Systems and methods for monitoring the condition of electrodes used in biological signal measurement are provided. One method includes applying a first test signal having a first frequency to at least one of a plurality of electrodes and applying a second test signal having a second frequency to at least one of the plurality of electrodes. Both frequencies are below a frequency range associated with the biological signal. The method further includes capturing the biological signal while applying the plurality of test signals and generating an output signal that includes both the measured biological signal and the plurality of test signals. The method further includes retrieving an output amplitude for each of the plurality of test signals from the output signal and calculating an estimated impedance for each of the plurality of electrodes based on the retrieved output amplitudes of the plurality of test signals.

The present disclosure relates generally to the field of biological signal measurement. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to systems of and methods for measuring impedance associated with electrodes used in measuring biological signals.
Long term monitoring of biological signals, such as electrocardiogram (ECG) signals, presents unique challenges in maintenance of signal quality. The quality of the electrode contact with a patient can and often does deteriorate over time. For example, a gel or other conductive substance used to effect electrical contact to the patient can dry out, causing the conductive properties to be affected. When the quality of the electrode contact deteriorates, the reliability/accuracy of the biological signal measurement is diminished. There is a need for a system for monitoring the quality of electrode contact that allows for continued monitoring after placement of electrodes without interfering with measurement of the biological signal.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A method and apparatus to non-destructively inspect and quantify yarn crimp characteristics either off-line or on-line at speeds in excess of 2,000 yds./min. by acquiring images of yarn crimp on-line during the manufacturing process, then digitizing the images of yarn crimp and performing all data processing from the digital data required. Each image is segregated into features (e.g. valid crimp, low frequency oscillations, high frequency oscillations, edge oscillations, and unconfirmed oscillations with each parameter being analyzed separately. Features are segmented two dimensionally using techniques such as, but not limited to, local max/min intensity profiles and spatial intensity and frequency thresholding. Regions identified as abnormal are separated from areas of valid crimp before determining crimp frequency. Outputs of individual analysis are combined to determine global tow quality. This method provides a complete statistical analysis for each lane in the tow as well as the overall tow width. Software analysis allows operator interaction if desired.

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for measuring crimp in a web of crimped tow and, more particularly, it relates to such method and apparatus for quantifying the crimp of a moving crimped tow.
Crimp is the waviness of a fiber which imparts a gross waviness to the tow form of fibers. Crimp is a key factor in the processibility of many staple products and for others is important because of the bulked property it induces in the finished fiber.
The amount of crimp in a given yarn sample may be expressed as crimps per unit length. A visual crimp count can be made by counting crimps in a unit length of tow using a calibrated reticle. This method involves sampling and is limited to off-line use.
It is also known in the art to determine crimp level in fibrous tow using a light source arranged at an angle to the tow such that any reflected ray of light reflects onto a light sensing means and to make a crimp count by measuring reflected light intensity.
Existing systems convert video images into slow scan signals, remove video synchronization and use conventional analog circuits for analysis. They look at high frequency crimp on low frequency background and then amplify and convert the signals into square waves using digital comparator circuits. The frequency of the square wave and duty cycle define crimp frequency and crimp angle. These existing systems do not, however, have the ability to adequately filter out data from areas of the image with such poor contrast that peaks are missed and thus incorrect wavelengths are reported.

Method and apparatus for measuring crimp frequency of a web


The present disclosure relates to a system for measuring a dynamic response of a machine. The system includes a vibration mechanism, an accelerometer, a controller and a casing. The vibration mechanism is operable to generate an excitation signal, and the accelerometer is operable to measure dynamic energy in response to the excitation signal and output a dynamic response signal indicative of the dynamic energy. The controller includes a communication interface and operates the vibration mechanism to output the excitation signal and transmit a vibration input signal based on the excitation signal by way of the communication interface. The casing houses the vibration mechanism and the controller.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Computer numeric control (CNC) machines are operable to perform high speed machining of workpieces, such as aluminum blocks, to form a part. When machining at high cutting speeds, especially with thin walled workpieces, structural dynamics of the machine can become a concern for preventing excessive or unstable vibration. An existing condition indicator analysis box (CIAB) system measures vibrations during cutting, but cannot be used to determine the machine structural dynamics (i.e., natural frequencies and vibration modes).
Currently manual offline testing is used to calibrate and troubleshoot unstable vibrations. For example, with the CNC machine being offline, an operator strikes the CNC machine with an instrumented hammer at one or more points along the machine and vibrations measurements are taken using accelerometers. This operation is subject to operator error and can result in inaccuracies due to an unknown and varying force applied to the machine.
Furthermore, the wear and tear of a tool used by the CNC machine is largely unknown, and periodic preventative maintenance is required. This incurs expensive costs as components with significant remaining life are replaced, machine tools are taken out of service and operators are tied up in unnecessary maintenance. These and other issues are addressed by the teachings of the present disclosure.

Dynamic characterization system for measuring a dynamic response


An information display system for a vehicle includes: a plurality of sensors for detecting various conditions of the vehicle; a display unit for displaying a selected one of a plurality of items of information relating to the conditions of the vehicle as detected by the corresponding sensors; a pair of manual for sequentially shifting the item of information which is currently displayed on the display unit; and a control unit for producing one of the items of information on the display unit according to output from one of the sensors. The control unit is further adapted to change the item of information which is currently displayed to a display of a default item of information, when the current display was manually selected, upon elapsing of a certain time interval after the manual selection of the current item of information for display. The control unit is capable of selecting at least two items of information for display, and the display unit assigns an indicator to each of the selected and displayed items to indicate that an additional item for dispaly exists. Thus, sufficient information which the driver of the vehicle may wish to know can be displayed in a limited space of the display unit.

Various forms of information display systems have been proposed in the past for the purpose of indicating the operating conditions and the internal states of the vehicle. For instance, Japanese patent publication No. 51-20787 proposed a system in the form of a centralized warning system. According to this proposal, a number of check points are selected in advance and any abnormal states found at these check points are displayed as warning signals according to a certain hierarchy of priority scaled to the degree of importance. The display unit for this display system is so small that it can therefore show only a limited amount of information at any given moment. As a matter of fact, this is generally the case with display systems of this kind. Therefore, if more than one abnormal condition has occurred, the system is capable of indicating only one of the abnormal conditions and all the necessary measures may not be taken at a sufficiently early stage.
To the end of eliminating this problem, Japanese patent laid open publication No. 53-87694 discloses an information display system which is provided with means for indicating that there are a plurality of items to be displayed by giving a display literally saying "plural". However, this system can not display the content of any one of the plural additional abnormal conditions and cannot indicate how many items are detected to be in abnormal conditions and are required to be displayed.
Beside from this problem, as the number of items of information to be displayed increases, the handling of the information display system becomes less favorable and the convenience of the system tends to be diminished. It is therefore desired to have an information display system which occupies little space by having a small display area and a limited number of switches and yet can display a comprehensive range of information without requiring any complicated handling on the part of the user.
The quantity of fuel remaining in the tank and the distance which can be covered with the fuel remaining in the tank are important items of information which are desired to be displayed as trip function information. Japanese patent laid open publication No. 57-12322 discloses such a method of computing the distance that can be covered with the fuel remaining in the tank. According to this method, the distance is displayed only when the quantity of the fuel remaining in the tank has agreed with one of a plurality of key values. Japanese patent laid open publication No. 56-112336 proposes a method and apparatus for issuing a warning with synthesized speech when the quantity of the fuel remaining in the tank has reached one of two values and using different warnings for the two different values.
These proposals have the disadvantage that the display is intermittent and does not provide a continual display of the trip information. Furthermore, the computation of the distance that can be covered by the fuel remaining in the tank tends to be inaccurate because the detection of the quantity of the fuel in the fuel tank involves a greater error as the quantity decreases. This is particularly significant when the fuel quantity is estimated from the cumulative flow rate of fuel injection in the engine because the error accumulates as the fuel level drops.
Most items of the trip information are based on the cumulative mileage of the vehicle. Therefore, if the cumulative mileage stored in the memory of the control unit is erased due to power outage, repair or other servicing, accurate management of the vehicle is not possible any more. Therefore, it is desired to have means for reinstalling the cumulative mileage when it is erased from the memory without sacrificing the simplicity of the handling of the information display system.
Trip information related to the gas mileage of the vehicle requires an indication of the filling the fuel tank. A float level meter is typically equipped to the tank but is unsuitable for accurately detecting the full level of the fuel tank because it tends to indicate the full level of the fuel tank whenever the fuel level is close to the actual full level. Japanese patent publication No. 58-38726 proposes a device for displaying the distance that can be covered by the vehicle and the quantity of the fuel remaining in the tank. According to this proposal, the driver turns on a certain manual switch when the fuel tank is filled up. The distance that can be covered by the vehicle with the remaining fuel is computed according to a certain average fuel mileage when the quantity of the fuel remaining in the tank is large and this fuel mileage is updated with current fuel mileage as the quantity of the fuel in the tank gets less.
However, if one forgets to turn on the tank full switch, the information display system cannot display any information related to fuel consumption until the vehicle makes a next stop to fill up the fuel tank. It may be possible to assume that the tank has been filled up if the ignition switch is turned on when the float sensor indicates a substantially full fuel level in the tank. However, since a tank full state is assumed every time the ignition switch is turned on with a substantially full tank, the accuracy of the display based on this information may not be sufficiently accurate.

