A wave power plant includes a buoy and a power train. In the power train a driveshaft is arranged, which is driven to rotate either when the buoy rises or sinks, but always in the same direction. The driveshaft is mechanically coupled to one of the rotating parts of an electric generator and drives it for generating electric current. Furthermore, an energy accumulation device is provided which is also coupled to the driveshaft to accumulate energy when the buoy is rising or sinking and the driveshaft is rotating for driving the generator during the other of the rising and sinking movements. The coupling between the energy accumulation device and the driveshaft can extend via the other rotatable part of the generator, the air gap between the parts of the generator and the first part of the generator. The coupling over the air gap gives a torque, which drives the second part to rotate in one direction and which also counteracts the rotation of the driveshaft. The second part of the generator is driven by the energy accumulation device to rotate in the same direction, when the torque from the driveshaft does not exceed the counteracting torque.

Wave power has a large potential of becoming cost efficient since the energy density in ocean waves is very high (approximately 1000 times higher than in the wind), this allowing small wave power plants in relation to the capacity thereof. Furthermore, wave energy is more predictable than for instance wind power since waves are built by the wind during a long period of time and then continue as swell also after the wind has subsided. This results in slow variations in the average energy content of the waves, which gives system advantages when wave power plants are connected to the general electric power distribution network.
A reason why there are, in spite of this potential, so few competitive solutions today is that wave energy is difficult to master. The ocean is a rough environment with high material stress. In stormy weather the energy levels can be a 100 times higher than normal. The wave motion is oscillating and has never ceasing variations in height, length and time period (velocity) from wave to wave, this giving large variations in the energy absorbed by a wave power plant. For direct driven operation, i.e. when the generator in the wave power plant is driven according to the momentary movement of the wave, this results in a low utilization of the power plant, i.e. the so called capacity factor takes a low value. The power of the generator shifts between zero and a top level twice every wave period. The top level may also change very strongly from wave to wave. The general electric power distribution network requires relatively stable levels, both in delivered power and voltage, this resulting in that the electric control systems for this kind of wave power plants must, after the generation, make the levels of these quantities more even. Also, the uneven levels result in a costly over-dimensioning of the total electrical system of a wave power plant in order to obtain a proper handling of the top power levels.
To make wave power competitive a wave power plant is required that can efficiently absorb the wave energy at the same time as the motive force applied to the generator is levelled or equalized so that a higher capacity factor is obtained. Also, a low system complexity and an efficient use of components are required. Moreover, the structure of the wave power plant must be storm proof and have a long life-time and low operational and maintenance costs that can be achieved by a construction allowing long service intervals and including wearing parts that can be easily accessed.
Wave power technology has been developed for a long period of time but up to now it has not been possible to arrive at a method and a design of a wave power plant, where it has been possible to combine the necessary properties as described above.
A frequent method of capturing the energy of water waves is to use the vertical movement of the water. Installations that use such technology are sometimes called "point absorbers". One method of using the vertical movements comprises a buoy having a bottom foundation and an anchor wheel. The bottom foundation is firmly positioned on the sea-floor and is connected to the buoy which follows the ocean surface, i.e. the wave movements. When the surface rises and thereby lifts the buoy, a motive force is created which is converted to a rotational movement by a driving bar connected between the foundation and the buoy or by a wire or chain which runs over an anchor wheel journalled for rotating at the buoy or in the foundation and which is at an opposite end connected to the foundation or the buoy, respectively. The motive force increases due to the increased motion speed of the waves when the wave height becomes higher. The rotation direction and speed of an anchor wheel, if such a wheel is used, is directly dependent on the vertical direction and motion speed of the waves. However, this is not optimal for coupling a conventional generator to the anchor wheel to produce electric energy.
In order to make a wave power plant driving a conventional rotating generator efficient, the vertical movements of the waves must be converted into a unidirectional rotational movement, and the rotation speed of an electric generator connected to the transmission must be stabilized. In a device, as described above, using a driving bar, wire or chain, which is secured to the bottom of the sea or in a frame structure and which runs along or over an anchor wheel journalled in a buoy, this problem can be solved in the following way. When the buoy is lifted by a wave, a motive force over the anchor wheel is produced. Thereupon, when the wave falls, an anti-reverse mechanism is disengaged and the anchor wheel is rotated backwards by a counterweight. Then, the motive driving is only active during the rise of the wave and completely ceases when the wave sinks, this not being satisfactory. Attempts have been made to reverse the rotation direction, so that an electric generator driven by the anchor wheel is driven by the counterweight in the same direction also when the wave sinks. It has also been attempted to reverse the rotation direction of the generator. However, changing the rotation direction of a mechanical transmission or of the generator twice in every wave period results in heavy mechanical wear. Even though the rotation direction can be made unidirectional by the transmission, the rotation speed follows the speed of the vertical movement, this causing the power output from the generator to vary according to the speed of the wave movements. This gives to a low capacity factor and high attenuating effects since the mass of the generator all the time must alternately be accelerated and decelerated. In order to make the motive force and rotation speed of a generator more even using a mechanical transmission multiple buoys can cooperate, a phase shift existing between the buoys. However, this only works optimally in the case where the buoys are evenly distributed over a wave period, which very seldom occurs since the length and the speed of the waves always vary. Also, the transmission system becomes more complex and hence hydraulic mechanisms are frequently used in systems of this type. However, hydraulic devices results in complex systems having large transmission losses.
A wave power plant of the type described above is disclosed in the published French patent application 2869368, which comprises a floating platform or buoy. Lines run over pulleys at the buoy, one end of the lines being attached to the bottom and the other end carrying a counterweight. The rotation of the pulleys is transferred to generators. The rotation speed and the power output from the generator vary according to the movements of the waves. A similar wave power plant is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,242,593, which drives a wheel or pulley in the buoy only when the buoy is rising. A gearbox is provided for gearing up the rotation speed of the wheel or pulley in the buoy to make it suited to be used for driving a generator. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,889,336 and the published Japanese patent application 11-6472 a similar wave power plant is disclosed that includes a chain which is at one end attached to a bottom foundation end and has at its other end a counterweight. The chain passes over a chain pulley in a buoy. The chain pulley is connected to a generator through a directly acting transmission, which is arranged to make the generator always rotate in the same direction. The rotation speed depends on the speed of the vertical movement of the buoy.
A wave power installation of a somewhat different type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,241,579. A driveshaft is mounted to be elevated and lowered between the water surface and the bottom. A number of buoys are by lines connected to counterweights and the lines pass around the common driveshaft for driving it only when the respective buoy has an upward movement. In the published British patent application 2062113 a wave power plant is disclosed including a plurality of different drive mechanisms, each one of which comprises a buoy and a counterweight/bottom foundation/additional buoy and which act on a common driveshaft through one-way couplings. In the published French patent application 2339071 a buoy is used, which is connected to one end of a chain and by the chain drives a driveshaft placed above the water surface to rotate. The other end of the chain carries a counterweight, which is also placed above the water surface. The connection to the driveshaft is of a unidirectional type and the driveshaft may be driven by several such buoys through chains.
In the published International patent application WO 2005/054668 a wave power plant including a buoy which is attached to an end of a line is disclosed. The other end of the line is more or less wound around a drum placed on the bottom of the sea. The drum is connected to a return spring and a generator and drives the generator in both the rising and sinking movements of the buoy. In the wave power plant according to the published International patent application WO 03/058054 the buoy acts as an winding drum for a line, the lower end of which is connected to a bottom foundation. A return spring, a gear up mechanism and a generator are arranged inside the buoy. The generator is driven in both the rising and sinking movements of the buoy.


A clamping device includes two jaws each having a hinge end pivotally secured together with a pivot shaft. One of the jaws includes a distal attachment end having a number of teeth, and the other jaw includes a distal attachment end having a pivotal pawl which has a catch biased to engage with either of the teeth of the jaw, and to detachably or openably secure the attachment ends of the jaws together. A spring may bias the catch of the pawl to engage with either of the teeth. A housing may further be secured to the jaw to shield the teeth or the pawl, and to prevent the pawl from being disengaged from the teeth inadvertently.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a clamping device, and more particularly to a clamping device for clamping and storing bundled items, or cables.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various kinds of typical clamping devices have been developed for clamping or storing elongated items, such as electrical cords or cables.
One of the examples of the typical clamping devices has been developed and disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,729,872 to Ginocchio and comprises a handcuff-like element having two pawls to fix or to clamp the electrical cords or cables therein. One of the jaws includes a number of teeth to be engaged in a passage of the other jaw, and to be engaged with a tang of the other jaw. However, the tang is formed integral on the other jaw and may not be suitably molded or formed on the other jaw.
For example, if the materials to form the jaws are stronger or include stronger stiffness, the jaws may not be easily removed from the molds, and tang may be easily bent or disengaged from the jaw while in use. On the contrary, if the materials to form the jaws are softer or weak, or include less stiffness, the tang is not strong enough and may not be solidly engaged with the teeth of the other jaw, such that the items may not be solidly secured or clamped and retained between the jaws.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages of the conventional clamping devices.
The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a clamping device including a stronger configuration to stably and solidly clamp and store bundled items, cables, electrical cords, or the like therein.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, there is provided a clamping device comprising a first jaw and a second jaw each including a hinge end and a distal attachment end, the hinge ends of the first and the second jaws are pivotally secured together with such as a pivot shaft, the attachment end of the first jaw includes a plurality of teeth provided thereon, the attachment end of the second jaw includes a pawl pivotally attached thereto, the pawl includes a catch for engaging with either of the teeth of the first jaw, to detachably secure the attachment ends of the first and the second jaws together. A spring may further be provided for biasing the catch of the pawl to engage with either of the teeth of the first jaw, and thus to detachably secure the jaws together, and to clamp or retain objects or bundled items between the jaws.
The attachment end of the second jaw includes a pivot pin attached thereto and engaged through the pawl to pivotally secure the pawl to the attachment end of the second jaw. For example, the attachment end of the second jaw includes a channel formed and defined between a pair of arms to receive the pawl in the channel of the attachment end of the second jaw.
The spring may be a coil spring and may be engaged on the pivot pin, and may have two ends engaged with the second jaw and the pawl respectively, for biasing the catch of the pawl to engage with the teeth of the first jaw.
The attachment end of the first jaw includes a housing secured thereon by such as welding processes, and having a passage formed therein to receive the attachment end of the second jaw. The first jaw includes a fastener engaged through the housing and the attachment end of the first jaw, to secure the attachment end of the first jaw and the housing together. The housing includes an opening formed therein and communicating with the passage thereof to receive the attachment end of the second jaw.

