A method and system for allocating and storing data to a cache memory in each processor in a multiprocessor computer system. Data structures in main memory are partitioned into substructures that are classified as either exclusive substructures or sharing substructures. The exclusive substructures are cached exclusively by a specified processor, and the sharing substructures are cached by specified groups of processors in the multiprocessor computer.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to the field of computers, and, in particular, to computer memories. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to an improved method and system for improving the performance of cache memories in a multiprocessor computer system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Under a typical prior art method of utilizing cache memories in a multiprocessor computer system, common data used by multiple processors is mapped (cached) from a main memory to a cache memory of one or more of the multiple processors in the multiprocessor computer system. Under this traditional method of caching, initially each cache memory of each processor of the multiprocessor computer system may contain a valid copy of the common data. However, after a first processor writes an update to the common data into its cache, only that first processor""s cache contains a valid copy of the common data. Whenever another processor needs to read or write to (change) the common data, it will xe2x80x9cmissxe2x80x9d the cached common data since the valid data is only in the first processor""s cache. For example, in a multiprocessor computer having four processors, and assuming that the data is written to frequently, there is a 25% chance that the requesting processor will have the most current common data in its local cache, and thus a cache xe2x80x9chitxe2x80x9d occurs when that common data is accessed. The same probability states that there is a 75% chance that the most current common data being requested will be in the cache of one of the other three processors, and thus the requesting processor will incur a cache xe2x80x9cmiss.xe2x80x9d A cache xe2x80x9cmissxe2x80x9d requires the requesting processor to then xe2x80x9csnoopxe2x80x9d the caches of the other processors for the requested common data, or to go to main memory if none of those caches have the requested data. The description and percentages above assume that each processor has previously cached and is able to change the requested data.
The present invention recognizes the need to improve the hit ratio of a cache memory in a multiprocessor computer. The present invention therefore is a method and system for allocating and storing data to the cache memory in each processor in a multiprocessor computer system. Data structures in a main memory are partitioned into substructures that are classified as either exclusive substructures or sharing substructures. The exclusive substructures are cached exclusively by a specified processor, and the sharing substructures are cached by specified groups of processors in the multiprocessor computer. The classified partitioning results in an improved cache hit ratio compared to cache hit ratios found in standard caching schemes. This improvement over standard caching schemes becomes greater as the number of processors in the multiprocessor computer increases.
The above, as well as additional objectives, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed written description.

Method and system for improving cache performance in a multiprocessor computer

International Business Machines Corporation


An open Services architecture for inter working narrow band services with equivalent broad band services delivers services on both the existing narrow band network and a future broad band network based on flexible signalling connections. The architecture incorporates an adaptive grooming router providing a fully interconnected backbone network function providing connectivity between a plurality of multimedia access routers and a narrow band network. The multimedia access routers provide hub points where access units terminating ISDN basic access and primary rate access lines used for multimedia services are terminated.

Within the Telecommunications industry there are a number of initiatives to unbundle telecommunications services from the switches which provide them. Currently this is embodied by Intelligent Networking (IN) whereby the switches are provided with a number of trigger points at which they send a message to a Services Control Point in order to establish the next step in processing the call. Although IN has achieved many significant capabilities it is generally regarded as not being a sufficient separation of concerns to deal with the complexities that are now enabled by asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) networks.
In one approach to this problem, narrow band services are provided within the B-ISDN by mapping single 64 kb/s channels into ATM adaptation layer 1 (AAL1 VCs) and connecting them as switched VCs across the network, this creates the difficulty that the cell assembly delay of six milliseconds leads to a substantial revision of the network delay plans and a substantial increase in the requirement for echo cancellers, it also leads to the need for inter working between ISUP and B-ISUP signalling protocols leading to a substantial increase in the complexity of B-ISUP.
A general description of interworking of broad band and narrow band services using flexible signalling connections is given by Akihiro Sera et al. in Fujitsu Scientific and Technical Journal, Vol 28, No 2, Jan. 1, 1992, pages 150-159. This paper describes the enhancement of a digital switching system to evolve to a multi-service platform which can provide services for various media and interfaces.

Providing services in a telecommunications network


A magnetic random access memory module includes a magnetic memory array. A permeable metal layer extends over a first side of the magnetic memory array. An electrically insulating layer is disposed between the permeable metal layer and the magnetic memory array.

The present invention generally relates to magnetic random access memory (MRAM) devices, and more particularly to a magnetic random access memory device having a shield member for shielding the magnetic memory cells from stray magnetic fields.
An MRAM device includes an array of memory cells. The typical magnetic memory cell includes a layer of magnetic film in which the magnetization is alterable and a layer of magnetic film in which the magnetization is fixed or xe2x80x9cpinnedxe2x80x9d in a particular direction. The magnetic film having alterable magnetization may be referred to as a data storage layer or sense layer and the magnetic film which is pinned may be referred to as a reference layer.
Conductive traces (commonly referred to as word lines and bit lines) are routed across the array of memory cells. Word lines extend along rows of memory cells, and bit lines extend along columns of memory cells. Because the word lines and bit lines operate in combination to switch the orientation of magnetization of the selected memory cell (i.e., to write the memory cell) the word lines and bit lines can be collectively referred to as write lines. Additionally, the write lines can also be used to read the logic values stored in the memory cell.
Located at each intersection of a word line and a bit line is a memory cell. Each memory cell stores a bit of information as an orientation of a magnetization. The orientation of magnetization of each memory cell will assume one of two stable orientations at any given time. These two stable orientations represent logic values of xe2x80x9c1xe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9c0xe2x80x9d.
The orientation of magnetization of a selected memory cell may be changed by the application of an external magnetic field. The external magnetic field is created by supplying electrical current to a word line and a bit line which intersect at the selected memory cell. The electrical currents in the word and bit lines create magnetic fields (also referred to as xe2x80x9cwrite fieldsxe2x80x9d) surrounding the energized word and bit lines that, when combined, can switch the orientation of magnetization (and thus the logic value) of the selected memory cell. Since no electric power is needed to maintain the memory state of the device, MRAM""s are non-volatile.
Preferably, only the selected magnetic memory cell is subjected to both the word and bit line write fields. Other memory cells coupled to the particular word line preferably receive only the word line write field. Other magnetic memory cells coupled to the bit line preferably receive only the bit line write field.
The magnitudes of the word and bit line write fields are usually selected to be high enough so that the chosen magnetic memory cell switches its logic state when subjected to both fields, but low enough so that the other magnetic memory cells which are subject only to a single write field (from either the word line or the bit line) do not switch. The undesirable switching of a magnetic memory cell that receives only one write field is commonly referred to as xe2x80x9chalf-selectxe2x80x9d switching.
One problem encountered by MRAM devices is the presence of stray or external magnetic fields which emanate from sources other than the word and bit lines which are intended to write to a particular memory cell. Stray magnetic fields can originate from a multitude of sources, both within the MRAM device and external to the MRAM device. In some instances, stray magnetic fields may have a magnitude sufficient to switch the logic state of a memory cell, either as half-select switching or switching in the complete absence of a write field.
The problem of stray fields increases as the storage density of MRAM devices increases. As memory cells are packed closer together, the magnetic fields from adjacent memory cells and their associated write conductors exert a greater effect. Thus, reducing or eliminating the effects of stray magnetic fields becomes more important as storage densities increase.
A magnetic random access memory module comprises a magnetic memory array covered on a first side by a permeable metal layer. An electrically insulating layer is disposed between the permeable metal layer and the magnetic memory array. The permeable metal layer reduces the effects of stray magnetic fields on the magnetic memory array.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A bottle cap remover includes a pair of axially nested socket sections of different diameters depending axially from a larger-diameter grasping section. Each of the socket sections includes frictional gripping members along their inner walls that are adapted to frictionally engage different sizes and types of metal and plastic bottle caps, thereby to enable the user to twist off and remove the bottle caps by applying a relatively small twisting force to the grasping section.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the removal of closures from containers, and more particularly to a bottle cap remover that is capable of removing the caps from multiple kinds of bottles with a reduced twisting force.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Millions of people every day remove the twist-off caps from glass and plastic bottles of varying opening diameters by applying a manual twisting force to the screw-top bottle caps, thereby to remove the bottle caps and allow the liquid contents of the bottle, typically beer, juice or soda, to be poured out. For most individuals, the removal of a screw-top bottle cap can be usually achieved with relative ease by simply grasping the cap, typically with the thumb and middle finger of one hand, and rotating the cap in the counter-clockwise direction to unscrew and thus remove the cap from the bottle. On occasion, the cap may be so tightly secured to the container that even a healthy person of ordinary strength may have difficulty unscrewing the bottle cap without the use of a tool such as a wrench or pliers to provide a sufficient twisting force to remove the cap.
However, for the elderly and those who suffer from arthritis, for example, the removal of a screw-on bottle cap may on almost all occasions present an insuperable problem since persons so afflicted are often unable to grasp tightly and twist a bottle cap with a sufficiently large torsional force to remove the bottle cap bottle cap without pain or discomfort. As the population of elderly people in the United States continues to grow, the need for a device that would allow them to perform such a basic task as opening a bottle becomes more pressing. There thus exists a need for a device that would allow an individual who suffers from arthritis or who for any other reason is unable to grasp and twist a screwed-on bottle cap with a sufficient torsional force to readily remove the bottle cap without pain or discomfort and to do so with bottle caps of a wide variety of sizes and materials.


