The invention relates to a liquid handling apparatus for transferring liquid into and out of containers that are arranged in a substantially horizontal plane that is spanned by an X axis and a Y axis standing perpendicular to the X axis in the direction of a substantially vertical Z axis standing perpendicular to this plane. The liquid handling apparatus comprises an X slide which is travelable in the direction of the X axis and at which an arm having a Y slide is provided that is travelable in the direction of the Y axis and that is optionally configured for attaching at least one Z slide travelable in the Z axis. An X drive motor serves for driving the X slide via an X force transmission means and a Y drive motor serves for driving the Y slide via a Y force transmission means. Both motors are in fixed positions.

It is frequently necessary in laboratories in research and development and in production to introduce liquid amounts that can originate from different sources such as from liquid chromatographs into containers such as test tubes, microtiter plates, bottles, and the like, preferably in an automated manner, and also to remove such liquid amounts from then again in an automated manner. Liquid handling apparatus or liquid handling systems are used for this purpose.
The applicant inter alia manufactures liquid handling apparatus, so-called fraction collectors, for liquid chromatography in which the fractions resulting from the liquid chromatography are distributed in an automated manner in accordance with their creation and thus their chemical composition over different sample vessels that are preferably provided in the form of arrays in racks in the fraction collector. The sample vessels are positioned via these racks in at least one substantially horizontal plane in the fraction collector such that the individual sample vessels are traveled to by an output head and can be charged with the corresponding fraction. The traveling to the sample vessels takes place in a horizontal plane that is spanned by an X axis and by a Y axis standing perpendicular to the X axis and that is in parallel with the plane of the rack located in the fraction collector. The output head can then travel down in a vertical direction, i.e. in the Z axis, so that a tube that is arranged therein and that is connected to the liquid chromatograph via a hose travels into the corresponding sample vessel and introduces the fraction into it.
The positioning of the output head takes place via an X slide which is travelable in the direction of the X axis and at which an arm having a Y slide travelable in the direction of the Y axis is provided. A Z slide having the output head and travelable in the Z axis is arranged at this Y slide. The output head can thus travel to or into every sample vessel arranged in the plane spanned by the X axis and the Y axis.
The drive of the X slide takes place by an X drive motor via an X force transmission means in the form of a toothed belt and the drive of the Y slide takes place by a Y drive motor for driving the Y slide via a Y transmission means that can be a toothed belt or also a rotating spindle. The X drive motor is in a fixed position, whereas the Y drive motor is arranged at the Y slide taken along at the X axis and is moved along with it. The X drive motor together with the X force transmission means and the associated slide together with required guides, data and power cables as well as the Y drive motor with its data and power cables are accommodated in a parallelepiped-shaped housing that is generally located at the rear side of the liquid handling apparatus. Such an apparatus is e.g. known from EP 1 533 073 B1.
It has been found that this type of liquid handling apparatus such as is used for liquid chromatography can also be used in other sectors such as in preparative liquid handling systems in which liquids, that are also gel-like or pasty, but ultimately flowable substances, in the sense of the invention, can be introduced into containers from different sources, can be added in a metered manner, can be mixed in containers, and con be partly or completely removed from containers.
This extension of the application sector of the liquid handling apparatus has in the past already had the result that it has become necessary to adapt the dimensions of such an apparatus in a customized or application-specific manner. The applicant has previously designed its liquid handling apparatus as extensible in the direction of all axes for this purpose. Respective intermediate elements are for this purpose arranged in regions of the frame of the apparatus in which no drive components or the like are provided so then only extended guide rails and toothed belts or threaded spindles additionally have to be installed. It is also necessary to adapt the power and data lines of the Y drive motor taken along at the X slide to the changed dimensions. The longer the X axis is, the longer the power and data lines for the Y drive motor have to be. Apart from the fact that the taking along of the Y drive motor at the X slide has a disadvantageous effect on the dynamic behavior of the X slide, i.e. as a result of the increased mass of the X slide due to the Y drive motor, greater forces have to be exerted to accelerate and decelerate the X slide, provision must also be made that the power and data lines for the Y drive motor taken along by the X slide in particular do not impede other drive components in the construction space of the housing parallelepiped in the regions of the end positions of the X slide.
DE 39 26 670 A1 discloses a handling device having three fixed-position motors for moving a gripper in three spatial directions X, Y and Z. The drive of each axis takes place independently of the drive of the other axes via a belt drive for each axis. A decoupling of the movement of the Y and Z axes from the movement of the X axis takes place in that the motors of the Y and X axes drive their respective toothed belts via a square shaft that extends through the arm A so that the drive of the Y and Z axes can take place in the X direction independently of the position of the arm.
DE 42 00 923 A1 describes a biaxial linear drive in which fixed-position motors for the X and Y axes are provided. The movements of the X and Y axes are decoupled from one another. This is achieved in the same manner as in DE 39 26 670 A1 in that a first slide that travels in the X direction is displaceably supported in the X direction on a drive shaft that is provided for driving the slide in the Y direction.
DE 691 12 519 T2 describes a manipulator in which two fixed-position motors are provided, with the motor displacing a slide provided for the motion in the X direction via a ball screw in the X direction. The displacement of the manipulator in the Y direction takes place via a toothed belt that works in a manner released from the movement in the X direction.
US 2008/0064543 A1 relates to an apparatus having a triaxial drive for use inter alia in an automatic analysis apparatus. All the slides are driven in the three spatial directions via fixed-position motors. A belt drive is used for all the axes.
US 2009/0155039 A1 relates to a multiaxial robot. The drive of the tool carrier in the X and Y directions takes place only via belt drives, with an H-shaped extent of the belts being provided. The displacement of the tool in the X and Y directions takes place via an interplay of the rotational movements of pulleys so that a superposition of the X and Y movements is present.
WO 96/37346 discloses an apparatus for moving a working element in the X and Y directions. Its basic design corresponds to the H-shaped design described in connection with US 2009/0155039 having fixed-position drive motors and drive belts that run both in the X and in the Y directions.
WO 97/02931 discloses an apparatus comparable with the apparatus disclosed in WO 96/37346 A1 and US 2009/0155039. The basic design and the operating principle are the same.
It is therefore the underlying object of the invention to improve the drive for the Y slide.


A method for providing a hard bias structure is provided. The method comprises providing a seed layer for a hard bias layer, the seed layer having a seed layer lattice constant and a natural growth texture. The method further comprises depositing the hard bias layer for the hard bias structure on the seed layer, the natural growth texture corresponding to a texture for the hard bias layer. The hard bias layer has a bulk lattice constant. The step of providing the seed layer includes forming a first plasma of a first deposition gas configured to expand the seed layer lattice constant if the bulk lattice constant is greater than the seed layer constant. The step of depositing the hard bias layer includes forming a second plasma of a second deposition gas configured to expand the bulk lattice constant if the seed layer lattice constant is greater than the bulk lattice constant.

FIG. 1 depicts a portion of a conventional hard bias structure 10 that may be used in a conventional read transducer or other device. Such a conventional read transducer would typically include a conventional shield, a conventional insulator, a read sensor, conventional leads, conventional insulator, and a conventional top shield in addition to the hard bias structure. The conventional had bias structure 10 is typically used to bias the read sensor.
The conventional hard bias structure 10 includes a conventional hard bias layer 20 and a conventional seed layer 18 that may reside on a conventional insulator 14. The conventional seed layer 18 is formed prior to the conventional hard bias layer 20. The seed layer 18 is desired to provide a surface suitable for growth of the conventional hard bias layer 20. The conventional seed layer 18 is typically composed of a layer of Cr, CrV, or CrTi. Alternatively, the conventional seed layer 18 may be a bilayer including a Ta underlayer (not separately shown) and a W layer (not separately shown) between the conventional hard bias layer 20 and the Ta underlayer. The conventional seed layer 18 is typically formed by sputtering the Cr, CrV, CrTi, W and/or Ta in a Xe gas plasma.
The conventional magnetic hard bias layer 20 is formed on the conventional seed layer 18 by sputtering the material for the conventional hard bias layer 20 on the conventional seed layer 18. In conventional methods, the material such as CoPt, is sputtered in a Xe gas onto the conventional seed layer 18.
The conventional hard bias structure 10 may be used to magnetically bias the read sensor. For example, the conventional magnetic hard bias structure 10 may ensure that the free layer (not shown in FIG. 1) is stable and single domain. To ensure the stability of the read sensor, the conventional magnetic hard bias structure 10 should not be affected by external magnetic fields, for example from the recording media or write transducer. The conventional hard bias layers 20 are desired to have a high remanence magnetization, a large coercivity, and be thermally stable.
Although the conventional hard bias structure 10 functions, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that there are drawbacks. In particular, the magnetization of the conventional hard bias layer 20 may be disturbed during operation of the conventional magnetic read transducer. As a result, the free layer (not shown in FIG. 1) may be destabilized. Consequently, performance of the conventional magnetic transducer may be adversely affected
Accordingly, what is needed is a system and method for providing an improved hard bias structure.

