A method for making a thin, free-standing ceramic sheet may include drawing a carrier film proximate a casting head and across a casting bed of a tape caster at a rate from about 2 cm/min to about 500 cm/min. Depositing a thin film of ceramic slip less than about 150 μm on the carrier film with the casting head. The ceramic slip may comprises a ceramic powder with an ultimate crystallite size of less than about 10 μm dispersed in a fluid vehicle such that the ceramic slip has a ceramic solids fraction of greater than about 20% by volume. The deposited ceramic slip may be dried on the carrier film thereby forming a green ceramic sheet on the carrier film. After the green ceramic sheet is dried, the green ceramic sheet may be sintered.

Thin, flexible sintered structures, such as sintered ceramic sheets, have a wide variety of practical applications. For example, flexible sintered structures may be used in electronic and/or electro optic applications, such as waveguides, or as substrates for electronic coatings, superconductors, or high temperature superconductors. Flexible sintered ceramic structures may also be useful as a protective layer for glass or other substrate materials where a layer of protection is needed to resist scratching of the substrate. More notably, flexible sintered ceramic sheets or tapes may also be used as an electrolytic catalyst in solid oxide fuel cells.
Current methods for producing thin, flexible sintered ceramic sheets include casting a ceramic slip onto a carrier film to produce a green ceramic sheet or tape. The ceramic slip may be applied to the carrier film using a slot die, roll coater, doctor blade, comma bar or other, similar devices and techniques. The ceramic slip is then dried thereby forming a green ceramic sheet or tape on the surface of the carrier film. Thereafter, the ceramic sheet or tape is removed from the film and fired thereby forming a thin, flexible sintered ceramic sheet or tape.
Producing thin, flat sintered ceramic sheets of area greater than about 100 cm2 having a thickness less than about 45 microns, without resorting to pressure during firing, requires a unique combination of shrinkage and process stress control strategies. The key is to deliver a uniform material at each step in the process. Without this uniformity, an unconstrained body will curl during firing. Non-uniformity in the green body, or in firing, of only 1% from the top of the green sheet to the bottom of the green sheet can yield a curl radius of about 3 mm for a 20 micron thick zirconia electrolyte sheet if all the non-uniformity is converted to differential strain/shrinkage during sintering. Due to "back-stresses" during sintering, all the non-uniformity will not be converted into differential strain and hence curl or warping. Under such conditions, the level of differential shrinkage and curl or warping will yield a curl radius on the order of about 3-10 mm for a 1% shrinkage variation. To obtain thin flat electrolyte sheets, density/sintering shrinkage variations of significantly less than 1% are desirable. However, the application of constraints, such as stacking with release powder, introduces either residual release powder on the body or defects within the body. Such techniques have been applied to thicker bodies. The goal of the present invention is to provide a commercially viable approach that produces large area, thin electrolyte sheet in high yield with minimal defect.
While the aforementioned techniques are suitable for forming thin, flexible sintered ceramic structures, defects such as cracks or holes introduced in the green ceramic sheet or tape during the casting process may render the green ceramic sheet or tape unsuitable for further processing.
Accordingly, a need exists for improved methods and apparatus for casting green ceramic sheets for use in forming thin, flexible, sintered ceramic sheets.

Methods and apparatus for casting ceramic sheets


The invention is directed to a method for the in vitro production of arrangements of cell layers in which a first well (2.1) which is closed off from its environment except for a first inlet opening (4.1) and a first outlet opening (5.1) and which has as a first cell substrate (6.1) a first wall (2.1.1) and as a second cell substrate (6.2) an opposite, second wall (2.1.2) which is separated from the first wall (2.1.1) by a first gap, a free surface of a cell substrate (6.1, 6.2) to be colonized with cells is oriented orthogonal to the Earth's gravitational force, and cells (9) are adhered to the cell substrate (6.1, 6.2) to be colonized. The invention is further directed to a method of maintaining the biological functionalities of the cell layers and semi-finished products of a device for the in vitro production and culturing of cell layers and a method for the production of the device.

The invention is directed to a method and devices for the in vitro production of arrangements of cell layers.
Various methods and devices are known for the in vitro production of arrangements of cell layers and culturing thereof. Cell culture inserts only allow cellular processes to be studied under static conditions. Accordingly, there is an enrichment of catabolic substances over the respective cell cultures so that their growth and vitality are reduced and limited in time. Since culturing is possible only under static conditions, no shear forces can be generated through liquids at the cells. However, these shear forces are necessary for a large number of cells so that they adopt physiologically correct properties such as occur, for example, in the human body.
Cells and tissues can be perfused in the Boyden chamber so that enrichment of catabolic substances is prevented, fresh nutritive media can be supplied to the cells or tissues, and the above-mentioned shear forces can be generated at the cells or tissues. However, this system has the grave disadvantage that the cells are efficiently perfused by nutrient medium from one side only (mostly apical). The cells cannot be perfused basolaterally. This also reduces and temporally limits cell growth and cell vitality. Further, the system is limited to culturing at most a two-dimensional cell area or tissue area.
Due to its design features, the arrangement described in US 2011/0091930 A1 allows the culturing of a maximum of only one cell layer. Further, as a result of the construction, no direct microscopy of the cells can be carried out under perfusion conditions in the well because supplying channel systems below the surface of the culture impede the optical observation axis of the microscope.
While the arrangement described in DE 10 2009 035 502 A1 allows cells and tissues to be observed under flow conditions, the wells cannot be perfused individually through separate liquid flows. Further, because of its design features, the system is not suitable for providing a plurality of culturing surfaces for cells in a well so that the interaction between different cell layers, which is important for a realistic picture of the functioning of organs in vitro, cannot be sufficiently taken into account.
The technical teaching from U.S. Pat. No. 8,357,528 B2 allows culturing of oppositely located cell layers on a porous formation such as a membrane, for example. The membrane separates two culture chambers from one another vertically. Based on the construction of the chamber system, it is not possible, for example, to observe the adhesion and/or transmigration of cells directly through a microscope. The system is limited to receiving two cell layers. Usually, at least three cell layers are required to model a multilayered organoid structure.
Possibilities described in US 2007/0037277 A1, US 2009/0023608 A1 and US 2010/0216244 A1 are also limited to two cell layers.

Method and devices for the in vitro production of arrangements of cell layers


A direction detecting device includes the following elements. A position measurement unit receives an electric wave from a satellite and generates first direction data from the electric wave. A geomagnetic sensor generates second direction data. A memory unit, which is coupled to the position measurement unit and the geomagnetic sensor, stores the first direction data and the second direction data respectively obtained at a previous measurement timing. A correction operation unit, which is coupled to the position measurement unit, the geomagnetic sensor and the memory unit, obtains data related to a true magnetic circle from the first direction data and the second direction data stored in the memory unit and the first direction data and the second direction data respectively obtained at a current measurement timing and for correcting an error contained in the current second direction data in accordance with the data related to the true magnetic circle.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to direction detecting devices, and more particularly to a direction detecting device used for a car navigation system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A direction detecting device uses either a stand-alone type sensor or a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver which receives an electric wave from a GPS satellite, and measures the position of a movable body in which the GPS receiver is installed. In order to more precisely perform the position measurement, some direction detecting device simultaneously uses both a stand-alone type sensor and a GPS receiver.
Such a direction detecting device using both the GPS receiver and the stand-alone type sensor includes a GPS receiver, a geomagnetic sensor (attitude sensor) for sensing geomagnetism, and a microcomputer. The GPS receiver receives an electric wave from a GPS satellite and generates first direction data from the received electric wave. The geomagnetic sensor detects a horizontal component of very weak geomagnetism approximately equal to 0.3 Gauss, and generates second direction data corresponding to a direction in which a movable body moves. The microcomputer receives the first direction data and the second direction data, and produces direction data therefrom.
When the above-mentioned direction detecting device is installed in an automobile, the following problems occur. A body of the automobile has been slightly magnetized due to geomagnetism, and hence generates a very small magnetic field. As a result, the geomagnetic sensor detects a composite vector of the geomagnetism and the very small magnetic field derived from the vehicle body. Consequently, the second direction data includes an error component. Since the magnetic field derived from the vehicle body is semi-fixed, a fixed component of the magnetic field is detected by making one revolution of the vehicle body, and a correction (rotation correction) is carried out using the above fixed component. In this manner, the error component in the second direction data can be eliminated. However, when the automobile travels in a place where a strong magnetic field is generated, such as a railway crossing, another magnetization takes place and thereby the magnetic field is changed. Hence, the second direction data cannot be accurately calibrated in the above-mentioned manner. In order to perform accurate navigation, the above-mentioned rotation correction must be carried out again. However, this forces the user to have a large load due to the repeated performance of the rotation correction. Further, the output signal of the geomagnetic sensor varies if the detected horizontal components of geomagnetism have differences between position to position.