Information display system for a vehicle


A softbox for being mounted to spotlight door flaps includes plural flat sides, at least two of which are mutually non-adjacent, wherein pockets for accommodating the spotlight door flaps are arranged on the at least two mutually non-adjacent flat sides of the softbox, wherein the pockets are each provided with an insertion opening, and wherein the insertion openings are configured to be reversibly variable with regard to their widths. The softbox includes at least two side walls, and further includes a light-baffle arranged between the at least two side walls of the softbox, wherein the light-baffle includes at least two translucent planes inclined to one another, and wherein the plural translucent planes together form a shape having a base facing towards the spotlight.

A softbox 30 known from DE 10 2012 104 779 A1, of the relevant kind, is shown in FIG. 1, wherein lateral flat sides 31 are tensioned by tensioning struts 34, the curved parts 36 of which inherently provide shape stability. Not shown is a light intensity distribution homogenizing "baffle" at the light exit (in the drawing: upper) side of the softbox 30. Such a softbox is mounted with its edges 32 at its light entry side facing towards the spotlight.
The "barn doors" to be equipped with such a softbox usually have, according to their geometry, four (see FIG. 2), six, or eight alternatingly larger and smaller spotlight "barn door" flaps for limiting the illuminated field laterally. The most common structure includes two larger, approximately trapezoidal door flaps having the longer sides of the trapezoid outward with respect to the spotlight, and two smaller trapezoidal door flaps having the shorter sides of the trapezoid outward, or sometimes smaller rectangular flaps. The respective smaller door flaps are usually configured to be inwardly foldable; the respective larger ones are usually configured to be inwardly foldable onto the folded-in smaller door flaps. These door flaps may be arranged around an essentially circular or quadratic light emission area, or around an oval or rectangular light emission area, wherein in the latter case, the smaller door flaps are usually arranged at the shorter sides of the rectangle or oval, respectively. In most cases the door flaps are not completely trapezoidal, but include a trapezoidal part and a rectangular part; for example in such a manner that the larger door flaps have their rectangular part on their radially outer side, and the smaller door flaps have their rectangular part at their radially inner side. The door flaps are linked to a single-part or multi-part hinge structure, which together with the door flaps constitutes the spotlight "barn door" proper and is in turn configured to be mounted at or around the light emission opening of a spotlight.
It is known from DE 10 2013 004 665 A1 of the present inventor a softbox which is configured for being mounted to spotlight "barn" doors, however, predominantly rectangular ones. It has been found that with the known device, for each size of the spotlight "barn" doors a specially adapted softbox is required, which is inconvenient when there are several spotlights from which the most suitable one is selectable.
The present invention aims at alleviating or resolving this issue, by providing a device which is more easily handled.


In an impeller for a fluid energy machine with a hub and a plurality of rotor blades which are mounted on the hub and around which a medium may flow through the fluid energy machine and which form a blade duct between two neighboring rotor blades with a blade duct length which extends in the axial direction of the impeller, wherein each rotor blade is connected to the hub via a first transition region with a first curvature and via a second transition region with a second curvature and with a straight conical blade duct bottom of the blade duct formed between the first transition region and the second transition region.

The invention relates to an impeller for a fluid energy machine including a rotor with a hub provided with rotor blades having curved transition regions between the hub and the blades.
Presently, fluid energy machines are provided in the form of exhaust gas turbo-chargers including compressors and turbines which are used in connection with combustion engines for power enhancement. It is therefore desirable that these fluid energy machines have a service life which corresponds at least to that of the combustion engines. Contrary to combustion engines, these fluid energy machines however have extremely high operating speeds of up to, and even far over, 100,000 rpm. Due to the high centrifugal forces the tensile strength of the impellers of the fluid energy machine must meet stringent requirements.
DE 10 2010 020 307 A1 discloses an impeller wheel of a fluid energy machine in the form of a radial compressor. This impeller comprises rotor blades which are fixedly connected to a hub of the impeller via transition regions. Contrary to conventional compressor wheels whose transition regions have an identically formed curvature both in the longitudinal direction of the rotor blade and in the circumferential direction of the hub, the compressor wheel of this unexamined German application exhibits a changing curvature in the longitudinal direction of the rotor blade.
However, the manufacture of such an impeller with different radii of the transition region over the length of the rotor blades is relatively expensive.
It is the principal object of the present invention to provide an impeller for a fluid energy machine which exhibits a very long service life and simultaneously is relatively inexpensive to manufacture.


A multicylinder engine intake system includes: first and second throttle bodies; bypasses provided in the first and second throttle bodies and having downstream ends opened to intake paths on downstream sides of throttle valves; and a common bypass control valve which opens and closes the bypasses. The bypass control valve is mounted on the first throttle body. Downstream ends of the bypasses opened in the first and second throttle bodies are formed as throttle holes. The diameter of the throttle hole on the side of the first throttle body is smaller than the diameter of the throttle hole on the second throttle body. Thus, it is possible to equalize amounts of first idling air supplied to a plurality of cylinders irrespective of arrangement of the cylinders in an engine even if lengths of a plurality of bypass downstream paths are not equal to each other, while the bypass control valve is mounted on any of the throttle bodies.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improvement in a multicylinder engine intake system comprising: a plurality of throttle bodies having intake paths communicating with intake ports of a multicylinder engine, and throttle valves for opening and closing the intake paths; a plurality of bypasses provided in the throttle bodies, having upstream ends opened to atmosphere or the intake paths on upstream sides of the throttle, and having downstream ends opened to the intake paths on downstream sides of the throttle valves; and a common bypass control valve which opens and closes the bypasses.
2. Description of the Related Art
A multicylinder engine intake system of this type is known from, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2003-129924. A bypass control valve in this intake system is used to regulate the amount of first idling air supplied to the engine through bypasses in order to appropriately control the first idling rotational speed mainly during engine warm-up operation.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2003-129924 discloses an intake system for a V-type 4-cylinder engine in which a common bypass control valve is placed at a central position surrounded by four throttle bodies. In this intake system, the lengths of four bypass downstream paths extending from the bypass control valve to intake paths in the throttle bodies are set equal to each other, thereby equalizing the amounts of first idling air supplied to the cylinders. In this intake system, however, it is necessary to dispose a supporting member for attachment of the bypass control valve separately from the throttle bodies, so that the bypass control valve attachment structure is complicated. Also, in the case of an intake system for an inline 4-cylinder engine, for example, it is difficult to equalize the lengths of four bypass downstream paths by any arrangement of the common bypass control valve.


A system includes a processor configured to receive requirement values, from a vehicle-providing entity, for a plurality of predefined tunable routing parameters. The processor is also configured to select and assign entity-associated, routing parameter consideration-levels, based on the values correlated to a predefined schema of consideration-levels for each parameter. The processor is further configured to receive a plurality of pick-up requests and determine, using the entity-associated routing parameter consideration-levels, a routing-plan for a plurality of vehicles to service the requests such that the received values are met.

Navigation routes have been available in digital form for over a decade. As a general concept, a user inputs a destination, and the system plans a route from a present location to the destination. This alone is not a trivial solution, as there are potentially thousands, if not millions, of possible routes, when considering every possible alternative.
While modern solutions have adapted to accommodate single vehicles going to single destinations, new models of vehicle usage have begun to emerge. Concepts such as ride-sharing and/or ride-hailing allow individual owners to act as drivers for others. In such solutions, there is an additional accommodation step that needs to be done for choosing which vehicle will service a given request. An easy solution to this problem would just be to select the closest available vehicle, and offer the opportunity, moving outwards towards less-proximate vehicles until a driver accepts. Once there is a one-to-one relationship between the vehicle and passenger, the process can use the existing concepts of route-planning, from where the user was picked up, to where the user will be dropped off.
Even newer models of travel consider a fleet of vehicles servicing a request. In those models there is a significant hurdle realized as people and vehicles are added to the paradigm. For example, two vehicles servicing two customers, and being otherwise agnostic about which vehicle services who, presents four possible solutions for service. Adding a single vehicle moves the solution to eight possible solutions, and adding another customer makes twenty seven possible scenarios. And that is merely considering which vehicles will pick up whom. Once you add additional real-word variables to the problem, a system of, for example, forty vehicles servicing forty customers can have an astronomical number of solutions. Because scaling such systems is non-trivial, and because such systems are more desirable when they can handle volume, significant thought is being spent on attempting to find solutions that are both accommodating of scale and adaptable to constraints.