Method for providing an improved hard bias structure


A method is provided for displaying an image based on a virtual reality (VR) apparatus. The method includes acquiring an image of raw-shooting-material and acquiring a shooting field-of-view (FOV) of the image of raw-shooting-material. The method also includes setting a scene FOV of a virtual scene of the VR apparatus according to the shooting FOV, and performing scene image generation and adaption to generate a scene image according to the image of raw-shooting-material and the scene FOV and to determine a size of the scene image according to the scene FOV. Further, the method includes determining a display area of the scene image by using a gyroscope sensor, and displaying the display area on a display screen of the VR apparatus.

In a conventional VR technology, a head-mounted display (HMD) is an important hardware device. The HMD acquires an orientation of a head of a user in real time, and presents scenery in this direction to the user on a display screen. During this process, the size and position of the presented scenery greatly influences the immersion sense of a viewer. The size of the scenery viewed by the viewer in a virtual scene should be the same as the size in a real scene, and the position of the scenery in the virtual scene should keep unchanged when the viewer's head rotates.
According to a usual processing method, an image is randomly rendered to a spherical inner surface, the field of view (FOV) is put in the center of the sphere, and the image can be viewed at any FOV, where the FOV refers to the range that can be covered by a lens. As a result, a frame of image in a virtual scene viewed by a viewer is inconsistent with true feeling of the viewer. For example, the viewer will feel like viewing from an FOV of a giant or an ant, and when the viewer rotates the head, scenery in the line of sight will deviate with rotation of the viewer's head. Consequently, an image display method in the conventional VR technology has poor realism of visual effects.
The disclosed methods and systems are directed to solve one or more problems set forth above and other problems.

Method and device for displaying image based on virtual reality (VR) apparatus

TENCENT TECHNOLOGY (SHENZHEN) COMPANY LIMITED


The present invention provides an end cap in combination with a paper tube. The paper tube has one or more inwardly extending flaps at an open end. The end cap has a bottom wall and a sidewall that extends from a peripheral edge of the bottom wall. The end cap receives and engages the inwardly extending flaps when the end cap is disposed in the open end of the paper tube.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to end caps for paper tubes, paper tubes having end caps connected thereto, and methods of closing an open end of a paper tube.
2. Description of Related Art
Paper tubes are conventionally formed by adhesively bonding two or more continuous strips of paper to each other in overlapping layers around a cylindrical mandrel and then cutting the paper cylinder or tube thus formed to desired length. The open ends of the paper tube can then be closed using a suitable end closure to form a container that is both light and strong.
A variety of end closures are known in the art for closing the open end of a paper tube. A very popular type is known in the industry as a plastic end cap or plug. Conventional plastic plugs include a bottom wall having a substantially circular peripheral edge and a sidewall that extends from the peripheral edge. In most cases, the plastic plug further comprises an annular flange that extends from the sidewall. The outer diameter of the flange is typically larger than the inner diameter of the paper tube and thus the flange acts as a stop or limiting rim that prohibits the plug from being pressed completely into the paper tube. The plug is retained in the end of the paper tube by a friction fit between outer surface of the sidewall and the inner surface of the paper tube. One or more ribs or ridges are sometimes formed on the outer surface of the sidewall to improve contact between the outer surface of the sidewall and the inner surface of the paper tube.
Plastic plugs are relatively simple to manufacture, inexpensive and lightweight. In addition, they can easily be inserted into and removed from an open end of a paper tube by hand. These features make plastic plugs particularly suitable for use forming mailing tubes or other similar shipping containers.
There are some drawbacks with the use of plastic plugs, however. Plastic plugs can sometimes "pop" out of one or both ends of the paper tube, which then allows the contents of the container to spill out. The plugs can "pop" out when the paper tube is squeezed or when the contents of the container shift during transit and strike the interior side of the bottom wall causing it to become dislodged from the paper tube.
Adhesive tape is sometimes applied over the plastic plug in an effort to insure that the plastic plug remains in the tube. Alternatively, staples are sometimes used to secure the plastic plug to the paper tube. Both of these solutions are disadvantageous because they can cause damage to the paper tube and/or the plastic plug and because they require additional time consuming steps or procedures. Moreover, use of adhesive or staples can damage the tube and/or end cap, which prevents reuse.


In order to enable simple removal of a substrate used for manufacturing a semiconductor element, a manufacturing method includes forming a graphene layer on a substrate portion formed of a semiconductor, forming an element portion on the graphene layer, the element portion including a semiconductor layer directly formed on the graphene layer, which takes over crystal information relating to the substrate portion when the semiconductor layer is formed on the substrate portion without intermediation of the graphene layer, and performing cutting-off between the substrate portion and the element portion at the graphene layer.

In recent years, demands for high integration, size reduction, and high performance of electronic devices have been increased. In order to achieve those demands, there has been widely used a hybrid type semiconductor element employing flip-chip connection in which a semiconductor substrate is connected to another semiconductor substrate through intermediation of bump electrodes.
As one example of such a hybrid type semiconductor element, PTL 1 discloses a hybrid type image sensor in which a light receiving portion and a circuit board are joined to each other. The hybrid type image sensor employs a structure in which the light receiving portion and the circuit board are joined to each other through use of indium (In) bumps and then a gap between the light receiving portion and the circuit board is filled with underfills in order to enhance reliability of the joint.
Such a hybrid type semiconductor element often employs a method of causing light to enter a surface facing the circuit board as seen from the light receiving portion. In this case, a semiconductor substrate used at a time of forming the light receiving portion is present. The semiconductor substrate causes incident light to attenuate, which may degrade detection sensitivity. Thus, removal of the semiconductor substrate is important for improvement in element performance.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a manufacturing method of a hybrid type semiconductor element, the method including removal of the semiconductor substrate described above.
When operations in FIG. 1 are started, an operator or the like first prepares a substrate portion as an operation of A101. Herein, an operator or the like is an operator or a machine including a manufacturing robot for manufacturing a semiconductor element. Further, the substrate portion is a semiconductor substrate or a semiconductor substrate having a semiconductor layer formed thereon as needed. The substrate portion is a portion being a substrate for causing a function layer, which is formed on the substrate portion, to be crystal-grown. Herein, the function layer is a main structure portion that contributes to light emission in a case where the hybrid type semiconductor layer is a light emitting element. The substrate portion is relevant to the above-mentioned semiconductor substrate to be removed.
Subsequently, as an operation of A102, an operator or the like generates an element portion, which is acquired by patterning the above-mentioned function layer as need, on the substrate portion prepared in the operation of A101.
Meanwhile, as an operation of A103, an operator or the like forms a second substrate portion. The second substrate portion is formed by forming the bumps and the underfills described above on a predetermined substrate and flattening a surface.
Then, as an operation of A104, an operator joins the uppermost part of the element portion, which is formed on the first substrate in the operation of A102, to the uppermost part of the second substrate portion, which is formed in the operation of A103. With this joint, each of the bumps is joined to the element portion.
Then, as an operation of A105, an operator or the like removes the substrate portion, and completes the operations in FIG. 1.
Herein, as the method of removing a substrate relevant to the above-mentioned substrate portion, a method of performing mechanical polishing (see PTL 2) and a chemical method using an etching solution (see PTL 2) are known.
[PTL 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2015-012075
[PTL 2] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-353996
However, when mechanical polishing is used for removal of the substrate of the light receiving portion, a joint part of the light receiving portion and the element including the light receiving portion may be damaged. Further, when chemical etching is used, it requires time to remove the entire substrate. Thus, when chemical etching is used, mechanical polishing is required to be used in combination. Specifically, removal of the semiconductor substrate used for forming the light receiving portion generally has a problem of degradation in element yield due to mechanical damage and complicated processing requiring increased time for assembling.