Clamping device for storing bundled items


The novel dye compound ##STR1## wherein R.sub.1 and R.sub.2, which may be the same or different are hydrogen, alkyl, hydroxyalkyl polyhydroxyalkyl, alkoxyalkyl, hydroxyalkoxyalkyl and amino alkyl, the alkyl group and the alkoxy group having from 1 to 6 carbons, and R.sub.3 is a compatible substituent group, for example, hydrogen, alkyl, hydroxy, hydroxylalkyl and halogen. The dye compound is especially useful in hair dye compositions containing same.

Nitro dyes, especially 2-nitroaniline derivatives, have long been used in the hair coloring art, including both oxidative and nonoxidative hair dye compositions. Such compositions typically include two or more hair dyes to provide a composite coloring effect to the hair. Depending on the shade desired, more or less of a yellow hair dye would be included. Indeed, in the dyeing of hair with a direct dye, it is necessary to provide dyes in admixture, to produce the natural shades desired.
A direct yellow dye of the prior art that is characterized by color fastness is ##STR3## which compound is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,337,061 and 4,417,896. Disadvantageously, the compound (II) has less than desirable light stability.
EP No. 182,330 discloses the direct dye ##STR4## wherein R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 stand for H, C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl, C.sub.2 -C.sub.4 monohydroxyalkyl and C.sub.3 -C.sub.4 dihydroxyalkyl, except that R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 do not simultaneously stand for C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl radicals, and X is one of the radicals alkyl, monohydroxyalkyl, perfluoralkyl or halogen. Upon variation of the substituent X, the compound provides yellow shades ranging from blue-tinged lemon yellow to pure yellow to orange. Compound (III) when R.sup.1 is CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 OH; R.sup.2 is hydrogen, and X is CF.sub.3 has a much lower affinity for hair than Compound (I) when R.sub.1 is CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 OH, and R.sub.2 and R.sub.3 are hydrogen. Accordingly, a greater amount of the aforementioned Compound (III) is needed to obtain an equivalent color on hair.

Nitroaniline dyes with a cyano substituent group


The embodiment discloses an improved Augmented Reality Multi Marker Positioning system that detects the distance and relative position of each marker, correlates the detected multiple markers and dynamically renders different objects for a single marker.

Augmented Reality (AR) blurs the line between what's real and what's computer-generated by enhancing what users see, hear, feel and smell. There exist different techniques in which AR systems can be built like image overlay, superimposing real and virtual images, marker tracking, real object tracking etc.
Marker tracking techniques use a marker, which is an optically recognizable image or symbol and can be tracked using a live image capturing tool (such as a camera). The marker is visually recognized along with the position. Every marker is associated with a system generated image which is rendered on the marker position as seen through camera view. The system generated image can be moved by physically moving the marker, as long as the marker stays within the camera view. Existing technology uses marker tracking and recognition tools like AR Tool kit in creating marker based AR system. These toolkits can further render an associated system generated image (hence forth called system object) over the marker. But when multiple markers are used and are to be viewed at the same time, these toolkits can only render system objects against each marker, but are not able to make any correlation between the different system objects. Thus, user experience in applications like interactive learning, do-it-yourself instruction guides, games like jigsaw puzzle etc are not up to the desired level.

Augmented reality system with correlation among multiple markers


A hard machining process uses a cylindrical tool (21) of ceramic or other hard machining material of comparatively low cost that provides a circular cutting edge to be engaged in cutting relation with hardened workpiece (20) to be machined. As tool cutting edge wear occurs, the tool (21) is rotated through a small angle to bring into contact with the workpiece (20) a fresh portion of the cutting edge. It is not necessary to rotate that tool (21) sufficiently to effect replacement of the entire cutting edge portion in engagement with the tool. Sufficient angular movement of the tool is made to replace that of the cutting edge that has the greatest effect on the finish of the machined workpiece (20), which is the cutting location where the removed chip is thinnest.

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for hard machining a hardened workpiece, and more particularly to such methods and apparatus in which the cutting tool is moved to bring a fresh, unworn portion of a cutting edge into cutting engagement with the workpiece.
There is growing interest in a machining operation known as xe2x80x9chard turningxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9chard machining.xe2x80x9d This involves removing material from a workpiece in a machining operation with the workpiece in a hardened state. In the past, it has been customary to produce parts, such as ball and roller bearings, gears, cams, etc., that must be hardened to decrease wear, by the following sequence of steps:
rough machine a part in its soft state,
heat treat the part, and
rough and finish grind the part to provide desired accuracy and surface finish.
By contrast, in hard machining, the hardened part is machined to produce a part in a single operation instead of the more costly sequence indicated above.
Hard machining has become an option with the appearance of improved tool materials such as cubic boron nitride or polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (hereinafter xe2x80x9cCBNxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cPCBN,xe2x80x9d respectively) and ceramics. The CBN or PCBN is very expensive (comparable to diamond in this respect), while the latter, hard-cutting ceramics, have a much shorter tool life, but a much lower cost. It would be possible to use the less expensive ceramic tool material, a superior grade of carbide or other low cost tool material capable of hard machining, provided the nonproductive tool changing time could be reduced and the tool material could be used more efficiently. As used herein, then, a hard machining cutting tool is one having a cutting edge of one of the aforesaid materials capable of hard machining, to wit CBN, PCBN, hard-cutting, ceramics, superior grade carbide or other tool material capable of hard machining.
An improved method and apparatus for combining a comparatively coarse, roughing cut at a high removal rate (in a location of coarse cutting) and a finishing cut at a low removal rate (in a location of finishing cutting) are employed that are useful in hard turning operations. The new method and apparatus make it possible to use a much less expensive tool material such as ceramic in place of PCBN that is now used in hard turning operations. This is accomplished by offsetting the lower tool life of a lower cost tool relative to that of a PCBN tool by providing the tool with an extended cutting edge extending along a path of translation and moving the tool to move the cutting edge along the path of translation so that a fresh cutting edge portion is brought rapidly into cutting position. In particular, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, a fresh cutting edge portion is moved into position to replace the portion of a cutting edge being used for the finishing cut, which finishing portion of the cutting edge is less than the entire portion in engagement with the workpiece.
In a specific preferred embodiment, the method and apparatus of the invention achieves the above objectives by:
using a large diameter cylindrical tool of ceramic having a large number of new cutting edges (or cutting portions of the continuous circular cutting edge) along the periphery of the face of a single cylindrical tool, and reducing the nonproductive downtime to change tools to essentially zero by merely rotating the cylindrical tool through a small arc when a new cutting edge is required.
The substitution of a ceramic tool material for CBN or PCBN has an important thermal advantage in the combined roughing/finishing cut employed in hard turning. CBN has a much higher thermal diffusivity than does a ceramic. While this is advantageous relative to tool wear in conventional machining applications, this is not the case for the type of cut employed in hard turning as shown in FIG. 1, where is the depth of cut and f is the feed per revolution (fpr). In this case, a chip region of large thickness (tr) responsible for most of the removal (and hence temperature rise) is contiguous with the finishing region of the chip having low thickness (tf) (and hence low removal rate and low temperature rise). The finish of the surface produced is influenced primarily by the thickness of the chip tf, while the bulk of the material is removed in the region where the chip thickness is tr. The bulk of the heat generated and hence most of the tool wear will be in the tr region. Relative to surface finish, tool wear in the tf (finishing cut) region is more important than that in the tr (comparatively coarse cut) roughing region.
Surface finish deterioration, the rate of which increases with temperature, determines the useable tool life in hard turning. It is therefore important that the higher temperature in the roughing region (region of large tr) not flow into the finishing region (region of low tf) to reduce tool life. The poorer thermal properties of ceramic relative to CBN is advantageous in this particular case. Also, a larger tool radius can mean a large arc of tool engagement and a longer heat travel distance from the hottest portion of the roughing region to the comparatively cooler finishing region.


