A dilatation catheter having an inflatable member and a method of using same to restore patency to an obstructed portion of the lacrimal system. The catheter is inserted into the lacrimal system and its inflatable member is positioned in the obstructed portion. The inflatable member is inflated to dilate the obstructed portion to restore patency to the lacrimal system. Preferably, the catheter includes one or more visually perceivable markers having a known spaced relationship to one of the ends of the inflatable member. Positioning of the inflatable member is assisted by aligning the marker relative to an opening into the lacrimal system.

The excessive overflow of tears down a cheek due to an obstruction in the nasolacrimal drainage system is a relatively common problem. The excessive overflow, referred to epiphora or "watering eye", is often accompanied by infection with attendant inflammatory reaction.
Normally, tears are drained from the eye through the nasolacrimal drainage system (hereinafter the lacrimal system) which includes an upper and lower canaliculus each of which communicates with its respective eyelid through an opening known as the punctum. The other ends of the canaliculi join together at the upper end of the nasolacrimal duct. The upper end of the nasolacrimal duct also communicates with the lacrimal sac. The lower end of the nasolacrimal duct opens into the nose.
Presently, minor obstructions of the lacrimal system commonly are treated by dilatation using metal probes. More severe obstructions of the nasolacrimal duct are treated by performing a dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) during which the lacrimal sac is surgically connected with the nasal cavity. DCR is a relatively major surgical procedure involving making an incision next to the bridge of the nose near the lacrimal sac, breaking through the bone to access the nose, and cutting away a portion of the lacrimal sac. The newly created opening into the nose is referred to as the ostium.
As many as one in ten DCR operations fail to due subsequent closure of the ostium. The ostium can be reopened surgically, but few patients wish to undergo the trauma of a second surgery which involves the excising of additional tissue, anesthesia, and subsequent packing of the nose with absorbent material for two to three days following the surgery.
A number of techniques presently are attempted to avoid the trauma of a second surgery. Dilatation of the ostium with a metal probe, intranasal dilatation with a muscle hook, and dilatation with a knotted suture are used with varying degrees of success. A silicone tube frequently is attached to the probe so that the silicone tubing is installed in the lacrimal system to serve as a stent in an attempt to maintain patency of the ostium. However, the canaliculus is typically only 0.5-1.0 mm in diameter and the internal diameter of the stent is therefore relatively small and ineffective. These techniques usually do not succeed in reopening the ostium for a sufficient period of time. Often, the tissue surrounding the ostium simply recloses after the probe is removed, even when the silicone tubing stent is present.
One such stent is a silicone catheter with an inflatable balloon which is positioned within the patient's lacrimal sac. The catheter maintains communication between the lacrimal sac and the nose. The balloon is of a sufficient size to prevent postoperative migration of the catheter to the nasal fossa. After the patient is healed, the balloon is deflated and the catheter is removed by pulling it through the patient's nostril. In other words, the balloon is not used for dilatation, but simply serves as a retaining element for the stent.
Obstruction of a canaliculus can also occur. Various solid, rigid instruments have been used to dilate a canalicular stenosis. Commonly, a rigid metal probe is used followed by silicone intubation as a stent. However, the number of failures is high and an operation called a conjunctivodacryocystorhinostomy (CDCR) must frequently be performed. The CDCR involves bypassing the lacrimal system by surgically creating an opening from the eye into the nose. A short pyrex tube is then installed so that it creates a passage from the eye straight into the nose. This procedure is poorly tolerated by most patients. Further, the CDCR can become obstructed, particularly if the pyrex tube becomes dislodged.
Additionally, obstruction of the punctum is very common. Again, the punctal stenosis is usually treated with a solid metal probe with varying degrees of success.
In a separate subject area, balloon catheter dilatation has been used to treat stenotic blood vessels, urinary tract obstruction, and strictures of the gastrointestinal tract. In percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, for example, a guidewire is maneuvered along a selected coronary artery until an occlusion is reached. A balloon catheter is then advanced over the guidewire by pushing on the proximal end of the balloon catheter. After the balloon is positioned within the occlusion, it is inflated to dilatate the occlusion. Frequently, the first balloon catheter is withdrawn and a second, larger-diameter balloon catheter is positioned to perform a subsequent dilatation. No suggestion has been made by others to use balloon catheters in the treatment of an obstructed lacrimal system by performing dilatation of the obstruction.