Manufacturing method and semiconductor element


An antenna for use with a receiver in a wireless communications system includes antenna elements for generating antenna patterns, and a first module for applying weights to a signal received at each of the antenna elements to generate a selected one of the antenna patterns. A second module detects the received signal at each of the antenna elements. A combiner combines the received signal detected at each of the antenna elements to produce a combined received signal for a selected antenna pattern. A third module determines a signal quality metric for the combined received signal at each selected antenna pattern. The first module is responsive to the determined signal quality metrics for adjusting the weights to generate a preferred antenna pattern.

Code division multiple access (CDMA) communication systems provide wireless communications between a base station and one or more mobile subscriber units. The base station is typically a computer-controlled set of transceivers that are connected to a land-based public switched telephone network (PSTN). The base station includes an antenna apparatus for sending forward link radio frequency signals to the mobile subscriber units. The base station antenna also receives reverse link radio frequency signals transmitted from each mobile unit. Each mobile subscriber unit also contains an antenna apparatus for the reception of the forward link signals and for transmission of the reverse links signals. A typical mobile subscriber unit is a digital cellular telephone handset or a personal computer coupled to a cellular modem. In CDMA cellular systems, multiple mobile subscriber units may transmit and receive signals on the same frequency, but with different modulation codes, to distinguish signals sent to or received from individual subscriber units.
The most common type of antenna for transmitting and receiving signals at a mobile subscriber unit is a monopole or omnidirectional antenna. This type of antenna consists of a single wire or antenna element that is coupled to a transceiver within the subscriber unit. The transceiver receives reverse link signals to be transmitted from circuitry within the subscriber unit and modulates the signals onto a carrier signal at a specific frequency assigned to that subscriber unit. The modulated carrier signal is then transmitted by the antenna element. Forward link signals received by the antenna element at a specific frequency are demodulated by the transceiver and supplied to processing circuitry within the subscriber unit.
The signal transmitted from a monopole antenna is omnidirectional in nature. That is, the signal is sent with substantially the same signal strength in all directions in a generally horizontal plane. Reception of a signal with a monopole antenna element is likewise omnidirectional. A monopole antenna does not differentiate in its ability to detect a signal in one azimuth direction versus detection of the same or a different signal coming from another azimuth direction. Generally, a monopole antenna does not produce significant radiation in the elevation direction. The antenna pattern is commonly referred to as a donut shape with the antenna element located at the center of the donut hole.
A second type of antenna that may be used by mobile subscriber units is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,617,102. The system described therein provides a directional antenna comprising two antenna elements mounted on the outer case of a laptop computer, for example. The system includes a phase shifter attached to each element. The phase shifter may be switched on or off to effect the phase of signals transmitted or received during communications to and from the computer. By switching the phase shifters on and regulating the amount of phase shift imparted to the signals input thereto, the antenna pattern (which applies to both the receive and transmit modes) may be modified to provide a concentrated signal or beam in the selected direction. This is referred to as an increase in antenna gain or directionality. The dual element antenna of the cited patent thereby directs the transmitted signal into predetermined quadrants or directions to allow for changes in orientation of the subscriber unit relative to the base station, while minimizing signal loss due to the orientation change. In accordance with the antenna reciprocity theorem, the antenna receive characteristics are similarly effected by the use of the phase shifters.
CDMA cellular systems are also recognized as being interference limited systems. That is, as more mobile subscriber units become active in a cell and in adjacent cells, frequency interference becomes greater and error rates increase. As error rates increase, to maintain signal and system integrity, the operator must decrease the maximum data rates allowable to all users. In lieu of decreasing all user's data rates, the CDMA system operator can decrease the number of active mobile subscriber units, thus clearing the airwaves of potential interferers. For instance, to increase the maximum available data rate by a factor of two, the number of active mobile subscriber units is decreased by one half. However, this is rarely an effective mechanism to increase data rates because system users generally do not have priority assignments to be utilized in determining which users should be dropped from the system.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and apparatus for performing directional re-scan of an adaptive antenna


A color image reading apparatus is described which has a blazed diffraction grating that diffracts light from an original document, a CCD that converts the diffracted light into electrical image signals, and a filter circuit that performs a smoothing process or an edge emphasising process on the image signals from CCD.

This invention relates to a color image reading apparatus for photoelectrically reading a color image, and more particularly to color image reading apparatus, having image sensors arranged in a parallel, for reading a color image line by line.
A digital copying machine, which illuminates an original document, converts reflected light from the original document into an electric signal by using a photoelectric conversion device, such as a CCD, processes the electric signal and forms an image on the basis of the processed electric signal by using a laser beam printer (LBP), an LED printer or an ink jet printer, is known.
Recently, a full color digital copying machine, which can treat a full color image, has been developed.
To read a full color image of an original document, the following two methods are generally used.
(1) Reading a full color image by using a single line sensor which has a plurality of photosensitive elements provided with red filters, green filters and blue filters as shown in FIG. 1(a), so as to obtain red (R), green (G) and blue (B) image data. The assignee of the present application has proposed a reading method of this type in U.S. Pat. No 4,907,076 (CFO 4730 US).
(2) Reading a full color image by using three line sensors, arranged in parallel, which have red filters, green filters and blue filters, respectively, as shown in FIG. 1 (b), so as to obtain R, G, B image data. The assignee of the present application has proposed a reading method of this type in U.S. Pat. No 4,953,014 (CFG 108 US).
In method (1), however, it is impossible to obtain the three color image data of an identical point of the original document, because photosensitive elements having R, G, B filters cannot read the identical point.
Besides, for reading a color image of the original document of A3 size with 400 dpi (=16 dots/mm) it is necessary that the single line sensor has approximately 14,000 photosensitive elements. However, such a single line sensor having a large number of photosensitive elements has not been produced, because of disadvantages in the efficiency of producing such a sensor. Therefore, such a long line sensor is composed by connecting a plurality of short line sensors each having approximately 3,000 photosensitive elements, so a precise correction is needed for compensating the difference in the characteristics of each of the short line sensors.
On the other hand, in method (2), it is impossible to obtain the three color image data of an identical point of the original document at the same time, because three line sensors each read different lines of the original document at the same time. Therefore, outputs from line sensors must be delayed by the time corresponding to the intervals among the line sensors so as to obtain three color image data of the same line.
However, some noise, such as ghost images, occur at the color boundaries, if the speed of relative movement between the original document and the line sensors which scan the color image, is not constant.
In view of these circumstances, the assignee of the present application has proposed in USSN 863,782 (CFO 8354 US) a method in which the reflected light from the original document is color separated by using an optical device, such as a blazed diffraction grating, and three color images of the identical point of the original document are each focused on different positions. FIG. 2 shows schematic illustration of this method. According to this method, the three color image data of an identical point of the original document can be obtained at the same time, so the problems described above with regard to the method (1) or (2) do not occur.
In the color separation system using the blazed diffraction grating as shown in FIG. 2, however, the distances between a lens 22, a one-dimensional blazed diffraction grating 35 and a three-line CCD 34, the separation angles of R, G, B by the one dimensional blazed diffraction grating 35, and the intervals between the line sensors on the three-line CCD 34 which are defined in accordance with the distances and the separation angles, should be set very precisely.
If the distance between the one-dimensional blazed diffraction grating 35 and the CCD 34 is shorter than the optimum distance, the outputs of each line sensor are shown in FIG. 3(b) when the black line along the main scanning direction is read.
The output of the G-CCD becomes rather dull, as compared with the output shown in FIG. 3(a) which is the output when the distance is optimum.
Also, the outputs of the R-CCD and B-CCD become very dull because unsuitable diffracted light components from the blazed diffraction grating 35 are mixed in the R-component or the B-component light.
On the other hand, the deterioration of the outputs of CCDs is caused by not only the arrangement of the blazed diffraction grating and CCD but also the light wavelength characteristics. Accordingly, even if the blazed diffraction grating and CCD are precisely set, for example, the Modulation Transfer Functions (MTFs) of the outputs of R-CCD and B-CCD may be lower than that of G-CCD.
Therefore, the edges of the black line along the main scanning direction of CCD cannot be recognised as black image and may be recognised as color image, because an R-component signal and a B-component signal are erroneously generated at the leading part of the R-output and the trailing part of the B-output, respectively, as shown in FIG. 3.
Accordingly, if a color-pattern conversion process that recognises an image having a particular color in a full color image and converts the recognised image into a predetermined pattern, is performed, the black image will be erroneously recognised as a color image and will be converted into the predetermined pattern. So, the image subjected to the color-pattern conversion process will not be properly reproduced. The color pattern process has been proposed in USSN 843,725 and European Patent published application number 0501814 (CFO 8271 US, EP) by the assignee of the present application and, in the color pattern conversion process, an achromatic image such as white and black images should not be converted into the pattern.
Moreover, if a black letter extraction process, that recognises black letters in a full color image and reproduces the recognised black letters in a different way from other color images, is performed, the black letters will not be properly recognised and will be reproduced as a color image. The black letter extraction process has been proposed in USSN 416,587 and European Patent published application number 0363146 (CFO 6399 US EP) by the assignee of the present application.
Besides, in case of reproduction of a full color image, some deteriorations, such as the blurredness of color, the ghost and so on, may occur at the boundaries of color.