A mobile terminal and corresponding method, the mobile terminal including a flexible display configured to be warped between configurations having different radiuses of curvature, a sensor configured to sense the warpage, and a controller configured to display first screen information in a first configuration, and display a first image object corresponding to the first screen information when the flexible display is warped from the first configuration to a second configuration. When a different application is driven, a second image object corresponding to the different application is displayed along with the first image object, in the second configuration, and when the flexible display is warped again from the second configuration to the first configuration, screen information corresponding to part of the first image object and the second image object is displayed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to a mobile terminal including a flexible display unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
Terminals may be divided into mobile/portable terminals and stationary terminals according to their mobility. Also, mobile terminals may be classified into handheld terminals and vehicle mount terminals according to whether or not a user can directly carry the mobile terminal.
A multifunctional mobile terminal may be configured to capture still images or moving images, play music or video files, play games, receive broadcast and the like, so as to be implemented as an integrated multimedia player. Efforts are ongoing to support and increase the functionality of mobile terminals. Such efforts include software and hardware improvements, as well as changes and improvements in the structural components.
In general, mobile terminals have evolved with various forms of design. For example, flexible displays have attracted attention due to their light and non-fragile characteristics. Flexible displays allow for the creation of new user interfaces for which applications associated with glass substrate based displays in the related art have been limited or disabled. Thus, the need for a new input scheme using the characteristics of a flexible display has been widely acknowledged

Mobile terminal and control method for the mobile terminal


An electronic control device has a circuit board to which, at one side thereof, a connector is fixed; a housing having a pair of connector sandwiching members that sandwich the connector, a part of the connector being exposed to an outside of the housing and a remaining part of the connector and the circuit board being housed in a watertight space of the housing, and one of the connector sandwiching members being set to be higher in rigidity than the other; a seal portion filled with a sealant; and a shift suppression unit having a protruding portion formed at one side of the higher-rigidity connector sandwiching member and the connector and a hollow portion formed at the other side The shift suppression unit suppresses a shift of the connector with respect to the housing by fitting of the protruding portion and the hollow portion together.

The present invention relates to an electronic control device which is favorable for an engine control unit or an automatic transmission control unit.
As an example of the electronic control device, it is disclosed in Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 2009-070855 (hereinafter is referred to as "JP2009-070855"). In JP2009-070855, a so-called connector-side-mounted type of electronic control device, in which a part of the connector fixed to one side of a circuit board is exposed to an outside of a housing from a window of the housing, is disclosed. Both upper and lower surfaces of the connector are sandwiched between and by a pair of connector sandwiching members of the housing from width direction of the circuit board. A fitting surface portion between periphery edges of a pair of these connector sandwiching members and also a fitting surface portion between an outer peripheral surface of the connector and an inner peripheral surface of the housing are provided with a seal portion filled with a sealing material (sealant) that serves also as an adhesive.
As the sealant, a silicone adhesive is generally used. The silicone adhesive has such shape-retaining nature that shape of the silicone adhesive before hardening just after application of the silicone adhesive does not change, and has such moderate plasticity as to fit to a shape of non-adhesion part when pressed until the silicone adhesive reaches a certain thickness.


A secondary battery includes an electrode assembly, a case configured to accommodate the electrode assembly, a cap plate configured to seal the case, the cap plate including openings, first and second terminals electrically connected to the electrode assembly and inserted through respective openings of the cap plate, an insulating member between the cap plate and at least one of the first and second terminals, the insulating member including a penetration hole, and a fuse in the penetration hole of the insulating member, the fuse electrically connecting the cap plate and the first terminal.

1. Field
Embodiments relate to a secondary battery.
2. Description of the Related Art
Secondary batteries are rechargeable unlike primary batteries. Among such secondary batteries, a low capacity battery including a battery cell in the form of a pack may be used for small portable electronic devices, e.g., cellular phones and camcorders, and a high capacity battery including dozens of battery cells connected to one another may be used as a motor-driving power source, e.g., for electric scooters, hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles, etc.
Secondary batteries are manufactured in various shapes, e.g., a cylindrical shape and a prismatic shape. A secondary battery may be manufactured as follows: an electrode assembly formed by disposing an insulating separator between a positive electrode plate and a negative electrode plate may be placed in a case together with an electrolyte, and a cap plate may be disposed on the case. The electrode assembly may be connected to positive and negative terminals which protrude from the cap plate and are exposed to the exterior of the electrode assembly.


A processing apparatus includes a loading chamber; a buffer chamber connected to the loading chamber; a first process chamber connected to the buffer chamber; and an unloading chamber connected to the first process chamber, wherein a processing path through the processing apparatus is a forward in-line path in a direction through the loading chamber, the buffer chamber, the first process chamber, and the unloading chamber.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate to a processing apparatus, and more particularly, to a processing apparatus for an LCD device. Embodiments of the present invention are suitable for a wide scope of applications. In particular, an embodiment of the present invention is suitable for providing a processing apparatus capable of improving a manufacturing process efficiency.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, semiconductor devices and display panels, such as liquid crystal display devices and organic light emitting display devices, are fabricated in a processing apparatus. The processing apparatus performs repeated manufacturing processes required for processing a wafer for a semiconductor device or a substrate for a display panel. The processing apparatus automates various processes by using robots. This automation facilitates the fabrication and mass production of larger panel size using more complex processes.
Processing apparatuses for semiconductor and LCD devices are classified into a cluster type and an in-line type. A cluster type processing apparatus conveys a substrate horizontally between each chamber. In contrast, an in-line processing apparatus conveys a substrate vertically between each chamber.
Since the cluster-type processing apparatus conveys a substrate horizontally by using a robot, it can block impurity such as particle. However, since the cluster-type processing apparatus includes chambers that correspond to the size of the horizontally-placed substrate, the size of each chamber increases with the size of the substrate. Accordingly, the size of components and the volume of the chamber in the cluster-type processing apparatus increases, thereby increasing the manufacturing cost. These problems can be avoided by using an in-line processing apparatus.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an in-line processing apparatus in accordance with the related art. Referring to FIG. 1, the related art in-line processing apparatus includes five units. For example, the related art in-line processing apparatus includes a conveying unit 121, a loading chamber 122, a buffer chamber 123, a process chamber 124, and a rotation chamber 125. The process chamber 124 may be one of a sputtering chamber, an etching chamber, or an annealing chamber depending on the manufacturing processes.
The in-line processing apparatus transfers a substrate between chambers 121 to 125 in a substantially vertical manner. The conveying unit 121 transfers the externally provided substrate into the loading chamber 122. The loading chamber 122 transfers the substrate into the buffer chamber 123. The buffer chamber 123 is disposed between the loading chamber 122 and the process chamber 124 to perform a buffering function with respect to environmental changes such as a gas atmosphere, a vacuum level, and a temperature between the loading chamber 122 and the process chamber 124, and transfer the substrate into the process chamber 124. The process chamber 124 performs predetermined manufacturing processes (such as, a sputtering process, an etching process, etc.) on the transferred substrate, and then transfers the substrate into the rotation chamber 125.
The rotation chamber 125 rotates the substrate to be transferred back to the process chamber 124, the buffer chamber 123, the loading chamber 122, and the conveying unit 121. Then, the rotated substrate is sequentially transferred to the process chamber 124, the buffer chamber 123, the loading chamber 122, and the conveying unit 121. Then, the substrate is transferred out of the conveying unit 121 to the outside.
Each of chambers 122, 123, and 124 is sealed by a partition dividing the chamber into two chamber spaces. Accordingly, the partition provides different transferring paths to the substrates. A gate valve (not shown) is disposed between each of the chambers 121 to 125 for opening and closing during substrate transfer. As described above, the in-line processing apparatus substantially vertically transfers the substrate that is loaded on a carrier.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a process chamber in the related art in-line processing apparatus of FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 2, a target 131, a cathode 132, and a magnet 133 are disposed on one side of the process chamber 124. A sheath heater 135 is disposed on the other side of the process chamber to face the target 131. A substrate 140 is mounted on top and bottom carriers 138a and 138b and transferred into the process chamber 124 in a standing state. A first magnet 139 having a first polarity is disposed on the top carrier 138b, and a second magnet 136 having a second polarity opposite to the first polarity of the first magnet 139 is mounted on the top of the first magnet 139. A metal belt 137 is mounted on the bottom of the bottom carrier 138a to transfer the substrate 140. The metal belt 137 may be formed of a stainless steel material. For example, the material for the metal belt 137 may be SUS stainless steel. The carriers 138a and 138b may be formed of aluminum material. A vacuum pump 141 discharges air to provide a high pressure in the process chamber 124.
When the substrate 140 is transferred to the process chamber 124 through the metal belt 137, the top and bottom carriers 138a and 138b holding the substrate 140 are fixed at a predetermined position by a magnetic field between the first and second magnets 139 and 136. When the top and bottom carriers 138a and 138b are fixed, a target material is released from the target 131 and deposited on the substrate 140 by using positive ions of gas plasma generated by applying a voltage to the cathode 132. After the deposition process of the target material on the substrate 140, the substrate 140 can be transferred to the next processing stage by the metal belt 137.
Several carriers can be connected to form a continuous transfer path. In the related art in-line processing apparatus of FIG. 1, the conveying unit 121 includes two such carriers; the loading chamber 122 includes two carriers; the buffer chamber 123 includes two carriers; the process chamber 124 includes two carriers; and the rotation chamber 125 includes one carrier. Thus, the related art in-line processing apparatus includes at least nine carriers.
As described above, in the related art processing apparatus, one substrate is fixed at the carrier, and passes through the loading chamber 122, the buffer chamber 123, and the process chamber 124, which performs a predetermined process. Then, the substrate is rotated by the rotation chamber 125, and passes in a reverse order through the process chamber 124, the buffer chamber 123, and the loading chamber 122. Then, the substrate is carried out to the outside. Thus, the substrate to be processed travels back and forth within the related art processing apparatus. Accordingly, in the related art processing apparatus, the substrate passes through the chambers 122, 123, and 124 twice during one processing cycle. Hence, processing time increases, thus decreasing product yield.
Also, the related art processing apparatus selectively uses a buffer chamber. Accordingly, process tack time increases. Hence, product yield is decreased by the increase in process tack time.
Moreover, the related art processing apparatus requires a plurality of carriers. Replacement and maintenance of carriers are difficult. Additionally, each additional carrier increases the volume of the apparatus. Hence, device cost increases with each additional carrier.