Light-electricity conversion devices based on II-VI semiconductor materials are provided. The light-electricity conversion devices are able to cover a wide spectrum range.

Photovoltaic cell technology is actively being researched as a source of energy. A photovoltaic cell is a light to electricity (hereinafter, referred to as "light-electricity") conversion device that converts a light source (e.g., sunlight) directly into electricity by using electromotive force generated by diffusion of minority carriers in a semiconductor excited by solar irradiation.
One drawback to present photovoltaic cells is their poor electrical performance. For example, silicon (Si)-based photovoltaic cells exhibit excessive light loss due to the cells' narrow light absorption band, which results in less than 30% theoretical light energy conversion efficiency.

University of Seoul Industry Cooperation Foundation


Systems and methods are described for implanting a device in a mammalian eye to raise intraocular pressure. In some embodiments, the device (54) includes an arcuate body that, when implanted, obstructs aqueous humor outflow from the anterior chamber (38) of the eye.

About two percent of people in the United States have glaucoma. Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases encompassing a broad spectrum of clinical presentations, etiologies, and treatment modalities. Glaucoma causes pathological changes in the optic nerve, visible on the optic disk, and it causes corresponding visual field loss, resulting in blindness if untreated.
Glaucoma is grossly classified into two categories: closed-angle glaucoma, also known as "angle closure" glaucoma, and open-angle glaucoma. Closed-angle glaucoma is caused by closure of the anterior chamber angle by contact between the iris and the inner surface of the trabecular meshwork. Closure of this anatomical angle prevents normal drainage of aqueous humor from the anterior chamber of the eye.
Open-angle glaucoma is any glaucoma in which the angle of the anterior chamber remains open, but the exit of aqueous through the trabecular meshwork or other natural outflow pathways is diminished. Primary open-angle glaucoma is the most common of the glaucomas, and it is often asymptomatic in the early to moderately advanced stage. Patients may suffer substantial, irreversible vision loss prior to diagnosis and treatment. However, there are secondary open-angle glaucomas which may include edema or swelling of the trabecular spaces (e.g., from corticosteroid use), abnormal pigment dispersion, or diseases such as hyperthyroidism that produce vascular congestion.
Current therapies for glaucoma are directed at decreasing intraocular pressure. Medical therapy includes topical ophthalmic drops or oral medications that reduce the production or increase the outflow of aqueous. These drug therapies for glaucoma are sometimes associated with significant side effects, such as headache, blurred vision, allergic reactions, death from cardiopulmonary complications, and potential interactions with other drugs. When drug therapy fails, surgical therapy is used. Surgical therapy for open-angle glaucoma consists of laser trabeculoplasty, trabeculectomy, and implantation of aqueous shunts after failure of trabeculectomy or if trabeculectomy is unlikely to succeed. Trabeculectomy is a major surgery that is widely used and is augmented with topically applied anticancer drugs, such as 5-flurouracil or mitomycin-C, to decrease scarring and increase the likelihood of surgical success.


A device for transmitting synchronized timing including a receiver, a transmitter, one or more processors, memory, and one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors, the programs including instructions for receiving through the receiver a timing signal comprising first time information that is synchronized to a time standard, determining second time information based at least partially on the first time information, composing a message formatted in accordance with a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) standard, wherein the message comprises the second time information, and transmitting the message through the transmitter on a radio signal having a frequency in the frequency modulation (FM) radio frequency band.

Critical infrastructure—assets, systems, and networks, whether physical or virtual, that are so vital to the functioning of a society that their incapacitation would have a debilitating effect on security, national economic security, national public health, or safety—such as power grid systems, transportation systems, banking operations, and communication systems rely on highly accurate and precise timing that is synchronized to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). For example, power grids rely on synchronized timing to enable various distributed devices, such as protection relays, phasor measurement units, merging units, event recorders, fault detectors, and control consoles, to stay synchronized to each other and UTC with plus or minus 1 microsecond accuracy. As another example, communications systems, which strive for faster data rates, must achieve a low Bit Error Rate (BER), which requires highly accurate network synchronization. The frequencies at each node in the communication system have to be maintained more closely, more accurately, and with less drift in order to push data rates higher. Wireless broadband LTE-A communication systems require plus or minus 1.5 microsecond accuracy to UTC. Banking communications networks must maintain timing synchronization of data encryption and decryption equipment and for high speed transactions.
Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) such as the U.S. NAVSTAR Global Positioning System (GPS), the European Galileo positioning system, and the Russian GLONASS system are increasingly relied upon to provide synchronized timing that is both accurate and reliable. (Reference is made to GPS below, by way of example and simplicity, but similar characteristics and principles of operation apply to other GNSS.) GPS provides highly accurate and precise timing around the world, and the equipment needed to receive and use GPS signals is widely available and cheap, allowing for timing signals to be received at many diverse locations. As shown in FIG. 1B, critical infrastructure such as power grid systems, transportation systems, banking operations, and communications systems all depend on GPS time reference. GPS is a constellation of twenty-four satellites, eighteen active, and six ready spares that orbit the earth in polar, equatorial, and diagonal orbits. The twenty-four satellites that make up the GPS network provide space-based positioning, navigation, and timing, which includes the distribution of precise time and precise time of day. As illustrated in FIG. 1A, GPS receivers simultaneously receive GPS signals from a number of satellites in the constellation. These receivers use the information contained in the signals to provide network synchronization, location, and navigation. The GPS network also includes earth based performance monitoring stations that constantly measure the time signals from each satellite as each satellite passes over a controlled site. These monitoring stations then send clock corrections back to an individual satellite if and when necessary.
A GPS signal is a direct sequence spread spectrum signal. The signal available for commercial use is that associated with Standard Positioning Service and utilizes a direct sequence bi-phase spreading signal with a 1.023 MHz spread rate placed upon a carrier at 1575.42 MHz (L1 frequency). Each GPS satellite transmits a unique pseudo-random noise (PN) code which identifies the particular satellite, and allows signals simultaneously transmitted from several satellites to be simultaneously received by a receiver, with little interference from one another. The pseudo-random noise code sequence length is 1023 chips, corresponding to 1 millisecond time period. One cycle of 1023 chips is called a PN frame. Thus, each received GPS signal in C/A (coarse acquisition) mode is constructed from the high rate 1.023 MHz repetitive PN pattern of 1023 chips. At very low received signal levels, the pseudo random pattern may be tracked, or otherwise used, to provide ambiguous system timing by processing many PN frames (e.g., 1000 repetitions over 1 second). A GPS receiver knows the PN codes of satellites in the constellation and may lock into a given GPS satellite by generating and shifting its code until the generated code lines up with the received code. The amount of shift along with knowledge of the distance to a GPS satellite enables the receiver to determine timing synchronized to the GPS satellite. In this process, the GPS receiver essentially measures the start times of PN frames for a multiplicity of received GPS signals.
Superimposed on the 1.023 MHz PN code is a low rate signal. This 50 Hz signal is a binary phase shift keyed (BPSK) data stream with bit boundaries aligned with the beginning of a PN frame. There are exactly 20 PN frames per data bit period (20 milliseconds). The 50 Hz signal modulates a Navigation Message which consists of data bits describing the GPS satellite locations, clock corrections, time-of-week information, and other system parameters. The absolute time associated with the satellite transmissions are determined in conventional GPS receivers by reading data contained within the Navigation Message of the GPS signal. In the standard method of time determination, a conventional GPS receiver decodes and synchronizes the 50 baud data bit stream (the 50 Hz BPSK data stream). The 50 baud signal is arranged into 30-bit words grouped into subframes of 10 words, with a length of 300 bits and a duration of six seconds. Five subframes comprise a frame of 1500 bits and a duration of 30 seconds, and 25 frames comprises a superframe with a duration of 12.5 minutes. The data bit subframes which occur every six seconds contain bits that provide the Time of Week to six second resolution. The 50 baud data stream is aligned with the C/A code transitions so that the arrival time of a data bit edge (on a 20 millisecond interval) resolves the absolute transmission time to the nearest 20 milliseconds. Precision synchronization to bit boundaries can resolve the absolute transmission time to less than a millisecond.
GPS time is steered to within one microsecond of UTC, with the exception of an integer number of leap seconds, which are added to UTC time but not to GPS time. The Navigation Message includes the offset between the GPS time and UTC time to a precision of 90 nanoseconds. Time intervals can be produced by a receiver using the 1 millisecond repetition rate of the PN code. Each millisecond of GPS satellite time can be time tagged by extracting the week number and time of week count from the standard GPS navigation message. Reference frequencies may be established by a GPS receiver by disciplining an oscillator using integrated code-phase measurements or by directly measuring the GPS satellite carrier frequency.
Using the above methods, GPS receivers can provide the highly accurate and precise timing required by critical infrastructure. However, dependence on GPS may be problematic for critical infrastructure. Dependence creates a single point of failure in which the loss of GPS signals could result in a serious operational disruption. GPS signals are vulnerable to a range of environmental and intentional disruptions. For example, geomagnetic storms may disrupt or distort GPS signals, which are relatively weak and, therefore, subject to geomagnetic radiation. Furthermore, GPS signals can be intentionally jammed or spoofed. GPS jammers, which generally transmit narrowband Gaussian noise signals near the L1 frequency, are cheap and widely available and can prevent receivers from acquiring GPS signals. GPS spoofers may broadcast counterfeit GPS signals containing misinformation causing receivers to generate incorrect timing information. Many conventional systems relying on GPS include atomic clocks that may be used to "holdover" while a GPS signal is down. However, reliance on these clocks for extended periods can cause increasingly inaccurate timing.
Accordingly, there is a need for a robust and resilient timing source for critical infrastructure that does not rely on GPS but still provides accurate synchronized timing to a wide geographic area.