Color image reading apparatus having correction means to correct for relative variations among image signals


A determination device includes an receiver that receives a face image of a user from a camera whose direction of optical axis is predetermined with respect to a reference direction and a determiner that determines the face direction of the user depending on whether or not the reliability of a face direction calculated based on the face image and a learning model. The determiner determines the face direction depending on whether or not the reliability is greater than a first threshold value if the optical axis of the camera faces in a first direction and determines the face direction depending on whether or not the reliability is greater than a second threshold value different from the first threshold value if the optical axis faces in a second direction different from the first direction.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a determination device that determines the direction of a face, a determination method of determining the direction of a face, and a non-transitory storage medium on which a determination program is recorded.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, attention has been given to a technique of estimating the direction of the face of a person based on an image taken by a camera. For example, a technique of estimating the direction of the face of a person watching the television, a person playing a computer game, or a person driving a vehicle or a train has been eagerly developed.
For example, known is a technique of the related art in which a plurality of detectors are used to determine the direction of a face (hereinafter referred to as the "face direction") of a person in an image of the face of the person (hereinafter referred to as a "face image"). The detectors have been allowed to learn in advance to detect the face of a person who is facing front (hereinafter referred to as a "frontal face") or the face of a person who is looking away (hereinafter referred to as a "profile"), in the face image (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2011-134045). In this technique of the related art, the face direction is determined based on the reliability of the detection results obtained by the plurality of face direction detectors each detecting a corresponding one of the frontal face, the profile, and the like.

Determination device, determination method, and non-transitory storage medium

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.


A garment includes a vertical opening and a transverse flap on the front panel thereof for securing an external portion of a central line or catheter having at least two distal lumens or branches. The external portion of the catheter extends through a gap between a pair fasteners of the vertical opening. In order to secure the catheter, the flap includes a stopper that is fastened to front panel such that the stopper is located between the distal branches of the catheter. If one or both of the distal branches are pulled or tugged, a junction or transition area of the catheter is pressed against the stopper and limits further motion of the catheter to prevent dislodgement thereof. The flap further includes a series of fasteners for releasably coupling a free edge thereof onto the front panel to house the external portion of the catheter under the closed flap.

A central venous catheter, also known as a central line, is a catheter placed into a large vein in the neck including the internal jugular vein or external jugular vein, in the chest including the subclavian vein, or in the groin including the femoral vein. A central line is used to administer medication or fluids, obtain blood tests, and/or directly obtain cardiovascular measurements such as the central venous pressure. Such catheters are designed for long-time use in the order of weeks, months and even years in order to avoid many needle punctures that may cause pain, fear, anxiety and/or risks of skin infections. For example, a cancer patient requires frequent blood tests or chemotherapy and thus typically has a surgically implanted catheter. During chemotherapy, a surgically implanted catheter permits subsequent patient care on an outpatient basis. The patient returns to a medical facility for administration of the therapeutic agent through the catheter without having a needle inserted into a vein each time. Moreover, an implanted catheter makes it possible for the patient or an attendant to perform certain other procedures at home thereby reducing the number of times the patient must leave his or her residence. This is particularly advantageous when the patient is a small child.
A Hickman® catheter is a specific type of long-term catheter that is generally flexible and is comprised of a small permanent rubber internal tubing portion that is surgically implanted into the right atrium of the heart, an external tubing portion extending from the exit site where the internal tubing portion extends from the patient's body, and an enlarged capped portion attached to the end of the external tubing portion. Such implants necessitate a surgical procedure normally under general anesthesia. Typically the internal tubing portion is inserted under the skin of the chest wall and into a large vein that leads into the heart. The external tubing must be secured to the patient, normally by padding and tape adhered to the skin, in order to assure that the patient does not dislodge the catheter by inadvertent manipulation of the catheter line. The external portion of the catheter has in prior practice been taped directly to the skin of the body with the capped end or ends positioned upwardly.
Securing the external portion of the catheter to the patient with tape to prevent displacement and/or dislodgment of the catheter has disadvantages. Most importantly, securement via tape may not sufficient hold the catheter tubing onto the patient. For example, when the patient is a small child, the child may play with or rip the tape away from the skin causing irritation and increasing the risk of infection. Sometimes a child will open the catheter line and suffer blood loss or permit air to enter into the bloodstream. Children have been known to dislodge the catheter itself or even pull it out thereby imposing a serious medical condition, sometimes requiring another surgical procedure under unfavorable, emergency conditions. As a result, medical personnel sometimes are reluctant to implant catheters in small children unless there is some assurance that the child will not play with the catheter thereby compounding the various risks normally associated with such implants. This generally means some assurance that the child will always be watched. Even when the patient is an adult, the tape may not afford the desired freedom of movement because the patient constantly may fear dislodgment of the catheter from its exit site on the body.
In addition, the tape used to secure the external portion of the catheter must be removed and replaced at least once a day. More particularly, each time the capped free end of the catheter is to be used, it is first necessary to remove the tape that secured the externally extending tubing portion to the body. Since the tube has to be flushed out at least once a day to prevent clogging, this means that the tape has to be removed at least once a day and often more for other required purposes. Frequent removal and replacement of the tape from the body generally results in sores and/or irritation to the body and thus, discomfort to the patient.
Garments for holding and/or storing catheters have evolved. These garments have lessened or eliminated many of the disadvantages inherent with the tape-retention method for the catheter tubes, but there is still a need in the art to develop and/or improve a garment that secures an external portion of a central line or catheter, especially for sensitive and/or special need patients such as children.