A washing machine comprises a drum rotating device, a water supplying device, a draining device, a sensing device for sensing excessive foam generated beyond a permissible amount in an outer tub of the washing machine in the washing operation, and a control device for controlling the drum rotating device, the water supplying device and the draining device. In this washing machine, the sensing device would sense the abnormal foaming in the washing operation and inputs a foam sensing signal to the control device. Then, the control device forces the water supplying device to supply water in the tub and/or the draining device to drain the tub so as to settle the abnormal foaming.

(i) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a washing machine and, more particularly, it relates to a washing machine which comprises an outer tub supported in a frame, and a drum rotatably held about a horizontal supporting shaft in the tub and formed with many bores in its peripheral wall and which is capable of sensing foam generated beyond a permissible amount in the tub in washing the laundry.
(ii) Description of the Prior Art
In a conventional drum washing machine, since the rotation of a drum violently agitates washing water including detergent, foam is generated in a tub. When the foam is excessively generated, it impedes the drum from rotating, and the foam remaining in the tub pollutes rinsing water. Japanese Unexamined Patent Application No. 118195/1984 discloses a drum washing machine. The drum washing machine comprises an outer tub supported in a frame, a drum rotatably held about a horizontal supporting shaft in the tub and formed with many bores in its peripheral wall, rotating means for rotating the drum and sensing means for sensing foam generated beyond a permissible amount in the tub in washing the laundry.
The sensing means senses the foaming in washing the laundry and raises an alarm to urge the user to dilute washing water.
A float is used for the sensing means. When the float is raised by the foam, a sensing switch works.
However, in this prior art embodiment, the user must laboriously manage the defoaming whenever foam is excessively generated. In this case, the defoaming requires only diluting washing water, and thus water in the tub increases. As a result, although the rotation of the drum causes the laundry to beat the wall of the drum, the laundry float in the increased washing water, and hence the desired result of the beating is not obtained.
Although the float is used for the sensing means, the float requires considerable foam to rise. Thus, foaming must be in a fairly advanced stage to be sensed.
It is known that a pair of electrodes can be used for the sensing means utilizing the conduction between those electrodes. However, contrary to using the float, the electrodes become conductive even with a small quantity of foam or water, so that the use of them leads to a large error. Additionally, the electrodes are easily soiled, and therefore the accuracy in sensing is reduced as time elapses.


A method of fabricating a chalcogenide memory cell is described. The cross-sectional area of a chalcogenide memory element within the cell is controlled by the thickness of a bottom electrode and the width of a word line. The method allows the formation of ultra small chalcogenide memory cells.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to semiconductor fabrication methods and, more particularly, to fabrication of a chalcogenide memory cell.
2. Description of Related Art
Electrically writable and erasable phase change materials have traditionally been used for memory devices. Chalcogenide materials can be electrically switched between two structural states of generally crystalline and generally amorphous local order. The generally crystalline state is a phase in which the material's atoms and/or electrons form a repeatable lattice structure, whereas the atoms and/or electrons of the generally amorphous state are randomly distributed. The structural state can also be switched among a range of detectable structural states of local order between the extremes of completely crystalline and completely amorphous states.
Currently favored chalcogenide materials that are used for phase change memory applications typically contain mixtures of Te, Se, Ge, Sb, Bi, Pb, Sn, As, S, Si, P, and/or O. Because of the range of structural states, a given as-deposited stoichiometric chalcogenide material can have varied bulk conductivities. Generally speaking, the more crystalline local order the state has, the higher the conductivity of the material. Moreover, the conductivity of the material can be selectively and repeatably established via an electrical pulse of given voltage and duration, herein called a setting or resetting voltage. The conductivity remains stable until another setting or resetting voltage of comparable size is applied. Furthermore, the conductivity of the material appears to vary inversely with the setting or resetting voltage and does not depend upon the previous state of the material, i.e., the material lacks hysteresis.
The aforementioned materials can be used to store and retrieve information within a non-volatile, overwritable memory cell. When different setting or resetting voltages are employed to change the conductivity of the material, the corresponding conductivities can be distinguished by various means including, but not limited to, the application of a relatively smaller voltage across the material within the cell. If, for example, two distinct setting or resetting voltages are used, one memory cell is able to store and retrieve one bit of binary encoded data. If more than two distinct setting or resetting voltages are used, then one memory cell is able to store and retrieve an analog form that can represent multiple bits of binary encoded data. Since the chalcogenide materials are able to maintain their respective conductivities, the memory cells are non-volatile, in that no refreshes are necessary to keep the data stored. The memory cells can also be directly overwritten, meaning that no data erasures are necessary prior to storing new data within the cells.
It is known that chalcogenide phase change memory is not easy to incorporate into a CMOS circuit because the chalcogenide material requires a relatively high current density to change its state. Reducing the cross-sectional area of the chalcogenide part can reduce the current requirement in direct proportion. Structures which have been developed and which reduce this cross-sectional area involve fabricating ultra small contacts and depositing the chalcogenide into the contacts. One of the methods of fabricating ultra small contacts involves using a dielectric film, i.e., a spacer, to further reduce the photolithographic limit as referenced in U.S. Pat. No. 6,111,264. This technique can reduce the cross-sectional area, but the shrinking ratio is limited by the spacer thickness. For example, if the pore diameter is 1600 Å and the spacer thickness is 400 Å, the shrinkage area ratio is only about 4:1. The minimum pore diameter is determined by the photolithography and the spacer thickness. The shrinkage ratio can be limited. Thus, it can be difficult to scale down the chalcogenide parts in this fashion. If the chalcogenide parts cannot be scaled down, then relatively large current is required to cause a state change in the material. A requirement for larger current corresponds to a requirement for greater power to operate an array of such memory cells.
There can be additional problems once the pores are scaled down. For instance, the uniformity of the pore-to-pore diameters can be poor. Moreover, the small pores can place constraints on the chalcogenide deposition process since it will be more difficult to deposit materials into the tiny openings. For example, in the context of pores formed using the process of the preceding paragraph, overhang of the spacer may partially or fully occlude the pore, further compromising the reliability of the deposition procedure. Additionally, if the bottoms of the pores receive poor bottom coverage, the electrodes beneath them may not be able to predictably change the phases of the chalcogenide parts. If the phases are not repeatable when a given current is applied, the memory cell cannot reliably store data.
A need thus exists in the prior art for a chalcogenide memory cell capable of reliably storing data under the control of a relatively small current. A further need exists for a method of fabricating an electrode for making contact with chalcogenide material using a relatively small cross-sectional area.

Method of forming a chalcogenide memory cell having an ultrasmall cross-sectional area and a chalcogenide memory cell produced by the method


A semiconductor structure includes a gate structure over a substrate. The semiconductor structure includes an inter-layer dielectric (ILD) over the substrate, wherein an upper portion of the ILD has a higher concentration of silicon atoms than a bottom portion of the ILD.

During fabrication of a semiconductor integrated circuit (IC), an inter-layer dielectric (ILD) is formed as a barrier layer between a substrate and interconnect structures. The ILD helps to prevent particles in the interconnect structures and inter-metal dielectrics (IMDs) from diffusing into the substrate and therefore reduces the risk of improper functioning of various components formed within the ILD. The ILD is etched to form openings, such as contact holes or trenches, for features which are subsequently metalized to provide a conductive path for electrical signals to connect to the various components.
In some approaches, a mono silane (SiH4) or silicon tetrafluoride (SiF4) gas is introduced after a formation of the ILD for a planarization purpose. For example, SiH4 is ionized to generate plasma and form an ion beam with silicon atoms during an ion implantation process.

Semiconductor structure including inter-layer dielectric

TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD.


An object of the present disclosure is to efficiently release moisture, gas, and the like from the inside of an exterior body when moisture enters inside or when gas and the like is generated after a battery cell is put inside the exterior body, while inhibiting inrush of moisture to the inside. Provided is a battery structure comprising an exterior body and at least one battery cell housed inside of the exterior body which includes an openable and closable inlet introducing dry air to the inside from the outside of the exterior body, and an openable and closable outlet separate from the inlet releasing gas from the inside to the outside of the exterior body. When both of the inlet and the outlet are closed, pressure inside the exterior body is kept higher than atmospheric pressure.