Method and apparatus for tunable multi-vehicle routing


A microwave oven includes a main body, a door opening and closing the main body, and a control panel placed in one side of the main body and provided with a plurality of function operators. A guide line is provided on the control panel and lights up to guide manipulation order of the function operator.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a microwave oven, and more particularly, to a microwave oven capable of guiding a manipulation order of a function operator provided in a control panel thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a microwave oven uses a microwave to heat food or the like. Recently, there has been developed a microwave oven which has a general function using the microwave to defrost and warm up the food, a grill function using a heater, and a combination function using both the heater and the microwave.
Further, the microwave oven can comprise a convection heater and a convection fan behind a cooking compartment, thereby performing an oven function.
A conventional microwave oven comprises a main body; a door opening and closing the main body; and a control panel placed in a front of the main body and comprising a function operator to perform various functions (defrosting, warming up, oven-burning, etc.). The function operator provided in the control panel comprises a function selecting key to select a predetermined function, a detailed function setting key to set a detailed item of the selected function, and a starting key to start the selected function.
With this configuration, the following manipulation order of the microwave oven varies according to what function is selected through the function selection key. As the microwave oven has various functions, a user has to already know the manipulation order following a predetermined function selected through the function selection key. If a user doesn't know the following manipulation order, he/she should refer to a guide book or ask others about it whenever selecting the following detailed function.
To solve the foregoing problem, a microwave oven has been disclosed in Korean Patent Application No. 1997-59119, which not only indicates what buttons are capable of being manipulated after a user selects a predetermined function through the control panel, but also displays contents that correspond to the buttons that are capable of being manipulated.
However, in this conventional microwave oven, a user should check a lighting state of a lamp for a character displayed on a display portion and then set the detailed functions corresponding to the lighting state in sequence, thereby making the use of the oven less convenient. Also, the size of the character letter displayed on the display portion is too small to visually check easily with the naked eye, making this step inconvenient for a user.

Microwave oven having an illuminated guide line


A computer system and method is disclosed that transforms data for use in other applications. Several client workstations and servers are coupled together over a network. A client computer contains a user interface for performing the mapping and transformation. Data elements are mapped from a data source to a multi-dimensional cube. The multi-dimensional cube is transformed into a test recordset to determine if the data elements are mapped correctly. The mapping information is saved to a template. A server includes business logic for using the saved template to create a final recordset from the data source using the template. The server sends at least part of the recordset to a browser user interface on a client computer for display.

Often, key corporate performance information contained in electronic reports is simply not available in a lower level system in a structured format. The primary reason is that substantial business logic often resides in report authoring tools. Such business logic could be located within ETL (Extract, Transform, and Load) processes so that the outputs would be available in a structured manner (typically the relational database management system) to subscribing systems for presentation. There are many reasons why this is often not the case in the real world. With the high incidence of merger and acquisition activity, it is often the case that at a given point in time, a corporation may have multiple ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems, multiple data warehouses with disparate ETL tools and processes, and key business information residing in Excel® spreadsheets, Access® databases, and other similar data formats. With this reality, it is not surprising that much of the integration required to present key performance information is ultimately accomplished within the reporting environment where information can be integrated and cleansed much more rapidly than changes can be made to the data warehouses or source systems.
For the above reasons, reports are sometimes the best source for some systems to retrieve certain types of information. However, the problem that is quickly encountered is that most reporting tools do not provide a means to access the information as it appears in the report. For example, in the BUSINESS OBJECTS® report tool it is possible to obtain the data in the data provider, but this is prior to any calculation or formatting. It is likely that the report tool vendors do not provide this capability because the report is considered to be the final output of the system, not as a data source for higher-level presentation. Some companies have attempted to solve this problem of obtaining information from reporting systems by "scraping" a document that is intended primarily for viewing. Screen scraping has numerous limitations and does not allow the underlying data to easily be presented in different ways.
Many reporting systems have the ability to produce the reports in HTML or other similar formats. Several systems have been developed for the purpose of converting HTML pages or other such documents to structured formats, such as XML. The immediate problem these systems encounter is that HTML is not a structured data source. Each of these systems suffer significant limitations when the system is applied to documents with complex layouts and multi-dimensional relationships, such as business reports. These systems extract information from fairly simple HTML documents that are published on the Web and contain content that is semi-structured in one or more basic tables. Most of these systems rely on the structure of the document as a basis for evaluating the relationship between data elements within the document. While this is useful for fairly simple documents, especially those manually coded for the Web, the reliance on internal document structure breaks down completely for documents that have complex layouts with multiple dimensions, cross-tabs and multiple nested tables.
Many of the current systems do not consider the hierarchical nature of information in reports. Other systems that do treat information hierarchically still fail to capture the multi-dimensional nature of the information and often rely heavily on the underlying document structure for the definition of the relationship. Thus, while they are able to map several columns of an HTML table to a tree, they are not able to handle multi-dimensional cross-tab reports with multiple nested tables. Thus, further advancements are needed in these areas.

System and method for transforming and using content in other systems


Integrated circuits with guard rings are provided. Integrated circuits may include internal circuitry that is sensitive to external noise sources. A guard ring may surround the functional circuitry to isolate the circuitry from the noise sources. The guard ring may include first, second, and third regions. The first and third regions may include p-wells. The second region may include an n-well. Stripes of diffusion regions may be formed at the surface of a substrate in the three regions. Areas in the guard ring that are not occupied by the diffusion regions are occupied by shallow trench isolation (STI) structures. Stripes of dummy structures may be formed over respective STI structures and may not overlap the diffusion regions. The diffusion regions in the first and third regions may be biased to a ground voltage. The diffusion regions in the second section may be biased to a positive power supply voltage.

This relates to integrated circuits, and more particularly, to integrated circuits with guard rings.
Integrated circuits include digital circuitry, analog circuitry, and/or other functional circuitry formed in a semiconductor substrate. Regions of circuitry are often surrounded by guard rings.
A guard ring is a structure that is used to block undesirable signals. In a typical scenario, an integrated circuit has internal circuitry that is coupled to external equipment through input-output pads. Noise can potentially leak from the external equipment through the pads onto the internal circuitry. A guard ring may be placed around the internal circuitry in this type of situation to isolate the internal circuitry from the noise. Guard rings can also be formed around noisy circuits to prevent noise from interfering with the operations of nearby circuits.
To ensure that noise is adequately suppressed, conventional guard rings generally have large widths. This can lead to fabrication challenges. For example, it can be difficult to satisfy polysilicon density requirements in integrated circuits with guard rings of large widths. The guard rings are generally devoid of polysilicon structures, which can lead to uneven surface profiles during chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) operations.
It would therefore be desirable to be able to provide an improved guard ring that satisfies advanced fabrication requirements.


A method and apparatus for profiling and identifying the source of a signal is provided. A first method includes receiving a signal produced by a known source and creating a matrix of wavelet coefficients corresponding to a wavelet transform of the signal. The method also includes profiling the signal according to an output of a wavelet transform utilizing a particular base function and a particular scale set. A second method includes performing a wavelet transform having a particular profile on a received signal and determining the presence of a particular signal-producing entity as a function of wavelet coefficients exceeding a threshold. An apparatus includes a receiver configured to receive a signal and a processor coupled to the receiver, such that the processor is configured to perform wavelet transforms on the signals. A database is coupled to the processor and configured to store wavelet transform profiles.

It is often the case in a variety of studies of wild animals that their presence can be known by sound alone. This occurs, for example, with insects and birds whose visibility is often obscured by plant life. Another common case is with the study of cetaceans. Many species are visible at the surface for only minutes at a time, and then only under ideal sea conditions.
It is conceivable that under ideal conditions (e.g., a good source and a tuned system as described later) an individual source could be recognized by sound alone. For example, spectrum analysis via the use of Fourier Transforms could be used. Fourier transforms use the sinusoidal as a basis, wherein the purpose of performing a Fourier transform is to calculate the coefficients of a series of sinusoidal waves of different frequencies, the sum of which are a close approximation of the original signal. By knowing these coefficients one can gain an understanding of the distribution of the signal in question in what is known as "frequency space" or the "frequency domain."
The use of Fourier analysis, however, has many limitations. For example, Fourier analysis yields a high rate of false positives and is significantly affected by noise at or near the same frequencies as the desired feature. Fourier analysis is also computationally inefficient since it utilizes a substantial amount of processing power. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a method and apparatus for characterizing the acoustics of a particular species in order to design a system that can provide more efficient and reliable detection performance.

