An information handling system receives management information from a network, such as IPMI information, with plural network interface cards of the information handling system in a teaming configuration. Upon detecting management information, a network interface card issues an SMBus alert to a management processor of the information handling system. A team module running on the management processor reads the status of the network interfaces to identify the network interface associated with the alert and reads the management information from the network interface. Management information sent to the network is sent through a predetermined one of the network interfaces to ensure that, if teaming gets deactivated at the switch, there will not be multiple NICs with the same BMC MAC address transmitting to the switch.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the field of information handling system network communication, and more particularly to a system and method for communicating system management information during network interface teaming.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Information handling systems often interact with each other and with peripherals through networks to communicate or otherwise process information. For instance, network interface cards (NICs) format information for communication over wireline or wireless local area networks (LANs) having a client-server architecture. Typically, multiple clients, each having at least one NIC, interface with a single server having multiple NICs. Often, multiple servers and switches are used in complex networks to manage communication of large amounts of information at rapid speeds. In such networks, NICs are sometimes "teamed" to better share a network's communication with a server information handling system across the teamed NICs. During teaming, a switch interfaced with multiple NICs of the server information handling system switches network traffic across the NICs with a common network address so that the network traffic load is more evenly shared between the NICs. The NICs are shared between the operating system through a PCI or other internal bus. Network communication is often less efficient without the use of teaming since congestion at a NIC may occur while other NICs are underutilized, resulting in delays of processing information from the congested NIC by the processor of the information handling system server.
One goal of network design is to have server information handling systems that are as robust as feasible in order to avoid network outages. A problem considered in the design of robust server information handling systems is that such systems are often placed in less accessible locations, such as data centers, that make the servicing and repair of server information handling systems more difficult. To address this problem, server information handling systems are often built with a separate management processor, such as a BMC or a RAC, which is able to manage physical components even when the server information handling system central processing unit (CPU) is not operating. For instance, a BMC communicates with the cooling system to monitor environmental conditions and with the BIOS to restart the system, such as in case of a CPU hangup. Remote access to the management processor is typically supported through a single NIC to allow a remote client to send commands to the management processor over the network, such as with the Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) standard, and through a secondary bus of the information handling system, such as a SMBus. However, when NIC teaming is used, traffic to the management processor is often lost since the switch divides traffic between the NICs so that IPMI traffic can go to a NIC that is not interfaced with the management processor by the secondary bus. To avoid the loss of IPMI management traffic, users are usually warned that teaming and IPMI communication are not compatible so that the user may disable teaming before sending IPMI information.

System and method for communicating system management information during network interface teaming


The apparatus for cell or tissue culture comprises a base plate (1), an intermediate face (2) and a top plate (3). The intermediate face (2) is removably sandwiched between the base plate (1) and the top plate (3). The base plate (1) has a circumferential wall (13), a base (14) and a top wall (16). The top wall (16) of the base plate (1) comprises a plurality of recesses (12) arranged in n lines, wherein n is an integer from 1 to about 25. Each line of recesses (12) ranges from a first recess to a last recess. Each recess has a circumferential recess wall (15), which has one recess inlet and one recess outlet (40, 41). The circumferential wall (13) comprises a number of 2 n ports (11). Each port (11) is coupled to a single line of recesses (12). The recesses (12) of each line of recesses are in fluid communication with (i) each other via the recess inlets and a recess outlets (40, 41) and (ii) with a first and a second port (11) of the 2 n ports, such that the first recess of each line of recesses is coupled to a first port and the last recess of each line of recesses is coupled to a second port. The intermediate face (2) has a plurality of recesses (21) arranged in m lines, fitted into the plurality of recesses (12) of the top wall (16) of the base plate (13). m is an integer from 1 to about 25 equal to or smaller than n. The recesses (21) of the intermediate face (2) have water permeability. The top plate (3) is reversibly sealed to the intermediate face (2) and the intermediate face (2) is reversibly sealed to the base plate (1). Thus the recesses (12) of the top wall (16) of the base plate (1) define culture chambers. Each culture chamber has a circumferential wall defined by the recess wall (15) and a removable top, which is defined by a portion of the top plate (3).

The development of perfusion bioreactor systems for long term maintenance of functional hepatic culture with a strong predictive power for in vitro drug testing is one of the challenging tasks facing bioengineers (Brandon, E F, Raap, C D, et al., Toxicol Appl Pharmacol (2003) 189, 3, 233-246). Primary hepatocytes lose their liver-specific functions upon isolation as a result of the disintegration of in vivo micro-environment characterized by cell-cell interaction, cell-matrix interaction and maximal mass transport. Several methods have been proposed to overcome the loss of cell functionality through the re-establishment of in vivo-like micro-environment for the primary hepatocytes, by using semi-permeable hollow fiber membranes, gel encapsulations, or porous scaffolds. Cell immobilization can be achieved by means of micro-carrier or suspended in collagen gel matrix to form culture of 2D, 3D or spheroids configurations (Landry, J, Bernier, D, et al. J Cell Biol (1985) 101, 3, 914-923; Kan, P, Miyoshi, H, et al. (2004) Tissue Eng 10, 9-10, 1297-1307; Park, J, Berthiaume, F, et al. Biotechnol Bioeng (2005) 90, 5, 632-644; Park, J., Li, Y, et al., Biotechnol Bioeng (2008) 99, 2, 455-467).
Studies have shown that sandwich culture provides microenvironment mimicry of the situation found in vivo. This culturing method provides anchorage for hepatocyte attachment and the establishment of hepatic polarity through the formation of bile canalicular network between contiguous cells, while maintaining the cells' biliary excretion function. Du Y et al reported the re-establishment of hepatic polarity and long-term maintenance of in vitro hepatic functions through the use of bioactive-synthetic materials for their 3D hepatocyte monolayer sandwich culture. The study indicated that the synthetic 3D monolayer culture exhibited a similar process of hepatic polarity formation, better cell-cell interaction and improved differentiated functions over 14-day culture compared to the hepatocytes in collagen sandwich culture. The study highlighted that this technique is ideally suited for liver tissue engineering applications such as drug metabolism/toxicity testing (Dunn, J C, Tompkins, R G, et al. Biotechnol Prog (1991) 7, 3, 237-245; Kern, A, Bader, A, et al. Biochem Pharmacol (1997) 54, 7, 761-772; De Smet, K., Bruning, T, et al. Arch Toxicol (2000) 74, 10, 587-592; Kemp D C, Brouwer, K L, Toxicol In Vitro (2004) 18, 6, 869-877; Kemp, D C, Zamek-Gliszczynski, M J, et al. Toxicol Sci (2005) 83, 2, 207-214)
To maintain cell viability and liver-functions in the primary hepatocytes culture, the application of perfusion bioreactors has been indispensable. Research has demonstrated that perfusion bioreactors enhance mass transport of dissolved oxygen and nutrients to the cell culture, thereby enabling their viability and function (Rotem, A, Toner, M, et al. Biotechnol Bioeng (1994) 43, 7, 654-660; McClelland, R E, Coger, R N, Tissue Eng (2004) 10, 1-2, 253-266). However, many of the existing in vitro perfusion drug testing platforms suffer from the ability to maintain long term cell viability and liver-specific functions. In addition, many of their designs do not conform to the standard cell culture plate dimension, making the transferability of cell cultures to other standard drug testing platforms inconceivably difficult.
There remains therefore a need for a culture platform that addresses the current drawbacks in existing in vitro drug testing bioreactor design.
Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provide a device or apparatus that overcomes at least some of these drawbacks. This object is solved by providing an apparatus according to claim 1.

Agency for Science, Technology and Research


A steer-by-wire system and method for a vehicle, including and utilizing: a steering wheel system including a steering wheel, an angle sensor or mechanism coupled or applied to the steering wheel and for determining an angular magnitude of the steering wheel and provide a corresponding control signal, and an angular rate sensor or mechanism coupled or applied to the steering wheel and for determining an angular rate of the steering wheel and provide a corresponding control signal offset; and a steering actuator system including a wheel angle actuator coupled to one or more wheels of the vehicle and for receiving the collective control signal and control signal offset and turning the wheels in response. The steering wheel system further includes an angular rate filter/tuner for receiving an angular rate input from the angular rate sensor or mechanism and deriving an angular offset output corresponding to the control signal offset.