Patent literature 1 discloses that a purpose is to isotropic-pressurize a battery cell which is contained inside an exterior body to reduce internal resistance of the battery cell. As an achievement means of the purpose, patent literature 1 discloses filling and sealing low-temperature gas inside the exterior body which contains the battery cell, and sealing the exterior body. Patent literature 1 also discloses that dry air is preferable as the gas, and that the pressure of the gas when the battery is used is preferably no less than 0.01 MPa and no more than 20 MPa.
Patent literature 2 discloses that a purpose is to easily detect leakage of gas from an exterior body. As an achievement mean of the purpose, patent literature 2 discloses a technique of covering at least part of an outer surface of the exterior body with a material accommodated for detecting leakage of gas from the exterior body. In patent literature 2, the battery cell is also pressurized by filling gas inside of the exterior body.
Patent literature 3 discloses that a purpose is to cool the whole battery module uniformly. As an achievement means of the purpose, patent literature 3 discloses a technique that a cooling medium can be supplied to the inside of an exterior body so as to cool a battery module, and pressure inside the exterior body can be released depending on a temperature difference between a high temperature point and a low temperature point of the battery module. In patent literature 3, cooling air using air is disclosed as the cooling medium supplied to the inside of the exterior body. However, considering function as a cooling medium, using air containing moisture is considered to be preferable.
Patent literature 4 discloses that a purpose is to discharge moisture inside an exterior body (moisture which is attached during an all-solid-state battery manufacturing process) into an outside of the exterior body without adopting construction which decreases volume energy density of batteries. As an achievement means of the purpose, patent literature 4 discloses a technique of eliminating moisture which is contained inside the exterior body through a non-return valve by heating the exterior body from the outside of the exterior body after providing the non-return valve for the exterior body. In patent literature 4, eliminating moisture from the inside of the exterior body makes atmosphere inside the exterior body have reduced pressure.

Battery structure, battery system and vehicle


A replacement endless drive track for use on a heavy duty tracked vehicle such as a bulldozer or tank includes a reinforced polymeric drive belt, two parallel sets of closely spaced rail blocks adjacent the drive belt, a plurality of drive pins extending between opposing ones of the rail blocks, and supporting members adjoining the drive belt and the rail blocks. The rail blocks are substantially Z-shaped, such that a forward portion of one rail block is offset and overlaps the rearward portion of a directly adjacent rail block. The rail blocks, drive pins and drive treads may be comprised of a polymeric material which is harder than the polymeric material of the drive belt. The drive pins may alternatively be disposed at a lateral end of the supporting members to accommodate a tracked vehicle with peripherally disposed drive sprockets. In addition, the frame of the tracked vehicle may be adapted to provide for attachment of widened rollers which roll directly on the track for smoother and quieter travel.

The present invention relates to a replacement endless track for a heavy duty tracked vehicle. Endless tracks are used on heavy duty vehicles such as tractors, bulldozers, and tanks. As shown in FIG. 1, such a vehicle includes an endless track drive system 2 made up of a closed loop endless track 3 in conjunction with the necessary sprocketed drive wheel 4 and any necessary supporting wheels, such as opposite end wheel 5 and idler wheels or rollers 6. The endless track is installed so as to pass around the wheels 4, 5 and 6. Of course, the tracked vehicle is further equipped with the necessary power source and controls to power the endless track drive system and thereby propel the vehicle over varying terrain as desired.
As seen in FIG. 2, one conventional endless track 3 consists of two parallel rails 7 each comprised of a plurality of rail blocks 7' linked together and supporting a plurality of metal grousers 8. Metal drive pins 9 between opposing rail blocks are engaged by the drive wheel sprocket to propel the vehicle. Drive pins 9 are typically driven into and retained by press fittings 10 in the rail blocks. Replaceable protective metal bushings 9' may be provided around drive pins 9 to protect the drive pins from wear, and a lubricant may be injected between drive pins 9 and bushings 9' from reservoirs in drive pins 9 to reduce friction. Examples of this type of track are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,823,082; 3,734,577; 3,955,855; 4,359,248; and 4,530,546. See also Catepillar's Sealed and Lubricated Track brochure.
As seen in FIG. 2A, another conventional track 3A consists of a plurality of central guide members 7A and a plurality of metal grousers 8A. The grousers 8A are held together by a plurality of drive units 9A disposed on the peripheral edges of the track 3A. The drive units 9A are engaged by drive wheel sprockets to propel the vehicle. Each drive unit 9A includes a pair of laterally extending pins 10A and a connecting member 12A. Laterally extending pins 10A of adjacent grousers are fitted into one of connecting members 12A.
The above-referenced conventional tracks have the disadvantages of being noisy and vibration prone, not sufficiently durable and/or not usable on road surfaces. This is because of the conventional configurations and use of metal parts. Accordingly, substantial efforts have been made to construct quieter, smoother operating and more durable tracks for tracked vehicles of rubber, polyurethane or other polymeric materials. See, e.g., Applicants' own U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,093,318; 4,569,561; 4,616,883; Re. 33,324; 4,844,560; 4,861,120; 4,884,852; 4,906,054; 5,005,921; 5,005,922; 5,020,865; and 5,040,282 (fully incorporated herein by reference). See also, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,904,030 and PCT Publication No. WO 85/2824. However, these tracks and tracks like them suffer from the disadvantage that direct replacement of the above-described conventional metal tracks is not possible. In other words, some modification of the conventional tracked vehicle is necessary in order to accommodate these polymeric tracks. Moreover, further improvements in durability are still needed.
Thus, there remains a need for replacement endless vehicle tracks which overcome the foregoing problems.


A method for sensing misalignment of a rotating shaft includes rotating the shaft. A distance from a sensor on the shaft to a first rim of a first coupling mounted to an end of the shaft is sensed as the shaft rotates. A change in the distance from the first sensor to the first rim of the first coupling is determined based on the sensed distance. An angle of the first coupling based on the change in the distance from the first sensor to the first rim of the first coupling during one revolution of the shaft is determined based on the sensed change in the distance from the first sensor to the first rim. An angle of the shaft is determined based on the sensed distance from the first sensor to the first rim of the first coupling representing the sensed change in the distance from the first sensor to the first rim.

The present disclosure generally relates to measurement of a rotating shaft. In particular, the present disclosure relates to measuring misalignment of a rotating flexible shaft assembly.
Flexible shaft assemblies are used to transmit power between two devices, such as between an engine and a helicopter main rotor gearbox when the two devices are not perfectly aligned. Flexible elements on the driveshaft can be used to accommodate misalignments between the shaft and the devices. In some cases, it is necessary to limit the flexing of the flexible elements such that the flexible elements can operate without breaking. Often, specific applications for a driveshaft require specific values of misalignment based on analysis and often add a factor for safety. After installation of flexible shaft assemblies, operators often desire to know how much shaft misalignment occurs during operation.
Existing methods for measuring misalignment of shafts fall short when utilized for rotating shafts due to sensors becoming dislodged, limited space for internal sensors, and damage or failure to strain gauges incorporated with the sensors.

Method of measuring misalignment of a rotating flexible shaft assembly


The invention is a business system that incorporates Affinity organizations and secondary affinity organizations to secure subscribers as buyers for affiliate organization products. In one embodiment, purchases are made through a customizable purchasing platform that, when visited by a subscriber, appears to be a web site administered by the subscriber's partner.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to business methods and information networks, such as the internet or wireless internet, and more particularly, the invention relates to systems, methods and architectures for implementing a business on the information network.
2. Prior Art
Most organizations, particularly non-profit organizations, receive funds from supporters in the form of donations, from members in the form of dues, or through general fundraisers. Thus, the preponderance of income to these organizations is obtained through proactive efforts, and these are sometimes only marginally successful. Furthermore, any success with fund generation is often negatively effected by marketing expenses and administrative overhead.
Some organizations have been able to generate additional funds by leveraging participation with service providers that generate predictable, periodic, residual income, such as long distance providers, internet providers, and insurance companies. However, these sources of residual income are not without cost. Recruiting them, designing a program to use with them, and actually using them requires substantial activity, such as active participation, negotiation, accounting, and marketing. Because of these costs, many organizations choose not to pursue a relationship with potential residual income partners, often deeming such relationships "too much trouble" or "not worth the effort."
Presently, there is not a program that provides income or value similar to that generated by the invention (also called the Ifiniti business system) to primary partners (also called Affinity Partners) and secondary partners. Accordingly, the invention provides a unique business system for marketing, promotion, and revenue generation.