A pair of intensifying screens for use in high resolution radiography comprises a front screen comprising a phosphor with a density of no more than 5.5 g/cm.sup.3 and a back screen comprising a phosphor with a density of at least 6.0 g/cm.sup.3.

Medical imaging by film/screen systems is widely recognized as one of the most useful tools in medical diagnostics. Early X-ray images obtained with intensifying screens required considerable patient dose and provided relatively poor image quality. In modern practice, patient dose has decreased by several orders of magnitude and image quality, in terms of the visibility of potentially useful diagnostic information content, has increased significantly. Still, the continued demand for higher image quality and lower dose is evidenced by continuing efforts to improve both films and intensifying screens.
It is well known in the art that the penetrating power of X-rays is roughly proportional to the beam energy. The fraction of the X-ray energy absorbed by a material decreases as the energy of the X-ray beam increases. As the penetrating power of the X-ray beam is increased, the difference in X-ray absorption between different materials in the exposed subject matter decreases and thus the X-ray contrast decreases. High energy exposures, e.g., 120 kVp, can be utilized where larger differences in X-ray absorption are present in the subject matter. This typically occurs when materials of different densities are present in the subject. One example is thoracic radiology, where the ribs and the mediastinum have high X-ray absorption and the lungs have a low X-ray absorption. In instances where the subject matter does not have large differences in X-ray absorption, low energy X-rays are used to enhance X-ray contrast. Low energy X-rays are typically used for soft tissue radiographs, such as mammography.
To increase the speed of the film/screen system, radiographs are typically obtained with a system comprising two screens with a film between them. The film comprises photographic emulsions coated on both sides of a support and is typically referred to in the art as "double emulsion." A double emulsion system has been difficult to employ for low energy X-ray systems. The screen closest to the X-ray source absorbs a large portion of the X-radiation and there is not a sufficient amount of radiation reaching the furthest screen to generate an acceptable image.
Because low energy X-rays are strongly absorbed by the X-ray phosphors, soft tissue radiography, i.e. mammography, generally utilizes single screens in combination with films coated on one side of a support. Thus, the speed of the film/screen systems utilized in soft tissue radiographs is generally lower than that of systems used in general radiography, leading to higher patient dose for mammography exams.
There has been an ongoing effort in the art to reduce patient dose and circumvent the problem associated with two-screen mammography systems. Efforts to avoid strong X-ray absorption of a front screen have been described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,710,637. This patent teaches the use of a high density phosphor with a high cross-section of X-ray absorption and high X-ray-to-light conversion efficiency of the front screen. The thickness of the front screen, as well as the coating weight of the phosphor it contains, is held very low so that a sufficient fraction of the incident X-ray energy is available to the back screen. In this configuration, high image sharpness, as measured by the Modulation Transfer Function (MTF), is achieved. Furthermore, this patent teaches that a back screen with the same type phosphor as the front is preferred. Lower MTFs are permissible for the back screen, as are greater intensifying screen thickness or coating weights. This permits phosphors of somewhat lower X-ray absorption efficiency and/or X-ray-to-light conversion efficiency to be employed in the back screen.
As is known in the art, the coating weights of the two screens can be advantageously adjusted so that similar fractions of the incident X-ray energy are absorbed by each of the screens. For example, if the front screen coating weight is adjusted to absorb 40% of the energy of an incident 28 kVp X-ray beam produced by a molybdenum anode, then the back screen coating weight is adjusted to absorb 40/(100-40), or 67%, of the remaining incident X-ray energy.
The solution suggested by U.S. Pat. No. 4,710,637 has a significant disadvantage because the phosphor coating weight in the front screen must be extremely low. This low coating weight can only be accomplished with a very thin front screen phosphor coating. The thin coating leads to coating non-uniformities in thickness and in phosphor distribution in the screen and drying patterns which lead to a high degree of image mottle, generally called "structure noise." Furthermore, the reproducible manufacture of very thin front screens is very difficult to maintain. Therefore, because of coating non-uniformities in the thin front screen, and other reasons, mammography systems utilizing the thin front/thick back screen have been of minor consequence in practical applications.

Radiological system employing phosphors of different densities


To achieve flexible setting of virtual objects in virtual space. An information processing apparatus includes: an information acquisition unit that obtains first state information regarding a state of a first user; and a setting unit that sets, on the basis of the first state information, a display mode of a second virtual object in a virtual space in which a first virtual object corresponding to the first user and the second virtual object corresponding to a second user are arranged.

In recent years, services using virtual space have been widespread. For example, a user can experience a realistic feeling by playing a game using virtual space. Furthermore, a plurality of users located at remote locations can have a conference using a virtual space.
Patent Document 1 discloses a system related to a service using the above-described virtual space. The system disclosed in Patent Document 1 determines a position of a virtual object of each of users in the virtual space on the basis of the real user position.

Information processing apparatus and method capable of flexibility setting virtual objects in a virtual space


An improved method and system for automatically generating reliability models for use with a reliability evaluation tool is described. The reliability model generator of the present invention includes means for storing a plurality of low level reliability models which represent the reliability characteristics for low level system components. In addition, the present invention includes means for defining the interconnection of the low level reliability models via a system architecture description. In accordance with the principles of the present invention, a reliability model for the entire system is automatically generated by aggregating the low level reliability models based on the system architecture description.

Reliability analysis can be defined as the analysis of events that contribute to the occurrence of undesirable conditions, and the application of probability theory to determine that the likelihood of these undesirable conditions falls within acceptable limits. In other words, reliability analysis provides a statistical basis for making decisions as to the relative safety or usefulness of a particular device or system.
Reliability analysis is especially important in complex systems such as flight control systems in aircraft as failure of a particular component or subsystem could cause the destruction of an entire aircraft or failure of a mission. As aircraft have become more sophisticated, control systems have become more vital to the operation of these aircraft. The use of digital systems and redundancy management schemes to satisfy flight control system requirements of high performance aircraft has increased both the number of implementation alternatives and the overall system design complexity. Consequently, a comprehensive reliability analysis of each candidate architecture becomes tedious, time-consuming and costly. Current methods for reliability analysis are discussed generally in a paper entitled "Methods for Evaluating Integrated Airframe/Propulsion Control System Architectures," Cohen, Lee and Palumbo, NAECON 87, vol. 2 (May 1987), pp. 569-575.
Currently, evaluation tools exist to aid in the analysis process. Given system reliability models such as fault trees or Markov Models, these tools quantify system attributes such as mean time between failures and component vulnerabilities for flight safety, or some other reliability condition.
To define the reliability model that serves as input to an evaluation tool, a failure mode effects analysis (FMEA) of the candidate system must be performed manually to determine the effects of component failures on the system. For advanced avionics systems incorporating complex redundancy management schemes, this can involve exploration of system component interrelationships which approaches combinatorial explosion. Using known reliability techniques, it is nearly impossible to completely analyze the reliability of a system before the system has been finalized and implemented. Furthermore, since current reliability models are generated manually, errors may be entered into the evaluation process which may not be discovered until well after the design is finalized.
In modern fault tolerant systems, the interrelationship between components are too complex to model. For example, modern aircraft employ multiprocessor real time computer systems which control the surface of the aircraft in flight based on inputs from sensors. The computer system then generates control laws which are used to control the surface actuators. Reliability of components in prior systems was largely based on experience, wherein block diagrams of components are manually mapped for each individual component. In complex systems, the time required to generate a reliability model often exceeds the allocated time for finalizing a system architecture, as noted above.