Garment for securing an external portion of a catheter


A technique for utilizing a sensor to monitor fluid pressure from a fluid bearing located under a polishing pad to detect a polishing end point. A sensor is located at the leading edge of a fluid bearing of a linear polisher, which is utilized to perform chemical-mechanical polishing on a semiconductor wafer. The sensor monitors the fluid pressure to detect a change in the fluid pressure during polishing, which change corresponds to a change in the shear force when the polishing transitions from one material layer to the next.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of semiconductor wafer processing and, more particularly, to performing end-point detection on a linear planarization tool used to planarize semiconductor wafers.
2. Background of the Related Art
The manufacture of an integrated circuit (IC) device requires the formation of various layers above a base semiconductor substrate, in order to form embedded structures over or in previous layers formed on the substrate. During the manufacturing process, certain portions of these layers need complete or partial removal to achieve the desired device structure. With diminishing feature size, such structures result in highly irregular surface topography causing manufacturing problems in the formation of thin film layers. To facilitate manufacturing processes, the rough surface topography has to be smoothened or planarized.
One of the methods for achieving planarization of the surface is chemical mechanical polishing (CMP). CMP is being extensively pursued to planarize a surface of a semiconductor wafer, such as a silicon wafer, at various stages of integrated circuit processing. CMP is also used in flattening optical surfaces, metrology samples, and various metal and semiconductor based substrates.
CMP is a technique in which a chemical slurry is used along with a polishing pad to polish away materials on a semiconductor wafer. The mechanical movement of the pad relative to the wafer, in combination with the chemical reaction of the slurry disposed between the wafer and the pad, provide the abrasive force with chemical erosion to planarize the exposed surface of the wafer (typically, a layer formed on the wafer), when subjected to a force pressing the wafer onto the pad. In the most common method of performing CMP, a substrate is mounted on a polishing head which rotates against a polishing pad placed on a rotating table (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,329,732). The mechanical force for polishing is derived from the rotating table speed and the downward force on the head. The chemical slurry is constantly transferred under the polishing head. Rotation of the polishing head helps in the slurry delivery, as well as in averaging the polishing rates across the substrate surface.
Another technique for performing CMP to obtain a more effective polishing rate is using the linear planarization technology. Instead of a rotating pad, a moving belt is used to linearly move the pad across the wafer surface. The wafer is still rotated for averaging out the local variations, but the planarization uniformity is improved over CMP tools using rotating pads, partly due to the elimination of unequal radial velocities. One such example of a linear polisher is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,692,947.
Unlike the hardened table top of a rotating polisher, linear planarizing tools are capable of using linearly moving belts upon which the pad is disposed. The ability for the belt to flex can cause a change in the pad pressure being exerted on the wafer. When the pressure of the wafer-pad engagement can be controlled, it provides a mechanism for adjusting the planarization rate and/or the polishing profile across the surface of the wafer. Therefore, a fluid support (or platen) can be placed under the belt for use in adjusting the pad pressure being exerted on the wafer. An example of a fluid support is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,558,568.
When CMP is employed, it is generally advantageous to monitor the effects of the planarizing process to determine if the process is being performed according to desired specifications. A monitoring problem specific to CMP is the determination of the process end point. That is, the ability to monitor the material thickness being removed and to terminate the polishing when a certain end point condition is reached. A typical end point is the case when one material is removed to exposed an underlying material, which is different from the first material. An end point detection technique detects this point where the CMP process is to be stopped.
Various schemes have been devised to detect an end point during CMP. For example, one technique relies on conductivity measurements (see for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,793,895 and 5,321,304). Another technique employs the monitoring of the electrical current to a motor which rotates the wafer (see for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,308,438). Still another technique uses an acoustic wave reflection to monitor dielectric thickness (see for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,240,552). Optical techniques are now being implemented as an accurate indicator for measuring material thickness on a wafer (see for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,433,651). Additionally, Chingfu Lin et al. have demonstrated the use of pad temperature as a method for the determination of polish end point (see, "Pad Temperature As An End Point Detection Method in WCMP Process;" 1998 CMP-MIC Conference; Feb. 19-20, 1998; pp. 52-56). Accordingly, it is understood that a number of techniques are available for detecting the end point of a polishing cycle for a semiconductor wafer.
The historical approaches for in-situ monitoring of the end point pertains mainly to rotating (orbital) polishers. Linear polishing techniques allow for alternative techniques to be developed to take advantage of the linearly moving pad/belt of the linear planarization tools. The present invention implements an end point detection scheme for CMP, which relies on an operative phenomenon different from previous techniques, but is still simple in its approach. The present invention is operative with linear planarization tools, but can be readily adapted to other techniques, including rotating polishers.

Apparatus and method for performing end point detection on a linear planarization tool


The present invention provides a method and system for generating reference signals that, when correlated with synchronization code signals or other components of broadcast TV signals, yield minimal sidelobes, produce large main peaks, and have minimal couplings to high frequency noise and low frequency disturbance signals. The present invention also provides a method and system for accurate position determination utilizing broadcast TV signals by employing reference signals with improved correlation characteristics of minimal sidelobes, minimal coupling to high frequency noise, minimal coupling to low frequency disturbance signals and a maximal main correlation peak.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to position determination, and specifically to accurate position determination using reference signals with improved correlation characteristics.
2. Description of the Related Art
The Global Positioning System (GPS) technology has revolutionized the field of navigation and position location. Initially devised in 1974, the GPS is based on a constellation of 24 on-orbit satellites in sun-synchronous 12 hour circular, inclined orbits. Each satellite transmits a known pseudo-noise signal synchronized to an on-board precision atomic clock. The transmitted pseudo-noise signals can be precisely tracked by a receiver at an unknown location to determine pseudo-ranges. By tracking four or more satellites, one can determine precise position in three dimensions in real time, world-wide. More details are provided in (1) B. W. Parkinson and J. J. Spilker, Jr., Global Positioning System-Theory and Applications, Volumes I and II, AIAA, Washington, D.C. 1996, and (2) J. Spilker, Jr., Digital Communications by Satellite, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1977, 1995, which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
However, the effectiveness of GPS is limited in some situations because the GPS signals are transmitted at relatively low power levels (less than 100 watts), and over great distances, the received signal strength is relatively weak (on the order of −160 dBW as received by an omni-directional antenna). Thus the signal is marginally useful or not useful at all in the presence of line-of-sight blockage or while the receiver is inside a building.
This limitation or shortcoming of GPS technology can be overcome or ameliorated by employing position location technologies based on tracking broadcast television signals. High power, high bandwidth, low duty cycle, and superior geometries make various broadcast television signals ideal candidates for augmenting or improving position location where the GPS technology fails. For example, various digital television broadcast signals contain embedded synchronization codes which can be tracked for position determination purposes. The ATSC standard in the United States, the DVB standard in Europe, and the ISDB-T standard in Japan all employ an embedded synchronization code which is used to probe the transmission channel and mitigate the effects of multipath in a digital TV receiver. In order to be effective for channel modeling and multipath mitigation, these synchronization codes have wide bandwidths, narrow time autocorrelation functions, and high power levels. These features make the synchronization codes ideal for positioning, in particular for indoors positioning where multipath effects are severe and GPS signals may not penetrate. In addition, the Ghost-Canceling Reference (GCR) signals embedded in analog television broadcasts can be used for precise ranging. In recent years, analog television broadcasts have started to insert into their broadcasts a synchronization code termed the Ghost-Canceling Reference, which is used for multipath mitigation on analog signals in TV receivers that digitize the signal. High power characteristics and wide availability of GCR signals make them suitable for position location. Other test signals inserted in the analog broadcasts, such as the multiburst signal, may also be used for position determination.
In the GPS system, autocorrelation of a known Pseudo-Random-Number (PRN) sequence signal (i.e., a pseudo-noise signal) is used to determine pseudo-ranges. For synchronization code signals embedded in broadcast TV signals, however, autocorrelation of a synchronization code signal can yield significant sidelobes in addition to their main correlation peaks. This is because, unlike the GPS Gold-code PRN sequences, the signals were designed primarily for communication purposes, not for position determination. These sidelobes can be confused with multipath reflection signals, resulting in significant errors in pseudorange measurements. However, it is not necessary for the local reference signal to be an exact match of the broadcast synchronization signal to be suitable for pseudo-range measurement purposes. It is possible for a non-identical reference signal to produce a robust main correlation peak while producing negligible sidelobes when correlated with a synchronization code signal. The possibility of ranging errors due to the presence of sidelobes would then be reduced or eliminated.
It can be seen that there exists a need in the art of position determination utilizing broadcast TV signals for a method and system for generating reference signals that produce minimal sidelobes when correlated with the broadcast signals. However, it is a mathematical property of correlation processing that, when the sidelobes are reduced, the coupling to high frequency noise tends to increase. Depending on the characteristics of the signal, very noisy correlation output can also result in significant errors in pseudo-range measurements. Furthermore, there may also be coupling to low frequency disturbance signals. Thus, there also exists a need for a method and system for generating reference signals that, when correlated with the broadcast signals, minimize couplings to high frequency noise and low frequency disturbance signals in addition to producing minimal sidelobes and large main peaks. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a method and system for generating reference signals with such improved correlation characteristics. It would also be desirable to provide a method and system for accurate position determination utilizing broadcast TV signals by employing reference signals with improved correlation characteristics of minimal sidelobes, minimal couplings to high frequency noise and low frequency disturbance signals and maximizing the main correlation peak.