System, method, and architecture for implementing a business Ifiniti on an information network


A medical image processing apparatus and a breast image processing method thereof are provided. The processing method at least contains but not limited to the following steps. At least one slice of breast image is obtained. Mammary glandular tissue in each breast image is detected through a mammary glandular tissue detector. The mammary glandular tissue detector is based on texture characteristic analysis. Therefore, the embodiments of the present disclosure would assist density analysis of the mammary glandular tissue and efficiently reduce false positive of computer-aided detection. In addition, based on a result of the density analysis of the mammary glandular tissue, the embodiment would further determine lactation yield and present density diagrams of mammary glandular tissue of left and right breasts. A breast region may also be separated from the breast image based on rib information according to the embodiments of the present disclosure.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to an image processing technique, and particularly relates to a medical image processing apparatus and a breast image processing method thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
Mammary carcinoma is one of the most common malignant tumors in woman, and the main symptoms include breast tumor, abnormal secretions, or shape variation, etc. To early screen the abnormal breast symptoms avails treating the tumor as early as possible, so as to decrease a chance of deterioration or proliferation of cancer cells. Screening methods such as clinical or self breast detection, biopsy, mammography, ultrasound, or magnetic resonance imaging, etc., have been widely used in clinical practice or become important issues in academic researches.
According to researches, it is known that compared to a low density breast, women with a high density breast has a high risk of suffering from breast cancer. Therefore, density analysis on breast and mammary glandular tissues is also an important factor in breast cancer assessment. On the other hand, although a computer-aided detection (CADe) system has been used in clinical practice to automatically identify tumors, lumps, or calcifications, it still has a high risk of false positive.

Medical image processing apparatus and breast image processing method thereof


In a preferred embodiment, an inter-element mounting for ceramic elements in a piezoelectric transducer stack, which mounting includes two metal plates disposed between adjacent surfaces of the ceramic elements. The metal plates are cantilevered with respect to the surfaces of the ceramic elements, such that a substantial portion of the areas of the plates between the adjacent surfaces is unsupported and, therefore, the plates have a high degree of resilience. This structure provides controlled vibrational characteristics, structural integrity for high hydrostatic pressure, versatility in design for spurious resonance suppression or elimination, dampening, and special utility for pressure gradient hydrophone stacks.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to transducers generally and, more particularly, to a novel element for vibrationally isolating the stacked piezoelectric ceramic plates found in some types of transducers and which is particularly useful in low-frequency, pressure gradient hydrophones.
2. Background Art
Piezoelectric elements are well known devices which change dimensionally when an electric potential is applied across them and which produce an electric potential when subjected to an external force.
A transducer of particular interest here is the stacked piezoelectric ceramic transducer having usefulness in hydrophones for detecting underwater sounds. Such a transducer includes a stack of piezoelectric ceramic plates that are electrically connected in parallel and provides an electric potential when an acoustic wave is received. Ideally, each ceramic plate is resiliently mounted so as to be able to vibrate completely independently of other plates. A particular problem exists with such hydrophones operating in a pressure gradient mode, that is, one in which the directional bearing of an acoustic wave, as well as amplitude thereof, is detected, in that they are highly susceptible to spurious resonances created by the interaction of the various components of the hydrophone itself.
It is desirable that such transducers be able to perform at low frequencies however, heretofore, conventional pressure gradient transducers have been limited, in that spurious resonances in the low frequency bands of interest are generated in the stack of transducer elements because of imperfect vibrational isolation. This is a particular problem when the band of interest approaches the resonant frequency of the components of the ceramic stack. Improved pressure gradient response free of spurious resonances would mean greater bearing accuracy. Freedom from spurious resonances is achieved when inter-element resonance is eliminated.
Designers of conventional hydrophone transducers first attempted to solve the problem of spurious resonances by interposing pads of resilient material between the surfaces of adjacent pairs of ceramic elements. This improved performance, but high bearing error existed on many hydrophones at a low frequency in the band where a spurious resonance resided. In a later development, there was disposed between each pair of ceramic elements a sandwich structure comprising a perforated metal annulus, with resilient annuli on either side thereof. While this construction alleviated the problem somewhat, the mounting still was too stiff and there still remained an undesirable vibrational signal level caused by the spurious resonances.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a piezoelectric ceramic stack transducer which can be operated at low frequencies without spurious resonances.
It is another object of the invention to provide an inter-element mounting between each pair of ceramic elements in such a transducer, which mounting decreases the stiffness of the coupling between the elements as compared to the previous resilient mounting, to increase vibrational isolation thereof.
It is an additional object of the invention to provide an improved ceramic stack for such transducers which can be used in existing installations.
It is a further object of the invention to provide such a ceramic stack which is easily and economically manufactured.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide an improved transducer stack, which stack particularly improves the response of pressure gradient hydrophones.
Other objects of the present invention, as well as particular features and advantages thereof, will be elucidated in, or be apparent from, the following description and the accompanying drawing figures.

Inter-element mounting for stacked piezoelectric transducers

Magnavox Government and Industrial Electronics Company


A shift register has an output stage formed by a first transistor connected between an output terminal and a first clock terminal and a second transistor connected between the output terminal and a ground. Third and fourth transistors are connected in series between the gate of the first transistor (first node) and the ground. A second node between the third and fourth transistors is connected to a power source via a fifth transistor. The fifth transistor has its gate connected to the first node. Accordingly, when the third and fourth transistors are turned off to raise the first node in level, the fifth transistor is turned on, whereby a predetermined voltage is applied to the second node.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shift register, and more particularly, to a shift register for use as a scanning-line driving circuit for an image display apparatus or the like, which is formed by field effect transistors of the same conductivity type only.
2. Description of the Background Art
An image display apparatus (hereinafter referred to as a "display apparatus") such as a liquid crystal display includes a display panel in which a plurality of pixels are arrayed in a matrix. A gate line (scanning line) is provided for each row of pixels (pixel line), and gate lines are sequentially selected and driven in a cycle of one horizontal period of a display signal, so that a displayed image is updated. As a gate-line driving circuit (scanning-line driving circuit) for sequentially selecting and driving pixel lines, i.e., gate lines, a shift register for performing a shift operation in one frame period of a display signal can be used.
To reduce the number of steps in the manufacturing process of a display apparatus, such shift register used as the gate-line driving circuit is preferably formed by field effect transistors of the same conductivity type only. Accordingly, various types of shift registers formed by N- or P-type field effect transistors only and display apparatuses containing such shift registers have been proposed (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,222,082, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 2002-313093, 2002-197885 and 2004-103226). As a field effect transistor, a metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistor, a thin film transistor (TFT), or the like is used.
A conventional shift register has a problem caused by a leakage current at a node (specifically, nodes P1 and P2 shown in FIG. 2 of the above-mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,222,082) to which a gate electrode of a transistor of an output stage is connected.
For instance, when a leakage current occurs at a gate electrode node (P1) of a transistor connected between an output terminal of a shift register and a clock terminal defining an output signal output from the output terminal, an impedance of the transistor when discharge takes place at the output terminal increases, and the time required for the discharge thus increases. Therefore, the fall time of the output signal increases, causing the output signal to be unable to follow a clock signal input to the clock terminal. As a result, an increased fall time of the output signal in the gate-line driving circuit of a display apparatus causes a problem in that a plurality of gate lines are driven at the same time, resulting in failure to achieve a normal display (which will be described later in detail).
Further, when a leakage current occurs at a gate electrode node (P2) of a transistor connected between the output terminal and a reference voltage terminal of the shift register, an impedance of the transistor in the on state (conducting state) increases. That is, an output impedance of the shift register increases, arising a concern that the potential at the output terminal may become unstable. In the case where the output signal from the gate-line driving circuit thus becomes unstable, the problem of failure to achieve a normal display also arises (which will be described later in detail).
A shift register described in the above-mentioned JP2002-313093 includes inversion-preventing circuits (transistors T7, T8) connected to the gate electrode node (n2) of an NMOS transistor (transistor T2) connected between an output terminal and a power source for stabilizing the potential at the node. The NMOS transistor needs to be held off (cutoff state) in a period during which an output line is in low level. The inversion-preventing circuits prevent the NMOS transistor from unnecessarily turning on due to level transition of the output line during the period in which the output line is in the low level, which solves another problem different from the above-described one.

Shift register and image display apparatus containing the same


A handheld communication apparatus includes a metallic insert molding member, a circuit board and a shielding frame. The metallic insert molding member includes a metal plate. An electronic component is mounted on the circuit board. The shielding frame defines opposite first and second openings, wherein the shielding frame is bonded to the metal plate of the metallic insert molding member at the first opening, thereby forming a shielding case. The electronic component on the circuit board is inserted into the second opening of the shielding frame to be shielded by the shielding case.