A vehicle suspension system includes an arm member whose outer end is connected to a wheel and whose inner end is connected to the vehicle body by way of front and rear rubber bushings at positions spaced from each other in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body so that the arm member can vertically rotate relative to the vehicle body. Each of the front and rear rubber bushings has an outer tubular member which is substantially cylindrical and extends in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body, an inner tubular member which is received in the outer tubular member substantially coaxially therewith, and a rubber member interposed between the inner and outer tubular member. One of the inner and outer tubular members is connected to the vehicle body and the other is connected to the suspension arm. The inner and outer tubular members of one of the front and rear rubber bushings is slidable relative to each other in the axial direction of the tubular members and those of the other rubber bushing are not slidable relative to each other in the axial direction of the tubular members.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a vehicle suspension system, and more particularly to a vehicle suspension system in which suspension arms are connected to the vehicle body by way of rubber bushings.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There has been known a vehicle suspension system which includes a suspension arm whose outer end is connected to a wheel and whose inner end is connected to the vehicle body by way of a rubber bushing so that the suspension arm can vertically rotate relative to the vehicle body. In such a suspension system, it is required that the stiffness of the rubber bushing in the longitudinal direction of thereof, i.e., in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body, is small in order to enhance the damping capacity against longitudinal vibrations and impacts transmitted to the suspension arm from the road surface during running, thereby improving the driving comfort, and that the stiffness of the rubber bushing in the transverse direction thereof, i.e., the transverse direction of the vehicle body, is large in order to increase the lateral stiffness of the suspension system and improve the driving stability.
In order to meet the requirement, there have been proposed various suspension systems. For example, in the suspension system disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 62-11203, tubular portions are formed on the inner end portion of the suspension arm respectively at front and rear portions of the inner end portion and a pair of rubber bushings are respectively mounted on the tubular portions, each of the rubber bushings being a slide bushing having outer and inner tubular members which are slidable relative to each other in the longitudinal direction of the bushing, and at the same time, a hard rubber member is interposed between the outer and inner tubular members of each of the rubber bushings so that the stiffness of the rubber bushing in the transverse direction of the vehicle body is increased, and a soft rubber member which abuts against an end face of the tubular portion on the inner end portion of the suspension arm (e.g., the rear end face) is provided on each of the rubber bushings so that the stiffness of the rubber bushing in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body reduced.
However, this arrangement is disadvantageous in that since it is actually very difficult to set the hardness of the soft rubber member as desired, the urging force of the soft rubber memeber which acts on the tubular portion on the inner end portion of the suspension arm upon axial displacement thereof cannot be properly set in view of the driving comfort of the vehicle and the tubular portion cannot be quickly returned to the original position under the force of the soft rubber member.
Further, if coil springs the spring constants of which can be freely set are employed in order to absorb longitudinal impacts instead of the soft rubber bushings, each connection of the suspension arm to the vehicle body inherently becomes too large in length though the stiffness of the connection can be freely set. On the other hand, when the length of the coil spring is limited in order to shorten the connection of the suspension arm to the vehicle body, it becomes very difficult to properly set the spring constant and the urging force of the coil spring, and at the same time, parts of the coil spring interfere with each other when the coil spring is compressed, thereby shortening the service life of the coil spring.


A package (10) for very large scale integrated circuit (VLSI) includes an electrically and thermally conductive tagboard (20) carrying the chip (12); supply terminals (15a) receiving a first supply potential; an interconnect structure (16) made of ceramic which surrounds the chip (12) and carries both the signal terminals (14) of the package (10) and the supply terminals (15b) receiving a second supply potential, the interconnect structure (16) incorporating the signal and supply conductors intended for the chip (12); and a decoupling device (17) including capacitors (19) and two conductor faces (18a, 18b) connected respectively to the supply terminals (15a, 15b). The decoupling by the capicitors (19) is thus done as close as possible to the conductor faces (18a and 18b) and as close as possible to the chip (12) at the level of islets (32a, 32b).

The invention is applicable in electronics, for mounting an integrated circuit in a signal processing device, and more particularly for connecting an integrated circuit to a printed circuit board (PC board) of such an apparatus. Ordinarily, a VISI chip is mounted in a package comprising at least one thermally conductive tagboard supporting the integrated circuit; input/output terminals; and an interconnect structure comprising conductors connecting the input/output terminals of the package to the integrated circuit. Among the input/output terminals of the package, the signal terminals are distinguished from the supply terminals intended for receiving various predetermined external electrical potentials. Similarly, in the interconnect structure, the signal conductors are distinguished from the supply conductors, which serve to route the supply potentials to the integrated circuit.
A package for a VLSI chip must meet very stringent conditions. On the one hand, the reactive component of the supply conductors must be reduced to a minimum. This is ordinarily done by a decoupling device incorporated in the package. The decoupling device ordinarily includes conductor faces, which are connected to the plates of at least one decoupling capacitor and respectively receive the various potentials applied to the supply terminals of the package. Effective decoupling is done at the level of the connection points of the conductor faces with the conductors connected to the capacitor. Taking into account the very low self-induction of the conductor faces, it follows that the decoupling takes place virtually at the level of the connection points of the conductor faces with the supply conductors of the interconnect structure. Hence in order to comprise very short connections, the closer these connection points are to the integrated circuit, the more efficient the decoupling; on the other hand, the decoupling is more efficient, the greater the capacitance of the capacitor, the lower its internal self-induction, and the lower the self-induction of its connections with the conductor faces. Generally, a function of low ohmic resistance distribution of the supply potentials, by the intermediary of the supply conductors. is added to the action of the decoupling device upon the supply conductors. This function is essentially performed by the conductor faces of the decoupling device, which make the package virtually insensitive to variations in the energy required for good functioning of the integrated circuit. On the other hand, the package must be as inexpensive as possible, which in turn requires elements that are simple to construct and assemble. Secondarily, other conditions may be required, such as that the disconnectable.
One known provision intended to meet these conditions is described in European patent application No. 0 166 634. The package is of the "chip carrier" type, including a thermally conductive tagboard supporting the integrated circuit; signal terminals and supply terminals; an interconnect structure in the form of a multilayer ceramic frame supported by the tagboard and surrounding the integrated circuit; and a decoupling device comprising a ceramic cap that covers the frame of the interconnect structure and includes conductor faces connected to at least one decoupling capacitor and to the peripheral connection points of the innerconnect structure. Thus these points are geometrically distant from the integrated circuit over the entire width of the frame, such that the electrical length of the supply conductors remains relatively great, resulting in an increased reactive component (both capacitive and inductive), which is prejudicial to the good functioning of the integrated circuit. The structure of this package also proves to be relatively complex and hence expensive, as well as bulky. It should also be noted that this package is not well suited to refrigeration of the integrated circuit. A good adaptation would necessitate disposing the input/output terminals of the package toward the printed decoupling circuit and would complicate the structure of the package considerably.
This prior art document more generally illustrates the problems encountered with the use of ceramic to make a highperformance package for a very large scale integration circuit. One problem is shrinkage of the co-fired ceramic, which limits the precision with which the conductors can be positioned in a conductive layer of a ceramic interconnect structure. However, ceramic is often a preferred material, because of its good electrical characteristics, its sturdiness and the tight sealing that it provides.

Package for very large scale integrated circuit


The invention proposes a molding unit comprising a mold in two parts, each mold-half (12) being borne by a support (17), of the type in which the two supports can be moved between an open position and a closed position, in which the supports are connected to each other by locking means, and of the type in which the molding unit comprises fluid pressure compensating means that push transversely at least one of the mold-halves (12) toward the other, characterized in that the fluid pressure compensating means are realized in the form of an inflatable flexible cushion (30) interposed between one rear face of the mold-half (12) and one front face of the associated support (17).