As driver assist (DA) and autonomous driving (AD) systems are becoming more widespread and accepted, steer-by-wire (SBW) systems are becoming more prevalent in vehicles. Such SBW systems eliminate the conventional mechanical linkages that couple the steering wheel of a vehicle to the wheels that it steers, replacing these mechanical linkages with a plurality of electronic sensors, controllers, and actuators. For example, aircraft have used SBW systems for some time to overcome the large forces present on the various control surfaces and make the aircraft easier and more responsive to fly. A mechanical steering wheel input is converted an electrical signal, which is in turn converted to a mechanical wheel output. This can be thought of a power-assist steering taken to its logical conclusion.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional SBW system and method 10 for a vehicle. The steering wheel system 12 includes a steering wheel by which a driver steers the vehicle and an angle sensor 14 that senses a degree of rotation of the steering wheel. A control signal corresponding to the degree of rotation of the steering wheel, or steering wheel angle, is transmitted to a steering actuator system 22 including a wheel angle actuator 24 that is ultimately responsible for turning one or more wheels 50 of the vehicle to the degree indicated by the control signal corresponding to the degree of rotation of the steering wheel. Both the angle sensor 14 and the wheel angle actuator 24 are coupled to various processing and control systems associated with the collective vehicle processing unit 5. Of course, different scaling factors can be applied to the control signal to fine-tune the response of the one or more wheels 50 to the driver's steering request. It should also be noted that this may be applied in both two-wheel steering and four-wheel steering configurations.
One problem, however, is that the tire force buildup is not instantaneous. This can result in degraded handling and agility of the vehicle under certain operating conditions. The driver's steering request is not crisply executed as a precise wheel response. This problem is solved by the SBW systems and methods provided herein, which exploit the slip dynamics of the tire to provide a faster response by overshooting.

Steer-by-wire systems and methods providing tire force buildup compensation


The present invention encompasses methods of treating a subject who stutters. The methods can include the steps of: (a) identifying a subject in need of treatment; and (b) administering to the subject a therapeutically effective amount of a composition comprising a D1/D5 receptor antagonist, a D1/D5 receptor partial agonist, or a mixture thereof. For example, the D1/D5 receptor antagonist can be ecopipam or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt, solvate, hydrate, prodrug, structural analog, metabolite, or polymorph thereof.

The International Classification of Diseases 2010 (ICD-10) defines stuttering, which is also called stammering, as "[s]peech that is characterized by frequent repetition or prolongation of sounds or syllables or words, or by frequent hesitations or pauses that disrupt the rhythmic flow of speech." Stuttering is classified as a disorder when it markedly disturbs the fluency of speech. Typically, the disorder includes repeated articulatory movements (e.g., t-t-t-talk) and/or fixed articulatory movements (e.g., mmm-mine). Verbal interjections (e.g., "um" or "like") are common. Verbal signs can be accompanied by nonverbal signs, including facial grimaces, excessive eye blinking, muscle tension, odd movements of the head, and struggling to speak. These behaviors may be learned approaches to minimize the severity of a stutter. People who stutter often experience emotional distress, and anxiety can cause them to avoid educational and social situations that they would otherwise enjoy and benefit from.
The neurophysiological basis of stuttering is thought to share some similarities with other movement disorders. Specifically, stuttering may arise due to abnormal signaling in one or more of the circuits between the cortex, striatum, globus pallidus, and thalamus (the cortical-striatal-pallidal-thalamo or CSPT circuit). Circuit models have implied that excess dopamine activation increases unwanted movements of the muscles controlling speech (at D1 receptors) and, conversely, that dopamine blockade (at D2 receptors) promotes unwanted movements. Known D2 antagonists like clozapine, olanzapine, asenapine, and risperidone have all been reported to induce stuttering (Grover et al., 2012; Bar et al., 2004; Yaday, 2010; Maguire et al., 2011) and D2-preferring dopamine agonists such as methylphenidate have been reported to relieve stuttering (Devroey et al., 2012).
We are unaware of any treatments approved by any recognized government regulatory authority for the treatment of stuttering. Most patients are treated with behavioral techniques (see Blomgren, Psychol. Res. Behay. Management, 6:9-19, 2013). When used in severely afflicted patients, pharmacotherapy typically involves drugs for the treatment of anxiety (see, e.g., Maguire et al., J. Clin. Psychopharmacol. 30:48-56, 2010). This is based on the observation that stress exacerbates stuttering and the assumption that reducing stress will relieve some symptoms.
Several review articles concerning stuttering are available. These include: Boyd et al., J. Clin. Psychopharmacol., 31:740-744, 2011; Ingham, et al., J. Fluency Disord., 28:297-317, 2003; Maguire et al., Expert Opin. Pharmacother., 5:1565-1571, 2004; Kraft and Yairi, Folia Phoniatrica et Logopaedica, 64:34-47; Ashert and Wasson, Journal of American Osteopathic Association, 111:576-580; Newbury and Monaco, Neuron, 68:309-320; Prasse and Kikano, American Family Physician, 77:1271-1276, 2008; Büchel and Sommer, PLoS Biology, 2:159-163; Bothe et al., American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 15:321-341, 2005; Costa and Kroll, Canadian Medical Association Journal, 162:1849-1855, 2000; and Ashert and Wasson, Journal of American Osteopathic Association, 111:576-580, 2011).

Fused benzazepines for treatment of stuttering


A method for controlling a wind power plant comprising a plurality of wind turbine generators, wherein the method comprises: deriving an estimated value for electrical losses in the wind power plant, deriving a measured value for electrical losses in the wind power plant, based on a difference between an aggregated power production from the plurality of wind turbine generators and a power measurement at a point of common coupling; applying the estimated value for electrical losses and the measured value for electrical losses in an active power control loop, comprising a regulator; and controlling by means of the active power control loop an active power production of the wind power plant at the point of common coupling.

High penetration of wind turbines in the electrical grids has let requirements for the wind turbines, on how they should contribute to the stability of the electrical grids. Such requirements are included in so-called grid codes.
One of the requirements which may be included in certain grid codes is inertia response. Inertia response is a functionality where the power is boosted from the normal production for a short period of time, i.e. power delivered to the electrical grid is increased. The boost of power function may be available at all wind speeds. For very low wind speeds, the power boost may be rather reduced.
Depending on the grid code, the details of the boost phase may vary. In some locations, a boost power should be provided upon request. In an example, it may be specified that whenever the production from the wind power plant is above 25% of rated power, the wind power plant must be able to deliver a power boost of 5-10% of rated power for a given time period, e.g. up to 10 seconds. The grid code may also specify requirements for the recovery period. As an example, after the boost it may be specified that the wind turbine must have returned to normal operation after 2 minutes, and that during the recovery phase the power produced by the wind turbine should remain within 80% of available power.
EP2384540 discloses a power generation system. The power generation system includes a power generation unit operable to supply electrical power to an utility system; a synchronous machine coupled to the utility system; a grid measurement device for measuring the current and power exchanged between the synchronous machine and the utility system; a controller for adjusting the output power of the power generation unit as a function of the power and current measured by the grid measurement device; and a communication link between the grid measurement device, the controller and/or the power generation unit. The power generation unit is configured to provide current and power to the utility system as a function of the power and current measured by the grid measurement device.