Robust and resilient timing architecture for critical infrastructure


A fishing rod holder having a spring base, rod receiver, at least one rod receiver arm and a first spring. The spring base being mountable to a secure mount. The rod receiver including a top and bottom, and an open area within the rod receiver at the top to receive a fishing rod. The at least one rod receiver arm connecting the rod receiver to the spring base, wherein the rod receiver is connected by the at least one rod receiver to the spring base such that the rod receiver can pivot to provide motion during fishing. The first spring mounted between the spring base and the rod receiver to provide resistance to movement of the rod receiver.

The present invention relates generally to the field of fishing. More specifically, the present invention relates to fishing aids.
There are many fishing aids on the market to help the user catch fish. The sport of fishing with a fishing rod while on lakes and out on the ocean are enjoyed by many people. For some users, it is difficult to fight a fish caught on a fishing line because of the strength required. This is especially true for someone who has lost an arm. There is nothing on the market to aid people of lesser strength or who have lost a limb fight a fish as it is reeled in.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a fishing aid to aid people of lesser strength or who have lost a limb fight a fish as it is reeled in.

Fishing rod holder with fishing motion capability


There is described a process for chromating an article formed of a metal selected from the group consisting of zinc, cadmium and alloys thereof, which includes immersing the article in a water solution of a soluble chromic oxalate complex at a pH of from 1.2 to 3.0.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the process for treating metal surfaces to become more corrosion resistant, and more particularly to an improved method for chromating a metal selected from the group consisting of zinc, cadmium and alloys thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Surfaces of zinc, cadmium and alloys have become more corrosion resistant when treated in a solution containing chromium ions. Depending on the content of such solutions, blue, yellow, black or olive-colored surfaces are created which not only have marked differences in color, but also in corrosion resistance. Especially blue chromates yield light blue surfaces with good corrosion resistance.
A measure of corrosion resistance of such chromating solutions is a salt spray test according to ASTM B-117 protocol wherein a plated and passivated part is subjected to a 5% salt spray at 35.degree. C. and 100% humidity. The time is measured to oxidize 5-10% of the surface to white rust. An alternative method has been developed by the EG&G Princeton Applied Research (Potentiostat/Galvanostat) may also be utilized in conjunction with software and an Apple II computer to measure corrosion resistance wherein the sample is immersed in an electrolyte and the current-potential-curve around the equilibrium potential is measured against a platinum electrode with the aid of a reference electrode. The resultant curves permit the calculation of the loss of metal in mpy (mils per year) with the smaller value being a better measure of corrosion resistance. The conducting electrode is comprised of 50 g/l NaCl, 10 ml/l phosphoric acid (85%) adjusted to pH 6.0 with NaOH. The second protocol has the advantage over the ASTM B-117 protocol in that corrosion resistance is provided in a short time, for example, about 15 minutes.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,263,058/DE-OS 30 38 699 there is described an acidic, chrome-containing passivating solution comprising in addition to a "blue solution" of trivalent chromium ions, an acid, such as formic-, acetic-, propionic-acid or nitric-, sulfuric-, hydrochloric-, and hydrofluoric-acid. Also present are fluorides which form a "green solution" from hexavalent chromium ions, for instance, chrome-trioxide, alkali-metal-chromate of di-chromate and a reducing agent, such as an aldehyde or alcohol or an alkali-metal-sulfite, -bisulfite, -metabisulfite, -iodide, hydrogen peroxide, sulfur dioxide or an iron-II-salt-II-salt.
The presence of the poisonous hexavalent chromium compounds in the chromating solution permits the buildup of the hexavalent chromium into the surface of the passivating film, which can lead to dermatological illness if such films are used in the food processing industry. Handling of such solutions in the plant as well as waste treatment of used solution or rinse water can cause problems. Additionally, such solutions are rapidly consumed and can be regenerated only on a limited scale with concomitant high costs for continuous waste treatment and new make-up.
For several years, attempts have been made to produce blue chromates by using the tervalent chromium ion in the absence of the hexavalent chromium ion. Acidic solutions of such materials can also contain additional oxidizing agents (U.S. Pat. No. 4,171,231). Other additives such as silicates and/or metallic ions (U.S. Pat. No. 4,384,902, 4,389,247 and 4,367,099 ) or organo phosphorus compounds (U.S. Pat. No. 4,539,348) or carbonic acid (U.S. Pat. 4,349,392) disclose other additives. Such disclosed processes produce decorative blue- or yellow-chromated surfaces which cannot be subsequently dyed, with corrosion protection values reaching 6 hr. to 10% white rust according to the ASTM B-117 protocol. The presence of such oxidizing agent cannot assure the absence of hexavalent chrome compounds in the thus produced coatings. Still further, the waste water treatment is much more difficult in the presence of an oxidizing agent as a result of a rise in pH values in the sedimentation tank.
In German Patent 38 12 076, there is disclosed a process for using tervalent chrome compounds in fixed amounts together with soluble nitrates, fluoride and hydrochloric or nitric acid when the mixture is either heated to 60.degree. C. or treated with a catalyst, like activated carbon, above 15.degree. C. during which there is formed the green chrome-fluoride-complex of the general formula; EQU [Cr(H.sub.2 O).sub.6 -xF.sub.x ].sup.(3-x).spsp.+ with 0<x=<3
Such a passivating solution is very sensitive to iron contamination since such acidic chromating solution dissolves small amounts of iron from plated steel parts, especially from such parts which, because of their geometrical shape, are not totally covered with zinc. Additionally, such protocol requires constant pH control since the process can be only operated successfully over a narrow pH range of from 1.6-2.0. The existence of fluoride, however, destroys the electrodes making it impossible to automatically control the pH. Additionally, the removal of fluoride from the effluent is difficult with high concentrations of make-up required with concomitant high costs as well as high drag-out losses.

Process for chromating surfaces of zinc, cadmium and alloys thereof


A die casting system includes a die, a shot tube, a melting system and a vacuum system. The die includes a plurality of die components that define a die cavity. The shot tube is in fluid communication with the die cavity and is operable to deliver a charge of material to the die cavity. The melting system is positioned adjacent to the die and includes an alloy loader, a melting unit and a crucible. The vacuum system defines a first chamber and a second chamber separated from the first chamber by an isolation valve. The melting system is disposed within the first chamber, and the die is disposed within the second chamber.

This disclosure relates generally to die casting systems, and more particularly to a die casting system and cell.
Casting is a known technique used to yield near net-shaped components. For example, investment casting is often used in the gas turbine engine industry to manufacture near net-shaped components, such as blades and vanes having relatively complex geometries. A component is investment cast by pouring molten metal into a ceramic shell having a cavity in the shape of the component to be cast. Generally, the shape of the component to be cast is derived from a wax pattern or SLA pattern that defines the shape of the component. The investment casting process is capital intensive, requires significant manual labor and can be time intensive to produce the final component.
Die casting offers another known casting technique. Die casting involves injecting molten metal directly into a reusable die to yield a near net shaped component. The cycle time to melt an alloy for use in the die casting process is relatively high. Accordingly, the cycle time can affect the length of time the die casing system components are subjected to relatively high thermal loads and stresses during the die casting process.


An information processing apparatus (10) includes a time and space information acquisition unit (110) that acquires high-risk time and space information indicating a spatial region with an increased possibility of an accident occurring or of a crime being committed and a corresponding time slot, a possible surveillance target acquisition unit (120) that identifies a video to be analyzed from among a plurality of videos generated by capturing an image of each of a plurality of places, on the basis of the high-risk time and space information, and analyzes the identified video to acquire information of a possible surveillance target, and a target time and space identification unit (130) that identifies at least one of a spatial region where surveillance is to be conducted which is at least a portion of the spatial region or a time slot when surveillance is to be conducted, from among the spatial region and the time slot indicated by the high-risk time and space information, on the basis of the information of the possible surveillance target.