With increasing development of communication technologies, handheld communication apparatuses such as mobile phones become essential communication products because they are portable and convenient. Recently, a variety of new mobile phones are brought forth and the old ones are weeded out soon. For increasing competitiveness of these mobile phones, the general trends in designing information electronic devices are toward small size, light weightiness and easy portability. Generally, either slim-type injection molding of plastic material or minimization of the electronic components are redered for facilitating fabrication of slim mobile phones.
As known, electrostatic discharge and electromagnetic interference (EMI) are detrimental to the electronic components on the circuit board inside the communication products. For a purpose of minimizing the influence of electrostatic discharge and/or electromagnetic interference (EMI), some important electronic components should be shielded by electrically conductive material, which is referred hereinafter as EMI shielding case.
Conventionally, the EMI shielding case is welded to a ground wire on a printed circuit board (PCB) of the handheld communication apparatus according to the surface mount technology (SMT). Before the EMI shielding case is welded to the ground wire, solder paste has been previously coated onto the circuit board and a steel plate should have been washed. As a consequence, the process of assembling the EMI shielding case is complicated and labor-intensive. Moreover, for maintaining the electronic components which are shielded by the EMI shielding case, the whole EMI shielding case should be detached for inspecting or replacing the shielded electronic components. In addition, the height of the EMI shielding case with respect to the surface of the circuit board is not small enough.
Generally, the conventional EMI shielding cases are classified into two types, i.e. a one-piece structure and a two-piece structure, which are illustrated as follows with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
Please refer to FIG. 1, which is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a one-piece structure of an EMI shielding case. In FIG. 1, the EMI shielding case 11 is directly welded to a ground wire 121 of a printed circuit board 12 according to the surface mount technology (SMT), thereby shielding the electronic components 13. For neat drawings, however, only one electronic component is shown in the drawing. As previously described, since the EMI shielding case should be detached from the printed circuit board 12 for inspecting or replacing the shielded electronic components, it is time-consuming and labor-intensive to maintain the electronic components shielded by the one-piece EMI shielding case 11. In a case that this EMI shielding case 11 is detached from the printed circuit board 12, it fails to be repeatedly used because it is likely distorted. In addition, during the EMI shielding case 11 is detached from the printed circuit board 12, the electronic components next to the EMI shielding case 11 are possibly collided with the EMI shielding case 11.
Please refer to FIG. 2, which is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a two-piece structure. In FIG. 2, the two-piece structure comprises a shielding frame 21 and an EMI shielding case 22. Firstly, the shielding frame 21 is welded to a ground wire 231 of a printed circuit board 23 to enclose the electronic components 24 according to the surface mount technology (SMT). For neat drawings, however, only one electronic component is shown in the drawing. Subsequently, the EMI shielding case 22 is secured to the shielding frame 21 and thus the electronic component 24 is shielded by the EMI shielding case 22. In comparison with the one-piece structure, the two-piece structure is advantageous for maintenance because the EMI shielding case 22 can be separately detached from the shielding frame 21. Unfortunately, this EMI shielding case 22 is still likely distorted and thus fails to be repeatedly used.
In addition to the conventional one-piece structure and two-piece structure, a new approach for assembling the EMI shielding case is illustrated with reference to FIG. 3. The EMI shielding case 31 is referred as a contact-type EMI shielding case and comprises a shielding case main body 311, a metallic frame 312 and an elastic sheet 313. The metallic frame 312 and the elastic sheet 313 are substantially a one-piece structure by punching a metallic part. Firstly, the elastic sheet 313 is placed on a ground wire 321 of a printed circuit board 32 to enclose the electronic components 33. For neat drawings, however, only one electronic component is shown in the drawing. Then, the shielding case main body 311 and the metallic frame 312 are secured to the printed circuit board 32 by for example screwing or other fastening means. Due to the restoring force generated from the compressed elastic sheet 313, a firm attachment between the EMI shielding case 31 and the printed circuit board 32 is rendered. Moreover, the electronic components 33 can be mounted on several regions of the printed circuit board 32, which are partitioned by the metallic frame 312. Since the electronic components shielded by different regions are not interfered with each other, the overall EMI shielding effect is enhanced.
This approach is also advantageous when the maintenance of the shielded electronic components is required. Under this circumstance, the shielding case main body 311 is directly detached from the printed circuit board 32 by loosening the screws. Although the new approach for assembling the EMI shielding case is very convenient, there are still some disadvantages. For example, the width of the ground wire 321 should be at least 1.0 mm, which is much larger than that required for the one-piece structure or two-piece structure (e.g. 0.5 mm). That is to say, this approach for assembling the EMI shielding case will occupy much area of the printed circuit board 32.
In views of the above-described disadvantages resulted from the conventional method, the applicant keeps on carving unflaggingly to develop a shielding case structure of a handheld communication apparatus according to the present invention through wholehearted experience and research.

Shielding case structure of handheld communication apparatus


An article of furniture having a set of lockable drawers, a vertically-actuated lock rod, which has a plurality of extending lock members, and a plurality of dog members. Each of the dog members is coupled to a sidewall of an associated drawer and includes a resilient trailing portion. When the lock rod is positioned in an unlocked position, the lock members and the dog members do not cooperate to inhibit the movement of the drawers. When the lock rod is positioned in a locked position, the lock members are positioned horizontally in-line with the dog members. Contact between a lock member and the trailing edge of a dog member inhibits the opening of a drawer. The resilient construction of the dog member permits the drawers to be closed when the lock rod is positioned in the lock position.

The present invention generally relates to storage furniture and more particularly to articles of furniture having one or more drawers that are selectively securable through a hand-actuated (i.e., non-keyed) means that is readily concealed within another accessible and selectively closable portion of the furniture article.
There is a need in many institutional settings for articles in which one may store their personal articles and possessions in a convenient and relatively secure manner. Several known storage articles, such as footlockers for example, are relatively common place in institutional settings as they tend to be relatively inexpensive and are compatible with locking devices, such as hasp mechanisms that are configured to receive a discrete lock (e.g., a padlock or combination lock) that is provided by the user of the storage article.
As those skilled in the art will appreciate, it is usually not desirable to provide a storage article in an institutional setting wherein the user of the storage article must rely on a lock mechanism (e.g., a key actuated latch mechanism) that has been incorporated into the storage article, since the relatively transient use of the storage article can raise issues of security and maintenance. For example, the present user of the storage article cannot be sure that a prior user of the storage article did not make a copy of the key that unlatches the lock mechanism. As such, the present user cannot be sure that the contents of the storage article are secure against one possessing a copied key. Furthermore, loss of the key and/or maintenance of the latch mechanism may need to be resolved through a locksmith. In contrast, a user provided, relatively low cost padlock or combination lock tends to negates these concerns since the user may simply remove and replace the lock when confronted with the loss of a key (or forgetting of a combination) or questions about the relative security of a device.
In view of the general reluctance to incorporate an integral lock mechanism into a storage article, storage articles having externally accessible drawers have generally not been produced given a lack of a satisfactory means for locking the drawers. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, there has been a long standing need and desire for a storage article that is equipped with one or more externally accessible drawers and which is securable through a user-provided lock.
In one preferred form, the present invention provides a article of furniture having a case structure, at least one drawer, a lock structure and a dog member. The case structure has a wall member and defines at least two openings including an upper opening and a lower opening. The drawer is disposed in one of the upper opening and the lower opening and is selectively movable between an open position and a closed position. The drawer includes a lateral sidewall that is spaced laterally apart from the wall member. The lock structure extends between the upper opening and the lower opening and is slidably coupled to the wall member so as to be movable in a generally vertical direction between an unlocked position and a locked position. The lock structure includes at least one extending lock member for each drawer. The dog member is coupled to the lateral sidewall and includes a resilient trailing portion that tapers outwardly from the lateral sidewall. The trailing portion includes a trailing edge. Placement of the lock structure in the unlocked position orients the lock member into a position where the lock member does not cooperate with the dog member to maintain the drawer in the closed position or otherwise inhibit movement of the drawer between the closed position and the open position. Placement of the lock structure in the locked position orients the lock member into a position where it is horizontally aligned to the dog member. Movement of the drawer from the open position to the closed position when the lock structure is in the locked position entails contact between the lock member and the trailing edge of the dog member which moves the trailing portion of the dog member toward the sidewall of the drawer. Contact between the trailing edge of the dog member and the lock member inhibits movement of the drawer from the closed position to the open position when the lock structure is in the locked position and the drawer is in the closed position.
Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