Method for controlling a wind power plant


Disclosed are a circuit board connector which neither brings upon any defective conductivity due to the generation of crack and the like nor requires any separation even when the number of connector pins is great, and a board having a strong resistance against thermal effect. The circuit board connector is constructed so that a plurality of connector pins 1 held by a holder member 20 arranged in the longitudinal direction are inserted into holes 17 of circuit patterns in circuit board 7 for a subsequent soldering, and the holder member is constructed to be expandable, contractive, and deformable in the longitudinal direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a circuit board connector and a board using this connector. More particularly, the invention relates to a circuit board connector mounted on a printed circuit board and a board using the connector.
2. Related Background Art
Traditionally, there has been known a circuit board connector mounted on a printing circuit board. A connector of such kind comprises a unit of male connector in which a plurality of connector pins are provided on the printed circuit board, and female connector which serves to secure an electrical conductivity for the male connector to prevent them from being fallen off. For this circuit board connector, there are typically a straight type in which the connector pins are planted on the surface of a mounting board almost vertically, and an edge type in which the connector pins are bent at right angles in the middle so that they are provided substantially in parallel with the surface of the mounting board.
Now, the description will be made briefly of a conventional straight type circuit board connector. FIG. 26 is a front view illustrating a conventional circuit board connector. In FIG. 26, the circuit board connector comprises a male connector portion 120 and a female connector portion 121 as a unit of one set. In the female connector portion 121, the connector terminals 124 represented by broken lines to which single lines 123 or flat cables (not shown) are connected are incorporated, and the electrical conductivity is implemented between each of the connector terminals 124 and connector pins 1 by the contacting force generated by the resilient deformation of the resilient portion of the connector terminals 124 when coupled with the connector pins 1. There are various types in practical use.
Also, the male connector portion 120 are provided with all the connector pins 1 almost vertically on the mounting surface of a circuit board 7. Therefore, the connector pins 1 are integrally formed with or pressed into a holder member 122 made of resin in advance, and after the end portions 1a of the connector pins 1 are inserted into the land holes of the circuit patterns on the surface of the circuit board 7, the integrated member is passed through a soldering flow tank or the like to form soldering portions 8 at once, thus performing the so-called soldering.
To the male connector portions 120 thus provided, the female connector portions 121 are pressed in detachably for use as a connector.
Particularly, when the male connector portions 120 in the circuit board connector are mounted, the temperatures of the circuit board 7 and the holder member 122 are considerably elevated, because the temperature at which the solder is solidified after the termination of the soldering is as high as one hundred and tens centigrade (.degree.C.).
After that, the circuit board 7 and holder member 122 which have been expanded by thermal expansion in the direction indicated by an arrow X in FIG. 26 are contracted in the direction indicated by an arrow Y while getting to the equilibrium state to the room temperature. At this juncture, however, a difference in amount of the contraction occurs due to the materials used, shapes, dimentions, and the like of the circuit board 7 and holder member 122.
Furthermore, the resin circuit board 7 and holder member 122 are of water absorptive, resulting in a more difference in the amounts of the contraction by the expansion or contraction by moisture and the difference in the storage periods.
Now, FIG. 27 is a microscopic photographing view illustrating the breaking part of the end 1a of the connector pin 1 structured as shown in FIG. 26. This is the result of an observation and recording of a crack K which is generated subsequent to the solidification of the solder 8 after the pin has been inserted into the land 7a of the circuit board 7. This crack K has reached as far as approximatly a half of the circumference of the connector pin 1, and the soldering is effectuated only by the remaining portion of another half of the circumference. This crack K is conspicuous particularly when the number of the connector pins is great. Conventionally, in order to prevent this, a method is adopted to separate the holder member 122 if many numbers of the connector pins should be provided.
It has been vertified that such crack K is generated due to the difference in the amount of the contraction of the above-mentioned circuit board 7 and holder member 122, further, there is a problem that the crack K brings upon a conductivity deficiency eventually because the crack K further propagates due to an external force, vibration, or changes in temperature and moisture (-10.degree. to 85.degree. C.) when the connector is used or stored as an electrical product.
Meanwhile, FIGS. 28A through 28C are views showing the processes in the conventional soldering flow and FIG. 28D illustrates the generation of a damage that the land 7b is peeled off when the female connector portion 30 is fitted onto the connector pin 1 which has been soldered in the processes shown in FIGS. 28A through 28C.
In other words, in FIG. 28A, the connector pin 1 integrally formed with the male connector 120 is inserted into the hole of the land portion 7b of the board 7. Then, when the integrated member is processed in a soldering flow equipment, there occurs a gap G as shown in FIG. 28B because the connector pin 1 which has been integrally formed with male connector portion 120 is raised from the board 7 by the flow of solder 8. Subsequently, after having waited for the solder to be solidified in the process shown in FIG. 28C, the female connector portion 30 is fitted as in FIG. 28D. Then, there encountered a problem in this process that the land 7b is peeled off from the board 1 at least by the amount equal to the gap G.
Also, the conventional connector is of rigid body in which the connector pins are integrally formed with resin, and there is no flexibility when it is mounted on a board. In addition, if the connector is mounted near a heat generating component such as a heating element or a motor, it is directly affected by heat. Hence, a problem happens that the electrical circuit between the board and the connector pins are broken and its function is disabled eventually.
Further, if a voltage is applied from a high voltage source to the connector pins in the circuit board as shown in FIG. 28, there is a problem that a discharge takes place between the pins if the interval between them is narrow.
Now, FIG. 29 is a view illustrating a copying machine (image formation apparatus) as an example of an apparatus using the connectors.
In FIG. 29, a reference mark a designates a case for the main body of the apparatus; b, a manuscript cover; c, an operation panel; d, a circuit board; and e, a transformer mounted on the circuit board d. Also, in the vicinity of the circuit board d, a motor f and other heat generating elements are arranged. A portion g surrounded by a circle represents a connector connected to the circuit board d. Inside the above-mentioned copying machine, an exposure unit, a development unit, a transfer unit, a photosensitive drum unit, sheet feed and exhaust unit, and the like are incorporated. For each of the units, a motor is arranged as a power source. For the smooth operation of each unit, particularly the development unit or the like, of a copying machine of the kind, heat is being added, and in the case of a machine in which the transformer, motor, and other heat generating elements are incorporated as in this example, there occur such problems as described above if the connector and circuit board are arranged in a close vicinity of those heat generating elements.

Circuit board connector and a board using the same


A circuit capable of updating the power supply specification of microprocessor and a method thereof are proposed. The circuit is disposed on a computer motherboard, and makes use of downloaded program data of the power supply specification of a new microprocessor a microprocessor is updated. The circuit uses a programmable memory IC to execute the program data of the power supply specification for automatically updating and modifying the required power supply specification of the microprocessor. Through a PWM control unit, a drive unit and a power switch, the required power supply specification of a new microprocessor can be provided for the microprocessor to perform boot actions.

Due to continual progress of the science and technology, computers have become popular in everyday lives of people. Computers are constantly updated and improved to meet the requirements of software in a general trend towards multimedia. Common clients, however, can't afford the constantly updated computers. Therefore, a user usually replaces the motherboard and the microprocessor in a computer to update a computer and enhance the functions thereof.
As shown in FIG. 1, in a conventional computer motherboard 1, a microprocessor 12 is connected to a pulse width modulation (PWM) control unit 14, and sends a voltage correspondence signal required for work to the PWM control unit 14. After the PWM control unit 14 receives the voltage correspondence signal from the microprocessor 12, it generates a PWM signal corresponding to the voltage required for work of the microprocessor 12 for controlling a drive unit 16 to drive at least a power switch 18 for performing switching actions according to power provided by the motherboard 1, thereby outputting the voltage required for work of the microprocessor 12.
Reference is made to FIG. 1 again. A user usually upgrades a computer with a faster microprocessor 12. The working voltage specification of the new microprocessor 12, however, is generally different from that of the old microprocessor 12. Therefore, when the new microprocessor 12 sends the voltage correspondence signal required for work to the PWM control unit 14, the PWM control unit 14 can't produce a PWM signal corresponding to the voltage required for work of the new microprocessor. The PWM control unit 14 thus can't accurately control the drive unit 16 to drive the power switch 18 for performing switching actions, and hence is not able to output the voltage required for work of the new microprocessor 12.
The new microprocessor 12 is not compatible with the PWM control unit 14 on the original motherboard 1. That is, the PWM control unit 14 on the original motherboard 1 can't provide the working voltage for normal operations of the new microprocessor 12. Therefore, when a user installs a new microprocessor 12, it is usually necessary for him to also install a new computer motherboard 1 to provide the voltage required for work of the new microprocessor 12. In other words, the upgrade is expensive.

Circuit capable of updating power supply specification of microprocessor and method thereof


A cleaning device for cleaning a moving surface of a cleaning target includes a laminated blade member including multiple layers including a proximal edge layer, each of the multiple layers made of materials different in permanent set value and a holding member to hold a distal end of the blade member. A proximal edge portion of the blade member at a free, leading end opposite the distal end of the blade member held by the holding member brought into contact with the surface of the cleaning target to clean the surface undergoes a linear pressure reduction rate of approximately 90% or higher.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cleaning device that removes foreign matter adhering to a surface of a surface moving member (i.e., a member having a moving surface). The present invention further relates to an image forming apparatus, such as a copier, a printer, and a facsimile machine, a process cartridge, and an intermediate transfer unit, each of which includes the cleaning device.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is a wide variety of image forming apparatuses, such as electrophotographic image forming apparatuses and inkjet image forming apparatuses, and many of which are provided with surface moving members. For example, some of the electrophotographic image forming apparatuses are provided with surface moving members including a latent image carrying member (i.e., image carrying member), such as a photoconductor drum; an intermediate transfer member (i.e., image carrying member), such as an intermediate transfer belt; and a recording medium conveying member, such as a sheet conveying belt. Further, some inkjet image forming apparatuses are provided with surface moving members including a recording medium conveying member, such as a sheet conveying belt. In general, unnecessary foreign matter adhering to a surface of such a surface moving member causes a variety of problems. Therefore, a cleaning device is used that removes the unnecessary foreign matter from the surface of the surface moving member as a cleaning target.
Related-art cleaning devices that clean a surface of the cleaning target include a cleaning device using a blade member formed by an elastic member made of, for example, urethane rubber molded into a plate shape. In such a cleaning device, the blade member is held by a holding member made of a highly rigid material, such as metal, and fixed to the fixed to the frame of the device, and one end of the blade member is pressed against the surface of the cleaning target to remove the foreign matter adhering to the surface. Such a cleaning device is simple in configuration and low in cost, and exhibits high foreign matter removal performance, and thus is widely used.
In the cleaning device according to the blade cleaning method, it is desired to bring the blade member into contact with the surface of the cleaning target with relatively high contact pressure to obtain high removal performance. It is also desired to maintain the initial contact state of the blade member to obtain stable removal performance over time.
In a single-layer blade member, the entirety of which is made of a uniform elastic material, however, it is difficult to attain both relatively high contact pressure and maintenance of the initial contact state for the following reason.
That is, if a single-layer blade member made of an elastic material of relatively high hardness is used, an edge portion of the blade member in contact with the cleaning target has a relatively small amount of deformation, and an increase in contact area of the blade member in contact with the cleaning target is suppressed. It is therefore possible to set relatively high contact pressure, and to improve the cleaning performance. In general, however, an elastic material of relatively high hardness has a relatively high permanent set value. Since the blade member is in contact with the cleaning target, with one end thereof pressed and flexed against the surface of the cleaning target, if the blade member made of an elastic material having a relatively high permanent set value is kept in continuous contact with the cleaning target for an extended period of time, so-called loss of resilience occurs, i.e., the blade member is substantially permanently deformed in a flexed shape. As a result, the contact state of the blade member over time deviates from the initial contact state, and causes cleaning failure.
By contrast, an elastic material of relatively low hardness generally has a relatively low permanent set value. Therefore, if a single-layer blade member made of an elastic material of relatively low hardness is used, the blade member is relatively resistant to the loss of resilience even if the blade member is kept in continuous contact with the cleaning target for an extended period of time, and the initial contact state can be maintained. However, an edge portion of the blade member in contact with the cleaning target is substantially deformed. Thus, the contact area is increased, and the contact pressure is reduced. As a result, sufficient removal performance is not obtained.
Thus, as described above, in a single-layer blade member, it is difficult to attain both relatively high contact pressure and maintenance of the initial contact state, and to stably obtain high removal performance over time.
Another related-art cleaning device in known, which uses a double-layer laminated blade member made of elastic materials mutually different in hardness. An edge layer of the blade including an edge portion that comes into contact with the cleaning target is made of a material of relatively high hardness, and a backing layer not in contact with the cleaning target is made of a material of relatively low hardness. With the edge layer of relatively high hardness, the edge portion in contact with the cleaning target has a relatively small amount of deformation, and an increase in contact area is suppressed, as in the above-described single-layer blade member made of an elastic material of relatively high hardness. Accordingly, relatively high contact pressure can be set. Further, the backing layer not in contact with the cleaning target has relatively low hardness and a relatively low permanent set value. Accordingly, the blade member is more resistant to the loss of resilience than the single-layer blade member of relatively high hardness, and is capable of maintaining the initial contact state.
FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic view of the blade member provided in the above-described related-art cleaning device. FIG. 1 is a diagram of a double-layer laminated blade member 15 and a blade holder 13 holding the blade member 15. The blade member 15 includes an edge layer 11 made of an elastic material of relatively high hardness and a backing layer 12 made of an elastic material of relatively low hardness.
In the blade member 15 illustrated in FIG. 1, the edge layer 11 having a relatively high permanent set value extends over an entire area from a holding position 15a held by the blade holder 13 to the leading end of the blade member 15 on the side of an edge portion 11e. Therefore, in a state in which the blade member 15 is pressed and flexed against a cleaning target, not only the backing layer 12, which is relatively resistant to the loss of resilience, but also the edge layer 11, which is relatively susceptible to the loss of resilience, is flexed. If the blade member 15 is kept in continuous contact with the cleaning target for an extended period of time, therefore, a substantial loss of resilience may occur only in the edge layer 11.
If the loss of resilience occurs in the edge layer 11, the edge layer 11 tends to maintain the flexed shape thereof. Thus, the backing layer 12 with little or no loss of resilience receives force acting in the flexing direction. Therefore, the change over time in contact state occurs more easily than in the single-layer blade member made solely of the same material as the material forming the backing layer 12.
Therefore, even if the cleaning device is designed to use the double-layer laminated blade member 15 including the edge layer 11 of relatively high hardness and the backing layer 12 of relatively low hardness, it is difficult in some cases to sufficiently maintain the initial cleaning performance, depending on the combination of the material forming the edge layer 11 and the material forming the backing layer 12.