Method and apparatus for profiling and identifying the source of a signal


The invention relates to a metal effect pigment including a metallic substrate in platelet form and a coating applied thereto, wherein the coating includes a spacer layer. The invention further relates to a process for production of and to the use of the metal effect pigment.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to metal effect pigments comprising a metallic substrate in platelet form and a coating applied thereto, wherein the coating comprises at least one spacer layer, and to a process for production of the metal effect pigments and to the use thereof.
Description of Related Art
EP 1 270 682 A2 discloses multilayer luster pigments based on a metallic substrate. The luster pigments comprise a plurality of layers composed of (A) at least one layer stack consisting of i) a colorless dielectric layer composed of a material having a refractive index n≤1.8 and ii) a colorless dielectric layer composed of a material having a refractive index n>1.8, and (B) a selectively or nonselectively absorbent layer. EP 1 270 682 A2 does not give any pointer to a spacer layer within the coating.
EP 1 114 103 A1 discloses multilayer pigments based on metal pigments in platelet form, wherein the metal pigments have been coated with an amorphous vitreous layer and subsequently with one or more metal oxides or metal oxide mixtures. There is no description of a spacer layer within the coating in EP 1 114 103 A1.
EP 1 685 198 A2 discloses effect pigments having an aluminum or aluminum alloy core in platelet form and an aluminum oxide- or aluminum oxide/hydroxide-containing layer that surrounds the aluminum or aluminum alloy core and is obtainable by wet-chemical oxidation of the core. The effect pigments have been coated with at least one metal chalcogenide layer of high refractive index, with formation of a mixed layer owing to the porosity of the aluminum oxide- or aluminum oxide/hydroxide-containing layer between the metal chalcogenide layer of high refractive index and the surrounding aluminum oxide- or aluminum oxide/hydroxide-containing layer. The pores that form in the aluminum oxide- or aluminum oxide/hydroxide-containing layer as a result of the wet-chemical oxidation of the core are not arranged essentially parallel to the surface of the aluminum or aluminum alloy core, but distributed randomly in the aluminum oxide- or aluminum oxide/hydroxide-containing layer.
EP 0 708 154 A2 discloses luster pigments based on multiply coated metallic substrates in platelet form, which have at least one layer stack composed of A) a colorless coating having a refractive index of n≤1.8 and B) a selectively absorbent coating with a refractive index n≥2.0 and, if desired, additionally C) an outer colorless or selectively absorbent coating different than the layer B) beneath. EP 0 708 154 A2 does not disclose a spacer layer within the coating.
EP 0 668 329 A2 discloses luster pigments based on multiply coated metallic substrates in platelet form comprising A) a first layer consisting essentially of silicon oxide, silicon oxide hydrate, aluminum oxide and/or aluminum oxide hydrate, B) a second layer consisting essentially of metal and/or nonselectively absorbent metal oxide, and C) if desired a third layer consisting essentially of colorless or selectively absorbent metal oxide. EP 0 668 329 A2 does not contain any pointer to a spacer layer within the coating.

Metal effect pigments with high chroma and high brilliancy, method for the production and use thereof


A horizontal-axis wind turbine includes a rotor having a hub and blades rotatable by wind; a nacelle assembly for rotatably supporting the rotor through a main shaft, the main shaft being connected to the rotor; a tower for rotatably supporting the nacelle assembly; a dynamo placed near to a location at which the tower is built up; a rotatable vertical shaft orthogonally disposed to the main shaft inside the tower for transferring a rotating force of the main shaft to the dynamo; and a repulsive torque-balancing mechanism for transferring a rotating force of the nacelle assembly, the rotating force of the nacelle assembly being derived from repulsive torque due to a load of the dynamo, to the vertical shaft in a direction in which the repulsive torque is balanced.

As is well known in the art, a wind turbine is an apparatus that converts the energy of the wind into useful electrical energy. The wind turbine generates electricity using the rotary force of blades, the motion being produced when the wind rotates the blades. Since the wind turbine uses the wind, which is an unlimited clean source of energy, as a power source to perform non-polluting power generation, the effect achieved by substituting it for fossil fuel is great. In addition, by installing the wind turbine in under-developed areas, coastal areas, and mountainous areas, it is possible to rationalize the use of the land of a country and supply competitive power. Further, when a massive wind power plant complex is constructed in a specific region, such as an island, the wind turbines can also serve as tourist attractions. Therefore, the wind turbine is attracting more attention.
Since the wind turbine has been constructed in the form of a 'rotor blade type' (the so-called propeller type) wind turbine by the Danish physicist Poul la Cour in 1891, it is currently in the spotlight and is increasing in size. In addition, in wind power generation, the output of the wind turbine varies depending on the conditions of its construction. For example, the strength of the wind and the size of a wind turbine are very important factors, since more wind energy can be produced when the wind is faster and the wind turbine is larger. In addition, locating a wind turbine higher is better and generates more power than a lower wind turbine does because the wind becomes stronger as the height increases. Wind blowing at an average velocity of 4 m/s or more is required in order to use wind to generate electric power. Herein, the velocity of the wind refers to its velocity at the height at which the blades of the wind turbine are present not its velocity on the ground that people stand on.
Such wind turbines are classified according to the direction of the rotary shaft of the blades, into a vertical-axis wind turbine, in which the rotary shaft is provided perpendicular to the ground surface, and a horizontal-axis wind turbine, in which the rotary shaft is provided parallel to the ground surface. The horizontal-axis wind turbine is easy to construct because of a simple structure. However, the horizontal-axis wind turbine is greatly influenced by the wind. Although the vertical-axis wind turbine can be constructed in a desert or plain regardless of the direction of the wind, its efficiency is disadvantageously lower than that of the horizontal-axis wind turbine.
FIGS. 1A and 1B show an example of a rotor blade type wind turbine having a typical horizontal-axis structure. As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the rotor blade type wind turbine includes a rotor 10, which converts wind power into mechanical rotation energy, a nacelle assembly 20, which includes components for converting the rotation energy into electrical energy, and a tower 30, which supports the nacelle assembly 20. The wind turbine is completed by burying a foundation insert 40, which is supposed to be under the tower 30, in the location in which foundation work is firmly finished, and sequentially assembling the tower 30, the nacelle assembly 20, and the rotor 10 over the foundation insert 40. The rotor 10 includes a hub-nose cone assembly 14, which includes a plurality of blades 12, for example, three blades, which are arranged radially at equal intervals. The hub-nose cone assembly 14 is connected to the main shaft 22, which is supported on a base frame 24 inside the nacelle assembly 20. A speed-up gearbox 26, a disc brake 28, and a dynamo 50 are assembled sequentially to the main shaft 22. The blades 12 are disposed in an orthogonal direction to the main shaft 22, and therefore the hub-cone assembly 14 rotates when the wind blows the blades. This rotating force is transferred to the main shaft 22, and the number of rotations of which is increased by the speed-up gearbox 26, thereby driving the dynamo 50 that generates power.
In wind power generation, it is most preferable that a so-called free yaw state be realized, since the availability of wind energy is high when the plane on which the blades rotate (i.e., the rotating plane of the blades) intersects the direction of the wind at right angles. However, since the direction of the wind changes constantly, there occurs a yaw error in which the rotating plane of the blades no longer intersects the direction of the wind and deviates at right angles. As the yaw error becomes greater, the availability of the wind drops.
In order to prevent this problem, the wind turbine also includes an active yawing system 60, which is provided in the nacelle assembly 20, as specifically shown in FIG. 2. The active yawing system 60 includes a ring gear 62, which is mounted on a top flange formed on the upper end of the tower, and a wind direction control motor 64, which interlocks with the ring gear 62. When the direction of the wind changes, the wind direction control motor 64, interlocking with the ring gear 62, is operated to rotate the nacelle assembly 20, thereby realizing active yaw control. Accordingly, the blades 12 are operated to constantly face the wind. In the figures, reference numeral 66 indicates an anemoscope.
FIG. 3 shows a rotor blade type wind turbine having a typical horizontal structure in which a dynamo is installed on a ground or below a tower. As shown in FIG. 3, the nacelle assembly 20 is supported on the upper portion of the tower 30 by a bearing assembly 82. In this state, the rotating force of the main shaft 22 is transferred through a drive bevel gear 72a to the vertical tower shaft 76 having a following bevel gear 74a, which is engaged with the drive bevel gear 72a, and is then transferred through a following bevel gear 72b to a speed-up gearbox 26 via a rotating shaft 78. The speed-up gearbox 26 is used to drive the dynamo 50. With this configuration, the dynamo 50 may be provided on the ground or at a predetermined height not far above the ground. However, in this case, when the rotating force of the blades 12 of the rotor 10 is transferred through the drive bevel gear 74b, which is coupled to the lower end of the vertical tower shaft 76, and through the following bevel gear 72b of the rotating shaft 78, the tower shaft 76 is subject to repulsive torque (shown as dotted lines) that is applied to the drive bevel gear 74b from the following bevel gear 72b. The repulsive torque causes the nacelle assembly 20 to rotate. Therefore, in order to preclude the repulsive torque, a strong rotation prevention function has to be disadvantageously added to the inside of the active yawing system. Accordingly, the wind turbine is generally provided inside the nacelle assembly instead of being provided on the ground or at a position close to the ground even if the cost increases.
In general, in the case of a megawatt level wind turbine, the tower is designed to be approximately from 50 to 80 m in height in consideration of the direction of the wind and other factors. In addition, the tower is required to support a total tower head mass of substantially 100 tons, i.e., the load of the nacelle assembly, including the dynamo and the rotor on the upper portion thereof. Therefore, the tower has to be designed to have a structural strength meeting such conditions, and the top flange of the tower is large, the outer diameter thereof being nearly 3 m, which entails an increase of construction and maintenance costs.
In addition, since the blades are linear, a strong reaction increases energy loss, and the rotating blades cause a large amount of aerodynamic loss. In the case of a down wind, a low pressure area is formed in the backwash of the tower, thereby increasing noise and causing fatigue to the blades.


A process for the preparation of stabilized B-carotene wherein polysorbate is heated under an inert atmosphere to about 100.degree. to about 120.degree. C. in the presence of butylated hydroxytoluene for a period of time sufficient to allow substantially all of the water present in the polysorbate to be driven off. The temperature is then increased to about 160.degree. to about 180.degree. C. and the resultant polysorbate product further heated at this temperature while maintaining the inert atmosphere and under strong stirring for 1 to 11/2 hours. The thus heated polysorbate is then cooled rapidly to about 100.degree. to about 120.degree. C. and 2.0 to 4.0% by weight of B-carotene, based on the weight of the polysorbate, introduced under strong stirring in the presence of para-aminobenzoic acid and a conventional antioxidant such as butylhydroxyquinone under containued maintenance of the inert atmosphere. The resulting liquid composition is cooled to room temperature. A dark yellow, stable B-carotene liquid is recovered.. The stabilized B-carotene product of the invention is useful as a precursor of vitamin A, can be employed as a colorant, for example a food colorant, and as a medicament for use both in human and animal medicine.