Method and system for generating reference signals with improved correlation characteristics for accurate time of arrival or position determination


Virtual private network (VPN)-related techniques are described. The techniques provide intuitive mechanisms by which a client device more efficiently establishes a VPN connection. In one example, a client device includes a memory, processor(s), and a VPN handler. The VPN handler is configured to monitor actions initiated by one or more applications executable by the programmable processor(s), and determine whether each of the initiated actions requires a VPN connection via which to transmit outbound data traffic corresponding to a respective application of the one or more applications. The VPN handler is further configured to, in response to a detection that at least one initiated action requires the VPN connection via which to transmit the outbound data traffic, automatically establish the VPN connection to couple the client device to an enterprise network, and transmit the outbound data traffic corresponding to the respective application, via the VPN connection.

Enterprises use virtual private networks (VPNs) to allow employees to securely access, modify, or otherwise communicate with enterprise resources over public networks. For example, an enterprise deploys a VPN concentrator, also referred to as a VPN gateway, to provide secure access to the enterprise resources. An employee using a client device at a remote location may establish a VPN connection to the VPN gateway through a public network, such as the Internet. The use of a VPN provides assurances that others on the public network cannot intercept, read, or reuse communications sent on the VPN.
Client devices that enable employees to avail of VPN connections are often equipped with VPN client software. In many instances, VPN client software is configured to detect scenarios where the client device requires a VPN connection to access enterprise resources. In turn, the VPN client software may be configured to automatically establish the VPN connection in response to detecting such a scenario, without requiring any action from the employee using the client device. As one example, VPN client software is configured to detect the current location of the client device based on an internet protocol (IP) address issued to the client device. If the IP address indicates that the client device requires a VPN connection to access the enterprise resources, the VPN client software automatically establishes the VPN connection, enabling the employee using the client device to securely access the enterprise resources.

Application-aware connection for network access client


A semiconductor memory device having a data bus connecting a differential amplifier circuit of a memory cell array, which uses the differential amplifier circuit as input/output terminals of data to the selected memory cells out of a plurality of memory cells, with a plurality of input/output pads for writing and reading data to and from the memory cells. The data bus has a plurality of write data lines and a plurality of read data lines. The write and read data lines of the data bus are arranged in parallel with one another. The two kinds of data lines are arranged alternately in the direction in which they are arranged, and one kind of the data lines serves as the shielding lines for the other other kind of data lines.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory device and more particularly to a semiconductor memory device, such as a dynamic random access memory and a static random access memory.
2. Description of Related Art
In a semiconductor memory device comprising a memory cell array having a number of memory cells arranged in a matrix formation, data is written in or read out of a memory cell selected through a pair of complementary bit lines extending from the memory cells in the memory cell array.
When reading data from a memory cell, data of a selected memory cell is detected by a sense amplifier, formed by a differential amplifier, through a pair of bit lines (often referred to as a bit line pair). When writing data into a memory cell, in the same way as in reading data mentioned above, data is written into a memory cell corresponding to the selected bit line pair as voltage signals applied through the sense amplifier and the bit line pair.
Because bit line pairs, each pair having mutually complementary bit lines, are arranged mutually close to each other, if data on the bit lines is interfered with the parasitic capacity between the bit lines placed close together, data reading or writing becomes unstable, which results in delay or malfunction.
To prevent the instability in data reading or writing ascribable to the parasitic capacity between bit lines, there are disclosed techniques in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 6-5081: a technique for increasing distance between bit line pairs in a memory cell array; a technique for arranging between the bit line pairs additional shielding lines different from the bit lines and not transfering data for reading/writing; and a technique for having the two component lines of a bit line pair intersect each other.
Further, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 10-69773 discloses a new idea for arranging bit line pairs in such a way that the bit line pairs, which are selected simultaneously, do not lie side by side with each other.
Further, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2000-82290 discloses a technique by which to arrange a shielding line between the bit lines.
These techniques can prevent the instability of data in the memory cell array.
However, these techniques are unable to stabilize data in the data bus extending externally from the memory cell array.

Semiconductor memory device having selectively shielded data lines


A combined EAS and RFID circuit includes an HF coil antenna, a UHF tuning loop, and an RFID chip coupled to a strap that includes a first coupling area and a second coupling area. The coil ends of the HF coil antenna are configured to capacitively and/or conductively couple to one or both of the first coupling area or second coupling area of the strap. The HF coil antenna can include a gap between turns for non-interfering placement of the UHF tuning loop. The EAS circuit can be deactivating upon application of a field at the resonant frequency of sufficient intensity to cause the breakdown voltage to be exceeded between a coil end and coupling area. The threshold breakdown voltage between a coil end and a coupling area can be reduced by laser ablation treatment of a conductive surface of one or both of the coil end or coupling area.

Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) systems typically operate in the high frequency (HF) range, nominally at 8.2 MHz, while certain Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) systems operate in the ultra high frequency (UHF) range, nominally at 865 MHz. EAS systems typically include a HF coil antenna coupled to a capacitive element that forms a resonant circuit configured to return a signal when excited by a nearby field at the resonant frequency of the EAS circuit elements. UHF RFID systems typically include a UHF antenna and/or tuning loop coupled to an RFID chip that powers the RFID chip when excited by a nearby field at the resonant frequency of the UHF antenna and internal capacitance of the RFID chip. The RFID chip sends a coded return signal when powered. Typically, EAS devices and RFID devices are used for different purposes and are manufactured and sold as separate items.

Dual function strap for resonating elements and ultra high frequency antennas

Avery Dennison Retail Information Services, LLC


Tank lids include a first coated substrate including a first part having a first thickness, a first elastomer coating the first part, a second coated substrate positioned adjacent to the first coated substrate, the second coated substrate including a second part having a second thickness, and a second elastomer coating the second part. A first seam can be formed between the first and second coated substrates to allow for moisture to pass between the first and second coated substrates so that moisture is allowed to seep away from the top of the tank lid.

Water is oftentimes stored in several types of open-top containers, or water containments, used on or near well sites and the like. These water containments can be subjected to temperature extremes, such as freezing or excessive heat that can freeze or evaporate, respectively, the water contained therein. Temporary coverings have been used in an attempt to prevent freezing or evaporation of the water. Existing coverings, however, lack the insulative properties needed to prevent freezing or evaporation and/or are oftentimes difficult to install in the field.
A need exists for a way to protect water contained in an open-top containment during inclement weather conditions. There is also a need for a water containment cover that can be quickly and easily installed on a well site location and with a minimum number of personnel.


A package body includes a porous metal body having an elongated sheet shape, a core member having a cylindrical shape, a protective sheet, and a resin film. The porous metal body is wound around the core member. The protective sheet is wound around the wound porous metal body to cover an outer surface of the wound porous metal body. The protective sheet and the porous metal body are covered with the resin film. The core member is made of paper or a resin.