Cleaning device, and image forming apparatus, process cartridge, and intermediate transfer unit each including the cleaning device


An infrared scene projector has a cathode ray tube with a display screen coated with a luminescent phosphor material that produces radiation in the infrared spectrum when excited by the electron beam. The desired screen images are generated electronically, the screen is scanned by the cathode ray beam, and the intensity of the beam is modulated by the signal from the image generator.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to television type displays, and more particularly to a display for producing and projecting dynamic scenes using infrared radiations.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is well known to utilize cathode ray tubes for producing visible images and changing scenes on a phosphor coated screen. Generally, such devices produce monochrome and color images within the visible light spectrum for human viewing and interpretation. While a wide range of phosphors have been used for various applications, little attention has been given materials which will produce radiations in the infrared region of the spectrum.
There is a need for a dynamic scene projector and display in which the images are produced by infrared (IR) radiations for testing of imaging devices used for night vision and similar applications. Such a device would in the desired wavebands have sufficient emission intensity, display resolution and range of intensity to simulate the type of scene to which IR imaging devices are applied. An important application for devices of this type is for testing of high speed optical sensors such as those postulated for many scenarios of the strategic defense initiative. Another application of an IR display is to provide IR images as decoys in military space defense scenarios when phosphor particles are excited by laser or electron beam.
A cathode ray tube having emissions in the wave length range of 2 .mu.m to 15 .mu.m is required for the above noted applications. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,652,793, a tube having a screen of luminescent indium orthoborate is disclosed which produces radiation peaked at about 0.8 .mu.m. Barrett et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 4,565,946, teach an IR phosphor for use with light pens which produces radiation at about 0.78 .mu.m and 1.02 .mu.m. No prior art cathode ray tube devices are known for producing radiation in the 2-15 um region of the spectrum. Prior art attempts at producing IR scenes have used matrices of small heat emitters. For example, a 64.times.64 matrix of heater buttons has been built which produces low resolution, low bandwidth scenes with a high temperature background. The desired device must have high resolution, rapid updating, low temperature background, and for test purposes, the ability to define a large number of targets. Achieving such characteristics with point heat sources would be complex and expensive. Also, the point source device would be affected by thermal blooming, and would be slow to respond to changes, and would produce low contrast due to a high temperature background.


The duty ratio of a PWM signal is prevented from being zero immediately after the start of PWM control, for example. A PWM limiter circuit has a structure with which a signal output from the PWM limiter circuit can be prevented from being higher than a certain value or lower than a certain value. The PWM limiter circuit includes a comparator circuit, a controller circuit, and a switch circuit. The highest duty ratio reference voltage VrefH is input to a first input terminal. The lowest duty ratio reference voltage VrefL is input to a second input terminal. Voltage Verr output from an error amplifier is input to a third input terminal.

Pulse width modulation (PWM) control used in a power supply circuit raises or lowers input voltage by a change in duty ratio of a PWM signal.
FIG. 5 illustrates a structure example of a PWM control circuit. The PWM control circuit includes an error amplifier 50, a reference voltage generation circuit 60, a PWM limiter circuit 70, an oscillator 80 for generating a triangle wave, and a PWM comparator 90.
The error amplifier 50 amplifies a difference between feedback voltage Vfb and reference voltage and outputs voltage Verr.
The reference voltage generation circuit 60 generates the reference voltage and reference voltage Vref.
The PWM limiter circuit 70 controls its output voltage Vers by comparing the voltage Verr output from the error amplifier 50 and the reference voltage Vref with each other.
The oscillator 80 generates a triangle wave Vosc that is a signal needed for generation of a PWM signal.
The PWM comparator 90 outputs a PWM signal from the voltage Vers output from the PWM limiter circuit 70 and the triangle wave Vosc, generated in the oscillator 80.
In PWM control, when a duty ratio represented by a ratio of the pulse width of a PWM signal to the cycle of the PWM signal is higher than or equal to a certain ratio (80%), harmonic noise might be generated. Further, an element might be damaged by supply of excessive current.
Therefore, in order to perform PWM control without the above problems, it is necessary to perform limiter control for preventing the duty ratio of a PWM signal from being higher than a certain ratio.
Reference 1 discloses a method for controlling the duty ratio of a PWM signal by input of the highest duty ratio voltage to a comparator when voltage output from an error amplifier is higher than the highest duty ratio voltage as a method of limiter control.

PWM limiter circuit having comparator and switch, and semiconductor device using the same

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


Aspects of the disclosure provide a method for calibrating pulse-width based measurement. The method includes generating a sloped time varying signal having a voltage level that varies with time, and generating a calibration pulse having a first calibration edge and a second calibration edge. The first calibration edge corresponds to a first calibration time that the sloped time varying signal has a first reference voltage, and the second calibration edge corresponds to a second calibration time that the sloped time varying signal has a second reference voltage. Further, the method includes modifying a parameter that governs a slope of the sloped time varying signal to calibrate the slope, such that a calibration pulse width of the calibration pulse is substantially equivalent to a reference time length. Then, the method includes performing pulse-width based measurement based on the calibrated slope.

The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent the work is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Pulses can be used to measure various operational parameters of an integrated circuit (IC). In an example, an IC generates a pulse having a pulse width as a function of a chip temperature for measuring. The pulse width is then converted to a digital value representing the chip temperature. However, various variation sources, such as process variation, power supply variation, and the like, can affect the pulse width, and thus affect the accuracy of pulse-width based measurement.

Method and apparatus for calibration of pulse-width based measurement


A special purpose communications protocol processor (CPP) provides more efficient processing of layered communications protocols--e.g. SNA (Systems Network Architecture) and OSI (Open Systems Interconnection)--than contemporary general purpose processors, permitting hitherto unavailable operations relative to high speed communication links. The CPP contains special-purpose circuits dedicated to quick performance (e.g. single machine cycle execution) of functions needed to process header and frame information, such functions and information being of the sort repeatedly encountered in all protocol layers, and uses instructions architected to operate these circuits. The header processing functions given special treatment in this manner include priority branch determination functions, register bit reshaping (rearranging) functions, and instruction address processing functions. Frame processing functions so handled include CRC (cyclic redundancy check) computations, bit insertion/deletion operations and special character detection operations.