The present invention relates to the field of extrusion-blow molding machines for articles made of thermoplastic material, particularly for the production of containers such as bottles, flasks or water bottles.
Such a machine essentially comprises an extrusion head that produces at least one tubular plastic parison, at least one molding unit comprising a mold in two parts, the two parts of the mold being positioned so as to close over the parison that is still soft from the extrusion head, and a blow-forming station that is provided with means for Injecting air under pressure inside the parison enclosed in the mold. The air under pressure allows the parison to be deformed so that it fits the form of the mold cavity.
In some cases, the machine also comprises a degating station that allows the excess material to be cut off.
More particularly, the invention relates to a molding unit for such a machine. This molding unit comprises a mold in two parts In which each mold-half is borne by a movable support. The two movable supports are moved relative to each other along a path that is substantially transversal to the plane of the joint of the mold. In an open position, the two mold-halves are transversely separated from each other to allow a blank of the article, that is, a parison, to be inserted in a cavity delimited between the two-mold-halves. In a dosed position, the two mold-halves are pressed against each other by their front faces, and the supports are connected to each other by locking means.
The two supports can be movable in transverse displacement, but they can also be moved In rotation, for example, around a common axis parallel to the plane of the joint of the two mold-halves.
Of course, the molding unit has a mechanism for simultaneously moving both mold supports. This mechanism is adapted to the relative path of the two supports between their open and closed positions. In extrusion-blow molding machines, it is often provided that the molding unit comprises, between at least one of the mold-halves and the associated support, fluid pressure compensating means that push this mold-half transversely toward the other mold-half.
These compensating means make it possible to prevent the two mold-halves from separating from each other under the effect of the blow pressure. They also enable the front faces of the two mold-halves to be securely closed against each other In spite of the presence of the excess material caught between the two mold-halves at the use of closure. In some cases, the forces required to xe2x80x9csmashxe2x80x9d and pre-cut this excess material is quite large. They also depend on the quantity of material caught between the two molds.
An extrusion blow-molding machine incorporating these characteristics is described, for example, in the document U.S. Pat. No. 5,730,927.
In this document, it can be seen that the compensating means are in the form of hydraulic actuators, the machine being, in this instance, equipped with compensating means at both supports. One disadvantage of the actuator is that it only exerts a localized action on the mold-half. Such being the case, given the compensating forces applied, a localized action can only result In causing at least a local deformation of the mold-half. Also, in order to obtain a a certain distribution of the compensating force, six actuators are provided between each support and the associated mold-half, which make it possible to limit the deformations of the mold-half.
However, the actions of the actuators are still no less localized, and the mold-half must therefore have a relatively high rigidity in order for the force of the mold-half against the other mold-half to be close to homogeneous over the entire surface of the joint plane between the two mold-halves.
Moreover, this large number of actuators is a disadvantage in terms of set-up costs.
A more particular object of the Invention, therefore, is to propose a new design of compensation means that make it possible to obtain, with a simple, low-cost device, a very good distribution of the compensation forces over the entire surface of the mold.
To that end, the invention proposes a molding unit of the type described above, characterized in that the fluid pressure compensating means are accomplished in the form of an inflatable flexible cushion Interposed between a rear face of the mold-half in question and a front face of the associated support.
According to other characteristics of the invention:
in transverse projection the cushion extends in such a way as substantially to cover the entire surface of the transverse projection of the mold-half;
when the supports are in the closed position, the molding unit is ready for the blow-molding, and the inflatable cushion controls the movement of the mold-half from its retracted position to its advanced position after the two supports are locked in dosed position;
the mold-halves are furnished with precut means which, when the mold-half is in the advanced position, perform a pre-cut of the parison depending on the contour of the article to be formed;
the mold-half comprises controlled means for returning the mold-half to its retracted position;
the return means comprise an auxiliary inflatable flexible cushion; and
the return means comprise a bracket, which is placed at the outer side of the support and which bears, at its two opposite ends, connecting pins that extend through oblong apertures made in the lateral faces of the support in order to be connected to the mold-half, and the auxiliary cushion Is interposed between the bracket and a rear face of the support.
The invention also proposes an extrusion-blow molding machine, characterized in that it comprises at least one molding unit incorporating any of the preceding characteristics.

Molding unit comprising improved compensating means and extrusion-blow molding machine equipped therewith


A semiconductor device having a JFET and diode, includes a substrate, a second well region, and a second doped region that are of a first conductivity type. The JFET also includes a first well region, a first doped region, and a shared region that are of the second conductivity type. The second well region is disposed in the substrate adjacent to the first well region. A source of the JFET includes the first doped region disposed in the first well region. An anode of the diode includes the second doped region disposed in the second well region. Both a drain of the JFET and a cathode of the diode include the shared region disposed in the first well region. A diode current flows along a first lateral axis of the device while a JFET current flows along a second lateral axis of the device.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The present invention relates generally to high-voltage integrated circuits utilized with power converters and, more specifically, the present invention relates to the semiconductor devices and device structures, and processes for fabricating high-voltage integrated circuits.
2. Background
Many electrical devices, such as cell phones, personal digital assistants (PDA's), laptops, etc., utilize power to operate. Because power is generally delivered through a wall socket as high voltage alternating current (ac), a device, typically referred to as a power converter, can be utilized to transform the high voltage ac input to a well regulated direct current (dc) output through an energy transfer element. Switched mode power converters are commonly used due to their high efficiency, small size, and low weight to power many of today's electronics. In operation, a switch is utilized to provide the desired output quantity by varying the duty cycle (typically the ratio of the on-time of the switch to the total switching period), varying the switching frequency, or varying the number of pulses per unit time of the switch in a power converter.
A power converter may use a controller, which is generally an integrated circuit, to provide output regulation to an electrical device (generally referred to as a load). The power converter may include a circuit which provides power to the controller during the start-up of the power converter. In one example, the power converter may use a resistor to provide the start-up function. The resistor may provide a high voltage dc from an output of a bridge rectifier or winding to the controller. During start-up, the high voltage dc provided by the resistor may be used to charge a capacitor for the controller. The capacitor may also provide power to the controller after start-up. In another example, a voltage regulator may be utilized in lieu of a resistor to perform the start-up function.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding components throughout the several views of the drawings. Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention.


Apparatus for dressing a slaughtered bird, with cutting means for making cuts in the chest skin of the bird next to the thighs and with locating means for locating in these cuts the ends of the legs of the bird as defined by the hock joints. Preferably the locating means exist of means which are movable rectilinearly for bending the knees and which are rotatable for positioning the legs into the cuts. Further these means may carry the cutting means.

The invention relates to an apparatus for dressing a slaughtered bird.
In order to give slaughtered birds an attractive appearance they are "dressed", this means positioned in a special way and packed. This includes bringing the legs in a special position particularly close to the body of the bird. In a known method, the legs are tied up against the body of the bird or against each other.
Dutch patent application 80.03784 describes an apparatus in which the legs are forced through the peritoneum of the bird, thus obtaining the desired dressed condition of the bird.


A wastewater treatment system is provided which includes (a) two chambers in which microbiological cultures grow aerobically, a first chamber which receives wastewater to be treated and a second chamber which produces activated sludge; (b) a float sludge separator for removing from the system float sludge made with the aerobic culture from the first chamber; and (c) an activated sludge separator for separating activated sludge, which is settleable, and treated wastewater from the aerobic culture in the second chamber. In the system, one portion of the activated sludge from the activated sludge separator is fed to the first chamber, to seed culture growth there, and another portion of the activated sludge is recycled to the second chamber, to seed culture growth there.