Retinol (Vitamin A) is known to be necessary to the biochemistry of human vision. Through a series of reactions the retinol is converted through retinal isomers to rhodopsin ("visual purple"). Irradiation of the rhodopsin with visible light in turn causes a series of isomerization reactions through the retinal isomers to opsin resulting in excitation of the retinal rod cells and generation of a visual nerve impulse. A deficiency of Vitamin A in the system leads to reduced visual sensitivity (especially night blindness) and in extreme cases (e.g., keratomalacia or xerophthalmia) to complete blindness.
Vitamin A is also known to be necessary to the proper function of the epithelial tissues. Deficiency of Vitamin A in such cases results in disorders such as reduced resistance to infection through epithelial surfaces.
Increases in the level of Vitamin A in the body may to some extent be obtained by administering doses of Vitamin A directly to an individual. However, there is a limited bodily tolerance to Vitamin A, and overdoes of Vitamin A can lead to toxic effects. Since the tolerance level varies widely among individuals, it is not generally advisable to administer substantial doses of Vitamin A except under carefully controlled circumstances.
It is well known that carotene is the precursor of Vitamin A. (There are several carotene isomers, including the alpha-, beta- and gamma-carotene isomers. Of these the beta-carotene isomer has the most Vitamin A activity and is also the most common. As used herein, the term "carotene" is limited to B-Carotene. Carotene is oxidized by liver enzymes to produce Vitamin A. Significantly, however, the enzyme metabolism produces only the amount of Vitamin A that can be utilized by the body; it does not produce an overdose of Vitamin A. Consequently, an individual can be administered doses of carotene in quantities large enough to produce optimum levels of Vitamin A in the body without the risk cf a toxic Vitamin A reaction. Excess carotene which is administered is stored in fatty tissues and organs.
The carotenes, particularly beta-carotene, are present in many common foods, primarily the green and yellow vegetables such as tomatoes, citrus fruits, carrots, squash, turnips, broccoli and spinach. The concentration of carotene in these vegetables is relatively low, and a person must consume substantial quantities of the vegetables to have a high intake level of carotene. The normal diet for most people does not include such large quantities of these vegetables, so there has developed a commercial market for concentrated carotene dietary supplements, particularly those in which the carotene is beta-carotene because of its high Vitamin A activity. These supplements normally have been produced by extraction of carotene from vegetables such as carrots by use of petrochemical solvents. The resulting carotene, usually in crystalline form, can be expected to be associated with at least residual quantities of such solvents. This is particularly true when the carotene is administered in a dosage form in which it is dispersed in a petrochemical or other "synthetic" oil. The presence, even in minute amounts, of such petrochemical residues in the carotene supplements has caused apprehension among users of the supplements.
It is also known that certain algae, especially those in the classes Rhodophyta (red algae) and Chlorophyta (green algae), are good sources of carotene. The carotene content of species of the genus Dunaliella have been reported in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,115,949 and 4,119,895 and in Acta Chem. Scand. 23, 7, 2544-2545 (1979). Similar data for the genus Chlorococcum has been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,949,700. In the past, however, all extraction processes to produce the carotene from algae have involved the use of petrochemical solvents, which results in the same contamination problems discussed above for the vegetable extractions. In addition, many of the algal extraction processes have involved drying of the alga, which has been found to degrade the carotene.
In addition to the use of carotene as a precursor for Vitamin A, there have recently been reports in the literature that suggest that carotene is itself useful in the prevention of certain types of cancers which are believed to be promoted by oxidizing free radicals. It is postulated that carotene, which has an affinity for such free radicals, may serve to reduce the free radical level in the body, thereby reducing the occurrence of free radical initiation of malignancies. There are studies currently underway which are expected to provide more information regarding the effects of carotene on such cancers.
It would therefore be of benefit to have carotene available in a form which would be safe and therapeutically useful for humans, and which would not have the disadvantages noted.
More particularly, it would be of benefit to have such carotene available in a stable form. B-carotene is extremely sensitive to oxidation. It is usually stored in tightly sealed containers. However, even with such precautionary measures, there is sufficient oxygen available to cause a substantial decrease in activity in about eight (8) days.
It is an object of the present invention to prepare relatively highly pure, clear and stable B-carotene.
We have found that this object is achieved by a process for the preparation of B-carotene which comprises reacting 2-10 parts of B-carotene, preferably in the presence of an antioxidant such as butylated hydroxytoluene with 98-90 parts of polysorbate.
As used herein, B-carotene has the chemical formula ##STR1## and polysorbate the chemical formula
The reaction between the B-carotene and the polysorbate is carried out in the following manner:
(1) The polysorbate (90-99 parts) is heated with an antioxidant, such as buylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), in order to remove any water. This is carried out under stirring at normal atmospheric to moderately increased pressures and at temperatures in the 100.degree. C. to 120.degree. C. range, or under vacuum at reduced temperatures. Removal of the water separated out is facilitated by bubbling dry argon or nitrogen through the polysorbate.
(2) Once the water is substantially completely removed, the B-carotene (1-10 parts) is added. Conditions are maintained until the B-carotene is dispersed in the solution. At this time the temperature is increased to about 160.degree.-180.degree. C. at atmospheric pressure. Once again, the inert atmosphere is maintained. Conditions are held constant for approximately 1-2 hours before the heat is removed;
(3) Immediately thereafter, there are added 2-5 parts t-butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) and 2-5 parts p-aminobenzoic acid (PABA), under an inert atmosphere. The stirring is continued as the solution is allowed to cool below 30.degree. C.
(4) The resulting deep orange syrupy solution is assayed for activity and subsequently packaged in dark containers.
Examples of particularly suitable polysorbates are: glyceryl polyoxyethylene glycol ricinoleate, glycerol polyoxyethylene glycol hydroxystearate, polyoxyethylene-20 sorbitan mono-oleate, polyoxyethylene-20 sorbitan monostearate, polyoxyethylene-sorbitan monolaurate, and the adduct monohydroxystearic acid with 15 units of ethylene oxide.
Examples of conventional antioxidants which can be used in the process according to the invention are butyl-hydroxytoluene, butylhydroxyanisole and d,1-.alpha.-tocopherol. The antioxidants are generally used in amounts of from 10 to 20% by weight, based on the B-carotene employed.
Despite the belief held by the skilled in the at, no isomerization of the B-carotene takes place at these temperatures. The stabilized B-carotene produced in accordance with the invention has the following chemical structure: ##STR2##
The following example is given in order to illustrate the invention, but is not to be construed in limitation thereof.


A combined d.c. brushless motor and drive control assembly for a rotary mower includes a hollow motor housing, a cover removably attached to an open rear end of the housing, and an end shield mounted to an internal shelf of the housing adjacent its rear end. The end shield and a front wall of the housing define rotary bearing seats for a motor drive shaft. An electronic circuit board including motor drive electronics and feedback sensors is mounted to the housing or to the cover, and is positioned at an axial location between the internal shelf of the housing and the rear wall of the cover. The housing is configured for mounting on a shroud of the rotary mower such that at least the removable cover is above the shroud and easily accessible, whereby repair or replacement of the electronic circuit board is facilitated.

Lawn mowers employing a blade that rotates about a vertical axis are known as rotary mowers. Rotary mowers may be powered by a gasoline-fueled combustion engine or by an electric motor connected to rotate a shaft to which the cutting blade is attached. For safety reasons, the blade is contained within a downwardly open shroud. The combustion engine or electric motor may also provide power to wheels of the mower to assist on propelling the mower over ground, however a common arrangement on electric powered mowers for residential lawns is for the electric motor to power the rotary blade while the operator pushes the mower along the ground.
Electric motors typically require a motor drive, i.e. an electronic controller, for sensing rotation of the motor's rotor and for driving the motor at a suitable rpm. The motor drive may be embodied by circuitry and components, such as Hall effect sensors, mounted on a circuit board. In order to service the mower, it may be necessary to verify connection of the motor drive to a power source, or to repair or replace the motor drive. In this regard, it is desirable that the motor drive be serviceable without having to remove the entire motor from the shroud.
In some rotary mowers, grass is conveyed through a chute to a collection bag located between the push handle and the shroud. Therefore, if an electric motor is used to power the rotary blade, it is desirable to minimize the space occupied by the motor above the shroud.


A silicon carbide epitaxial substrate includes a silicon carbide single-crystal substrate of one conductivity type, a first silicon carbide layer of the above-mentioned one conductivity type, a second silicon carbide layer of the above-mentioned one conductivity type, and a third silicon carbide layer of the above-mentioned one conductivity type. The silicon carbide single-crystal substrate has first impurity concentration. The first silicon carbide layer is provided on the silicon carbide single-crystal substrate, and has second impurity concentration that is lower than the first impurity concentration. The second silicon carbide layer is provided on the first silicon carbide layer, and has third impurity concentration that is higher than the first impurity concentration. The third silicon carbide layer is provided on the second silicon carbide layer, and has fourth impurity concentration that is lower than the second impurity concentration.