1. Field of Invention
The field of invention is computer architecture, particularly as applicable to communications controllers. CCITT protocols supported by Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) standards are considered a basis for the architecture underlying the present invention, although other protocols such as SNA could be equally supported. Specific device areas to which this invention may be beneficially applied include network interfaces, front end communication controllers for large systems and telecommunications switching nodes. This architecture is also applicable to network gateway implementations and protocol conversion.
2. Prior art
Use of programmable communications controllers to concentrate signal traffic between multiple communications lines and data processing equipment is not per se new. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,863,226; 4,156,796; 4,156,932; 4,188,665; 4,328,543; and 4,484,263 disclose various methods of implementing such controllers, using commercially available general purpose microprocessors as processing engines, and "off-the-shelf" asynchronous receiver and transmitter (USART) devices.
Related patent application for "Real Time Digital Signal Processing..", cross-referenced above, discloses a hardware assist mechanism to handle the media access (MAC) layer for protocol flexibility. It recognizes a need for special purpose terminal equipment to support various types of information transmission needs of the future.
However, we are unaware of any recognition in the art of the particular problem addressed here; i.e. the need for dealing specifically with header and frame processing functions repeatedly encountered in layered communication protocols, at speeds and protocol levels adequate for present and future needs in high throughput real time communication. This problem is solved presently by providing special purpose circuits and associated instructions dedicated to speeding up handling of such repeatedly encountered header and frame processing functions at all levels of todays layered protocols (e.g. OSI standards). These circuits and instructions include implementational features permitting execution of associated header and frame processing operations in single machine cycles, with flexibility suited to accommodating similar operations at the physical, data link, network, transport, session, presentation and application layers of OSI and other layered communication protocols. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the prior art above uses communication control processors which are directed to the handling of link access functions and generally rely upon more powerful processors in intermediate or host systems for processing communication protocol layers above the link access level.
More specifically, our present understanding is that contemporary general purpose microprocessors and digital signal processors, as used to implement processing engines or CPU (Central Processing Unit) elements in prior art communication controllers, were not considered suitable for handling support functions associated with processing of header and frame information in layers of today's layered communications protocols above the link control or media access layers; nor has the art apparently recognized that a need for such support exists at the link access level. We have found however that such support is needed for efficient utilization of high speed media (T-1, T-2, fiber optics, etc.). Stated otherwise, we have recognized that processing loads imposed by present and future high speed links are such that, without offloading of header and frame process functions above the link control layer, I/0 and processing bottlenecks would inevitably occur, with consequent blockage or reduction of throughput speeds limiting effective media usage.
Of course, there have been major advances in areas related to this work; e.g. improvements in microprocessor and VLSI technologies applicable to communication controls, advances in protocols per se and improvements in parallel processing. Although these might tend to alleviate the presently recognized problem, they do not provide the more effective and complete solution to which the present invention is directed.

Specialized communications processor for layered protocols


Systems and methods are described for stitching multiple images together in a printer to form a single, seamless, composite image. The use of multiple laser sources and multiple scan lenses with one or more scanner assemblies and various image stitching methods achieves seamless image stitching in a manner that provides benefits over prior printers using single laser sources and single scan lenses. Such benefits include, for example, a wider image format, smaller optical spot size, reduced cost, and reduced overall size for the printer.

Conventional wide-format laser printers have generally been limited to printing on A3 (297×420 mm) size media in portrait mode with a scan line length not exceeding about 317 millimeters. Therefore, the size of images printed with conventional wide-format laser printers is typically about the size of a ledger-sized sheet of paper, or about 11×17 inches. Commercial printing businesses would benefit significantly from a wide-format laser printer that could print larger images onto larger media. For example, a printer with a scan length of 614 mm could print an image 594 mm wide on C2 or B2 size media. Such an image would be twice as wide as the usual 297 mm wide A3 image. (Note that, in this example, the scan length exceeds the nominal image width by 10 mm at each end of the scan to allow for image position correction, crop mark printing, etc.) One way to increase the image width in a wide-format laser printer is to design a "scaled-up" version of a current laser scanner system such that the scaled-up scanner is capable of scanning a wider image field (e.g., 614 millimeters) in one scan pass. However, preliminary analysis of such scaled-up laser scanner designs demonstrates various problems. One such problem with scaling up an existing scanner design to a larger format is that the residual aberrations in the optical design scale in proportion to the scan length, thereby increasing the geometric focused spot size, while the diffraction-limited spot size remains constant. Consequently, a scanner design which is initially diffraction limited (i.e., which has a focused spot size very close to the theoretical minimum), will not ordinarily remain diffraction limited when doubled in size. Instead, the spot size will increase because the optical performance is now dominated by aberrations rather than diffraction. The result of scaling a just-diffraction-limited scanner by 2×, for example, would be a doubling of both the scan line length and the geometric focused spot diameter. Such a scaling operation does not achieve any increase in the total number of resolvable focused spots in a scan line, and the resulting scanner could not print any more optically resolved pixels in a scan line than the initial system. Achieving a 2× increase in the number of resolvable pixels requires reducing the geometric spot size in the 2× system below the diffraction limit, which requires a new optical design if it can be accomplished at all.
Another problem with simply scaling up an existing scanner design to a larger format is an associated disproportionate increase in cost to produce the scaled-up design. This is true even if we ignore the need to make the scaled-up system optically superior to the original (i.e., parent) scanner in order to control optical aberrations to a level that will enable the scaled-up system to be substantially diffraction limited. As an example of the disproportionate increase in costs, scaling up the linear dimensions of an existing (1×) scanner design by a factor of two increases the production costs for the scaled-up (2×) version by roughly a factor of 8 over the production costs of the original 1× design. This large cost increase is explained by the fact that the volume of any object scales as the cube of its linear dimension. Thus, every part of the 2× scanner has eight times the volume of the corresponding part in the 1× scanner. Like many products, the manufacturing cost for a laser scanner assembly is very roughly proportional to its volume or, equivalently, its weight.
Accordingly, the need exists for a way to increase the printable image width in a wide-format laser printer that avoids the optical problems and added expense associated with scaling up existing optical designs to wider formats.

Seamless stitching of multiple image fields in a wide-format laser printer

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A method for identifying and characterizing a condensate entrained in a fluid using time domain analysis and frequency domain analysis to identify individual volume fraction constituents and condensates within a pipe on a real time basis and to measure the volume of the individual volume fraction constituents and condensates flowing through the pipe on a real time basis.