Lockable furniture article for storage of personal items


A light-emitting diode package structure is provided. The light-emitting diode package comprises an insulating sub-mount, a first patterned conductive-reflective film, a second patterned conductive-reflective film and a light-emitting diode chip. The insulating sub-mount has a first surface and a cavity therein. The first and the second patterned conductive-reflective film are set over a portion of the first surface, a portion of the sidewalls of the cavity and a portion of the bottom surface of the cavity. The light-emitting diode chip is set up inside the cavity of the insulating sub-mount. The light-emitting diode has a pair of electrodes. The electrodes are electrically connected to the first and the second patterned conductive-reflective film respectively. Since the light-emitting diode structure of this invention incorporates the patterned conductive-reflective films, efficiency of the light-emitting diode is increased.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a light-emitting diode (LED) package structure. More particularly, the present invention relates to a light-emitting diode package, which can enhance the efficiency thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Light-emitting diode fabricated using a semiconductor compound formed from group III-N semiconductors is a light emitter with a wide bandgap. In general, the light-emitting diode is able to emit light with a wide specrum, that is, from the infrared to the ultraviolet. The basic structure of an LED device includes a P-type and an N-type epitaxial layer fabricated using a compound of the III-V semiconductors and a light-emitting layer sandwiched between the two epitaxial layers. In general, the light-emitting efficiency of the LED device depends on the internal quantum efficiency of the light-emitting layer and the light extraction efficiency of the device. The internal quantum efficiency can be increased through any improvement in crystal quality and the structural design of the light-emitting layer. The light extraction efficiency, on the other hand, can be increased through a reduction in the energy loss due to total internal reflection of light emitted by the light-emitting layer within the LED chip.
At present, the anode and the cathode of a gallium nitride (GaN) LED device grown on sapphire are set up on the same side with both the anode and the cathode capable of reflecting light. Hence, most high efficiency GaN/sapphire LED deploys a flip-chip package design so that the anode and the cathode face the non-transparent package substrate called submount. Furthermore, a reflective layer is also formed on the epitaxial layer facing the package substrate so that most of the light is emitted from the opposite side of the anode and the cathode. Another advantage of using a flip-chip design is that, together with a suitable sub-mount such as a silicon substrate, the thermal characteristics of the device can be enhanced when the device operates with a large current. As a result, not only is the light extraction efficiency of the LED increased, the internal quantum efficiency of the LED is also sustained due to rapid heat dissipation.
In the aforementioned light-emitting diode with a flip-chip package design, the degree of shielding by the non-transparent anode and cathode is greatly reduced so that overall light-emitting efficiency is increased. In addition, the rate of heat dissipation from the device is also increased so that the device can have a longer lifetime. However, light emitted from the lateral surfaces of the light-emitting diode is never utilized effectively.


An improved tape measure apparatus which includes a catch that is both slidable and rotatable relative to the rule blade in a plane which is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the rule blade when the rule blade is extended from the tape casing.

One embodiment relates generally to carpentry tools and, more specifically, to an improved tape measure apparatus which includes a rotating and sliding catch.
Standard tape measures include a length of tape wound on a spool with a spring return mechanism so that after the tape is taken out of a housing, the spring return mechanism automatically retracts the tape into the housing. A locking mechanism, typically a sliding button, locks the tape for the purpose of reading the length of the deployed tape.
Numerous tape measures have been provided in prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,624,120 to Mills; U.S. Pat. No. 4,574,486 to Drechsler; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,390,426 to Hull are illustrative of the prior art and incorporated herein by reference to show the conventional construction of tape measures. While these units may be suitable for the particular purpose to which they address, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention as heretofore described. Tape measures are well adapted for measuring distances but their utility is usually restricted to this single function.
In order to make catches or end hooks connected to the measuring tape as an entity, and to prevent inconvenience of carrying the tape measures, the areas of end hooks are small as possible. However, since the catches or end hooks are used to grab/hook onto an edge portion of an article being measured, and the rule blade pulled out to the second dimension being measured, small area catches/end hooks make it difficult to grab/hook onto the article being measured with the catches/end hooks tending to slide away causing rewinding of the rule blade and irritation to the user. Additionally, because conventionally available catches/end hooks point downwardly relative to the tops of rule blades, measurements requiring grabbing/hooking by the catches are limited to situations where the rule blade is facing up. This situation makes it inconvenient for users wishing to grab/hook onto the underside edge of an object to be measured.
In certain instances the catches or end hooks to tape measures actually inhibit proper measurements. In these instances catches which can both slide and rotate to accommodate restrictions in the item/surface being measured would be desirable. In the instant application catch and end hook are intended to be synonymous terms and will be used interchangeably.
While certain novel features of the invention shown and described below are pointed out in the annexed claims, the invention is not intended to be limited to the details specified, since a person of ordinary skill in the relevant art will understand that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention. No feature of the invention is critical or essential unless it is expressly stated as being "critical" or "essential."

Tape measure apparatus with a rotating and sliding catch


A vehicle support assembly mountable to a runway vehicle lift having a frame with a plurality of vertically oriented spaced apart support, a rack having a plurality of portions, wherein each portion is movably coupled to a different vertically oriented support, a runway vehicle support supported on the rack, a lift actuator coupled to the rack to move the rack and the runway vehicle support up and down. The vehicle support assembly comprising: a pair of carriage assemblies, each carriage assembly having an arm carriage and a two movable arms, each arm having a first end coupled to the arm carriage and a second end configured to engage an undercarriage of a vehicle; and a pair of posts wherein each post supports a carriage assembly, each post being movably coupled to the runway vehicle lift with a mount to move the post to and from a first position wherein the post is arranged vertically with the arms extended to support the vehicle above the runway vehicle support and a second storage position wherein the post is displaced from the first position.

The discussion below is merely provided for general background information and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
There exist two commonly used forms of vehicle lifts. A first version of a vehicle lift includes spaced-apart vertically oriented supports. A rack is guided up and down on the supports having spaced-apart runways that a vehicle can be driven on and used to support the vehicle in an elevated position. A lift mechanism can include separate actuators coupled to each corner of the rack, or a single actuator coupled with cabling to each corner of the rack. Commonly this type of lift assembly is referred to a four-post or runway vehicle lift.
A second form of lift assembly includes two vertically-oriented posts. A carriage moves up and down on each post and carries movable arms that can be configured to engage the underside of a vehicle, typically, the frame or other lift points designated by the manufacturer. A lift mechanism includes separate actuators for each carriage and post, or a single actuator coupled with cabling to each of the carriages. Commonly, this version of a vehicle lift is referred to as a two-post vehicle lift.
The runway or four-post vehicle lift is well-suited for long term or temporary storage of a vehicle since the vehicle can be driven on and off the lift. The lift supports the vehicle on its tires in a normal operating position. However, this type of lift is not particularly well-suited for working on the vehicle, particularly, from below since the runways are present and due to their width to accommodate vehicles of varying width from, for example, a small compact car to a full size large pickup of, the runways significantly obstruct or at least hamper access to portions of the vehicle where work needs to be performed such as the suspension components of the vehicle.
In contrast, the two-post vehicle lift is well-suited for working on vehicles since the wheel assemblies hang freely from the vehicle and the vehicle is supported by arms that extend outwardly from the vehicle thus exposing the complete underside of the vehicle. However, storage of vehicles with this type of vehicle lift is not recommended because the wheel assemblies are hanging from the vehicle, and the suspension components are unsprung, which can cause damage to the vehicle such as the suspension if left in this condition for a period of time.


A method of determining a touch gesture is utilized for a touch control system. The method includes detecting at least one first touch point on a touch surface corresponding to the touch gesture at a first time point to generate a first detecting result; detecting at least one second touch point on the touch surface corresponding to the touch gesture at a second time point to generate a second detecting result; obtaining a moving vector and a distributing variation corresponding to the touch gesture according to a relationship of the first detecting result and the second detecting result; and determining the touch gesture on the touch surface according to the moving vector and the distributing variation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of determining a touch gesture and a touch control system, and more particularly, to a method of determining a touch gesture and a touch control system capable of easily determining a multi-touch gesture.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, an optical, a capacitive, or a resistive touch device may generate touch control signals corresponding to touch events performed by a user, and determine the touch events by the touch control signals. For example, when the user utilizes fingers to perform touch gestures with various sequences of pointing, clicking, dragging or moving, etc., on the touch device, the touch device may detect touch points corresponding to the fingers to generate the touch control signals. Then, the touch device determines positions of the touch points corresponding to the touch gestures according to the touch control signals.
For the optical touch device, detection of the touch points is performed by detectors, which are disposed around a screen of the optical touch device. Please refer to FIG. 1, which is a schematic diagram of a conventional optical touch device 10. As shown in FIG. 1, the optical touch device 10 may be an optical touch computer or an optical touch smart television, which comprise detectors 100-103, a screen 104 and four reflective bars 106 disposed around the screen 104. The screen 104 is utilized for displaying pictures and provided for the user to perform touch control and interaction according to the displaying pictures. The detectors 100-103 are disposed on four corners of the screen 104. The detectors 100-103 have light emitting elements (such as light emitting diodes) and may emit light (such as infrared light) to the reflective bars 106 around the screen 104 and illuminate the reflective bars 106. Simultaneously, the detectors 100-103 also have sensing components (such as charge coupled devices, i.e. CCDs) and may sense light reflected from the reflective bars 106.
Thereby, when touch objects (such as the user fingers) are touched on the screen 104, the light reflected from the reflective bars 106 may be blocked by the touch objects, and shadows are caused due to the blocking of the reflected light. At the same time, the detectors 100-103 may sense the reflected light from the reflective bars 106 to convert as signals. By determining waveforms and amplitudes of the signals, sharply falling positions of the waveforms may be founded to obtain positions of the shadows, so as to calculate positions of the touch objects on the screen 104.
In general, if only two detectors are respectively disposed on upper-left and upper-right corners of the optical touch device, only positions of two touch objects may be accurately analyzed and determined. In such a situation, when positions of more than two touch objects are wanted to be determined, more than two detectors are required for detecting the touch objects to obtain more signals corresponding to the touch objects, and the signals are also required to be determined by utilizing more complex algorithms, so as to accurately determine the positions of the touch objects.
As shown in FIG. 1, the user utilizes five fingers to respectively generate touch points TP1-TP5 (such as round solid dots in FIG. 1) on the screen 104. Regarding the detector 100, since the five fingers block the light reflected from the right-side and bottom-side reflective bars 106, shadows 110-114 are correspondingly generated falling on the reflective bars 106 due to the blocking of the reflected light. The detector 100 may sense the shadows 110-114 and analyze corresponding signals to obtain positions of the shadows 110-114. Similarly, regarding the detector 101, since the fingers also block the light reflected from the left-side and bottom-side reflective bars 106, shadows 120-124 are correspondingly generated falling on the reflective bars 106 due to the blocking of the reflected light. The detector 101 may also sense the shadows 120-124 and analyze corresponding signals to obtain positions of the shadows 120-124.
In such a condition, positions of the touch points TP1-TP5 may be determined by utilizing mathematical calculation. For example, line equations of light-blocked lines L1-L5 formed between the shadows 110-114 and the detector 100 and line equations of light-blocked lines L6-L10 formed between the shadows 120-124 and the detector 101 are calculated first. Then, cross points of the light-blocked lines L1-L5 and the light-blocked lines L6-L10 may be calculated and positions of twenty five detected points are obtained. The twenty five detected points comprise real points TP1-TP5 and other non-real detected points (such as round hollow dots), which are called as ghost points.
As can be seen, when the multi-touch gestures having more than two touch points are performed on the optical touch device, which only has the two detectors, the optical touch device only may obtain the positions of the detected points mixing the multiple real points and the multiple ghost points according to simple signal determining methods with the mathematical calculation. The optical touch device may not easily determine the real points among the detected points.
Thus, the conventional optical touch device requires utilizing more detectors for detecting and obtaining more signals corresponding to the touch points to determine the positions of the multiple real points according to intensity distribution or other features of the signals by the more complex determining algorithms. However, when more detectors are utilized, relatively higher hardware cost is required, and when the more complex determining algorithms are utilized, more powerful hardware logic circuits are also required for implementation.
Therefore, there is a need to provide an easily determining method for determining the multi-touch gestures.