A sheet-shaped porous metal body having a framework of a three-dimensional mesh structure is utilized for various applications such as a filter that requires heat resistance, a battery electrode plate, a catalyst carrier, and a metal composite. For example, Celmet (manufactured by Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd., registered trademark), which is a porous metal body made of nickel, is widely adopted in various industrial fields, as an electrode of an alkaline storage battery such as a nickel hydrogen battery, a carrier for an industrial deodorizing catalyst, and the like. In addition, Aluminum-Celmet (manufactured by Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd., registered trademark), which is a porous metal body made of aluminum, can be used as a positive electrode of a lithium ion battery since it is stable even in an organic electrolytic solution.
As a method of manufacturing the porous metal body, the porous metal body can be manufactured by performing conductive treatment on a surface of a framework of a porous resin body, then performing electroplating treatment to provide metal plating on the surface of the framework of the porous resin body, and then removing the porous resin body (for example, see Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 05-031446 (PTL 1) and Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2011-225950 (PTL 2)).

Package body and method of manufacturing package body


Various embodiments of the present invention provide systems, methods, and computer program products for enabling duty determination for each of a plurality of commingled international shipments being shipped to a plurality of consignees located in a country, the plurality of commingled international shipments being packed in an over packed carton. In general, various embodiments of the invention involve receiving information for each of the commingled international shipments that identifies the consignee for each of the commingled international shipments, creating an individual shipment identifier for each of the commingled international shipments, and associating each individual shipment identifier with the information for the corresponding commingled international shipment. Further, various embodiments of the invention involve transmitting the information for each commingled international shipment to a customs system to enable customs to consider each of the commingled international shipments separately for purposes of determining duty due for each of the commingled international shipments.

A duty is a type of tax that is often associated with customs, a payment due to the revenue of some type of entity such as a country or state, levied by force of law. In many instances, a duty is a kind of indirect tax on goods involved in international trade. As the World economy has grown, many merchants have customers located in a number of different countries. In particular instances, a merchant may receive several orders from a number of different recipients in a particular country. For example, a merchant located in France may sell men's clothing and may receive several Internet orders from customers living in the United States. In this instance, the merchant may take advantage of the cost of shipping one international shipment to the United States instead of many for the received orders and may package all the orders into one international shipment. Once the international shipment reaches its final destination country (e.g., the United States), the shipment is often received at an intermediary warehouse location where the individual orders are removed from the shipment and shipped to their final destinations within the country.
Often the international shipment must pass through customs upon arrival in the destination country in order to determine whether a duty is due on the articles in the shipment being imported into the country. In many instances, whether a duty is paid on an imported article is dependent on the value of the article. For example, in the United States, many international shipments valued under $200 are not subject to a duty and may be released under Section 321 of the U.S. Customs regulations with minimal requirements. However, in the case in which the merchant has packed all of the orders into one single international shipment that is addressed to one consignee (e.g., the intermediary warehouse) without any information on the individual orders inside the shipment and without customs physically inspecting the individual orders packed in the shipment, customs only considers the value of the entire shipment for purposes of determining the duty due on the international shipment. Therefore, if the value of all of the orders shipped in the shipment total more than $200, the shipment is subject to a duty.
Thus, a need exists in the art that allows for customs to consider each individual order in the single international shipment for purposes of determining whether a duty is due on each individual order without having to physically inspect each individual order in the shipment. Such a solution allows many of these orders to be exempt from being subject to a duty and, in many instances, helps to minimize the duty paid by the merchant and/or recipients.

Systems and methods for enabling duty determination for a plurality of commingled international shipments


Methods and systems for extruding polymeric fibers are disclosed. The extrusion process preferably involves the delivery of a lubricant separately from a polymer melt stream to each orifice of an extrusion die such that the lubricant preferably encases the polymer melt stream as it passes through the die orifice.

The present invention relates to the field of polymer fiber extrusion processing and apparatus.
Conventional fiber forming methods and apparatus typically involves the extrusion of polymeric material through orifices. The rates, pressures and temperatures of the typical fiber extrusion process represent a compromise between economic requirements and the physical characteristics of the polymeric material. For example, the molecular weight of the polymeric material is directly tied to both melt viscosity and polymeric material performance. Unfortunately, improvements in polymeric material performance are conventionally tied to increased molecular weight and corresponding relatively high melt viscosities. The higher melt viscosities typically result in slower, less economically viable processes.
To address the high melt viscosities of higher molecular weight polymers, conventional processes may rely on relatively high temperature processing in an effort to lower the melt viscosity of the polymeric material. The process temperature may typically, however, be limited by degradation of the polymeric material at higher temperatures. In conjunction with increased process temperatures, the process pressures, i.e., the pressure at which the polymer is extruded, may also be increased to improve process speed. Process pressure may, however, be limited by the equipment employed to extrude the fibers. As a result, the processing speed in conventional processes is typically constrained by the factors discussed above.
In view of the issues discussed above, the conventional strategy in extruding molten polymer for fiber making is to reduce the molecular weight of the polymeric material to attain economically viable processing rates. The reduced molecular weight results in a corresponding compromise in material properties of the extruded polymeric fibers.
To at least partially address the compromises in material properties of conventional extruded fibers, the fiber strength may be improved by orienting the polymeric material in the fiber. Orientation is imparted by pulling or stretching the fiber after it exits the extrusion die. As a result, the polymeric material used for the fibers typically must have a substantial tensile stress carrying capability in the semi-molten state in which the polymeric material exits the die (or the fibers will merely break when pulled). Such properties are conventionally available in semi-crystalline polymers such as, e.g., polyethylene, polypropylene, polyesters, and polyamides. Thus, conventional fiber extrusion processes can be performed with only a limited number of polymeric materials.


A method and system is provided for determining a location for each of a plurality of units, which are sub-divided into more than one sub-net groupings, that each include two or more units. Within each sub-net grouping, measured range information between units within the sub-nets and one or more reference units is gathered in at least a selected one of the units. The selected one of the units then estimates a location for each of the units, which minimizes any error in the measured ranges between the units in each of the corresponding sub-nets.

There are instances in which it would be desirable to track and or estimate the location of individual units within a network, including multi-hop and/or ad-hoc networks. In at least some of these instances, some of the more traditional approaches, such as approaches based upon triangulation/trilateration, may be unavailable. For example, for at least some of the units there may be an insufficient number of range measurements relative to one or more reference units, whose locations are known, to enable a unit to be located to be able to determine its location.
However, despite not having a sufficient number of range measurements relative to one or more reference units for any particular one or more units, in some instances a location estimation can be determined based upon a known relationship of a group of units relative to one another, as well as the relationship between at least some of the units in the group relative to one or more reference units. In at least some instances, an iterative approach may exist for estimating a location for a plurality of units forming a multi-hop network. One such example includes Patwari et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,473,038.
In at least some iterative approaches, the various distance/range information is gathered in a centralized location, where a set of locations are initially estimated, and a corresponding error value is determined for the set of locations. The location estimates will be iteratively adjusted until the corresponding error value is minimized. In at least some instances an error value will be based upon the accumulated differences associated with the distance between units relative to the estimated locations, and the measured distance between units using one or more measured ranging techniques.
However as the number of units in the network increases, the volume of information that needs to be collected at the central unit where the location estimates are to be determined increases. Still further, the distance measured in the number of hops that some of the information will need to travel to be received at the central unit where the location estimates are determined will also often similarly increase as the number of units in the network increases. In some instances, the number of hops can be minimized to the extent that the particular unit where the location estimates are determined is selected as being one of the units located toward the center of the units. Each hop generally introduces a corresponding delay or latency associated with gathering the associated range information at the unit where the location estimates are determined, as well as representing an additional unit that the information needs to travel through in order to be received by the unit where the location estimates are determined.
In addition to delays associated with multiple hops, traffic densities in and around the unit where the location estimates are determined are often heightened and in some instances can result in one or more truffle bottlenecks. Furthermore, this can cause non-uniform energy consumption to occur. Further yet, the location computational time exponentially increases with every additional blindfolded unit (i.e. unit whose location is to be determined) in the network.
The present inventors have recognized that subdividing a plurality of units, whose locations are to be determined, into a plurality of sub-nets can generally be done without adversely affecting the network's ability to determine the location of the units. Furthermore, the determination of the locations of the units can then be distributed between multiple units that are associated with each of the sub-nets.