Natural gas is a gaseous mixture comprised of multiple different hydrocarbons and can exist in a gaseous phase as well as liquid phase depending upon temperature and pressure. The most prevalent hydrocarbon within natural gas is methane. The higher the methane concentration, the "drier" or "colder" the natural gas is considered. Other hydrocarbon constituents of natural gas are evaporated liquids such as, but not limited to, ethane, butane, pentane, propane and hexane. These other hydrocarbon constituents are collectively referred to as "condensates" or Natural Gas Liquids (NGL's). The higher the concentration of condensates, or NGLs, the "wetter" or "hotter" the natural gas is considered.
"Condensates" and "NGLs" have significantly higher economic value than methane, and thus "wet gases" are worth considerably more than "dry gases". The market price for condensates, and NGLs, can be many multiples of the market price for methane. Therefore, an accurate assessment and accounting of the volumes of such condensates and NGLs within natural gas is to the economic benefit of well owners and operators.
"Condensates" or "NGL's" must be separated/removed from the natural gas and methane, before the natural gas can be placed in a pipeline and sold/consumed by the general public.
The current practice in the petroleum/fuel industry for identifying measuring the constituents of natural gas and other components being produced by a given natural gas well, or group of natural gas wells, is to separate the produced components in a three phase separator and to identify and measure the produced components individually. Three phase separators are typically large, expensive, maintenance intensive and typically provide production information only after long intervals during which the hydrocarbon components, and other products, separate under the influence of gravity. Furthermore, such three phase separators are generally not operated continuously, but are rather used only during testing and certification of the wells. As such, such three phase separators are not available for periodic and transient releases of wet gases.
The "condensates" are not continuously, evenly, or regularly released into a natural gas well. Instead, such condensates are more commonly periodically and transiently released into a natural gas well as a liquid "slug" wherein the condensates are entrained in water. The occurrence and release of such "slugs" is not predictable, nor regular. Depending upon individual wells, and the geological formations in which the wells are drilled, such slugs may be released/occur as often as multiple times per hour, or as infrequently as only once or twice per several days. Because the "slugs" are primarily liquid, they are highly concentrated volumes of the condensates. (The condensates are in a liquid phase as opposed to a gaseous phase).
The transient and periodic nature of these slug releases exacerbates the problem of identifying and measuring the various condensates comprising the slugs. Three phase separators that are used to provide well certifications, are typically not operated continuously, but rather are only operated periodically during the well certification. The periodic operation of the three phase separators, combined with the periodic and transitory nature of the slug releases has made the accurate and consistent measurement and identification of condensates nearly impossible.
Due to the significantly enhanced economic value of the condensates, as opposed to the methane, it is desirable to be able to accurately identify, characterize and measure the condensates that are periodically and transiently released into natural gas wells so that owners and operators of such wells can be accurately and fairly compensated for the specific hydrocarbons produced by the well.
The instant inventive method herein provides a method for addressing the identification, characterization and measurement of the transient periodic release of the condensates. A typical periodic and transient release of liquid containing condensates is approximately 200 seconds in duration and the release contains water as well as various liquid and gaseous hydrocarbon components that make up the primary wet gas composition. The volume fractions are at a maximum concentration with the least amount of dilution by methane gas bubbles at the beginning of the transient release. (the slug). The beginning of the transient release provides the most opportune time to make a measurement of the condensate composition. The measurement opportunity is at its best at the beginning of the transient release and will last for a period of approximately two (2) seconds to about seven (7) seconds, calculated from the beginning of the release. The measurement will remain functional throughout the periodic transient release, but the best time to characterize and measure the liquid/condensate composition will be at the beginning of the release. The volume of the release can be measured by the characteristic cross correlation between a first measurement probe and a second measurement probe.
The water/wet gas concentration begins tapering downwardly from the beginning of the release with an increasing amount of methane gas bubbles within the condensate. As the pressure drops, some of the wet gas components will change into the gas phase as the initial liquid slug is dissipated.
The best opportunity for the measurement of the liquid hydrocarbon, versus the water fraction using electric field perturbation, based on time domain reflectometry methods, occurs close to the leading edge of the liquid slug.
Two EFP measurement probes are fixed within a bore of the pipe/conduit a set distance from one another. System pressure and system temperature sensors are also mounted to, and communicate with the fluid within the bore of the pipe/conduit. The sensors are exposed to the fluid flow. The multiphase electronics sampling occurs at approximately 500 frames per second at each of the two EFP probe locations and provides data to characterize the constitutes at each probe station.
Using cross correlation methods, the velocity of the mixture flow within the conduit/pipe can be calculated. Using the average composition calculated from the two EFP measurement probes, the total flow volume and the fractional volume of the hydrocarbon-based constituents and condensates can be estimated. As a result, the total flow and volume of the hydrocarbon-based constituents and condensates can be estimated.
As a result of the slug flow analysis, the characterization of the fractional constituents of the flow, in conjunction with system pressure and temperature, permit an approximation of the fluid density at any point in time. This fluid density measurement may be used in conjunction with an optional external flow measurement device to provide another estimate of the total volume flow of the material through the pipe, which can then be used to improve the resultant calculation of each fluid constituent.
To address the drawbacks of three-phase separators, composition meters have been developed. When a composition meter is combined with a flow meter, production rates for the various components may also be roughly estimated. Composition meters use measurement of dielectric constant, in combination with a density measurement, to determine the volume fractions.
For known composition meters to be consistently accurate, all the dielectric constants and all the densities of the individual produced fluid components must be known for every measurement condition (temperature and pressure). Unfortunately, this is nearly impossible to accomplish because the conditions are continually varying and changing as the well, or group of wells, produce. Accuracy of the measurements is further complicated by several of the lower density hydrocarbon components (for example but not limited to, ethane, propane, butane and pentane) existing in either a liquid state or a gaseous state at pressures between approximately 20 and 250 atmospheres. Further, the produced components are typically at very high temperatures and as a result, produced water boils off into steam within the pipes causing identification and measurements of gaseous components to be particularly difficult because the dielectric constant of steam is very close to the dielectric constants of the lower density hydrocarbon components.
Prior art publications claim it is "impossible" to accurately identify and measure the volume fractions of natural gas without knowing how much of each hydrocarbon constituent is in the liquid or gaseous phase at any given time.
A further complicating factor in measuring volume fraction constituents of mixtures of produced natural gas is the salt content of the mixture. The salt also affects the dielectric constant of the fluid components.
Our method for identifying and characterizing a condensate entrained within a fluid overcomes various of the drawbacks of known methods and apparatus.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method for identifying and characterizing a condensate entrained within a fluid


Before deposition of a CVD titanium film on a cobalt silicide layer, an element which reacts with titanium is provided in the cobalt silicide layer in advance. Thereafter, the CVD titanium film is deposited on the cobalt silicide using a titanium tetrachloride gas.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of forming a CVD titanium film, which is suitable for use in a semiconductor device, and particularly to a method of depositing a titanium film on a cobalt silicide film.
2. Description of the Related Art
With micro-fabrication of semiconductor elements, contact holes are reduced in diameter and contact hole portions increase in aspect ratio. With a view toward forming a desired contact or adhesive layer (e.g., titanium nitride TiN) at a sidewall portion of the scaled-down contact hole or at its bottom by a sputtering method, the deposited thickness of adhesive layer must be increased. Since an increase in the thickness of a sputtering film having an overhung shape narrows the diameter of a contact entrance as shown in FIG. 1, the subsequent embedding of a tungsten film (W) in each contact hole by a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method becomes difficult. Therefore, a CVD method capable of obtaining excellent coverage has been expected as an alternative to the sputtering method.
In order to form a titanium nitride film by the CVD method, organic or inorganic titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4) such as tetrakisdimethylamino titanium (TDMAT), tetrakisdiethylamino titanium (TDEAT) or the like is used as a raw material gas. However, the organic raw material is high in cost and poor in coverage too under present circumstances. Since carbon (C) is contained in the film as an impurity, there is the demerit of increasing specific resistivity up to ten times that of the sputtering film. Therefore, titanium tetrachloride is generally used in plenty as the raw material gas. Since the deposition of titanium by the organic raw material gas is difficult, titanium tetrachloride is used even for the formation of a titanium (Ti) film.
FIG. 2 shows the dependence of the deposited thickness of titanium on silicon (Si), a silicon oxide film (SiO2) and a cobalt silicide (CoSi2) layer on deposition time. The present drawing indicates that the deposition of titanium on the cobalt silicide (CoSi2) layer is slow as compared with deposition on the other underlying beds. This phenomenon results from the mechanism of deposition or growth of the CVD titanium film. When the underlying bed is silicon, the deposited titanium reacts with silicon to form a titanium silicide (TiSix) layer. The resultant titanium silicide layer is etched by a titanium tetrachloride gas.
However, the titanium deposited on each of the silicon oxide film and the cobalt silicide (CoSi2) layer undergoes etching of the titanium tetrachloride gas, and the finally-deposited film-thickness of titanium is determined according to the balance between deposition and etching. The titanium on the silicon oxide film and the cobalt silicide (CoSi2) layer are different in titanium deposition rate because of the difference in etching rate due to the difference in film quality of titanium. Thus, the problem is to control or restrain the etching of titanium deposited on the cobalt silicide (CoSi2) layer.
The present invention aims to cause an element that reacts with titanium to be contained in the surface of cobalt silicide (CoSi2) or in the cobalt silicide (CoSi2) to thereby form a titanium compound during CVD titanium deposition and realize the deposition of a CVD titanium film at a high deposition rate, which has controlled etching using a titanium tetrachloride gas.


A gas turbine includes a compressor, a turbine, and a combustor disposed downstream from the compressor and upstream from the turbine. The combustor includes an end cover. The combustor also includes a flange. The flange includes an internal fluid passage defined within the flange and the flange is coupled to an internal face of the end cover. A fuel port is integrally joined with the flange. The fuel port extends through the end cover between the flange and an inlet positioned outside of the end cover. The inlet of the fuel port is in fluid communication with the internal fluid passage of the flange.

Gas turbines generally operate by combusting a fuel and air mixture in one or more combustors to create a high-energy combustion gas that passes through a turbine, thereby causing a turbine rotor shaft to rotate. The rotational energy of the rotor shaft may be converted to electrical energy via a generator coupled to the rotor shaft. Each combustor generally includes fuel nozzles that provide for premixing of the fuel and air upstream of a combustion zone, as a means to keep nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions low.
Gaseous fuels, such as natural gas, often are employed as a combustible fluid in gas turbine engines used to generate electricity. Typical fuel supply systems for providing gaseous fuels to the fuel nozzles of a combustor include a sealed connection positioned within a head end of the combustor, such that if the seal fails or otherwise permits the fuel to escape from the connection within the head end, flame holding within the head end of the combustor may occur.


A switching valve for an air spring arrangement of a motor vehicle, which switching valve has a valve housing arrangement which, in the installed state, is arranged between a first air volume and a second air volume. A valve closing member arrangement is actuatable by an actuator is provided such that the valve closing member arrangement, in a first position, fluidically connects the first air volume to the second air volume and, in a second position, fluidically separates the first air volume from the second air volume. The valve closing member arrangement is designed as a rotary slide arrangement. A rotary slide member with first openings is provided between two valve closing bodies, wherein, in the first position, the first openings correspond with second openings of the valve closing body such that a fluidic connection can be produced between the first and the second air volume.

