the hollow portion, and the flow of air in the hollow portion may be disturbed due to the protruded adhesive.
For a method for making the resin hollow body, in addition to the joining method through the adhesive, a method referred to as a die slide injection molding (abbreviated as DSI) method is widely known (see, for example, Japanese Patent No. 3263167).
The DSI method includes, for example, a primary formation process in which resin components defining a hollow portion (hereinafter referred to as half hollow bodies) are formed through injection-molding; a die moving process in which with the respective half hollow bodies held in dies used in the primary formation process, joining edges of the half hollow bodies are brought close to each other by movements of dies relative to each other to give the half hollow bodies a predetermined arrangement; and a secondary formation process in which molten resin is injected into a region where the joining edges of the half hollow bodies are adjacent to each other, and the joining edges are joined together.
As a result of these processes, according to the DSI method, the half hollow bodies which are injection-molded in the primary formation process can quickly be joined together in the secondary formation process before, for example, warping deformation after the formation is caused. Accordingly, by using the DSI method for the method of making the housing of the air flow measuring device, problems caused by the protrusion of the adhesive can be solved, and reduction of manufacturing man hours, quality improvement in joining portions and so forth can be achieved.
When a flow rate of air with pulsation is measured by the thermal-type air flow measuring device, a negative-side measurement error, whereby the measured value becomes lower than a true value because the measuring method is of the thermal type, is caused. For this reason, to reduce the negative-side measurement error as a result of the measurement of pulsation, it is necessary that a passage in the housing be formed so as to have a curved part and the sensing part project into the passage. Accordingly, the resin hollow body as a housing includes a partition wall that projects into the hollow portion to divide the hollow portion, in addition to an outer wall that divides the hollow portion from the outside of the body. The curved part of the passage is defined by the partition wall.
Since the partition wall is provided by the joining or contact of the joining edges, if, for example, a joining at the partition wall, is insufficient, a leakage of air at the partition wall is caused. As a result, a part of air introduced into the housing does not pass through the curved part and takes a shortcut, which has an adverse effect on the measurement. Therefore, when the DSI method is employed as a production method of the housing, reliability of prevention against an air leak at the partition wall needs to be enhanced.

Method for making resin hollow body and air flow measuring device


An HVAC control system that accommodates and/or facilitates control from a remote location. The HVAC control system may include a web-enabled building control appliance having a controller, a first port and a second port. The controller may implement a web server that is coupled to the first port for serving up one or more web pages on a first network and for receiving a number of responses. The controller may also be coupled to the second port so as to communicate with one or more communicating thermostats via a second network. The web server may be adapted to provide an overview or summary web-page via the first port that displays information regarding the one or more thermostats, where the information that is displayed may be customized for a particular user.

HVAC systems are present in a wide range of residential and commercial buildings. In residential buildings such as houses and townhouses, the HVAC equipment such as heating, cooling and ventilating equipment may be controlled by a single thermostat. Some houses may have zoned HVAC and thus may have several thermostats, with each thermostat controlling a particular zone. In larger residential buildings such as large condominium buildings and/or apartment buildings, the HVAC equipment may be either localized or centralized, and may be controlled by one or more thermostats within each space (apartment or the like).
A wide variety of commercial buildings are known. Some commercial buildings such as small to medium retail centers including strip malls, small to medium office buildings and the like may be heated, cooled and/or ventilated by a number of HVAC units. In some cases, the HVAC units are roof-top units, but this is not required. Some buildings may have a significant number of HVAC units and a significant number of corresponding HVAC controllers such as thermostats. Installation, operation and monitoring of such HVAC systems can be complicated. Thus, a need remains for HVAC control systems that are scalable for a variety of different applications, that are easy to use and that are cost-effective.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Remote HVAC control with a customizable overview display


A fan type temperature control method and device are provided. The device includes a fan unit including a plurality of fans and cooling an apparatus to be cooled, power supplies (v1,v2) supplying power for the fans in the fan unit, and a fan control unit which controls the fans as follows: when temperature t of the apparatus is lower than critical temperature t1 of a first temperature detect switch (k01), all fans stop; when t is higher than t1 and lower than critical temperature t2 of a second temperature detect switch (k02), all fans rotate at half speed; when t is higher than t2 while lower than critical temperature t3 of a third temperature detect switch (k03), a first fan part (M1) rotates at full speed and a second fan part (M2) stops; when t is higher than t3, all fans rotate at full speed.