The following Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for identifying an area in which a person to be chased is highly likely to be located. In addition, the following Patent Document 2 and the following Patent Document 3 disclose a technique for predicting a time and space with a high possibility of a crime or an accident occurring, on the basis of past crime data or past traffic/civil accident data, and assisting drafting a personnel deployment plan for the police on the basis of information of the predicted time and space.
In addition to this, an example of a security technique for a case where an event has occurred is disclosed in, for example, the following Patent Documents 4 to 6. Patent Document 4 discloses an alarm apparatus provided in an area under surveillance. The alarm apparatus includes a switch for outputting a signal for giving notice of the occurrence of an event. When the switch is pressed down by a victim, the alarm apparatus analyzes an image of an area under surveillance captured at a time at which the switch has been pressed down or earlier, and identifies the victim and a person to be watched. In addition, Patent Document 5 discloses a technique wherein when a threating event or a criminal is detected by a surveillance apparatus (such as a sensor) provided in a building which is a target for surveillance, a video of a camera that surveils the position of the detected threat or additional information (such as information indicating how a criminal has invaded, information for identifying a criminal, information of a victim, information indicating the motion of a criminal, or information indicating the movement direction of a criminal) determined from the video is transmitted to an apparatus held by a person in authority. In addition, Patent Document 6 discloses an apparatus that checks a suspect through video surveillance, and provides real-time electronic information relating to the expected position of the suspect in a building or the motion of the suspect in the building.

Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and program


Optical apparatus for a display device. The optical apparatus comprises a cavity, and a first fluid (14) and a second fluid (16), held within the cavity, which are immiscible with each other. The first and second fluids are separated from each other by a meniscus (28) having a peripheral edge (30). The optical apparatus further comprises a fluid motion control system arranged to control movement of the first and second fluids within the cavity using electrostatic forces, and a first surface (26) and a second surface (21). The first surface has a different wettability for the first fluid than for the second surface. The first and second surfaces are arranged in the cavity to determine, upon activation of the fluid motion control system, a motion of the fluids within the cavity which has a preferential initiation at a first part (32) of the peripheral edge.

Display devices containing fluids which can be switched between different fluid configurations to provide different optical characteristics are known.
International patent application WO 03/071346 describes such a display device. A movement of the fluids during switching is controlled by using an insulating layer having a particular shape to modify an electric field applied to the fluids. A special electrode structure or an inhomogeneous oil fluid layer may be used alternatively to control the fluid motion.
International patent application WO 2006/021912 describes a device having picture elements which have a shape that determines, upon switching, a preferred direction of movement of fluids within the picture elements.
International patent application WO 2004/104671 describes an optical switch containing fluids which are switchable by application of a voltage across the fluids. An electrode used to apply the voltage has a shape which determines a preferred direction of movement of the fluids upon switching.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an optical apparatus with movable fluids which may be moved in a simple and controlled manner.


A sensing probe intended to measure the content of an oxygen reducible substance in a fluid, includes:                a probe body containing an interface and processing circuit,        a dry sensing head including an amperometric sensor intended to measure the content of the oxygen reducible substance. The sensing head is removable. The sensing head and the probe body include respectively coupling elements cooperating with each other and able to be separated, and the sensing probe furthermore includes connecting elements designed to connect the removable sensing head to the interface and processing circuit of the probe body.

Chlorine sensors are well known in the art.
A first type of chlorine sensor, disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,725,747, uses a reagent liquid in which some metallic electrodes are immersed. The first drawback of this type of chlorine sensor is that, due to the presence of a reagent liquid that could contaminate the fluid whose chlorine amount is to measure, they are not suitable when the fluid is drinking water. Additionally, the fluid can dilute the reagent, reducing the lifetime without maintenance. Moreover, they require a periodical maintenance, during which the reagent liquid shall be changed. This maintenance operation has to be performed every two months and has to be made by a technical specialist, since complex operations shall be performed and since the sensor shall be recalibrated. This results in high operating costs.
The document U.S. Pat. No. 5,939,399 discloses an amperometric electrochemical sensor that does not use any reagent liquid. It comprises a semi-conductor sensing element, a measuring circuit and housing. The semi-conductor sensing element has a planar structure and comprises an insulating substrate, a set of planar complete electrodes (one working electrode, one counter electrode and one reference electrode), a diffusion membrane, which is deposited on the working electrode, and connections means to connect the electrodes to the measuring circuit. The semi-conductor sensing element is micro fabricated, being obtained by photolithographic techniques.
At least the semi-conductor sensing element is immersed in a fluid, for example in a pipe. The sensing element constitutes an electrochemical microcell, the electrochemical reaction with the fluid producing an electrochemical current, depending on the amount of chlorine in the fluid.
This type of chlorine sensors has good performances and is also suitable to be used in drinking water, but its constitution is such that the sensing element shall be replaced periodically, approximately once a year. This time limitation is mainly due to the delaminating of the diffusion membrane due to bad adhesion on the working electrode, as well as insufficient packaging, allowing the fluid to penetrate within the probe, creating short-circuit. Compared to a sensor using reagent liquid, the operating costs due to maintenance are reduced, since it occurs less frequently, and since the operation can be performed by a non-qualified person. However, as it is not possible to disassemble the sensor, when the sensing element replacement has to be performed, the whole sensor shall be replaced, i.e. the sensing element, the measuring circuit and the housing. Operating costs remain high.
In addition, the sensing element is placed on a support plate, and this support plate is oriented vertically with respect to the fluid stream. This orientation can be disadvantageous since the fluid could contain some small air bubbles. With a vertical orientation of the plate, it is possible that some air bubbles stay hanged on the sensing element, leading to a mismeasurement since the sensing element is no more in contact with the fluid.
Additionally, the support plate is prominent. This disposition has different drawbacks. The first drawback is that, if some small objects or particles circulate in the fluid, they could damage or even destroy the sensing element if they hit it. The second drawback is that the strain on the plate can be high, in particular when the flow of the fluid is high. The third drawback is that the sensing module is somehow fragile when handling it, the sensing element being directly exposed. The fourth is the limited lifetime of the membrane adhesion leading to bad definition of diffusion layer and change in the sensitivity.
The present invention proposes an electrochemical sensing probe such that these drawbacks are avoided.

Amperometric in-pipe electrochemical sensing probe


A tackless carpet strip for affixing carpet to a hard surface has a flat base with spikes extending from the base at an angle. A lower surface of the base is coated with protective sealant. A foam adhesive tape strip has two adhesive surfaces; the first surface is permanently adhered to the lower surface of the base. The second adhesive surface is covered with a removable protective film.

Traditional carpet tack strips for attaching carpet to a floor in a room are composed of strips of wood or other material that are nailed to the floor around the edges of a room. A typical carpet tack strip is approximately four feet in length, about an inch wide and about a quarter of an inch in thickness, with the bottom surface of the strip positioned on the floor and fastened to the floor with a plurality of nails driven through the strip and into the floor. A four-foot strip typically requires nine nails to secure the strip to the floor.
The upper surface of the carpet tack strip comprises a plurality of sharp-edged spikes that extend upwardly from the upper surface of the strip and project above it at an angle inclined with respect to the upper surface of the strip such that the spikes project toward an adjacent wall when installed. The carpet is secured to the spikes on one wall and stretched across and secured to the spikes on remaining walls.
A disadvantage of traditional carpet strips is the need for nails (tacks) to secure the strips into the floor. When floor is made of concrete, for example, installing the strips may present difficulties, however, because driving concrete nails into old concrete is sometimes impossible. Further, certain types of concrete flooring (e.g., Terrazzo) are so hard that they will not accept concrete nails, and the carpet installer must drill into it in order to affix strips.
One option for fastening carpet strips to concrete floors is to use an adhesive such as Chemrex® brand adhesive. The adhesive is applied to the strip and the strip is pressed onto the floor. While adhesive provides a good strong bond between the strip and the floor, the cure time—for some adhesives the time between adhesion of the strip to the floor and when the strip is ready for the carpet to be stretched—is at least two hours, and possibly more.
More recently, hot glue guns have been used to apply carpet strips to floors. However, these devices must be plugged into an electrical source, and also require some cure time.
The carpet strips of the present disclosure provide an advantage over the previous methods for attaching carpet strips to flooring, in that no nails or other fasteners are required to be driven into the floor. This is because the strips are affixed to the flooring using peel-and-stick tape that is adhered to the carpet strip and to the floor. Further, no cure time is required, and the carpet may be stretched immediately after the carpet strips are affixed to the floor.
For purposes of summarizing the invention, certain aspects, advantages, and novel features of the invention have been described herein. It is to be understood that not necessarily all such advantages may be achieved in accordance with any one particular embodiment of the invention. Thus, the invention may be embodied or carried out in a manner that achieves or optimizes one advantage or group of advantages as taught herein without necessarily achieving other advantages as may be taught or suggested herein.