A switching valve of said type and an air spring arrangement of said type are known from DE 10 2012 200 388 A1, which is incorporated by reference herein. Here, the air spring arrangement has a cover element in which a switching valve is arranged. Said switching valve is constructed as a classic electromagnetic valve, wherein a valve closing member of an actuator can separate two air volumes from one another and connect said two air volumes to one another. By means of a connection of the two air volumes, the entire air volume of the air spring arrangement is enlarged, whereby a spring characteristic of the air spring arrangement can be adapted to the requirements of the motor vehicle with regard to the loading state or the desired comfort characteristics. Here, to produce or to overcome a sealing function, high impulse forces must be generated by the actuator. By means of the cover element, the air spring arrangement is furthermore arranged on a body part of the motor vehicle. Furthermore, during the switching process of the switching valve, the problem arises that the switching movement of the armature causes an impulse which, in the case of the present air spring arrangement, transmits a disturbing noise into the body part of the motor vehicle.

Switching valve for an air spring arrangement and an air spring arrangement


Aspects of the present invention relate to facilitating remote expert consultation using a web site that provides for video conferencing between clients and experts who are have been vetted through registration in the system. Some aspects relate to transmission of correlated physiological characteristic data simultaneously with a video conference. Some aspects relate to control of conferencing functions through client and expert web pages.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to methods and systems for conducting counseling sessions. More particularly, the invention relates to methods and systems for counseling sessions and clinics conducted remotely, such as over the Internet and/or via satellite using WIFI as well as other web-based technologies. In addition, the invention relates to methods and systems for conducting remote counseling sessions by means of various mobile devices as well as collecting biofeedback and/or biometric data via biometric devices configured to interface with an associated hub, network and/or portal to enhance the efficacy and value of the remote counseling sessions as well as to authenticate the identity of a client.
2. Background and Related Art
Counseling is a means by which people can gain valuable advice from experts. Typically, psychological, psychiatric, medical, genomic, life, business, mechanical, wedding, academic, legal, or other forms of counseling, occur in an expert's office or place of business. In this setting, the expert controls the environment in which the counseling takes place. The client generally schedules an appointment with the expert and then attends the session with the expert at the appointed time. The client and the expert communicate during the counseling session, which generally may include the client conveying information to the expert about the client's needs and/or condition. The information about the client's needs and/or condition may include details of the client's experiences, feelings, history, condition and other extremely personal information. Upon receiving this information, the expert may then counsel the client depending on the nature of the information revealed to the expert by the client. Some experts provide set training courses to individuals in addition to or in lieu of tailored counseling sessions. Some counseling sessions occur in which there are multiple clients and/or multiple experts, which are sometimes called group counseling.

Systems and methods for network-based counseling


An antenna device includes a feeding line having a first conductor and a second conductor and an antenna element having a conductive flat plate in which a slit is formed. The conductive flat plate has first and second sides opposite to each other and a third side. The antenna element is divided into an antenna pattern portion and a ground pattern portion via the slit. The slit is configured with a first slit portion apart from a center line towards the first side, a second slit portion apart from the center line towards the second side, a third slit portion coupling the first slit portion with the second slip portion, and a cutting portion coupling the third slit portion with the third side.

This invention relates to an antenna device and, more particular, to an antenna device for use in a frequency band of a wireless Local Area Network (LAN).
In the manner which is well known in the art, the wireless LAN is an LAN using a transmission path except for a wired cable, such as electric waves, infrared rays, or the like.
Standardization of the wireless LAN is developed in IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.11 Committee. That is, the IEEE 802.11 Committee develops specifications of the standard of the wireless LAN.
For example, IEEE 802.11a is a specification of a high-speed wireless LAN and a wireless access for 5 GHz band where the IEEE 802.11 Committee develops. A communication rate (a transfer rate) is about 20 Mbits/sec to 50 M bits/sec. A CSMA/CD (carrier sense multiple access with collision detection) is used as an MAC (media access control). A modulation method of a physical layer is an OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplex).
On the other hand, IEEE 802.11b is a specification of the wireless LAN where the IEEE 802.11 Committee standardizes in September, 1999. The IEEE 802.11b uses frequencies of 2.4 GHz band and uses a direct spread (DS) as a modulation method. A transmission rate (a transfer rate) is 11 Mbits/sec or 5.5 Mbits/sec.
Furthermore, IEEE 802.11g is one of standards for the wireless LAN where the IEEE 802.11 Committee develops in June, 2003 and a specification for carrying out communications about 54 Mbits/sec at 2.4 GHz band. The OFDM is used as a modulation method. Accordingly, the IEEE 802.11g uses the frequencies of 2.4 GHz band which is similar to that of the IEEE 802.11b and supports the transfer rate of 54 Megabits/sec which is about five times of that of the IEEE 802.11b. In contrast to the IEEE 802.11a for supporting the transfer rate of 54 Mbits/sec, the IEEE 802.11g maintains compatibility with the IEEE 802.11b. In addition, although a maximum transfer rate of 54 Mbits/sec is similar to that of the IEEE 802.11a. the 2.4 GHz band is a "busy" frequency band where a lot of equipments except for the wireless LAN use. Therefore, it is said that a real transfer rate in the IEEE 802.11g becomes later than that of the IEEE 802.11a.
Inasmuch as the IEEE 802.11b and the IEEE 802.11g use the same use frequency band of 2.4 GHz band in the manner which is described above, both are collectively called IEEE 802.11b/g herein.
Various antenna devices used in the frequency band of the wireless LAN are already known in the art.
By way of example, JP 2003-152429 A (which will later be called Patent Document 1 and which corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 6,917,333 B2) discloses a flat-plate antenna device capable of stably exhibiting desired antenna characteristics. The flat-plate antenna disclosed in Patent Document 1 comprises a conductive flat plate and a power supply line (a feeding line). The conductive flat plate has a slit portion with a width proportional to a frequency band width and comprises a radiating element portion disposed on one side of the slit portion and a ground portion disposed on the other side of the slit portion. The power supply line (the feeding line) has a first conductor directly connected to the radiating element portion and a second conductor directly connected to the ground portion. Length of the radiating element portion contributes to resonance frequency, width of the slit portion contributes to frequency band, and ratio between length of the conductive flat plate and width of the ground portion contributes to directivity.
In addition, JP 4,780,352 B (which will later be called Patent Document 2) discloses an inexpensive antenna device (a sheet plate antenna) which is capable of easily assembling and of improving mounting strength for a coaxial cable. The antenna device disclosed in Patent Document 2 comprises an antenna device which is capable of transmitting and receiving a radio wave having a desired frequency band of 2.4 GHz band and which comprises the coaxial cable having a center conductor, an external conductor, and a sheath covering the external conductor, and an antenna element. The antenna element is made of a metallic plate which comprises an antenna pattern portion configured with an inverted-F antenna and a ground portion formed integrally with the antenna pattern portion. The metallic plate is, for example, formed from phosphor bronze. The coaxial cable is swaged and fixed to the ground portion and the center conductor of the coaxial cable is connected to a feeding portion of the inverted-F antenna.
Furthermore, JP 2011-19178 A (which will later be called Patent Document 3 and which corresponds to US Publication 2012/0105303 A1) discloses an antenna device (a board antenna) which is capable of easily soldering an external conductor of a coaxial cable to a ground pattern portion. The antenna device disclosed in Patent Document 3 comprises an antenna device which is capable of transmitting and receiving a radio wave having a desired frequency band of 2.4 GHz band and which comprises the coaxial cable having a center conductor and an external conductor and an antenna element. The antenna element comprises an antenna pattern portion and a ground pattern portion. The center conductor of the coaxial cable is electrically connected to a first solder portion of the antenna pattern portion by soldering while the external conductor of the coaxial cable is electrically connected to a second solder portion of the ground pattern portion by soldering. The ground pattern portion has, in vicinity of the second solder portion, a ground pattern opening portion defining the second solder portion. The second solder portion is sandwiched between the first solder portion and the ground pattern opening portion.
However, inasmuch as each of the antenna devices disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent Documents 1-3 is configured so that the radiating element portion (the antenna pattern portion) comprises the inverted-F antenna, they are disadvantageous in that a frequency band of a transmittable/receivable radio wave (radio signal) is narrow and radiation efficiency is also not excellent. In a case where the frequency band is narrow, on producing the antenna devices in quantity, problem arises when a frequency drift occurs. As a result, it reduces yields of quantity production.


A power tool is provided with a drive motor and a drive shaft connected to the drive motor so as to be driven in rotation about an axis of rotation. A disk is fixedly secured to the drive shaft so as to rotate with the drive shaft. At least one knife is arranged on a face of the disk that in operation of the power tool is facing the ground. The at least one knife is fixedly connected to the disk and a driving torque for rotatingly driving the at least one knife about the axis of rotation is transmitted from the disk onto the at least one knife. A spacing of a radial outer edge of the at least one knife relative to the axis of rotation is smaller than a radius of the disk.

The invention relates to a power tool such as a lawnmower or the like, comprising at least one knife driven in rotation by a drive motor about an axis of rotation, wherein the power tool comprises a drive shaft on which a disk is arranged wherein on a face of the disk which is facing the ground in operation the at least one knife is arranged and wherein the spacing of the radial outer edge of the knife relative to the axis of rotation is smaller than the radius of the disk.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,884,463 discloses a lawnmower with a drive shaft that drives a knife and a disk that is arranged above the knife, i.e., on the side of the knife that is facing the mower housing. Since the diameter of the disk is smaller than the length of the knife, grass that is cut in the outer area can fly past the disk and can lodge within the mower housing.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,097,467 discloses a lawnmower with a cup-shaped component which projects downward past the knife and in this way prevents that dirt is thrown into the housing. The knife is directly screwed onto the drive shaft. The disk comprises at the disk center an opening in which a sleeve is arranged that surrounds the drive shaft so that the disk is supported on the drive shaft in a free-floating manner.