Silicon carbide single crystals have excellent physical properties such as large dielectric breakdown field strength and high thermal conductivity. For this reason, a semiconductor device using silicon carbide instead of silicon that hitherto has been widely used as a semiconductor material, that is, a silicon carbide semiconductor device, is expected as a high-performance semiconductor device, in particular, as a power device. The silicon carbide exists in crystal polymorphs of different crystal structures (so-called 2H, 3C, 4H, 6H, 8H, or 15R type and such), although having the same chemical formula. Among above, 4H-type silicon carbide is suitable for the use of such a power device that copes with a high voltage. "H" herein represents a crystal polymorph of a hexagonal system (hexagonal), and "4" represents a structural unit in which a double-atomic layer formed of Si (silicon) and C (carbon) are stacked four times. The 4H-type silicon carbide particularly has advantages as a material of a substrate for a power device. Specifically, the bandgap thereof is as wide as 3.26 eV, and further, anisotropy of electron mobility is low in a direction parallel to the c-axis and a direction perpendicular thereto.
In general, a silicon carbide single-crystal substrate is manufactured with a method in which a raw material containing Si and C is sublimated inside a crucible to grow crystals on a seed crystal (sublimation recrystallization method). In order to obtain as many silicon carbide semiconductor devices as possible from one substrate with high yield, it is required that the entire silicon carbide single-crystal substrate have uniform crystals of a single crystal polymorph. In order to enhance productivity while satisfying such a requirement, efforts have been made to increase the size of the substrate. Hitherto, the diameter of a commercially available substrate had been up to 100 mm (4 inches); however, the size has increased to be as large as 150 mm (6 inches) at the present.
In the manufacture of the silicon carbide semiconductor device, there is used a silicon carbide epitaxial substrate including the silicon carbide single-crystal substrate and a silicon carbide layer provided thereon through epitaxial growth. Typically, the epitaxial growth is conducted with a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method that uses a source gas containing Si atoms and C atoms. At least a part of an epitaxial layer is used as an active layer in which a semiconductor element structure is to be formed. Adjustment of impurity concentration and a thickness of the active layer enables adjustment of a withstand voltage and element resistance of a semiconductor device. Specifically, a semiconductor device having a higher withstand voltage can be obtained as the impurity concentration inside the active layer is lower, further, as the thickness of the active layer is larger.
Commercially available silicon carbide single-crystal substrates have crystal defects at high density as compared to silicon single-crystal substrates or the like. Propagation of the crystal defects from the single-crystal substrate to the epitaxial growth layer (i.e., to the active layer) at the time of epitaxial growth may adversely affect operations of the silicon carbide semiconductor device. As typical crystal defects of silicon carbide, there are given a threading screw dislocation, a threading edge dislocation, a basal plane dislocation, a stacking fault, and the like. The basal plane dislocation is decomposed into two partial dislocations, accompanying a stacking fault therebetween. When a bipolar device such as a PIN diode is energized in a forward direction, the stacking fault traps injected carriers and expands an area thereof. It is known that increase in forward voltage drop of the device is caused due to the above (refer to Non-Patent Document 1: JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS 99, 011101 (2006), for example). This phenomenon is hereinafter referred to as "energized deterioration." Further, the expression of the "basal plane dislocation" as used in this specification connotes the above-mentioned "two partial dislocations."
It is known that many of the basal plane dislocations inside a silicon carbide substrate having a surface being a plane inclined by several degrees with respect to a (0001) plane are, at the time of epitaxial growth with the CVD method, converted into threading edge dislocations, which affect the device to a lesser extent. In order to suppress the above-mentioned energized deterioration, various attempts have been made to enhance a rate of converting the basal plane dislocation inside the substrate into the threading edge dislocation at the time of epitaxial growth (conversion rate).
According to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-250693 (Patent Document 1), for example, a second epitaxial growth layer having impurity concentration of 3×1019 cm−3 or more is formed in the middle of a first epitaxial growth layer. In the second epitaxial growth layer, crystal strain abruptly becomes larger. According to the above-mentioned publication, there is a description as for the capability of conversion into a dislocation that is less liable to adversely affect electrical properties by changing orientation of the dislocation. In this method, however, the formation of the second epitaxial growth layer having high impurity concentration itself may be a factor of generating the stacking fault (refer to Non-Patent Document 2: PHYSICA B 376-377, 338 (2006), for example). Further, the abrupt change in a profile of impurity concentration between the first epitaxial growth layer and the second epitaxial growth layer may newly generate a basal plane dislocation adversely. Therefore, effectiveness of this method was low in actuality.
Further, according to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-74661 (Patent Document 2), for example, there is disclosed a silicon carbide epitaxial substrate including, on the silicon carbide single-crystal substrate, a suppressing layer for suppressing density of basal plane dislocations and an active layer formed on the suppressing layer. The suppressing layer has a structure in which nitrogen concentration is reduced toward the active layer side in a stepwise manner.

Silicon carbide epitaxial substrate and silicon carbide semiconductor device


A computer implemented system and method for generating a focus corrected image of a sample disposed on a sample holder of an imaging system is disclosed. The imaging system includes an image sensor and a lens moveable relative to the image sensor between a first position and a second position. A characteristic map of the lens is developed that associates coordinates of each pixel of an image generated by the imaging sensor with one of a first plurality of locations of the lens between the first position and the second position. An image generator develops an output pixel of a focus-corrected image of a sample from a plurality of images of the sample acquired when the lens is positioned at a corresponding one of a second plurality of locations of the lens between the first position and the second position. The image generator selects a second location in accordance with the characteristic map, an image from the plurality of images of the sample associated with the second location, and determines a value of the output pixel in accordance with a value of a pixel of the selected one of the plurality of images that corresponds to the output pixel.

An imaging system may be used to obtain a microscopy image of a biological sample. Such image may be processed using an image analysis system to identify pixels of the image that are associated with objects of interest (cells, organelles, and the like) therein, to classify the different types of objects of interest represented in the image, to obtain metrics regarding such objects of interest or portions thereof and the like. Such metrics may include, for example, a count of the objects of interest, a count of each type of object of interest represented in the biological sample, sizes (area, perimeter, volume) of the cells, statistics (mean, mode, median, standard deviation, etc.) of the sizes of the objects of interest, and the like.
The imaging system includes an X-Y stage on which a sample to be imaged may be placed, a light source, an objective lens, and an image sensor (e.g., a charge-coupled device, a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor sensor, or another light sensitive sensor). The objective lens may be a single lens or a compound lens comprising multiple lenses coupled to one another.
The stage and the image sensor typically have parallel planar surfaces facing one another and the objective lens (either a single lens or a compound lens) is disposed between such surfaces. The objective lens and the image sensor may be moved as a unit along a direction perpendicular to such surfaces to adjust the distance between the objective lens and the stage. Moving the objective lens and image sensor in this manner determines a focus plane between the stage and the object lens that will be brought into focus on the image sensor. The image sensor generates signals in accordance with the image formed thereon, and such signals are used to determine pixels of an output image generated by the image sensor. However, because of, for example, field curvature or other focal aberrations of the objective lens, a peripheral (or other) portion of the image formed on the image sensor may be out of focus when the central portion of the image is in focus.
The focal aberrations described above may be ameliorated by including additional lenses to a compound objective lens and/or selecting different materials of one or more lenses that comprise the objective lens. However, even with the use of such additional lenses or materials, such focal aberrations may not be eliminated. In addition, the use of such additional lenses may add significant cost to the imaging system or negatively impact other factors of the imaging system such as, for example, light throughput.

System and method to correct for variation of in-focus plane across a field of view of a microscope objective


A plurality of nozzles is formed in a nozzle plate. A first liquid repellent film which surrounds an ejecting port of each of the nozzles and which has a liquid repellent property higher than a liquid repellent property of an inner surface of the nozzle is formed on an ink discharge surface. A second liquid repellent film which has a liquid repellent property higher than the liquid repellent property of the first liquid repellent film is formed on an outer side of the first liquid repellent film. A boundary between the first liquid repellent film and the second liquid repellent film is on a circle which is concentric with a circle forming a circumference of the ejecting port of the nozzle. Discharge characteristics of liquid droplets which are discharged from the nozzle can be stabilized.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid droplet jetting apparatus which discharges liquid droplets, and a nozzle plate which is used in the liquid droplet jetting apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
An ink-jet head which discharges ink from nozzles onto a recording paper is available as a liquid-droplet jetting apparatus which discharges or jets liquid droplets. In this ink-jet head, pressure is applied to the ink by various kinds of actuators and the ink is discharged from the nozzles. Then, after the discharge of the ink, the ink is drawn in the nozzles because the pressure in ink channels connected to the nozzles is decreased. However, after the discharge of the ink, when the ink is not completely drawn into the nozzles and a portion or part of the ink is adhered to an ink discharge surface on which ejecting ports of the nozzles are formed, during a subsequent ink discharge, an amount of ink discharged and a direction of discharge are varied in some cases and there is a possibility that the print quality is degraded. In view of this, in a general ink-jet head, a water repellent treatment is performed on the ink discharge surface so that the ink is hardly adhered around the ejecting port of the nozzle.
However, only by performing the water repellent treatment on the ink discharge surface, it is difficult to prevent completely the ink from adhering in the vicinity of the ejecting port of the nozzle. For example, when a viscosity of the ink is decreased due to a rise in the temperature, a large amount of ink is overflowed or outflowed from the nozzle to the ink discharge surface. The outflowed ink moves freely on the ink discharge surface and there is a possibility that a part of the ink moving freely is accumulated or remains around the ejecting port of the nozzle. In view of this, an ink-jet head which is capable of preventing the accumulation of the ink around the ejecting port of the nozzle even when the ink is adhered to the ink discharge surface is proposed.
For example, in an ink-jet head described in U.S. Patent Application Publications No. US 2002/140774 A1 and No. US 2004/196332A1 corresponding to Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2002-292877, a first area which is concentric with the ejecting port is provided around the ejecting port of the nozzle, and a second area having a liquid repellent property lower than a liquid repellent property of the first area is provided at an area other than the first area. Therefore, the ink adhered to the first area around the ejecting port of the nozzle is moved to the second area having the liquid repellent property lower than the liquid repellent quality of the first area, and the ink is hardly accumulated or remains around the ejecting port.