Ultimately, wastewater, or spent water, must be returned to the land or the waters. Considerable engineering research and development has focused on the complex question of which contaminants occur in wastewater and the extent to which they must be removed to protect the environment.
In recent years, much of this research and development has been directed to the treatment of wastewater resulting from processes employed in industrial plants. The variety and amount of industrial wastes discharged into the environment and into municipal sewage systems has increased significantly during the past few decades. The concentration of contaminants in these wastes is often very high, and regulations for environmental protection now require that industrial wastes be treated at their point of generation to reduce their contaminant concentration to an acceptably low level before allowing their discharge into municipal treatment systems or the environment. Management of such wastes requires analysis of the particular local conditions, the degree of contaminant removal (treatment) required before the wastewater can be reused or discharged to a larger (municipal) system or discharged to the environment, and the operations and processes necessary to achieve that required degree of treatment.
The characterization of a particular wastewater depends on its physical, chemical and biological constituents. The most important physical characteristic of wastewater is its total solids content, which is the total amount of matter in suspension, colloidal matter, and matter in solution. The total solids content is defined as all the matter that remains as residue upon evaporation of the wastewater to dryness at 103.degree. to 105.degree. C.
The total solids can be subclassified as suspended solids and filterable solids. Suspended solids include settleable solids and all floating materials, whether floating on the surface or in the body of the wastewater, while filterable solids include the colloidal and dissolved solids. The colloidal solids cannot be removed by settling, but usually require biological oxidation or coagulation followed by sedimentation for removal from the wastewater. The dissolved solids consist of both organic and inorganic molecules and ions that are present in true solution in the water. Other physical characteristics include temperature, color and odor.
The chemical constituents of wastewater are typically divided into three categories, organic matter, inorganic matter and dissolved gases. Organic matter generally includes proteins, carbohydrates, fats, oils, and greases, surfactants, pesticides, herbicides and other agricultural chemicals and substances. Inorganic matter usually includes minerals and inorganic ions, such as phosphates. Gases commonly found in wastewaters include nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, ammonia and methane. The latter three gases are usually derived from the decomposition of the organic matter present in the wastewater.
The biological constituents of wastewater include the microorganisms found in the wastewater. These microorganisms include protista, such as bacteria and protozoa. As explained hereinafter, biological treatment of wastewater depends on the establishment and maintenance in a treatment system of a population of naturally occurring microorganisms adequate to perform oxidation of the organic matter.
The objectionable properties of wastewater derive, in large part, from the organic matter. Organic matter may be "stable" or "unstable". Stable compounds are fairly resistant to bacterial breakdown, while unstable are not. The objective of treatment of the organic matter is to stabilize the organic matter by oxidation, and a measure of the amount of oxygen required to accomplish this action gives a measure of the amount of organic matter contaminating the wastewater.
The most common measure of organic pollution of wastewater is the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD). The BOD is the quantity of dissolved oxygen required by microorganisms for biochemical oxidation of the organic matter in a given time at a given temperature. The efficiency of a treatment system is usually evaluated on the basis of BOD removal by the system. The BOD is usually given as BOD.sub.5, the biochemical oxygen demand for five days at 20.degree. C. The BOD is typically given in milligrams/liter (mg/l) or parts per million (ppm). For dilute systems, in which a liter of wastewater has a mass nearly equal to a kilogram, the mg/l unit is interchangeable with ppm.
A BOD.sub.5 of about 200-400 mg/l is typically required in a wastewater for it to be acceptable for discharge into a sewage system, such as a municipal (i.e., a community, public or governmental) system, where additional treatment will further reduce BOD.sub.5, e.g., typically to levels acceptable for discharge into streams, lakes, or other bodies of water in the environment. A BOD.sub.5 of less than about 5-10 mg/l is typically required for treated wastewater to be acceptable for discharge directly into the environment (e.g., a stream or lake).
Another wastewater contaminant, which is of considerable concern with respect to quality of water discharged to the environment, is phosphates. A phosphate concentration of less than about 1 mg/ml (i.e., 1 ppm) as PO.sub.4.sup.-3 is desirable, and may be required, for treated wastewater to be acceptable for discharge directly into streams, rivers, lakes, or the like, in the environment.
Contaminants in wastewater are removed by physical, chemical and biological methods. Physical methods include sedimentation (settling), filtration and floatation. Sedimentation is the simplest and most widely used physical treatment method. Much of the organic matter in wastewater is in a suspended form rather than in solution and removal of the sediment or sludge brings about a large reduction in BOD of the wastewater.
Filtration serves the same purpose as sedimentation. Suspended and colloidal solids in wastewater may be removed by filtration, a process which allows the water to pass through a bed of, e.g., sand, or a combination of granular materials. The removal of substances appears to be a combination of physical and chemical processes, such as straining phenomena and adsorption. Filtration is faster than sedimentation, requires less space, and the retained solids contain less water.
Floatation is used to concentrate oils, grease, and fine dispersed solids on the surface of the wastewater. For oils and grease, a grease trap or skimming tank is common. Such a device is simply a detention tank which reduces the flow velocity of the wastewater and allows time for oil and grease globules to rise to the surface and collect as an oil layer during the period that the wastewater, with reduced flow rate, is detained in the tank. Removal can be effected by scraping techniques. Dissolved air floatation (DAF) methods are also used to promote flocculation and remove a surface or float sludge. Minute bubbles of air are used to bring finely dispersed solids, including microorganisms, to the surface of the wastewater where they are removed by skimming or scraping techniques. The flocculation may be aided by a flocculating or coagulating agent, as is explained hereinafter.
Chemical methods include neutralization and aeration/oxidation. An important factor in the treatment of all aqueous wastes is to produce a final effluent with a neutral pH of approximately 7. Many industrial operations produce acidic (low pH) or alkaline (high pH) wastewaters. Various substances must be added to bring the pH into the neutral range.
Aeration is a process used in nearly all types of wastewater treatment. Aeration is used to provide dissolved oxygen for biological oxidation of the organic matter by microorganisms, but aeration also facilitates release of certain volatile substances to the atmosphere and is effective in removing certain other organic compounds by oxidation, such as phenols, sulfides and sulfites. Aeration may also be used to make a float sludge by adding buoyancy to sludge particles with bubbles of air.
Biological methods of waste treatment constitute the most common and widely used methods because they are the most economical means of accomplishing an acceptable final effluent. They utilize naturally occurring microorganisms to accomplish results which would be quite costly if attempted by chemical or mechanical means. The microorganisms are used to bring about a breakdown of complex organic compounds primarily by oxidation (and hydrolysis). Complete aerobic decomposition results in compounds which, under ordinary conditions of temperature and pressure, are stable, e.g., water, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, chlorides, nitrates, etc.
One aerobic process is the use of a trickling filter. The trickling filter consists of a bed of highly permeable media to which microorganisms are attached and through which the wastewater is percolated. The microorganisms covering the surface of the filter media use the wastewater as a food source. The surface area of the media supporting the growth of organisms is the effective part of the system. The biological growth and activity depend on a constant supply of dissolved oxygen. The effluent from the filter carries with it living and dead organisms and waste products of the biological reactions. These sludge flocs are indicators of the efficient functioning of the trickling filter and are separated from the water in settling tanks.
Another aerobic process is the activated sludge method which is the most widely used method to bring about stabilization in wastewater having organic matter constituents. The method depends on establishing and maintaining a population of degrading microorganisms and providing close contact of the degrading microorganisms and a supply of dissolved oxygen. The microorganisms feed and grow upon the oxidizable material in the wastewater and form a suspended floc of "activated sludge" in the water. Air bubbled through the water or absorbed by constantly renewing the air-water interface (by agitation) replenishes the oxygen needed for the biological oxidation. The mixture of wastewater and activated sludge, known as "mixed liquor", is then settled to separate the activated sludge solids from the treated (i.e., reduced BOD) water. The settled activated sludge is usually mechanically returned (by pump) to the aeration site (usually a tank or vessel).
The solids in an activated sludge system tend to build up due to accumulation of inert material and the growth of the microorganisms. To control the amount of solids during aeration, the excess solids, i.e., "excess sludge", are wasted from the system regularly. Typically, the influent wastewater is mixed with about 20 to 30 percent by volume of activated sludge and approximately the same number of pounds of suspended solids which enter the treatment system each day must be wasted as excess activated sludge.
Disposal of the excess activated sludge usually requires additional treatment of the sludge because the BOD of the sludge may run higher than 3000 mg/l. Generally, the excess sludge is "digested" aerobically or anaerobically, i.e., conversion of the organic matter in the sludge to more stable compounds. Digestion operates when available food for the microorganisms is at a minimum and the microorganisms are in the endogenous phase, where they are forced to metabolize their own protoplasm as a food source. Digestion is generally followed by drying, lagooning, wasting on farm lands, or trucking to larger waste treatment facilities.
The activated sludge method, while the most widely used treatment method, has several operational problems. In conventional activated sludge facilities, the aerators are of a fixed size and are designed to give an average detention period of 6 to 8 hours for aeration, with a return activated sludge rate equal about 20 to 30 percent of the influent wastewater flow. Aeration tanks utilized for the aeration are usually shallow with small cross-sectional area. Unfortunately, average conditions do not generally exist. The flow of wastewater often fluctuates between high flows and low flows. For example, an industrial plant may have peak loads during the day and minimum loads at night and on weekends. The concentration of contaminants typically also fluctuates; often the highest flow will have the highest concentration of contaminants. The matching of food to microorganism, i.e., the fluctuating biological load to the weight of sludge retained, can be a difficult problem.
Another problem is sludge bulking in which a large volume of light, fluffy sludge forms which does not settle. One type of bulking is due to the presence of filamentous microorganisms, such as filamentous bacteria, for example, Sphaerotilus or Leptothrix bacteria, and their growth in excessive numbers causes the sludge to be less dense. (A low density sludge will float.)
Another problem is rising sludge which can occur from overaeration (i.e., quantity of air is too large or aeration period is too long). In this phenomenon, the sludge is initially dense and settles well, but rises in chunks and floats on the surface of the water. This condition is associated with production of nitrogen gas from nitrates and nitrites in the water.
Many modifications of the simple activated sludge process have been described to control some of the operational problems as well as add flexibility and tolerance to a system. Some modifications have attempted to control fluctuations in the quantity and quality of wastewater influent. For example, flow equalization tanks have been described and used which have a sufficiently large capacity to hold the incoming wastewater and provide more uniform composition of the wastewater, and permit an even flow to the aeration/biological oxidation site, preventing "shocking", i.e., sudden increases in contaminant concentration, which can be very deleterious to the microorganisms. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,894,162 for use of such a tank; see, also, U.S. Pat. No. 3,886,065 which describes a method of metered discharge of final effluent with aeration and clarification vessels capable of receiving widely fluctuating flow rates.
Other modifications have attempted to vary the aeration conditions. Such modifications include contact stabilization, extended aeration and the Kraus process. In contact stabilization, the mixed liquor enters a contact tank where it is aerated for about 30 to 90 minutes, the sludge is then separated and the return sludge aerated in a sludge aeration tank for 3 to 6 hours before being mixed with the influent wastewater. Extended aeration is a process used for low organic loading and long aeration time. Extended aeration works on the endogenous phase of the microorganism growth curve. In the endogenous phase, the microorganisms are forced to metabolize their own protoplasm. Lysis occurs, by which nutrients remaining in dead cells diffuse out to furnish food for the remaining cells. The Kraus process includes a reaeration of a mix of return sludge, digested sludge and digester supernatant prior to mixing with the influent wastewater and its aeration.
Yet another modification includes the use of deep tank aeration. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,574,331 and 4,374,027 describe the use of deep tanks in which air (or oxygen) is supplied at the bottom of the tank where the hydrostatic pressure of the fluid in the tank is high. The high hydrostatic pressure is described as facilitating and accelerating oxygen transfer to the microorganisms present in the fluid in the tank, providing more efficient processing than in shallow tanks of equal volume.
Various techniques have been described to improve sludge formation and separation from the water. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,728,517 and 4,282,256 describe dissolved air floatation techniques in which air is dissolved in the mixed liquor under pressure and then allowed to come out of solution in a vessel at atmospheric pressure to produce a float sludge. U.S Pat. No. 4,728,517 injects compressed air in line along with coagulating and flocculating agents, while U.S. Pat. No. 4,282,256 pressurizes the mixed liquor in line but holds it in a retention tank under pressure before release to the flotation tank. U.S. Pat. No. 4,786,413 describes an activated sludge system in which a support material is added to an aeration tank to facilitate flocculation of microorganisms for subsequent settling of the sludge. U.S. Pat. No. 4,406,790 describes use of an aeration tank in which the surface of the contained fluid is heated, preferably by steam, to facilitate bacterial action.
Several methods for treatment of excess sludge have been described. U.S. Pat. No. 3,047,492 describes an activated sludge system with aerobic sludge digestion and chlorination of the water before final discharge to the environment. U.S. Pat. No. 4,406,795 describes a heat/extraction method for separating the solids from the liquid in sludge. U.S. Pat. No. 3,876,436 describes a sludge treatment consisting of wet air oxidation followed by biological oxidation in the presence of activated carbon. U.S. Pat. No. 4,370,235 describes a sludge treatment in which aerobic digestion is preceded by decomposition of the microorganisms present in the sludge, e.g., by treatment with ozone.
Still other modifications include pretreatment of wastewater with neutralizations and flocculating agents prior to a conventional activated sludge circuit (see, Pat. No. 4,894,162), a rapid settling technique to produce low phosphorous compound content effluent (see, U.S. Pat. No. 3,386,910) and use of various polymers for improving sludge formation and processing (see, U.S. Pat. No. 3,397,139).
As described hereinbefore, some industrial wastewaters result in highly concentrated organic loadings and may have high phosphate concentrations (more than about 50 ppm). Such wastes include those derived from meat-packing plants and food-processing, including milk-processing (e.g., dairies, cheese-making), plants. These wastes are particularly conspicuous as having a very high oxygen requirement (BOD) and being especially susceptible to anaerobic decomposition if sufficient oxygen is not provided. For example, wastewaters with high carbohydrate content are especially unstable and susceptible to anaerobic decomposition.
The biological treatment of such wastewaters to reduce BOD has been problematic. In particular, treatment of dairy and other milk-processing wastewater has historically been difficult. Such wastewater has a high carbohydrate content, which favors the growth of bacteria of species of the Sphaerotilus-Leptothrix group found in the wastewater. As described hereinbefore, these bacteria form a filamentous bulking. This bulking tendency has been regarded as a problem in design and operation of systems to treat such wastes because of the high likelihood of producing a floating sludge. Most treatment methods for milk-processing or food-processing wastewater are directed to controlling this bulking. As such, biological treatment of such wastewaters, because of their inherent qualities, remains difficult and expensive. The art has yet to respond with a simple, cost effective, efficient system for reliable treatment.