Diagnostic data characterizing operation of a flow meter in an industrial plant monitoring can be received. An asset state object characterizing a state of the flow meter can be determined. The determining can be performed by a data processor configured within the flow meter. The asset state object can be provided by the data processor. Related apparatus, systems, techniques, and articles are also described.

Some asset management software (AMS) products lack the ability to retrieve and/or process diagnostic information of flow meters. Currently, some AMS products can collect diagnostic parameters from a flow meter, but they lack the functionality to define whether operating parameters are within operating margins. Without sufficient flow meter operating health information, it can be difficult to assess whether a flow meter is operating correctly. If the data produced by a flow meter is inaccurate, it can prevent process modeling and optimization, which relies on the data produced by the flow meter, from being accurate.


An integrated BEDC and PCB provided through a low cost, highly reliable interconnect system. The upper and/or lower half of the main insulation assembly of a BEDC is provided with a recess for accommodating at least an edge portion of the substrate of a PCB. The PCB is provided with apertures such as holes for receiving therethrough a bus wire and/or terminal slots through which terminals having wire slots are fixedly staked. The apertures on the PCB are arranged in a predetermined pattern so as to align with corresponding respective apertures in the form of corresponding holes and/or terminal slots on the BEDC at the recess thereof. Accordingly, with the PCB seated in the recess, as the bus wires are laid, they will pass through the holes in the PCB and/or pass through the wire slots of the terminals and thereby provide interconnection therebetween when the two halves of the main insulation assembly are united and the PCB is sandwiched therebetween. Additionally, the electrical interconnect system includes a flexible strain relief bend formed on the bus wire to provide a flexible connection.

A bussed electrical distribution center (hereinafter referred to simply as a "BEDC") is a stand-alone central junction block assembly which has gained increasing applications in the automotive arts as motor vehicles become ever more electronically sophisticated. BEDC's package, for example, various fuses, relays and electronic devices in a single central location. BEDCs not only save cost by consolidating electrical interconnections, but also advantageously reduce the number of cut and spliced leads, thereby increasing reliability.
A BEDC construction which is considered state of the art is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,715,135, to Brussalis et al., dated Feb. 3, 1998, which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.
In the BEDC described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,715,135, a two-piece main insulation assembly is provided. Stamped male blade or tuning fork terminals are press-fit between the main insulation assembly, wherein the terminals are provided with a wire slot. The upper half of the main insulation assembly has a top surface provided with a plurality of terminal stations and guide stations that are raised and separated from each other so as to provide a network of channels that provide wire passages. The terminal stations have IDC (insulation displacement) type terminal slots that extend through the upper half of the main insulation assembly and allow a press-fit affixment of the terminals, wherein the wiring slots thereof intersect the wiring passages. The lower half of the main insulation assembly is configured similarly. When a segment of bus wire (preferably solid copper) is routed selectively along the wiring channels, the bus wire segment is pressed through the wire slot of a selected number of the terminals to thereby electrically connect those terminals therewith.
A printed circuit board (hereinafter simply referred to as a "PCB"), is a board-like, electrically interfaced package of electronic components which has become ubiquitous in the electrical arts. PCBs typically are in the form of a dielectric substrate (such as for example an organic resin reinforced by fibers) and a predetermined pattern of perforations for making connections with wiring and electrical devices, wherein a conductive path, usually cladded copper, is patterned so as to provide a predetermined electrical routing between the perforations so that the wiring and electrical devices are functionally interconnected.
Referring now to FIG. 1, a prior art interconnection system for electrically interfacing a BEDC with a PCB is depicted for an automotive environment of operation. In this automotive environment, a BEDC 10 is connected by a wiring harness 12 to a PCB 14. At each connection of the wiring harness 12, a connector 16, 18 is required. Further, the connectors 16, 18 must be enlarged, or additional connectors must be provided, in order to interface with separate wiring 20, 22 that must communicate with various electrical components of the motor vehicle.
The prior art interconnection system of FIG. 1 has several disadvantages, among these are: high cost of interface via a wiring harness; lower reliability due to use of numerous connectors; large volume of space allocated for the separate BEDC and PCB; and intensive assembly labor; limited flexibility in configuring the interconnection system; and susceptibility to weakened soldered connections. Accordingly, what remains needed in the art is a connection system for providing an integrated BEDC and PCB that is flexible, resistant t o electrical disconnection, and easy to make at low cost.

Electrical interconnect system and method for integrating a bussed electrical distribution center with a printed circuit board


Plural extrusion members 100, each having plural ribs 105 formed on one surface of a face plate 101, are mounted on a frame 40 with the surface not having the ribs 105 facing downward, and with the end regions of the adjacent members 100, 100 being butted to each other. Then, the end regions of said members 100 are welded using friction stir welding from the upper direction with a rotary body 20, and then a hairline finish is applied to said surface not having the ribs, which constitutes the exterior surface of the vehicle body. In this way, there is substantially no need to cut off the joint bead, which improves the appearance of the vehicle body and reduces the manufacturing cost.

The present invention relates to a method for joining extrusion members through friction stir welding so as to manufacture a structural body, for example a vehicle.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 9-309164 (EP 0797043A2), a friction stir welding is a technique in which a round shaft (called a rotary body) is rotated and inserted in the joint region of members to be joined, and the rotary body is moved along the junction line, thereby heating, mobilizing and plasticising the material, whereby a solid-phase welding of the members is achieved. The rotary body comprises a small-diameter portion to be inserted into the joint region, and a large-diameter portion to be positioned externally of the joint. The small-diameter portion and the large-diameter portion are coaxial, and the large-diameter side is coupled to a drive source. The boundary between the small-diameter portion and the large diameter portion is partially inserted into the joint region during welding. The joining of members performed by the friction stir welding method can be applied to both a butt joint and a lap joint.
Moreover, as shown in FIG. 7 of the above-mentioned publication, the joint region of the two members are provided with a protrusion extending toward the rotary body, which is to be used in the friction stir welding.
One example of the technique for manufacturing a railway car is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-45340, wherein the vehicle body of a railway car is manufactured by welding together extruded members made of aluminum alloy. The extruded member is equipped with a plural number of ribs provided on one surface of a face plate, which is placed on a frame with the surface not having the ribs facing downward, and welding is performed from the side having the ribs. The welding process is carried out so that a weld bead is formed on the back surface of the frame.
Since the surface without the ribs is used as the exterior surface of the vehicle body, the weld bead formed on the back surface can be cut off to form a smooth surface. Thereafter, a hairline finishing processe is performed on the exterior surface of the body. If necessary, a transparent coating is further applied to the surface. Or, in another example, the weld bead is cut off and putty is applied to the surface before the coating is applied.
Since the weld bead formed on the exterior surface of the vehicle body must be removed when the vehicle body is fabricated using a conventional welding process, the manufacturing process involves an increased number of steps. Moreover, when welding the vehicle body, the material is heated to a very high temperature, which causes deformation of the surfaces of the vehicle, and thereby deteriorates the appearance thereof. If the vehicle body is completed by a hairline finishing without coating the vehicle body, the weld bead formed at the welding portion degrades the appearance of the vehicle body. The weld bead varies in width and has a wavy appearance. This is why the weld bead degrades the exterior appearance of the body. Even if transparent coating is applied to the body after the hairline finishing, the appearance is not improved.
An object of the present invention is to manufacture a structural body, such as a vehicle body, having an attractive appearance using a friction stir welding method.
The foregoing object of the present invention is achieved by:
abutting the ends of the face plates of two members;
friction stir welding said ends of said face plates from only one side of said surface; and
performing buffing, blasting or coating on the opposite side of said surface from which said friction stir welding is performed, thereby finishing said surface to form the exterior surface of a structural body.

Method of manufacturing structural body and structural body


An optical signal scrambler (18) has an optical phase modulator (22) which has a common input/output for an optical signal. The modulator also has an input for a modulating signal and a common output/input which is coupled to a 45.degree. Faraday mirror (24). The scrambler (18) operates to modify an optical input signal received at the input/output of the modulator (22) so that it is returned as an output which is phase scrambled.

It is well known that in long distance optical communication systems degradation of the signal results from a range of different factors and variations of such factors result in signal fading. This results in reduction of signal to noise ratio and, in digital systems, an increase in the average bit error rate of detection at a receiving station. This phenomena and some methods of reduction of such problems is detailed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,361,270 the whole content of which is included herein by reference.
The invention disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,361,270 employs two concatenated lithium niobate phase modulators with a 45.degree. phase shifting coupling therebetween, each phase modulator being modulated by a different wavelength signal. There is a problem with the concatenation of two phase modulators that requires two different drive frequencies to overcome modulator overlap. Such phase modulators are extremely expensive and the present invention seeks to simplify the design of a scrambler thereby to significantly reduce costs of manufacture.