With the increasingly high integration level of the systems, the widespread use of the large power devices, the requirements of miniaturization of the product volume, more extensive application environments, and the continuous improvement of the system working speed, thermal management design has become an indispensable means to improve system reliability.
In the thermal design, considering the heat flux density of the device, the volumetric power density and temperature rise, the common cooling methods are natural cooling and forced air cooling. When the heat flux of the electronic device is more than 0.08 w/cm2 and the volumetric power density is over 0.18 w/cm3, the natural cooling alone cannot completely solve the cooling problem, and many systems require additional dynamic to maintain sufficient air flow to carry out forced air cooling or other cooling methods. The forced air cooling method which takes the fans as the main components are widely used.
The common fan temperature control schemes are: Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) intelligent temperature control fan, fan circuit serial thermistor, voltage comparator output to adjust the fan speed, and so on. In the PWM fan adjustment, depending on the temperature, the temperature control fan has a different speed regulator corresponding to the temperature, and since it is the real-time adjustment of the pulse width signal, the fan speed change is very sensitive, and the speed change and the temperature change are almost synchronous. The main principle of the fan circuit serial thermistor is that when the power supply starts to work, if the fan supply voltage is 7V, with the rising of temperature within the power supply, the resistance value of thermistor is gradually reduced, therefore, the fan voltage is gradually increased and the fan speed is also increased, so that the muting effect can be achieved when the load is light, and the cooling is ensured when the load is large. For the voltage comparator output to adjust the fan speed, an control electrical signal is generated by detecting the temperature and according to the temperature, the output end of the temperature measurement circuit is connected to the first input end of the comparator circuit, the second input end of the comparator circuit is input with the reference electrical signal, the comparator circuit compares the control electrical signal and the reference electrical signal, and generates an output electrical signal output to the speed control circuit so as to adjust the fan speed.
When it is required to be simply, fast, and low cost to achieve fan grading governing the aforementioned method becomes complicated and has some shortcomings at the same time. The PWM temperature control circuit takes a single-chip computer as the core, and the intelligent control of the fan can only be achieved through the close coordination between the hardware and software, which is relatively speaking, high cost, complicated implementation, and is generally applied to the scenes in which the fan speed is required to be precisely controlled. The drawback of the fan circuit serial thermistor method is that the low temperature range of the NTC thermistor is very wide, so what can be adjusted is only the fan speed but the stop of the fans can not be controlled when the temperature is suitable, thus it cannot meet the requirements of energy conservation. For the scheme of voltage comparator output to adjust the fan speed, it needs to design specialized temperature measurement circuit, comparator circuit and speed control circuit, of which the circuit design is relatively complicated.

Fan type temperature control method and device


A logic design slide rule comprises, in a preferred embodiment, front and rear cover plates coupled together; interior slide channels formed between the covers; and a plurality of slides disposed between the covers and able to move horizontally from left to right within the channels. The slides may be moved to display indicia on beams for observation through a single column of truth-table windows and to display corresponding indicia printed on interior slide plates for observation through an array or grid of K-map windows, which column and grid of windows are located in the front cover of the slide rule. Indicia are also displayed through a set of output variable slots, preferably in the rear cover. Operation of the preferred slide rule will aid the designer to obtain a minimum set of combinational logic functions for up to four input variable from a given truth-table.

Prior developments in this field will be generally illustrated by reference to the following patents:
______________________________________ Pat. No. Patentee Issue Date ______________________________________ 2,530,423 C. Carson 11/21/50 2,657,610 W.E. Carran, Jr. 11/03/53 4,425,499 R.A. Newton 01/10/84 3,779,454 J. Koren 12/18/73 2,832,539 J.D. Blakeley et al. 04/29/58 2,585,595 N.S. Spencer 02/12/52 2,530,047 N.F. Dewar 11/14/50 ______________________________________
For large-scale projects, computers may be used to design combinational logic circuits. It is simply not worth the effort, however, to use a computer to design a small-scale digital circuit--so the traditional method, namely, pencil and paper, is still used. Therefore, there is a need for a small, inexpensive mechanical aid for designing digital circuits which provides easier, faster and less error-prone solutions than does manual computation, much in the way logarithmic slide rules were used in the past to solve arithmetic problems.
While the patents listed above teach slide rule and slide rule-like mechanical devices directed to a number of problems, none attempt to address logic circuit design. Furthermore, there are a number of physical differences between the device of the present invention and those shown in the cited art. C. Carson's calculating board, U.S. Pat. No. 2,530,423, shows multiple slides and multiple viewing windows. Parts 39 and 49 of Carson somewhat resemble the display plates taught infra. However, parts 39 and 49 of Carson are located externally and do not contain indicia.