Method of determining touch gesture and touch control system


The present application includes and assembly having a hollowed body configured to traverse the length of a well bore and remove contaminants. The hollowed body having an upper seal body and a lower seal body. Each body including a seat for securing and sealing by a dart. The dart is configured to transition between the seats by passing through a central channel of the hollowed body. The assembly further includes an expandable seal configured to expand in diameter from the increase in pressure in the well bore. The expandable seal contacts the walls of the well bore. The expandable seal cleans the walls of the well bore and prevents leakage of working fluid between the walls and the assembly.

1. Field of the Invention
The present application relates generally to oil field devices and, more particularly, to a plunger assembly with an expandable seal.
2. Description of Related Art
The oil and gas industry has been drilling holes and removing natural crude oil for decades. Wells contain any number of contaminants, particulates, and water along with the gas/oil being sought. If water is not removed, pressure of the hydrostatic head of water in the surface tubing will become greater than that of the bottom hole pressure, thereby essentially sealing the formation and shutting in the well. Gas cannot on its own pressure typically flow to the surface.
Plungers are downhole tools used by operators to remove contaminants and water from productive natural gas wells. A plunger acts as an artificial lift. In operation the plunger passes down through the well until it reaches a contact point, at which point, potential energy of the plunger falling in the well acts to partially restrict the flow of working fluid through the plunger. Pressure beneath the plunger builds and raises the plunger in the well, thereby pushing out the liquids and contaminants above the plunger.
Typical plunger lift systems are inefficient partly due to the design constraints placed upon tool designers. A major limitation placed upon tool designers are the design constraints related to tubing tolerances within the well bore itself. Tubes come in different diameters (tolerance variation) and in set lengths (i.e. 30-34 feet). Tubing tends to not be perfectly straight, round, or have the exact same internal diameter. Variations in tubing internal diameters and at junction points between tubes result in a term called "drift diameter". The drift diameter is the minimum inside diameter of the tube in order to pass a ridged tool of some set length through it. Tools are designed to have a maximum diameter no greater than the drift diameter of the tubing. This results in the tools having a gap between them and the ID of the tubing. The large annulus or gap between the tool and the tubing that the tools passes through are why tools tend to be inefficient because plunger lift tools work on a pressure gradient between fluid beneath the tool and fluid above the tool. Leaks between the tool and tubing impact the pressure gradient.
Another disadvantage of conventional plunger lift systems are the particulates (i.e. sand) in the working fluid. The working fluid passes within the gap between the plunger lift system and the casing at increased speeds resulting in tools abrading quickly. Additionally, the leak leads to turbulence created around the down hole edge of the tool when it expands after passing through the leak. A new plunger lift assembly tool is required to minimize abrading and that corrects for the constraints associated with the drift diameter.
Although great strides have been made, considerable shortcomings remain.
While the assembly and method of the present application is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the description herein of specific embodiments is not intended to limit the application to the particular embodiment disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the process of the present application as defined by the appended claims.


Disclosed are retrievable through-tubing tools and methods for use in wellbores to inject fluids at subterranean locations wherein the tool have spaced foamed seal elements that are retracted during installation and expand when in use.

An increasing number of wells have been completed with the installation of liners, perforated or slotted liners, screens, and/or gravel packing. These configurations are typically connected to smaller-diameter production tubing extending to the surface. For example, an installation having a 7-inch liner or base pipe of a screen could be connected to 3½ inch production tubing or and installation where an expandable screen or base pipe has been installed and expanded.
Maintaining and completing these installations can require a variety of localized processes, for example, acid washes for screens and gravel packs, water shut-off water polymer injection through perforations, screens and gravel packs, open hole and through casing perforation stimulation. The efficiency of these processes is dependent on the proper placement and direction of the treating fluids.
The smaller production tubing limits the size and type of tools and equipment available to service these configurations. Tools generally available from oil tool suppliers called "through-tubing" tools are used to perform these processes. Tools that comprise an injection port located between spaced seal elements to isolate a well section are called Selective Injection Packers. Selective Injection Packers utilize cups or inflatable seal elements that are designed to run through production tubing and isolate a portion of the well to allow precise injection of treatment chemical. While these tools are being used currently, they present isolation and retrieving problems.
Tools with cup-type seal elements have size limitation, and tools with inflatable seal elements must be successfully inflated, utilized and then deflated before moving to a different location. Once inflated, the tool cannot slide longitudinally along the wellbore and, thus, cannot inject fluids while they are being moved. When settable fluids are being injected, the time consumed with inflation-deflation between injections can result in failures. In addition, these inflatable seal tools suffer from the inherent risk of the failure to inflate or deflate.
Thus, there are needs for methods and apparatuses for performing through-tubing isolated injection of treatment fluids into materials in and surrounding wellbores.

Methods and apparatus for injecting fluids at a subterranean location in a well


A hydrostatic pump for application in a battery experiencing sudden changes in velocity or direction as in a golf cart. The cells of the battery are provided with hydrostatic pumps separated from the walls of the cell and using the motion induced surface waves in the electrolyte to develop localized hydrostatic heads and create circulation in the electrolyte. The structure of the pumps additionally nullifies the otherwise detrimental effect of upward surge of electrolyte cause by the same change in velocity or direction.