A method and system for stunning poultry with carbon dioxide gas includes initially establishing an initial elevated CO2 concentration in an initial stun chamber, and then lowering a cage for live poultry downwardly through an open top of the initial stun chamber. The cage is held there for an initial time period, after which the cage is moved into an intermediate stun chamber, where an intermediate elevated CO2 concentration is established. The cage is held in the intermediate stun chamber for an intermediate period of time, after which it is moved into a final stun chamber, where a final elevated CO2 concentration is established. The cage is held in the final stun chamber for a final period of time, and the cage is then raised upwardly through an open top of the final stun chamber and out into an ambient atmosphere.

Controlled atmosphere stunning of chicken, turkeys, and other poultry is a process used at the incoming or intake end of a poultry processing plant, in which a breathable non-oxygen gas is substituted for at least a portion of the atmospheric air that is initially in and around the cage or containment area for the poultry, to thereby deplete that local atmosphere of oxygen. Commonly used non-oxygen gases include nitrogen and carbon dioxide, both of which are found in atmospheric air. For animal welfare and meat quality purposes, it is desirable for the poultry or livestock to breathe the oxygen-depleted atmosphere without becoming alarmed or attempting to escape their confines, which can result in unintended harm to the animals and reduced meat quality due to bruising and broken legs or wings. From a plant production efficiency standpoint, it is preferred for the stunning process to take place as quickly and humanely as possible, while minimizing the wasting of breathable non-oxygen gas.


A microfluidic device for analyzing a sample of interest is provided. The microfluidic device can comprise a microfluidic device body, wherein the microfluidic device body comprises a sample preparation area, a nucleic acid amplification area, a nucleic acid analysis area, and a network of fluid channels. Each of the sample preparation area, the nucleic acid amplification area and the nucleic acid analysis area are fluidly interconnected to at least one of the other two areas by at least one of the fluid channels. Using the microfluidic device, sample preparation can be combined with amplification of a biologically active molecule, and a suitable biological sample can be provided for analysis and/or detection of a molecule of interest. The small-scale apparatus and methods provided are easier, faster, less expensive, and equally efficacious compared to larger scale equipment for the preparation and analysis of a biological sample.

Molecular biology can be broadly defined as the branch of biology that deals with the formation, structure and function of macromolecules such as nucleic acids and proteins and their role in cell replication and the transmission of genetic information, as well as the manipulation of nucleic acids, so that they can be sequenced, mutated, and further manipulated into the genome of an organism to study the biological effects of the mutation.
The conventional practice of biochemistry and molecular biology can require physical process resources on a scale that are frequently inversely proportional to the size of the subject being studied. For example, the apparatus and process chemistry associated with the preparation and purification of a biological sample such as a nucleic acid fragment for prospective analysis may easily require a full scale bio-laboratory with sterile facilities. Furthermore, an environmentally isolated facility of similar scale may typically be required to carry out the known polymerase chain reaction (PCR) process for amplifying the nucleic acid fragment.
2.1 Microfluidic Systems
"Microfluidics" generally refers to systems, devices, and methods for processing small volumes of fluids. Microfluidic systems can integrate a wide variety of operations for manipulating fluids. Such fluids may include chemical or biological samples. These systems also have many application areas, such as biological assays (for, e.g., medical diagnoses, drug discovery and drug delivery), biochemical sensors, or life science research in general as well as environmental analysis, industrial process monitoring and food safety testing.
One type of microfluidic device is a microfluidic chip. Microfluidic chips may include micro-scale features (or "microfeatures"), such as channels, valves, pumps, reactors and/or reservoirs for storing fluids, for routing fluids to and from various locations on the chip, and/or for reacting fluidic reagents.
However, existing microfluidic systems lack adequate mechanisms for allowing controlled manipulation of multiple fluids except via prescribed flow patterns, hence limiting the practicality with which the systems can be utilized in various chemical or biological assays. This is because real-world assays often require repetitive manipulation of different reagents for various analytical purposes.
Moreover, many existing microfluidic devices are restricted for one specific use and cannot be easily adapted or customized for other applications without being completely redesigned. These devices lack modularity, and therefore cannot share common device components that allow one design to perform multiple functions. This lack of flexibility leads to increased production costs as each use requires the production of a different system.
Furthermore, many existing microfluidic systems lack any means for straightforward end-point assays that are able to easily detect interactions or existence of analytes resulting from the assays. By way of example, visual detection of sample color changes after an assay is often used to evaluate the assay results
Thus, there exists a need for improved microfluidic systems for processing fluids for analysis of biological or chemical samples, and in particular, in the detection and analysis of biologically active macromolecules derived from such samples such as DNA, RNA, amino acids and proteins. It is desired that the systems are mass producible, inexpensive, and preferably disposable. It is desired that the systems be simple to operate and that many or substantially all of the fluid processing steps be automated. It is desired that the systems be customizable, and be modular such that the system can be easily and rapidly reconfigured to suit various applications in which the detection of macromolecules is desired. It is also desired that the systems be able to provide straightforward and meaningful assay results.
Citation or identification of any reference in Section 2, or in any other section of this application, shall not be considered an admission that such reference is available as prior art to the present invention.

Integrated microfluidic device and methods


The present invention provides compounds useful as inhibitors of Acetyl CoA Carboxylase (ACC), compositions thereof, and methods of using the same.

Obesity is a health crisis of epic proportions. The health burden of obesity, measured by quality-adjusted life-years lost per adult, has surpassed that of smoking to become the most serious, preventable cause of death. In the US, about 34% of adults have obesity, up from 31% in 1999 and about 15% in the years 1960 through 1980. Obesity increases the rate of mortality from all causes for both men and women at all ages and in all racial and ethnic groups. Obesity also leads to social stigmatization and discrimination, which decreases quality of life dramatically. The chronic diseases that result from obesity cost the US economy more than $150 billion in weight-related medical bills each year. Furthermore, about half of the obese population, and 25% of the general population, have metabolic syndrome, a condition associated with abdominal obesity, hypertension, increased plasma triglycerides, decreased HDL cholesterol, and insulin resistance, which increases the risk for type-2 diabetes (T2DM), stroke and coronary heart disease. [Harwood, Expert Opin. Ther. Targets 9: 267, 2005].
Diet and exercise, even when used in conjunction with the current pharmacotherapy, do not provide sustainable weight loss needed for long-term health benefit. Currently, only a few anti-obesity drugs are approved in the US, the fat absorption inhibitor orlistat (Xenical®), the 5-HT2C antagonist lorcaserin (Belviq®), and the combination therapy phentermine/topiramate (Qsymia®). Unfortunately, poor efficacy and unappealing gastrointestinal side effects limit the use of orlistat. Surgery can be effective but is limited to patients with extremely high body-bass indices (BMI) and the low throughput of surgery limits the impact of this modality to about 200 k patients per year. The majority of obesity drugs in clinical development are designed to reduce caloric intake through central action in the CNS (e.g., anorectics and satiety agents). However, the FDA has taken an unfavorable position against CNS-active agents, due to their modest efficacy and observed/potential side-effect profiles.
The continuing and increasing problem of obesity, and the current lack of safe and effective drugs for treating it, highlight the overwhelming need for new drugs to treat this condition and its underlying causes.