Load carrier bar (3) intended to be attached to roof rails mounted on a vehicle roof. The roof rails having two longitudinal rails (2) disposed at a distance from and substantially parallel to each other, the load carrier bar being fitted at each of its ends with a corresponding attachment arrangement (4) intended to be connected with a corresponding rail. Each attachment arrangement includes a connecting means (5), united with the load carrier bar and adapted to be attached to the rail. A tightenable clamp joint (6) encloses the rail and which when tightened unites the load carrier bar to the rail by a rigid and immovable joint. The clamp joint possesses a locking plate (7) which at its first end is hinged to a link (8) connected to the load carrier bar and at its second end is connected with the load carrier bar by means of a demountable tensioned joint (18). An elastic element (17) is disposed about the link and ensures that the locking plate, when it is not connected with the load carrier bar by means of the tensioned joint, is retained so that its longitudinal axis is substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the load carrier bar.

The present application claims priority to Swedish Patent Application No. 0004745-6 filed Dec. 21, 2000.
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a load carrier bar arrangement that is intended to be attached to roof rails mounted on a vehicle roof. This type of roof rails typically includes two longitudinal rails disposed at a distance from, and substantially parallel to each other. The load carrier bar is fitted at each of its two ends with an attachment arrangement intended to be connected with a corresponding rail. Each of the attachment arrangements include a connecting means that is united with the load carrier bar and which is adapted for attachment to the rail. A tightenable clamp joint encloses the rail and, which when tightened, unites the load carrier bar and the rail by a rigid and immovable joint.
2. State of the Art
Load carrier bars for attachment to roof rails are previously known and in common use. Usually they are attached to the rails by an attachment means having the form of two legs which fit around the rail and which are tightened by a screw fastening to form a rigid joint. A drawback of these previously known devices is that because the legs do not completely encircle the rail, and thus leave an opening between them, they must be made robust in order to withstand the strong forces that arise in a collision or on sudden braking. When of sufficient magnitude, these forces can cause the legs to open up to such an extent that the load carrier is separated from the rail.
In DE 31 04163 this drawback is overcome in that the attachment arrangement exhibits a clamp joint having a shackle which encircles the rail and which at its first end is rotatably attached to the load carrier bar. At its second end, the shackle is connected to the load carrier bar by a screw fastening. A drawback of this solution, however, is that the rotatable shackle is so loosely attached that the shackle, when completely released from the screw fastening, can easily fall off or assume a position such that it is difficult to mount the load carrier on the rail. Should the shackle happen to fall off while the load carrier is being mounted on the rail, the shackle might mark the vehicle roof or it may be difficult to find, as can easily occur if mounting takes place in darkness or semi-darkness. If the shackle is in an unfavorable position, it can easily come in contact with the vehicle roof and scratch it as the load carrier is being mounted on the rail, which can easily occur if mounting takes place in darkness or semi-darkness.
The present invention overcomes the above-mention problems by way of a load carrier bar of the type described herein and in which a tightenable clamp joint possesses a locking plate which at its first end is hinged to a link connected to the load carrier bar. At its second end, the clamp joint is connected with the load carrier bar by means of a demountable tensioned joint. An elastic element is disposed about the link and ensures that the locking plate, when it is not connected with the load carrier bar by means of the tensioned joint, is retained so that its longitudinal axis is substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the load carrier bar.
In certain embodiments, the longitudinal axis of the locking plate may assume an angle in relation to the longitudinal axis of the load carrier which is in the range zero to twenty degrees. In another embodiment the locking plate and the link consist of an integrated unit. In one particular embodiment, the elastic element consists of a sleeve of a polymer material that encircles the link and extends in a pre-stressed state between the connecting means and the locking plate. In another embodiment the elastic element consists of a helical spring. In still a further embodiment, the locking plate can be pivoted relative to the connecting means to a position in which it is clear of the area where the connecting means is attached to the rail.
The above-mentioned advantages as well as other advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description.


A surfacing marine drive has a drive housing (20) with a fore exhaust passage (230) forward of the vertical bore (26) housing the driveshaft (36), right and left exhaust passages (232 and 234) extending rearwardly from the fore exhaust passage (230) on opposite right and left sides of the vertical bore (26), and an aft exhaust passage (236) extending rearwardly from the right and left exhaust passages (232 and 234) and aft of the vertical bore (26) and discharging exhaust into dual counterrotating surface operating propellers (12 and 14).

The invention relates to a marine drive, and more particularly to an exhaust system for a surfacing drive.
The invention arose during development efforts directed toward a surfacing marine drive enabling increased top end boat speed. Surfacing drives are known in the art, for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,871,334, column 3, lines 35+.
Exhaust systems discharging exhaust into the propellers are also known in the art, for example FIG. 2 of the noted '334 patent.
The present invention provides an improved exhaust system.


Methods for generation of shape data for a set of electronic designs include inputting a set of shape data, where the set of shape data represents a set of shapes for a device fabrication process. A convolutional neural network is used on the set of shape data to determine a set of generated shape data, where the convolutional neural network comprises a generator trained with a pre-determined set of discriminators. The set of generated shape data comprises a scanning electron microscope (SEM) image.

The present disclosure is related to lithography, and more particularly to the design and manufacture of a surface which may be a reticle, a wafer, or any other surface, using charged particle beam lithography and optical lithography.
Three common types of charged particle beam lithography are unshaped (Gaussian) beam lithography, shaped charged particle beam lithography, and multi-beam lithography. In all types of charged particle beam lithography, charged particle beams shoot energy to a resist-coated surface to expose the resist.
In lithography the lithographic mask or reticle comprises geometric patterns corresponding to the circuit components to be integrated onto a substrate. The patterns used to manufacture the reticle may be generated utilizing computer-aided design (CAD) software or programs. In designing the patterns, the CAD program may follow a set of pre-determined design rules in order to create the reticle. These rules are set by processing, design, and end-use limitations. An example of an end-use limitation is defining the geometry of a transistor in a way in which it cannot sufficiently operate at the required supply voltage. In particular, design rules can define the space tolerance between circuit devices or interconnect lines. The design rules are, for example, used to ensure that the circuit devices or lines do not interact with one another in an undesirable manner. For example, the design rules are used so that lines do not get too close to each other in a way that may cause a short circuit. The design rule limitations reflect, among other things, the smallest dimensions that can be reliably fabricated. When referring to these small dimensions, one usually introduces the concept of a critical dimension. These are, for instance, defined as the important widths or areas of a feature or the important space between two features or important space areas, those dimensions requiring exquisite control.
One goal in integrated circuit fabrication by optical lithography is to reproduce the original circuit design on a substrate by use of a reticle, in which the reticle, sometimes referred to as a mask or a photomask, is a surface which may be exposed using charged particle beam lithography. Integrated circuit fabricators are always attempting to use the semiconductor wafer real estate as efficiently as possible. Engineers keep shrinking the size of the circuits to allow the integrated circuits to contain more circuit elements and to use less power. As the size of an integrated circuit critical dimension is reduced and its circuit density increases, the critical dimension of the circuit pattern or physical design approaches the resolution limit of the optical exposure tool used in conventional optical lithography. As the critical dimensions of the circuit pattern become smaller and approach the resolution value of the exposure tool, the accurate transcription of the physical design to the actual circuit pattern developed on the resist layer becomes difficult. To further the use of optical lithography to transfer patterns having features that are smaller than the light wavelength used in the optical lithography process, a process known as optical proximity correction (OPC) has been developed. OPC alters the physical design to compensate for distortions caused by effects such as optical diffraction and the optical interaction of features with proximate features. Resolution enhancement technologies performed with a reticle include OPC and inverse lithography technology (ILT).
OPC may add sub-resolution lithographic features to mask patterns to reduce differences between the original physical design pattern, that is, the design, and the final transferred circuit pattern on the substrate. The sub-resolution lithographic features interact with the original patterns in the physical design and with each other and compensate for proximity effects to improve the final transferred circuit pattern. One feature that is added to improve pattern transference is referred to as "serifs." Serifs are small features that enhance precision or resiliency to manufacturing variation of printing of a particular feature. An example of a serif is a small feature that is positioned on a corner of a pattern to sharpen the corner in the final transferred image. Patterns that are intended to print on the substrate are referred to as main features. Serifs are a part of a main feature. It is conventional to discuss the OPC-decorated patterns to be written on a reticle in terms of main features, that is features that reflect the design before OPC decoration, and OPC features, where OPC features might include serifs, jogs, sub-resolution assist features (SRAFs) and negative features. OPC features are subject to various design rules, such as a rule based on the size of the smallest feature that can be transferred to the wafer using optical lithography. Other design rules may come from the mask manufacturing process or, if a character projection charged particle beam writing system is used to form the pattern on a reticle, from the stencil manufacturing process.
In the manufacture of integrated circuits using a photomask, manufacture of the photomask containing the original circuit design is a critical step of the process. The final photomask must be defect-free, within a pre-determined tolerance, since any defect on the photomask will be reproduced on all wafers manufactured using that photomask. Due to limitations of materials and processes, most or all newly-fabricated photomasks will have imperfections. In a process called mask inspection, a newly-fabricated photomask is analyzed to find imperfections. Each of these imperfections, or potential defects, is then further analyzed to determine if the imperfection is a real defect that will cause a defect on wafers manufactured with this photomask. Imperfections that are identified as real defects can be repaired in a subsequent process called mask repair to create a defect-free photomask suitable for manufacturing wafers.