This application is related to U.S. Pat. Application Ser. No. 07/358,688 filed May 30, 1989 and assigned to the same assignee as the present application.
This invention relates generally to batteries and more specifically to batteries which benefit from electrolyte circulation.
It has been known that in secondary batteries such as those typified by lead acid batteries using aqueous sulfuric acid or liquid electrolyte that the electrolyte tends to stratify when cycled due to varying densities. The stratification becomes aggravated during charge and recharge, affects cell performance and reduces battery life time. Additionally, ambient heat and efficient distribution of the internally generated heat are problems where the electrolyte is essentially stagnate.
The prior art is replete with examples of various devices used to circulate electrolyte in secondary batteries or otherwise prevent stratification. U.S. Pat. No. 916,320 issued on Mar. 23, 1909 to H.F. Joel illustrates a technique of tapering a center electrode relative to the separators such that the gas collecting on either side of the separator moves upward and accumulates in ever narrowing passageways, forcing electrolyte as bubbles up through orifices at the top and then over to the outside of the outer electrode where it moves downward. According to the patentee this draws the denser electrolyte from the bottom of the battery. U.S Pat. No. 2,584,117 issued on Feb. 5, 1952 to Elrod Jr. also recognized the problem and proposed the use of an air blown device to aerate the electrolyte to alter the density thereof to create circulation. Still another U.S. Pat. 4,283,467 issued Aug. 11, 1981 to Gutlich, et al. discloses a device that also utilizes gas to alter electrolyte density. U.S. Pat. No. 4,308,322 issued Dec. 29, 1981 to Hammar describes a pump within the battery comprising a gas collecting hood and passageways which utilize the generated gas to carry electrolyte as bubbles to the passageways, thus inducing circulation. Another design to reduce stratification is disclosed in U.S. Pat. 4,619,875 issued Oct. 28, 1986 to D.W. Stahura, et al. in which the separator has a plurality of laterally extending concave ribs on the surface thereof that act to trap the more dense electrolyte.
U.S. Pat. No. 529,199 issued Nov. 13, 1984 to Schoop provides several different embodiments of a device which serve to redistribute electrolyte in a battery. One particularly interesting embodiment involves the use of a planar member which forms a wall that is positioned adjacent and inside one of the back walls of a battery cell and extends across to each of the side walls thereof. The top side of the wall extends above the at-rest surface of the liquid electrolyte and terminates short of the cell base, providing an opening. When the electrolyte is disturbed by, for example, a sudden change of motion of the cell, the electrolyte fills the volume confined by the wall and the cell walls and forms a hydrostatic head. By gravity the head dissipates and the movement of electrolyte through the opening provides a beneficial circulation which equilibrates the undesirable temperature differentials and density gradients which otherwise forms during use in the electrolyte. To compensate for upward surge of electrolyte (which would effectively destroy the formation of the hydrostatic head and thus the beneficial currents), the patentee uses a one-way valve mechanism which closes the channel behind the wall to upward moving currents.
In the referenced co-pending application Ser. No. 07/358,688, incorporated by way of reference herein, it is demonstrated that the valve mechanism can be eliminated by making the average horizontal cross-sectional area of the mouth region, i.e., that portion of the volume enclosed by the wall and cell walls above the at-rest surface of the electrolyte, sufficiently greater than the average horizontal cross-sectional area of the throat volume. The upward surge of electrolyte dissipates before interfering with the formation of the hydrostatic head. The paramount advantage of the pump as described therein is the elimination of a moving part without reduction in effectiveness of the pump.
In some battery environments it would be desirable to have a pump which provides the same desirable result but which is separate from the walls of the cell. The foregoing addresses this situation as will be readily apparent from the ensuing description of a preferred embodiment of the invention.

Internal hydrostatic pump for a mobile vehicle battery


A virtual machine system in which a plurality of operating systems (OS's) can run on one computer including a physical main storage (physical MS), and at least one physical extended storage (physical ES), each operating system (OS) of the OS's having a virtual MS on the physical MS and at least one virtual ES on the at least one physical ES. The system includes a first address translator for translating a virtual ES address designated by an instruction issued by one OS of the OS's on a virtual space generated by the one OS on one virtual ES of the at least one virtual ES of the one OS to a virtual physical ES address on the one virtual ES based on the virtual ES address and an address of an ES relocation table on the virtual MS of the one OS or an ES relocation register in the computer, the one virtual ES being on one physical ES of the at least one physical ES of the computer, and a second address translator for translating the virtual physical ES address to a physical ES address on the one physical ES based on the virtual physical ES address and a start address of the one virtual ES in the one physical ES.

Typical storages of a computer system includes a main storage, an extended storage and an input/output device.
JP-A-58-9276 which corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 4,476,524 discloses an expanded storage (which is called a paging memory in the specification). In the system disclosed therein, high speed data transfer is attained between a main storage and the expanded storage by a conventional command or an input/output command.
JP-A-64-37636 which corresponds to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 079,314 discloses a method for imparting a storage area having a physical expanded storage split as an expanded storage for each VM in a virtual computer system in which a virtual machine (VM) which comprises a plurality of logical machines are generated on one computer and an operating system to run on each VM is permitted. However, the OS of each VM does not generate a virtual space for the expanded storage.
JP-A-60-122445 discloses a method for imparting a storage area having a physical main storage split as a main storage (virtual main storage) of the VM. According to the system disclosed therein, an address on the virtual space of the virtual main storage which a conventional command designates can be rapidly translated to a physical address. Further, according to the system disclosed therein, a channel can translate an address on the virtual main storage which a channel program of the OS designates to a physical address. In this manner, the conventional command of the VM and the input/output command which have the storage area having the physical main storage split can be rapidly executed.
The art disclosed in JP-A-64-37636 is very effective in rapidly effecting the data transfer between the virtual main storage of the VM which always resides on the physical main storage and the virtual expanded storage which always resides on the physical expanded storage. However, the following problems are encountered.
(a) The expanded storage of JP-A-64-37636 is used for paging. Accordingly, the OS on the VM is accessed only by the real address designation for the virtual expanded storage- The OS on the VM does not generate a virtual space for the virtual expanded storage. However, in order for a database system or an application program under the OS to use the expanded storage, it is desirable that the OS imparts a virtual space of the expanded storage to each program. Further, it is desirable that the data is directly transferred between the virtual space on the VM virtual storage and the virtual space on the virtual expanded storage. In this case, the translation information for translating an address (virtual ES address) on the virtual space on the virtual expanded storage to a real address (virtual physical ES address) on the virtual expanded storage may be prepared by the OS as a relocation table of the virtual main storage. The relocation table is provided not on the virtual expanded storage but on the virtual main storage because the main storage can be more rapidly accessed than the expanded storage is.
(b) Where the translation information for translating the virtual ES address to the virtual physical ES address is realized in the instruction processor as a relocation register, it is also desirable that the direct data transfer is effected between the virtual space of the VM virtual main storage and the virtual storage on the virtual expanded storage. The relocation table is provided not on the virtual main storage but as the register because the register can be more rapidly accessed than the main storage is.
(c) In JP-A-64-37636, the data transfer between the VM virtual main storage and the virtual expanded storage is effected by a conventional command other than the input/output command. However, it is desirable to effect the data transfer between the VM virtual main storage and the virtual expanded storage by the input/output command.
(d) It is desirable to enable the VM's to share the virtual expanded storage to enable sharing of data by the VM's.

Virtual machine system having an extended storage


An adjusting method for adjusting shooting parameters is applied to adjust the shooting parameters according to stability of a camera. In the method, an image is captured first, and an edge-detection procedure is performed on the image to obtain a still value corresponding to a stable state of the camera. Then, shooting parameters, such as a photosensitivity value, an exposure time, or an aperture value, of the camera are adjusted according to the still value.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a method for adjusting shooting parameters of a digital camera, and more particularly to a method for adjusting shooting parameters according to stability of a camera.
2. Related Art
When ambient brightness for shooting is not enough, the aperture of a digital camera is usually increased or the exposure time is prolonged to make the photosensitive component exposed adequately. However, as the adjustment to the size of the aperture is limited, the exposure time must be used for compensation during shooting. The aperture may stay open for a few seconds according to the ambient brightness and different features of the digital camera. The digital camera body must remain stable to obtain a clear image when the exposure time is long or in shooting a night scene. Otherwise, even a slight shake may result in a blurred image captured by the digital camera.
In order to avoid shacked image, a user may use a tripod to stabilize the digital camera or use a digital camera that can detect its stable state to elongate the exposure time automatically. Currently, methods for detecting stability of the digital camera mainly depend on additionally equipping the camera with a hardware device, such as a gyro, or a trigger device capable of detecting whether a tripod is installed. However, a problem is that the methods require more hardware cost. Both the component additionally added in the digital camera and man-hours spent in assembling the digital camera are extra costs.

Method for adjusting shooting parameters of digital camera


Embodiments are directed to glass articles which are resistant to UV photodarkening, the glass articles having a thickness ≤1.3 mm and comprise UV absorbers such as Ti, V, Mn, Fe, Cu, Ce, Ge, Mo, Cr, Co and Ni, and combinations thereof, or alternatively comprising ZnO or SnO2.

The present disclosure is generally related to glass articles and specifically related to glass articles used as cover or display glass, which are resistant to ultraviolet (UV) photodarkening.
Glasses, for example, strengthened glasses may be used as cover plates or windows for portable or mobile electronic communication and entertainment devices, such as cellular phones, smart phones, tablets, video players, information terminal (IT) devices, laptop computers and the like. As used herein, the term "cover plate" or "cover glass" includes windows or the like for display and touch screen applications, as well as in other applications requiring transparency, high strength and abrasion resistance. Additionally, the cover glass may be used as decorative pieces such as the back and side surfaces of electronic devices. Additionally, other glasses, which have not been chemically strengthened, are utilized as display glasses.
It has been found that exposure to ultraviolet light produces discoloration in the glass, thereby affecting the clarity and resolution of the display glass. As glass is increasingly being utilized in such electronic devices, it has become more important to develop glass articles which maintain color clarity and a clear display resolution.

UV blocking for improved transmission glasses