Method and catheter for dilatation of the lacrimal system


A switching gate driver and method of operating the gate driver is described. The gate driver includes a first voltage source, and a clamping voltage source configured to have a voltage that is less than that of the first voltage source. There is also a current path, for initial charging of a gate voltage of the switching gate, between the first voltage source and a ground source; and a comparator which is configured to clamp the gate voltage to the clamping voltage source as it approaches the voltage of said clamping voltage source.

When switching a large high voltage power FET gate that has hundreds of pF gate capacitances, depending on the process technology the gate maximum voltage rating will be limited to a much lower level than the high voltage supply (VDH). To effectively drive its switching, conventional systems tend to use systematically a well-decoupled supply where an external capacitor is often needed.
An example of a prior art large high voltage power FET gate driving circuit 700 is illustrated in a circuit schematic block diagram in FIG. 7. The circuit 700 includes the high voltage power FET 750 and the gate driving circuit 710. The driving output 736 from the gate driving circuit 710 is coupled to the gate 772 of the power FET SW1 to charge the gate capacitance.
The power FET SW1 is powered by the high voltage 778. Its gate capacitance Cg is of several hundred pF (for example, 400 pF). The voltage regulator VREG is coupled to the high voltage rail (VDH) 784 as the charging source, and is coupled to the driver B1 at 722. An external capacitance CEXT and an external inductance LEXT are coupled between GND and 722. The switching signal IN is coupled to the input 712 of the driver B1.
For an RC type charging shown in FIG. 7, if the equivalent gate capacitance is 400 pF with 6 Ohm pull up for a target 5 ns rise time through just 1 nH of supply parasitic inductance, in FIG. 8 shows the resultant gate voltage charging curve 812, the charging current curve 832, and the low voltage supply (VDL) curve 842. It is apparent that when the gate voltage is charged with a voltage swing 3.21 V within 5.016 S, the charging current 832 has a peak up to close 600 mA. Most significantly, the low voltage supply (VDL) 842 has a sharp drop from 4.0 V to 1.25 V mainly due to the peak charging current rise in ˜100 ps. When the same VDL supply 722 in FIG. 7 is shared among other analog functions, either continuous or switching, such perturbation will not be acceptable.
One way to mitigate this high level noise is to use a passive local low pass filtering. But then given that in most areas the filter resistor must be small (minimizing IR drops), one ends up adding considerable on-chip decoupling, which consumes very large silicon area.
Additionally for some ICs, a dedicated pin with an external good quality capacitor is either not affordable or available but shared with other sensitive analogue core functions that could suffer indirectly from the vary large ∂i/∂t flowing through the supply stray inductance.
In other prior art a high voltage NFET can be placed between the high voltage rail (VDH) and the gate to be charged. The gate of that switch would be controlled under the low voltage supply (VDL) that provides the charge to the gate. Because the NFET will choke as the gate voltage VG gets close to the low voltage supply (VDL), then end of charge is natural. The advantage of this approach is simple in design because the NFET is naturally cut off And there is no risk of overshooting the gate. However, when VDL is low (a few high voltage FET VTs is around 1 volt), the charge will be stopped too early. The gate would not make a full excursion to the VLD voltage. The control over the charge current profile is poor. It tends to be very close to the RC-type charge as shown in FIG. 8 with a relatively impulsive profile. To complete the gate charge excursion, a significant current still has to be drawn from the low voltage supply (VDL). And an additional tricky gate sensing circuit has to be added.
In the present disclosure, the charging current profile is better controlled and the voltage ripples caused by the charging current on the low voltage supply (VDL) is greatly depressed.

Low voltage switching gate driver under a high voltage rail


In accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure, a process for enhancing an image is presented. The process may include receiving a first plurality of projections, wherein the first plurality of projections contain computed tomography (CT) data obtained in multiple motion phases and also image data attributable to a first portion of a scanned object. The process may include expanding the first plurality of projections to cover at least the first portion of the scanned object to generate a second plurality of projections. The process may further include generating a phase-correlated image based on a multi-phase image and a phase-correlated difference image, wherein the multi-phase image is reconstructed based on the second plurality of projections, and the phase-correlated difference image is reconstructed based on the first plurality of projections and the second plurality of projections.