Methods and systems for generating shape data for electronic designs

Center for Deep Learning in Electronics Manufacturing, Inc.


A magnetic head for a digital signal comprises a double winding system in which each winding has one-half wound around a first branch of a U-shaped core and has its other half wound around a second branch so that when an appropriate electrical current is carried by the winding, a magnetic field is created such that the components thereof that are not channelled by the core cancel out giving rise to a zero resultant, while those channelled by the core add together.

Various types of magnetic head are known for writing and/or reading magnetic signals that correspond to digital data.
In the simplest embodiment, a magnetic head comprises a magnetic circuit or core of magnetic material, e.g. ferrite. The core is U-shaped and the ends of its two branches or arms meet across a gap in which a separator of non-magnetic material is positioned.
A winding is wound around the portion of the core that interconnects the two branches (the portion furthest from ne gap) or else around one of the branches. The winding may also be distributed over both branches.
One terminal of the winding is connected to the electronic read and/or write circuit and the other terminal of the winding is put to ground potential or is connected to another portion of the electronic circuit. For example, when writing, an electrical signal issued by the electronic write circuit travels through the winding, thereby generating a corresponding longitudinal magnetic field.
The magnetic field is channelled in the core. The leakage field created around the gap causes data to be recorded on a magnetic medium placed close to the gap.
When reading, the magnetic flux from the medium is diverted into the magnetic circuit and gives rise to electrical signal in the winding. The electrical signal is amplified and processed by the electronic read circuit.
This type of embodiment gives rise to electrical problems. That is why another type of magnetic head is used, as shown diagrammatically in FIG. 1.
Such known magnetic heads have a first winding 10 wound around one of the branches 12 of the U-shaped core, and a second winding 14 wound around the other branch 16 in identical manner to the first winding. These two windings are electrically interconnected at a midpoint 18 with the winding directions of the windings being such that a current flowing through the first winding towards the midpoint generates a magnetic field of the same intensity and in the opposite direction to the magnetic field generated by the same current flowing through the second winding, likewise towards the midpoint.
To obtain the desired result, i.e. to solve the above-mentioned electrical problems, the midpoint or connection 18 where the first winding 10 is connected to the second winding 14 is put to ground potential. Each winding is connected to a respective electronic read and/or write circuit (not shown) and is used independently of the other.
For example, when writing digital signals constituted by 0s and 1s, the first winding 10 is used for writing 0s whereas the second winding 14 is used for writing 1s, with the opposite-direction magnetic fields generated by the windings 10 and 14 corresponding to 0s and to 1s. The windings 10 and 14 are decoupled by the common midpoint 18 being put to ground potential.
Although a device of the above type is satisfactory from the electrical point of view, it suffers from drawbacks from the magnetic point of view.
In devices of that type, when a current flows through one or other of the windings, the magnetic field generated is not completely channelled within the core: magnetic leakage occurs, radiating outwards from the winding in question.
The intensity of this leakage radiation lies in the range 1/10000-th to 1/1000-th of the intensity of the magnetic field channelled by the magnetic circuit. Although weak, it is nevertheless sufficient to be detected by other magnetic heads placed in the vicinity thereof.
For example, FIG. 2 is a diagram of a turntable 20 having magnetic head supports 22 disposed at the periphery thereof. Devices of this type are used in "rotating head" type read/write mechanisms. Magnetic heads 24 dedicated to writing alternate with magnetic heads 26 dedicated to reading, and are therefore in the immediate vicinity thereof.
The distance between two magnetic heads 24 and 26 is of the order of a few millimeters to a few centimeters. Thus the leakage radiation emitted by a winding while writing can be read by an adjacent read head, thereby giving rise to crosstalk phenomena.
In known devices, to avoid such disturbing leakage radiation, each of the magnetic heads of a magnetic read/write mechanism is placed in a metal box (not shown in FIG. 2) that provides screening.
It will be understood that this prior art solution includes its own drawbacks. The screening box is an additional component that requires additional handling while it is being installed. The physical size of each head is considerably increased, and this can be highly disadvantageous in devices where maximum miniaturization is required. Finally, the metal screening box increases the cost of a magnetic head.

Magnetic head having a system of windings for compensating magnetic leakage


A substrate having a first area and a second area is provided. The substrate is patterned to form trenches in the substrate and semiconductor fins between the trenches, wherein the semiconductor fins comprises first semiconductor fins distributed in the first area and second semiconductor fins distributed in the second area. A first fin cut process is performed in the first area to remove portions of the first semiconductor fins. Insulators are formed in the trenches after the first fin cut process is performed. A second fin cut process is performed in the second area to remove portions of the second semiconductor fins until gaps are formed between the insulators in the second area. A gate stack is formed to partially cover the first semiconductor fins, the second semiconductor fins and the insulators.

As the semiconductor devices keeps scaling down in size, three-dimensional multi-gate structures, such as the fin-type field effect transistor (FinFET), have been developed to replace planar Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) devices. A structural feature of the FinFET is the silicon-based fin that extends upright from the surface of the substrate, and the gate wrapping around the conducting channel that is formed by the semiconductor fin further provides a better electrical control over the channel.
During fabrication of FinFETs, the semiconductor fins are patterned by fin cut last process to remove unwanted portions of the semiconductor fins, and after the fin cut process, shallow trench isolations (STI) and gate stacks are then formed. During the fin cut process, a patterned photoresist layer is formed to partially cover the semiconductor fins and the unwanted portions of the semiconductor fins are etched. Since the patterned photoresist layer used in fin cut process is formed over the substrate and may not be sufficient thick to protect the semiconductor fins covered thereby, especially the semiconductor fins distributed in a dense area (e.g., core area) of a semiconductor device. Thus, fin damage occurs during the fin cut process and stability of the fin cut process deteriorates.

Fin field effect transistor, semiconductor device and method for fabricating the same

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.


A filter device of the present disclosure includes a first port from which a solution containing a substance is to be input, and a first flow passage communicating with the first port. A filter portion made of a plurality of fibrous substances including inorganic oxide is formed in at least one part in the first flow passage. The plurality of fibrous substances has one peak in the diameter distribution.

Separation of only a specific substance (specimen) from a sample test material containing a plurality of substances is required in various fields. However, in particular, when the presence rate of the specific substrate is low, it is difficult to detect only the specific substance from the sample test material containing the other substances.
One example of a conventional filter device is manufactured by the following process. The surface of the first substrate made of quartz is subjected to chemical treatment such as dry etching or wet etching, or the process treatment by energy ray irradiation treatment with laser, ion beam, or the like, so that a plurality of island-shaped columnar products are formed. Thereafter, a second substrate is joined to the columnar products so as to seal the columnar products. Thus, a space in the island-shaped columnar product sealed by the first substrate and the second substrate is used as a filter flow passage.
Furthermore, in another example of the conventional filter device, a device includes a flow channel on a surface of a first substrate in which a plurality of fibrous layers including fibrous protruding portions are provided in the flow channel and extend to opening portions.
One exemplary use of such a filter device is filtration of leukocyte from erythrocyte in blood. The erythrocyte has the diameter from 7 μm to 8 μm, and can enter and pass through a capillary blood vessel whose diameter is not larger than a half of the diameter of the erythrocyte itself. The leukocyte has a spherical shape whose diameter is from 6 μm to 30 μm, and has smaller deformation ability than flat-shaped erythrocyte. Thus, when the pore size of a filter device is from 3 μm to 6 μm, only the erythrocyte can be allowed to pass.
As one example of a filter device for blood filtration, a leukocyte removing material was disclosed. The leukocyte removing material includes not less than 0.5 wt % and less than 50 wt % of ultra fine fibers whose fiber diameter is not less than 0.02 μm and less than 0.8 μm in which the ultra fine fibers form a mesh structure having circularity of not more than 1.7 and a converted diameter of a circle of not less than 1 μm and less than 20 μm.
Furthermore, in another leukocyte removing device, the leukocyte removing material includes not less than 5 wt % and less than 20 wt % of ultra fine fibers whose fiber diameter is not less than 0.1 μm and less than 0.6 μm in which the ultra fine fiber has a curvature of not less than 1.2.
However, in particular, it is difficult to extract only a specified specimen from a small amount of solution containing many substances.