Liquid droplet jetting apparatus having liquid-repellent jetting surface, nozzle plate having liquid-repellent jetting surface, and method for producing the nozzle plate


The present invention provides an electrode array for a medical implant device, comprising a substrate supporting a plurality of electrodes, the substrate comprising at least two layers of material including a first layer and a second layer, wherein the first layer of material and the second layer of material have different coefficients of thermal expansion. The plurality of electrodes may be supported on the first layer of material, and are preferably incorporated in and/or project from the second layer of material. The second layer of material may itself have a layered structure comprising multiple material layers, with the plurality of electrodes incorporated within the said multiple material layers. The first layer of material preferably has a higher coefficient of thermal expansion than the second layer of material. The invention furthermore provides a medical implant device including an electrode array according to the invention, and a method of manufacturing such an electrode array.

Electrodes for use in medical implant devices are advantageously designed to be in close contact with the tissue they are intended to stimulate. Where the tissue to be stimulated has a non-planar (e.g. curved) surface profile, problems can arise in ensuring and maintaining the desired contact between the electrodes and the tissue to be stimulated over an entire area of the electrodes of the implant device. In cases where an electrode array includes only a few electrodes distributed over a very small area, the surface profile of the tissue to be stimulated will usually have little impact on the desired electrical contact. As the number of the electrodes and, therefore, the size of the electrode array increases, however, a curvature in the surface profile of the tissue becomes increasingly significant. The curved surface of the retina is one example of an area of the body which presents particular difficulties in achieving the desired contact between the electrodes of a retinal implant and the surface of the tissue containing the nerve cells to be stimulated.
The application of pressure to an implant device and/or to the electrodes of the implant device in order to achieve and/or maintain intimate contact between the electrodes and the tissue to be stimulated is generally undesirable as this can readily lead to irritation and even inflammation of the tissue. One solution to this problem is to design an electrode array which is highly flexible so that it is able to readily adapt itself to the profile of the underlying tissue surface. Such a high degree of flexibility, however, generally requires a very low material thickness and renders handling of the electrode array and/or of the implant device particularly difficult. A very high degree of flexibility in the electrode array also has the additional disadvantage that the electrodes and the current paths incorporated therein can become more susceptible to damage during handling and/or during implantation.
An alternative proposal involves moulding an electrode array of the implant device to have a predefined curvature corresponding to the surface profile of the tissue to be stimulated. This proposal, however, also has the disadvantage that the manufacture of such an electrode array would be problematic. In particular, either a finished substrate that already supports the electrodes of the electrode array would have to be shaped in a mould, thereby introducing an additional production step and providing further opportunities for the electrodes and current paths of the array to sustain damage, or alternatively, the substrate would have to be moulded before the application of the electrodes. This latter option, however, is not possible using the current production techniques, in which the electrodes are manufactured on a flat wafer.
Consequently, there exists a need for a new and improved electrode array for a medical implant device, and a method of producing same. In particular, it would be desirable to provide an electrode array for a medical implant device which is able to be specifically configured or tailored to suit a particular surface profile of the tissue to be stimulated.

Electrode array and method of manufacturing same


An auxiliary-overload-bypass valve in a fluid-delivery system including a pump having its own internal, relatively low-volume-capacity bypass valve. The auxiliary valve relieves a defined high pressure condition which can occur in the system when the pump is overworking and the system is not delivering fluid. The valve includes a valve body with an inlet coupled to the system downstream of the pump and an outlet coupled to the system upstream of the pump. Disposed inside the body is a valve-opening mechanism for allowing fluid to pass through the valve to relieve the high pressure condition.

This invention relates generally to fluid-delivery systems and more particularly to one including a pump having its own internal, low-volume-capacity bypass valve. Proposed by the invention, in such a system, is a high-volume-capacity, auxiliary-overload-bypass valve for relieving a defined high pressure condition which can occur in the system when the pump is overworking and the system is not delivering fluid--a condition not "protectible" by the pump's internal bypass valve.
Conventional home-heating fuel delivery systems, wherein the invention offers particular utility, are designed for use on a fuel-delivery truck. One end of such a system is coupled to the truck's deliverable fuel supply, and the other end to a delivery nozzle for use by the operator.
Such a system includes fuel plumbing which feeds fuel into a fuel pump, connects an output of the pump to a meter, and couples an output of the meter to a flexible hose which is connected to a delivery nozzle. The pump's speed can be accelerated to an RPM sufficient to pump fuel through the entire system. Increasing the pump's speed produces a full-fuel-delivery-pressure condition in the system so that, once the operator opens the nozzle, fuel is deliverable at a suitable rate.
To operate the pump, the same is coupled to the truck's transmission by way of an auxiliary drive shaft. Then, by increasing the truck-engine RPM, the operator increases the pump's speed to a full-fuel-delivery rate, approximately 600 RPM which produces a full-fuel-delivery pressure of 50-100 psi throughout the system. Given this pressure and the standard two-inch diameter pipe used in conventional systems, such systems deliver fuel at 50-100 gpm.
To deal with certain system-pressure-overload conditions, a conventional system's pump includes an internal-overload-bypass valve designed to relieve system pressure when the pump is operating at full-fuel-delivery speed and the delivery nozzle is closed. These conventional valves allow the system operator to run the pump without having to deliver fuel.
Specifically, the internal-overload-bypass valve is capable of relieving system pressure when the pump is operating at full-fuel-delivery speed, i.e. 600 RPM, producing full-fuel-delivery pressure of 50-100 psi throughout the system. Because conventional overload bypass valves have been designed to deal with the above, so-called, "normal" system pressure, they have been dimensioned to divert fuel at a rate suitable for such a purpose, i.e. 40-50 gpm.
However, conventional systems are not capable of dealing with greater-than-full-fuel-delivery pressure exceeding 100 psi. A common cause of such an extreme condition is failure of the system operator to disengage the auxiliary drive shaft from the truck's transmission after completing fuel delivery and before leaving the delivery site.
With the auxiliary drive shaft engaged while the operator increases the truck-engine RPM to drive the truck, the pump will be overworked. Specifically, the pump's speed will increase to greater than 600 RPM because the operator increases the truck's engine speed to power the truck. This greater-than-full-fuel-delivery speed of the pump causes an extreme pressure build-up in the delivery system of up to several hundred psi. At such extreme pressures, any and all components in the system are likely to rupture because the system pressure exceeds that which the components are rated to withstand.
Not only is the delivery system damaged, but there is also the problem of fuel oil being wasted. Finally, the condition is expensive because several people-hours of cleanup are required.
A proposed solution to the problem has been to provide a system with an electric pump shut-off mechanism. This proposal is flawed in as much as the above-described, extreme pressure build-up and resultant system damage could still occur if the shutoff is defective. In such a case, the operator will not know if the defect exists until it is too late, i.e. until a component of the system ruptures.
Thus, conventional overload-bypass valves are unable to prevent such system failure because they can only handle "normal" system pressure caused by operating the pump at full-delivery speed. Further, conventional internal bypass valves are relatively low-volume valves which are unable to transfer the high volume of fuel at a rate necessary to relieve pressure.
It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a high-volume-capacity auxiliary-overload-bypass valve connected across the pump in such a system for shunting the pump and relieving above-normal system pressure that occurs when the pump is overworking and the system is not delivering fuel.
Another important object of the invention is to provide an auxiliary-overload-bypass valve that can shunt a fuel pump so that fuel is diverted at a rate suitable to relieve greater-than-full-delivery pressure caused when the pump is overworking.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an integrated system as generally described that is easy to operate and simple to incorporate in prior-art systems.
To overcome the problems of the prior art, the system of the present invention includes a auxiliary-overload-bypass valve which can be positioned externally or internally of the pump to provide important backup for the pump's usual internal bypass valve. This auxiliary valve includes a valve body having an inlet connected to a portion of the delivery system downstream of the pump, and an outlet connected to a portion of the system upstream of the pump. Disposed within the valve body is a valve-opening mechanism for relieving system pressure by allowing fuel to pass through the body when the system reaches a greater-than-full-fuel-delivery pressure caused by overworking of the pump.
These and other objects and advantages offered by the present invention will be more clearly understood from a consideration of the accompanying drawings and description of the preferred embodiment.