An x-ray image intensifier has an evacuated housing, an input luminescent screen, electron optics, and an image sensor disposed inside the housing at a side of the housing opposite the input luminescent screen. The image sensor is covered by a protective layer which effects a deceleration of the incident electrons, the protective layer being applied on that side of the image sensor facing the input luminescent screen.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to an x-ray image intensifier of the type having an evacuated housing, an input luminescent screen, electron optics, and an image sensor disposed inside the housing at the side of the housing disposed opposite the input luminescent screen.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An x-ray image intensifier of the type described above is disclosed in European Application 0 083 240, which is used as part of a medical x-ray examination apparatus. The x-ray image intensifier supplies two-dimensional transillumination exposures in the form of video images. The x-ray quanta are absorbed in a scintillator of the input luminescent screen, and are thereby converted into light. The emitted light quanta release electrons in a photocathode of the input luminescent screen. These electrons are accelerated in the electrical field of the electron optics, and are focused onto an image sensor which converts the electron image into a video image, and supplies corresponding video signals. The video signals can then be further processed in a digital imaging system or can be used for video image presentation. Image sensors such as solid-state image pick-ups are employed in such known devices which are usually based on the charge-shift principle (CCD), and are suitable in their standard embodiment for the documentation of photons in the visible range. Backside-thinned CCDs can be employed for the detection of electrons.
By contrast to photons, electrons leave effects along their entire passage through a material. In the electron irradiation of a CCD from the front side, the extremely thin, insulating layer is also affected. This layer may consist, for example, of SiO.sub.2 and separates the conductive shift structures (gates) from the semiconductor substrate. The demands made of this insulating layer are extremely high because of the high field strengths which are present in such devices. Irradiation of this layer with charged particles, for example electrons, leads to the formation of quasi-stationary ions, and thus to the formation of intermediate conditions (F centers) in the band gap of the SiO.sub.2. These traps result in an increased dark current, and also degrade the charge transfer efficiency. Such charging effects also result in a modification of the shift potential at the gates.
In backside-thinned CCDs, the substrate on which the active layers are applied, in an epitaxial process, are substantially completely removed in a complicated, expensive process. In such backside-thinned CCDs, however, it is possible to allow the CCD to be exposed to radiation at the thinned side with short-range particle beams, for example electrons in the keV range, because the electrons are completely decelerated in the backside layer, and thus do not have a negative effect on the insulating layer. Such CCDs, however, are relatively expensive and are not consistent in quality.

Image intensifier with protected image sensor


The method for detecting faults in transparent material includes irradiating a definite partial volume in the material with a first radiation source and coupling light into the material from a second source so that its optical path in the partial volume extends in the interior of the material. A fault in the partial volume is detected by light scattering, bright field absorption, and/or deflection of light of the first radiation source by the fault. The apparatus for detecting faults includes a first radiation source for illuminating a definite partial volume of the material, a detector for detecting light from this partial volume, and a second radiation source. The second radiation source is arranged in relation to the material so that the associated optical path in the partial volume passes exclusively in the interior of the material.

1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for detecting faults in transparent material. The purpose of the invention is to determine the optical quality and detect faults in the transparent material. The transparent material indeed is a solid material, especially glass or plastic. The plastic materials include, for example, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE) or other transparent duroplastic or thermosetting plastic, elastomeric or thermoplastic materials. The use of the invention for determination of the quality of flat glass and float glass is especially preferred.
2. Description of the Related Art
WO 99/49303 describes a method and apparatus for detection of faults in flat glass. In this method a camera observes a spot on the boundary of a two-part lighting apparatus. The lighting apparatus is embodied in two parts with red LEDs in one half and with green LEDs in the other half. Relative motion between the camera and the lighting apparatus is detected. If a beam-deflecting fault is present in the flat glass, like, e.g., a sufficiently large bubble, this fault bends the beam guided to the camera from the lighting apparatus. Because of that different amounts of the red and green light reach the wavelength-sensitive camera so that a deflection signal is produced. In this way the apparatus can detect beam-deflecting faults. Furthermore the brightness field signal is used in order to measure the size of the corresponding beam-bending or beam-deflecting fault.
The Japanese Patent Publication H 10-339795 discloses detection of faults in flat glass by introducing parallel light beams inclined to side edges of the flat glass. Because of the way in which the light beams are introduced into the interior of the strip-shaped glass material total reflection occurs, so that the light travels from one side of the flat glass to the other. If a glass fault, for example an inclusion, a knot or a bubble, is present in the interior of the flat glass, the light introduced into the volume is scattered. The scattered light is detected in this method.
DE 102 21 945.1 of May 15, 2002 discloses a similar method, in which a laser light is introduced into a flat glass piece from the side or laterally. The laser light travels from one side of the flat glass to the other because of total reflection. In this method the laser beam is introduced at the side edge of the flat glass through water into the glass. Because of the manner in which the laser beam is introduced in this method the disadvantage that there is no definite edge geometry present in float glass is overcome. In this way this latter method differs from that disclosed in the aforementioned Japanese Patent Publication in which radiation is introduced laterally into the side edge only with difficulty in a definite manner and way.

Method and apparatus for detecting faults in transparent material