Slope surfaces of land can be eroded by rain and wind. It is necessary to vegetate a bared slope surface of land for the purpose of erosion control and environmental conservation. The present invention provides a vegetation base soil composition and a method of growing vegetation on a sloped surface for erosion control and vegetating on cut rock slope surface, such as weathered rock surface and barren soil surface. The vegetation base soil includes peat, bio-solids formed by the treatment of urban sewage, for example water treatment plant sediment, woodchip, bark, animal waste compost and clay or loam. The vegetation base soil with a microbes active material, a root activation fertilizer, an adhesive material and seeds are applied over a mesh that is secured over the sloped surface. Plants are grown in the layer of vegetation base soil.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vegetation base soil composition for erosion protection (erosion control) against sediment runoff from a slope surface of land and a method for growing vegetation on a sloped surface, such as a slope with barren soil, weathered rocks or cut rocks, that is a poor environment for plants.
2. Description of Related Art
Land can be developed for national prosperity and improving human quality of life. After development, spoiled slopes of land are usually formed. Land may also be spoiled by natural impact. These spoiled slope surfaces are plantless areas that are susceptible to erosion by wind and rain. The erosion causes more land spoil, blocks and contaminates rivers, and leads to drought or desertification. Therefore, these barren slope surfaces must be protected from erosion and be vegetated. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,607,494 and 5,662,744 provide an artificial soil composition and a method of growing vegetation on a sloped surface, especially a cut rock surface. However, these surfaces are a very poor environment for plants to survive and grow. If the slope soil condition is relatively acceptable, hydro-seeding can be applied. However, if the soil condition is not suitable for hydro-seeding, a special method for vegetation becomes necessary.

Vegetation base soil and a method for growing vegetation on a sloped surface


For data processing in a computing storage environment by a processor device, the computing storage environment incorporating at least high-speed and lower-speed caches, and managed tiered levels of storage, a Solid State Device (SSD) tier is variably shared between the lower-speed cache and the managed tiered levels of storage such that the managed tiered levels of storage are operational on large data segments, and the lower-speed cache is allocated with the large data segments, yet operates with data segments of a smaller size than the large data segments and within the large data segments.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to computers, and more particularly, to mechanisms for migrating and caching data segments in a computing storage environment.
2. Description of the Related Art
In today's society, computer systems are commonplace. Computer systems may be In the field of computing, a "cache" typically refers to a small, fast memory or storage device used to store data or instructions that were accessed recently, are accessed frequently, or are likely to be accessed in the future. Reading from or writing to a cache is typically cheaper (in terms of access time and/or resource utilization) than accessing other memory or storage devices. Once data is stored in cache, it can be accessed in cache instead of re-fetching and/or re-computing the data, saving both time and resources.

Thinly provisioned flash cache with shared storage pool

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


A device for manufacturing a display device includes a deposition source; a deposition thickness calculator for calculating a deposition thickness of a deposition material deposited on a substrate; and a controller for controlling a power of a heater which heats the deposition source by comparing the deposition thickness calculated with a reference thickness. The controller controls the power of the heater either at least one time for each substrate on which the thin film is to be deposited or at regular intervals while the deposition material is deposited. Influence of measurement noise that is included in a quartz crystal sensor for measuring a deposition speed may be minimized, and distribution of deposition thickness of an organic light emitting material may be reduced, thereby increasing the yield of the deposition process and producing quality display devices.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate to a device and method for fabricating a display device, more particularly, to a device and method for manufacturing a display device, for increasing a yield of a deposition process for generating a thin film on a substrate of a display device, and for generating a display device with higher quality.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various flat panel display devices have been developed, and the flat panel display devices have reduced volume and weight compared to display devices having cathode ray tubes. The flat panel displays include a liquid crystal display (LCD), a field emission display, a plasma display panel (PDP), and an electro-luminescence display device.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore may contain information that does not form prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Device and method for fabricating display device


A multifunctional continuous dyeing apparatus provided at a bottom with a main body within which are formed in a sequence, with reference to the feeding direction of the yarn, at least a first dyeing group for the yarn, provided with a respective first squeezing device of the yarn, an oxidation or diffusion/fixation group, placed downstream of the first dyeing group and arranged for the oxidation of the dyed yarn or for the diffusion/fixation of the dye in the fiber of the dyed yarn, and at least a second dyeing group of the yarn, arranged downstream of the oxidation or diffusion/fixation group and in turn provided with a respective second squeezing device of the yarn, where at least the first dyeing group, the first squeezing device, the oxidation or diffusion/fixation group and the second dyeing group are hermetically sealing enclosed by at least one covering case, integral at the top with the main body, and provided with a plurality of doors which are at least partially openable to perform the dyeing of the yarn in an environment exposed to air and which are reclosable to perform the dyeing of the yarn in an inert environment under nitrogen.