Method and system for determining a location of a plurality of units using sub-divided unit groupings


An induction charging device for an electrically operated vehicle may include a sub-surface protection, a shield element, and an induction charging module. The shield element may include a recess. The sub-surface protection may include a receiving area. The recess and the receiving area may define an insertion area in which the induction charging module is arranged.

To increase the acceptance of electrically driven vehicles among end customers, it can be advantageous when the energy transfer between a stationary energy source and an energy storage device of the vehicle takes place in a contact-free manner. A contact-free energy transfer is advantageous for end customers, because charging cables, for example, do not need to be brought along or be carried, respectively. Stationary induction charging stations can furthermore be partially buried in the bottom area, so that a better integration in a cityscape or landscape is possible. Buried induction charging stations are further particularly well protected against damages caused by vandalism.
A stationary induction charging station, which is connected to a stationary energy source, can generate a time-varying magnetic field via a primary coil. The electrically operated vehicle has an induction charging device, which comprises an induction coil. If the induction charging device is positioned in the area of the magnetic field of the stationary induction charging station, the time-varying magnetic field induces an alternating current or an alternating voltage, respectively, in the induction coil of the induction charging device. This inducted alternating current or this induced alternating voltage, respectively, can be used to charge the energy storage device of the vehicle.
Compared to commercial vehicles, the available installation space for an induction charging device is highly limited in the case of passenger cars. In addition to the actual energy transfer, however, the induction charging device should in many cases also have a certain electromagnetic compatibility, comprise a thermal management for guiding heat flows, have a weight, which is as low as possible, as well as provide a mechanical protection against external influences for mechanically sensitive components.
The large number of vehicle models further has the result that the induction charging device has to be adapted or designed accordingly, respectively, for the respective vehicle, and increases the development costs. The induction charging device should thus be capable of being used for a plurality of vehicle models, wherein the development effort should be limited to a minimum.

Inductive charging system with modular underground protection


A resistive element that includes: a substrate; a first nitride semiconductor layer; a second nitride semiconductor layer; a two-dimensional electron gas layer on the first nitride semiconductor layer side at an interface between the first nitride semiconductor layer and the second nitride semiconductor layer; a first electrode ohmically connected to the two-dimensional electron gas layer; a second electrode ohmically connected to the two-dimensional electron gas layer; and an insulating layer between the first electrode and the second electrode in plan view. The two-dimensional electron gas layer functions as an electric resistance element. A conductive layer is not provided above the insulating layer between the first electrode and the second electrode in the plan view. The resistive element has a resistance-value stabilization structure that functions to keep a resistance value of the electric resistance element constant.

A group III nitride semiconductor, especially a GaN-based nitride semiconductor or an AlGaN-based nitride semiconductor, has a high dielectric breakdown voltage owing to its wide band gap and allows easy formation of a heterostructure of, for instance, AlGaN and GaN. In the heterostructure, it is possible to generate a high-mobility and high-density electronic channel (two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG)) on the GaN layer side of an AlGaN/GaN interface. The electronic channel is generated by a difference in band gap and fixed charges caused by spontaneous polarization due to a difference in ionic radius as well as by piezo polarization due to a difference in lattice constant between AlGaN and GaN. By controlling the two-dimensional electron gas channel, it is possible to form a high electron mobility transistor (HEMT). Owing to its high-voltage, high-speed, and high-current characteristics, the group III nitride semiconductor is applied to electronic devices such as power field effect transistors (FETs) and diodes.
In recent years, it has become a common practice to use not only discrete products using FETs or diodes independently, but also integrated circuits including resistive elements and capacitors. Resistive elements to be used for integrated circuits include, for example, a metal thin-film resistance, a p-type or n-type group III nitride semiconductor formed by epitaxial growth, and a resistive element that uses two-dimensional electron gas, as disclosed in Patent Literature (PTL) 1. Particularly, forming a resistive element that uses two-dimensional electron gas on the same chip as an HEMT will be formed enables simultaneous formations of the HEMT and the resistive element and thus provides advantages in terms of manufacturing cost.

Resistive element and power amplifier circuit


A key device includes a key cap and a base plate unit. The key cap includes a top wall and a peripheral wall cooperatively defining a receiving space. The top wall has a plurality of spaced-apart studs protruding into the receiving space. The base plate unit is disposed in the receiving space and is riveted to the top wall through the studs. The base plate unit includes a base plate, and a plurality of engaging members secured to the base plate. The base plate includes a plurality of stud holes for extension of the studs respectively therethrough, and a plurality of spaced-apart anchor members. The engaging members are injection molded to the anchor members, respectively.

A key device, as disclosed in Taiwanese Patent Publication No. 201432757, includes a base plate, a key cap, and a metal plate body. The metal plate body is connected to a bottom portion of the key cap, and is provided with a plurality of hook members formed by stamping for pivot connection of a plurality of balance bars. However, the hook members cannot be formed into desired shapes by one stamping, and may have to go through several times of stamping, so that the making of the key device is complicated, thereby increasing the manufacturing cost thereof.

Key device having a reinforced structure and method of making the same


Devices and methods for measuring analytes and target particles in a sample are disclosed. In some embodiments, the disclosure provides a cartridge device. In other embodiments, the disclosure provides a method of using a cartridge device as disclosed herein for analyzing analytes and target particles in a sample. In further embodiments, the disclosure provides an analyzer including a cartridge device and a control unit device. The control unit device is configured to receive, operate, and/or actuate the cartridge device. In some embodiments, the disclosure provides a method of using an analyzer as disclosed herein for analyzing analytes and target particles in a sample.

All publications cited herein are incorporated by reference in their entireties to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference. The following description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present disclosure. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the present disclosure, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
Leukocyte cells and hemoglobin in blood are often measured together in medical diagnostics. They are part of a diagnostic test called complete blood count (CBC). Previously, a cuvette device for the measurement of hemoglobin is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,674,457. Similarly, a cuvette device for the measurement of leukocyte cells is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,521,243. However, these cuvette devices measure either hemoglobin or leukocyte cells, but not both. U.S. Pat. No. 7,771,658 discloses a cartridge device, which is used to measure both hemoglobin and leukocyte cells. In this device, a rotating structure is necessary to collect a sample into to the device, and electrical impedance is measured for the detection of leukocyte cells with limited accuracy. U.S. Pat. No. 8,741,234 discloses another cartridge device, which receives a reagent from an instrument device to form a sample mixture and requires a sleeving or sheath flow to form a sample stream in a flow cell for the detection of leukocyte cells. The laboratory tools for measuring hemoglobin and leukocyte cells usually have direct contact with blood samples or sample mixtures, which are considered biohazards.


Methods and arrangements for enhancing search quality. Query search results are displayed, and search query provenance related to the search results is graphically depicted. There is graphically accorded an investigative function to avail investigation of at least one aspect of the search query provenance.

The use of online search engines has proliferated considerably over time. Conventionally, consumers and users have come to expect very rapid search turnaround time, to the point that a return of search results can now be virtually instantaneous.
However, the mere production of voluminous results with rapid turnaround does not always provide a satisfactory body of information for consumers and users to employ. Particularly, it is often the case that that consumers and users wish to understand the results at a finer level or gain insight as to how the results were obtained. Among other things, this can help guide more efficient searching in the future at the consumer/user end. At the same time, even administrators can come to understand and appreciate inefficiencies and shortcomings in how search results are produced, possibly even prompting changes to a search algorithm. Conventional information retrieval systems and arrangements, however, offer little more than a "black box" where insights on the production of search results are difficult if not impossible to obtain.

Search quality via query provenance visualization

International Business Machines Corporation