A method and apparatus provides instantaneous passive range measurement oard an aircraft for determining the range between the aircraft and a target. The target may either be stationary or a slower moving vehicle. Calculation of the desired range is achieved using the formula: Range=(S/S')V(Cos a)(Cos b) where "S"=apparent target size; "S'"=rate of change of apparent size; "V"=ground velocity; "a"=azimuth angle from aircraft heading to target; and "b"=elevation angle from the aircraft heading to the target. The apparatus consists of an automatic video tracker, a video camera, and a servo controlled aiming platform. The video tracker provides target size data. Resolvers on the aiming platform are utilized to determine the azimuth and elevation angles from the aircraft axis to the target. The azimuth angle is added to the aircraft drift angle to determine the total azimuth angle from the aircraft heading to the target. The drift angle and ground velocity are obtained from the aircraft inertial system.

Various systems and methods for determining the range between an aircraft and an object on the surface, usually a bombing target, are well-known. These systems fall into two basic categories, active and passive. Active range-finding systems, such as radar and laser emission and detection, are considered "active systems" since they require the transmission of energy. On the contrary, "passive systems" require no such transmissions and are preferred, because it is often desired to make range measurements without the possibility of detection or interfering with other aircraft transmissions and communications.
In the past, range measurement by passive systems has been achieved using triangulation. This requires measuring the angle to the object of interest from two positions spaced a known distance. One problem with aircraft-mounted systems of this type is that the two positions must be relatively close and, hence, the accuracy of measuring long ranges is inadequate. Furthermore, this system requires added complexity since the measurements must be taken from two separate reference points, each of which must be stabilized with regard to the aircraft.
A video tracker is an electronic system that, using a video signal, locks onto a target and tracks it automatically. These devices have been used for a short period of time. A video tracker is designed to keep the image of a target in the center of the video scene. The tracker makes use of the difference in contrast between the target and the background of a video scene to provide error signals. The error signals are sent to a servo controlled aiming platform and the aiming platform moves in the direction required to reduce the error to zero. This keeps the aiming platform pointed at the target and the target positioned at the center of the video scene. The video tracker receives the video signal from a video camera and digitizes the video scene into picture elements called pixels. Normally, the video scene is divided into 512 pixels horizontally and 480 pixels vertically. The tracker keeps track of the number of pixels inside the target.
There have been prior uses of automatic video trackers for supplying information to determine proper ordnance release; however, these have included extremely complicated systems in which range measurement was not required or desired. Such a prior use is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,699,310 issued to Roy D. Cole, entitled "Angular Rate Bombing System."
The most pertinent other patent prior art of which the applicant is aware includes U.S. Pat. No. 3,162,103 issued to James M. Perkins, entitled "Photographic Method for Locating Objects that Drift at Sea"; U.S. Pat. No. 4,983,033 issued to Koji Suzuki, entitled "Automatic Range Finder for Camera"; U.S. Pat. No. 5,001,508 issued to Kimiski Ogawa, entitled "Range Finder"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,004 issued to Kiyoski Ikuta, entitled "Distance Measuring Device." These additional prior art references are pertinent to the present invention in that they show various range-finding systems. However, none shows the use of an automatic video tracker or use on an air vehicle for determining a range to ground objects or other slower moving vehicles.

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


Production of oxygen-enriched gas streams is disclosed herein. Air streams contact an oxygen-selective mixed conductor particularly a perovskite material whereby oxygen is retained or adsorbed on the perovskite and can be employed in a variety of processes such as in combusting a fuel gas, heat recovery and boiler related operations.

The primary purpose of combustion processes is to generate heat. In a power plant or in an industrial boiler system, the heat is utilized to generate high pressure steam which in turn may be used to provide process heating or may be used to produce electricity. Most conventional combustion processes utilize air as a source of oxygen. The presence of nitrogen in air does not benefit the combustion process and may even create problems. For example, nitrogen will react with oxygen at combustion temperatures forming nitrogen oxides (NOx), an undesirable pollutant. In many cases, the products of combustion must be treated to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions below environmentally acceptable limits. Moreover, the presence of nitrogen increases the flue gas volume which in turn increases the heat losses and decreases the thermal efficiency of the combustion process. Additionally, high nitrogen content in the flue gas may make it unattractive to capture CO2 either as a product or for sequestration. With the current emphasis on CO2 sequestration to alleviate harmful effects of global warming, it is critical to develop processes which will enable CO2 capture in a cost effective way.
One way to eliminate nitrogen from the combustion exhaust or flue gas is to use pure oxygen in the combustion process instead of air. However, combustion with oxygen generates very high temperatures and therefore some of the flue gas produced must be recycled to moderate temperatures. This in turn dilutes the oxygen content to about 27% (remaining ˜73% is CO2 and water) and maintains the flame temperature to the same value. While such a scheme would eliminate the problems associated with nitrogen, the cost of oxygen at present is too high to make it economically attractive.
Production of oxygen-enriched gas stream using ion transport ceramic membrane is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,888,272 which discloses a process for separating a feed gas stream into an oxygen-enriched gas stream which is used in a combustor and an oxygen-depleted gas stream. The feed gas stream is compressed, and oxygen is separated from the compressed feed gas stream using an ion transport module including an ion transport membrane having a retentate side and a permeate side. The permeate side of the ion transport membrane is purged with at least a portion of a combustion product gas stream obtained from the combustion in the combustor of the gas stream exiting the permeate side of the ion transport module. The disadvantages of this method of oxygen production are the high cost of fabrication of the membrane and the difficulty in producing membrane structures that are leak-proof. Also, oxygen recovery is typically low in membrane units.
The present invention is based on the use of high-temperature, oxygen-selective ceramic materials made in particulate form to produce a substantially nitrogen-free oxygen stream suitable for oxy-fuel application, and may provide an attractive option to reduce oxygen cost. Such systems utilize either pressure swing or temperature swing mode since the oxygen retention capacity of the ceramic material is strongly dependent on temperature and pressure. The process normally operates at temperatures greater than 300° C. and offers several advantages, including high oxygen capacity and large oxygen selectivity. A key advantage of this process is that it uses the oxygen-selective material in conventional pellet form in fixed bed reactors, which can be designed using traditional methods. Thus, the process can be commercially adopted more easily compared to the membrane based process mentioned above, which requires special fabrication, sealing and assembly procedures, and is known to have several issues in this regard. An additional advantage of the fixed bed, ceramic-based system is that it can directly produce an oxygen containing stream, substantially free of nitrogen, with the oxygen concentration suitable for oxy-fuel application. This is unlike conventional processes, such as cryogenic air separation method, which first produce high purity oxygen, and require subsequent dilution to get the required oxygen concentration.
The present invention is aimed at reducing the cost of oxygen by producing substantially nitrogen-free oxygen containing stream suitable for use in an oxygen consuming process. It relates to the use of a high-temperature, oxygen generation system to produce an oxygen-containing stream, substantially free of nitrogen. More particularly, it describes the use of an oxygen-selective ceramic material to separate oxygen from an air stream to produce an oxygen containing stream which can be employed as an oxygen source instead of air in an oxygen consuming process such as an industrial boiler or fired heater.


Electrical properties of concealed dielectric objects, such as the dielectric permittivity, can be deduced from incident, reflected, and transmitted electromagnetic waves in an imaging system. In a confocal arrangement a horn illuminates a reflect array and the reflect array is configured to focus the radiation at an element in the scan volume. The reflections are in turn refocused by a reflect array at the horn aperture. The reflect array is electronically configured to scan the focal point throughout the scan volume in a systematic way. Knowledge of the horn pattern and the scan strategy allows the system to compute the geometry associated with each volume element. Amplitude and phase variations between the object and the surrounding volume and the computed geometry are used to estimate the relative permittivity and thus facilitate categorization of the object using a database of material relative permittivities.

In response to security threats in transportation and public spaces, inspection of people for materials such as narcotics and explosives and other types of contraband is becoming common at security checkpoints at, for example, airports, train stations, sporting events, concerts, federal buildings, and other public and private facilities. Systems using non-ionizing radiation, such as terahertz and millimeter range radiation, for imaging of concealed items of interest are known. Such systems are described in, for example, WO200875948, U.S. Pat. No. 7,304,306, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,295,019.
WO200875948 describes analysis of imaging radiation to visualize properties of the human internal body, such as electrical conductivity, electric permittivity, and magnetic permeability. Non-coherent waves having a large bandwidth are transmitted, to ensure that they are harmless. The bandwidth is preferably half of a control frequency. The radiation source may for example be a broadband non-coherent noise generator.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,304,306 describes an imaging system using terahertz radiation, and a direct conversion detector module is used. Detected radiation is split into several components, which are attenuated. The objective is to detect explosive material. The different signals are combined to provide a composite signal.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,295,019 describes use of capacitive and inductance sensors for detecting concealed items such as plastic explosives and ceramic knives.
The invention is directed towards providing for improved detection of non-metallic concealed items, particularly with improved differentiation between threat and non-threat items.

Identification of potential threat materials using active electromagnetic waves