A typical application of such apparatus is that of the continuous dyeing of warp chains for denim fabrics with indigo or other dyes. Denim is the fabric used for making jeans and "sportswear" articles in general, and is quantitatively the most used fabric in the world.
The success of the denim-blue jeans union is due precisely to the dyeing of the warp of this fabric with indigo. Indigo is one of the oldest dyes, not easily applied to cotton for which it has poor affinity, but which has a unique feature that makes the fabric, and as a result the garment, have a shiny and pleasant appearance over time. Blue jeans are in fact appreciated for their typical Navy tone that gradually, because of repeated washings, takes on a lighter tone until it reaches a bright blue. As far as we know, no other dye has similar properties. Other classes of dyes, after many washes, turn towards dirty grey, or stain the white yarn with an unpleasant blue/grey color. The above peculiarity, together with that look of vintage garment, which is evident with the abrasion in exposed areas and that creates a plastic effect on the wearer's body, are the charm of blue jeans, which manufactured and treated in many ways are and will remain the world's top-selling garment.
One of the features of indigo dye, which makes it unique, is the particular dyeing method required for its application to the cotton yarn. This dyeing method has remained virtually unchanged since the time of vegetable dye to the present day, in over one hundred years since its synthesis.
The indigo dye, due to the relatively small molecule and low affinity with cellulose fiber, in order to be applied must not only be reduced in alkaline solution (leuco), but it also requires being subjected to a plurality of impregnations alternated with squeezing and subsequent air oxidation. In practice, a medium or dark color tone is obtained only by subjecting the yarn to a first dyeing (impregnation, squeezing, oxidation) immediately followed by multiple over-dyeing, the more numerous the darker the tones and the higher the required color fastness.
This particular dyeing method, typical of the indigo dye, dramatically highlights the importance of compliance with certain basic parameters related to the immersion and oxidation times. This is to allow the dye to impregnate and evenly distribute in the cortical or surface layer of the yarn (ring dyeing) and, after a perfect squeezing, to oxidize completely before entering the next tank, so as to "remount", i.e. intensify the color tone.
Unfortunately, in addition to these parameters, continuous dyeing with indigo is also influenced by many other factors relating to the different physical-chemical contexts of each individual plant, and the environmental conditions where the plant itself is installed, such as temperature and relative humidity of the air, upwind condition, altitude, etc. In addition, the different dyeing conditions (such as number of tanks, their capacity, pick up, circulation rate and type of the dye bath, type and accuracy of the automatic indigo, caustic soda and sodium hydrosulphite dosing systems, etc.) and the different conditions of the dye bath (such as temperature, concentration, pH, Redox potential, etc.) not only have a decisive impact on the dyeing results (such as greater or smaller dyeing intensity, color fastness, corticality, etc.), but also contribute considerably to determine the final appearance of the garments after the various washing and finishing treatments to which they are normally subjected. It should also be noted that, in contrast to other groups of dyes for which affinity for cotton increases with increasing temperature, the color affinity and depth with indigo, the latter due to greater dye corticality, increase with decreasing temperature.
The most important and qualifying operation of the entire production cycle of denim tissue is that of continuous dyeing, with indigo dye and/or with other dyes, of the warp yarn chains before they are put on the loom to produce the fabric. Classic denim is in fact manufactured by weaving pre-dyed cotton threads. In particular, only the warp is dyed, while the weft is used raw.
The continuous dyeing of warp chains for denim fabrics is mainly carried out according to two systems, namely the so-called "rope" system and the so-called "flat" or "wide" system. The two systems above, despite differing substantially, however, in the case of dyeing with indigo share the use of the same dyeing method, consisting essentially of three operational steps that are repeated several times: yarn impregnation with the reduced dye, squeezing to remove the excess dye bath and dye oxidation by exposure of the dyed yarn to air.
Typically and traditionally, dyeing the warp chains for denim fabrics with indigo is carried out, both in the rope system and in the wide system, in open and low temperature tanks. In detail, in the two systems, the continuous dyeing plants with indigo typically consist of 3-4 pretreatment tanks, 8-10 dyeing tanks and 3-4 final washing tanks. All tanks are provided with a squeezing group to remove the excess dye bath, while the dyeing tanks are also provided with groups of rollers exposed to air for the oxidation of the yarn.
The dyeing tanks are of the open type, each of which has a dye bath capacity ranging from 1000 to 4000 liters, containing about 4-11 meters of yarn. These amounts of dye bath determine the total volume of the bath circulating in the plant, which then can range from about 10,000 to 40,000 liters. The dye bath contained in each tank is recycled continuously to ensure homogeneity of concentration in each tank. This circulation is normally carried out by various known piping systems, with high capacity and low pressure centrifugal pumps to prevent harmful turbulence. The movement of the dyeing bath results in the continuous renewal of the superficial part of the bath itself, which is in contact with the air, the tanks being open at the top, and then it causes the oxidation thereof. The dye bath oxidation results in the continuous depletion of the reducing agents contained therein, i.e. sodium hydrosulphite and caustic soda, and this to a greater extent the higher the temperature of the dye bath.
However, the several oxidation steps concur, to a greater extent than mentioned above, to deplete the dye bath of the same elements (sodium hydrosulphite and caustic soda) which impregnate the yarn are multiple. These oxidation steps are an integral part of the dyeing cycle and basically consist of an exposure to air, between one tank and the other of the 6-10 dyeing tanks of the plant, of about 30-40 meters of yarn impregnated with leuco. The yarn is therefore overall exposed to air for several hundred meters throughout the dyeing plant.
Based on the foregoing, it is necessary to continuously replenish the dye bath with the amounts of caustic soda and sodium hydrosulphite destroyed by the above oxidation, so that such a dye bath is constantly maintained in optimal chemical conditions for the best dyeing yield and to ensure consistent and reproducible results. These continuous additions to the dye bath constitute a considerable economic cost, increase the salinity of the dye bath itself, with consequent dyeing problems, and also create a remarkable final washing water pollution.
Of course, the dye bath must also be continually and constantly admixed with dye, in condition of concentrated leuco, in the amount necessary to obtain the desired color tone. For the automatic continuous dosing of the indigo dye, caustic soda and sodium hydrosulphite, various systems may be used such as dosing pumps, weighing, volumetric, mass systems, etc., however all known as normally used also in other textile processes.
Of course, the higher the volume of the dye bath, the more time is required to bring a new dye bath to the chemical/dyeing balance needed to constantly obtain the same color tone. Equally long will be the response time to any corrective actions, and this does not help the achievement of quality.
Another peculiarity of the indigo dye is due to the fact that dye baths with this dye are never substituted, if not to change the color tone. As mentioned above, indigo dye baths are instead continually reused by adding sodium hydrosulphite, caustic soda and dye in order to maintain constant the chemical/dyeing balance thereof. Each dyeing plant then has a certain number, equal to the number of variants of blue in production, of containers with a total capacity of all the dyeing tanks. These containers are used for storage and reuse of the dye baths.
For quality purposes, it is of the utmost importance to be able to keep the physical and chemical conditions of the dye bath constant for all the time needed to dye the entire batch of yarn. The average time is between 15 hours and 30 hours depending on the yarn chain length and the dyeing rate. Unfortunately, despite ongoing mechanical and hydraulic improvements of the dyeing plants and the use of sophisticated control and dosing systems, for the large volumes involved, as well as for the many reasons outlined above, which individually or in combination can contribute to creating undesired variations of the conditions of the dye bath, continuous dyeing with indigo remains a complex operation.
Besides the foregoing, in the flat dyeing system the length of yarn threaded into the dyeing/sizing line, which can reach 500-600 meters, makes it difficult to control the plant. In the flat system there is also an economic drawback due to the amount of yarn that is lost at each batch change. In this operating condition, in fact, all the amount of yarn mentioned above, which forms the tail of the yarn batch, whose dyeing has ended and that remains in the plant after its stoppage, must be considered as lost, as it is not evenly dyed. Likewise, also the same amount of yarn which forms the beginning of a new batch and which, connected to the tail yarn, replaces it in passing the dyeing plant (made at low speed for safety and technical requirements) is not evenly dyed and must therefore be discarded.
In addition, further complicating the production of denim fabric was the addition of various economic and ecological problems, also aggravated by the fact that the production of this fabric is extremely diversified and is carried out in batches of shorter lengths. This factor is the result of the fact that, compared to what happened in the past, denim fabric is increasingly used in the fashion industry, where not only a significant operational flexibility and timeliness of production are required, but there are also constant requests for new original and exclusive articles to stimulate sales, to win the competition and gain new markets.
In fact, over time, denim fabric has undergone a remarkable and constant evolution, moving from an initial production with warp dyed with indigo only up to the addition of several manufacturing operations, such as caustic soda pre-treatment, pre-dyeing, over-dyeing, etc., which entailed the completion of the dyeing plants with respective aggregated devices. Important changes have occurred also in the yarns employed, from cotton alone to various mixtures of fibers, from the open end cotton to the so-called ring spun cotton, from large to fine textile measures, as well as elastic fibers and an increasingly higher thread count to get increasingly lighter denim.
It is in the finishing operations that in order to follow fashion, there has been a technological revolution that has seen the denim fabric evolve from being used as it was produced on the loom. Washing, mercerizing, over-dyeing by immersion, foaming or coating operations were in fact added, using the latter two systems also for the application of special products in order to vary the appearance of the fabric, especially to achieve particular effects after washing of the garments.
The influence of fashion is even more evident in the jeans industry, where a new productive activity consisting of denim laundries has been created. Once, as described above, the gradual fading of the jeans, an effect that gives a particular tone of bright blue and a pleasant impression of vintage garment, was the natural result of personal use and the resulting multiple washings. These effects, as well as many others, are today already present on new garments and are precisely added by denim laundries that, with a multiplicity of possible pre-treatments, allow the end users to enjoy them immediately. The jeans in laundries are washed, bleached with a variety of chemicals, enzymes, ozone and/or laser, treated with pumice stone, sanded, etc. These treatments give the jeans a vintage look, which goes even to create rips in the fabric.
All these final treatments, whether performed directly on the denim fabric or those performed on the garments, necessarily require that the characteristics of the basic dye, i.e. that of the warp dye, are suitable and concur with them to obtain and highlight the desired effects. It should be noted that many of these treatments, due to the increasing ecological awareness, are now made with less aggressive and less polluting products and consequently underwent a lengthening of the working times. Hence there is the need for the dyeing of the warps to be very intense in color but also very cortical or superficial, so as to reduce the times of these expensive treatments while still providing a good final contrast.
From a dyeing point of view, part of the current requests coming from the fashion industry are possible also on traditional dyeing plants, perhaps using some particular tricks. Other requests coming from the fashion industry are solved only with dyeing plants that use the new dyeing technology in inert atmosphere (under nitrogen) described in patent EP 0799924 B1 and better in patents EP 1771617 B1 and EP 1971713 B1 on behalf of the same Applicant. This new and original working condition, in inert environment, allows eliminating many problems of the traditional indigo dyeing system, with respect to which it has not only the advantage of reducing the number of dyeing tanks, but dramatically reduces also the consumption of caustic soda and sodium hydrosulphite. Moreover, with a better fixation of the dye to the yarn, a substantial saving of washing water is also obtained. In addition, the chemical reduction of indigo under nitrogen is total and perfect and leuco is broken down into particles of nanometric dimensions. This increased dyeing capacity of leuco allows for better penetration and better fixation thereof to the fiber compared to the traditional system, with different dyeing results in terms of fastness, intensity, corticality and lightness, differences that affect the final effects. Moreover, also in the dyeing of sulphur dyes, particularly of the black dye, this new technology has shown greater color rendering, with a significantly higher fixation degree and with better brightness compared to dyes made on traditional plants.
To most producers of denim fabrics, however, it is difficult to propose the combination of this new technology with the traditional dyeing technology with indigo. This not only for the considerable financial commitment and for the large space required, but also for the difficulties arising in production management with two different technologies. In practice, the producers of denim fabrics want to avoid installing dyeing plants with a particular production that, for the reasons above, may not always be used full time. Hence the need to devise a new dyeing technology in terms of new industrial, creative, economic and ecological needs, that require maximum operating flexibility, versatility, production change timeliness as well as management economy and ecological sustainability.

Multifunctional continuous dyeing apparatus of warp chains for fabrics