1. Field of the Disclosure
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to image processing technologies and more specifically to truncation correction imaging enhancement methods and systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Computed tomography (CT) has been a widely used imaging technique. However, when a CT medical imaging device takes an insufficient number of samples aliasing artifacts such as streaks may appear in the reconstructed images. Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT), which involves the use of wide area detectors, is more susceptible to undersampling problems because data frame rates are slower.
One challenge for medical cone-beam computed tomography is to manage respiratory motion. Due to the relatively slow gantry rotation times, it is very difficult to acquire a full CBCT data set in a single breath hold, much less in a single respiratory phase (e.g., inspiration or expiration). However, because motion is periodic, a 4-D image (3 spatial dimensions and 1 time dimension) can be obtained by grouping the acquired CBCT projections by respiratory phase and reconstructing a distinct 3-D image for each phase. In many cases, due to the sparse or "wagon-wheel" projection sampling distributions associated with each respiratory phase, aliasing artifacts, including streaks emanating from bones, are often introduced. While it is possible to reduce these artifacts by slowing down the gantry rotation rate thus reducing the distance between adjacent wagon-wheel spokes, there are substantial costs associated with lengthening the imaging times and delivering higher doses of radioactive X-rays.
Another challenge for CT image reconstruction is that during the scanning of a patient, other objects, such as a patient table, may also lead to streaks in reconstructed images. For instance, a portion of the patient table may be truncated, and this truncated portion is not included as a part of all the acquired projections. The truncated portion, causing incomplete and inconsistent data, may thus contribute to the occurrence of streaks or other artifacts in the reconstructed images.

Truncation correction imaging enhancement method and system


A wool-like fiber member that has high permeability and low absorbability is disposed around a discharge port of a discharge pipe that is configured to discharge condensate and compressed air stored within a tank.

Generally, an air compressor takes in outside air and brings it to the inside of a cylinder and compresses it using a piston to generate compressed air inside the cylinder. The compressed air thus generated is delivered to a storage tank to be stored.
The compressed air stored in the tank is supplied to an air-powered tool such as, for example, a nail driver for the operation. As the compressed air is supplied to the tool, in other words, to the outside of the storage tank, the remaining compressed air in the storage tank will expand. As a result, the compressed air will be cooled. Due to this cooling effect, water vapor primarily included in the remaining compressed air within the tank condenses to produce a condensate (water or drainage) which may accumulate inside the storage tank. The condensate accumulated in the tank can cause rust to develop within the tank and result in a decrease in the storage quantity of the compressed air. To avoid these defects, an air compressor having a condensate discharge portion for discharging the condensate to the outside of the storage tank has been generally used in the past. Such an air compressor is described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2009-185678.
A condensate discharge portion may generally include a discharge pipe in fluid communication with the storage tank and a drain cock that serves to open and close the discharge pipe. When the drain cock is closed, the condensate and the compressed air in the storage tank are not discharged from the discharge pipe. When the drain cock is opened, the compressed air in the storage tank is discharged from a discharge port of the discharge pipe in accordance with the degree of opening of the drain cock. Furthermore, the condensate in the storage tank is discharged from the discharge port of the discharge pipe together with the compressed air.
The compressed air in the storage tank is stored at a high pressure such as, for example 4.5 mega Pascal (MPa). Due to this high pressure, the compressed air is rapidly discharged through expansion when the drain cock is fully opened. This may generate a loud noise. In order to reduce the noise, it is sometimes necessary to reduce the degree of opening of the drain cock to a small degree. However, when the degree of opening of the drain cock is reduced to a small degree, it takes a long time to fully discharge the condensate and the compressed air, and possibly inconvenience a user. In some cases, in order to reduce the noise, a muffling material, for example a porous material, is placed around the discharge port of the discharge pipe in the air compressor. However, when the muffling material is used, clogging may occur due to the condensate that is discharged together with the compressed air. This can result in deterioration of discharge performance.
As a result of the mentioned deficiencies in the art, there is a need in the art to reduce noise when the compressed air stored in the storage tank of the air compressor is discharged (when the pressure is released). Further, there is a need to discharge the condensate and the compressed air in an efficient manner.


A universal insert aids in wire pulling through a conduit body. The insert includes a first flange; a second flange shorter than the first flange; and a curvilinear portion connecting the first and second flanges. A lower surface of the curvilinear portion and a lower portion of the first flange together define a smooth transition surface. The universal insert may be used in conjunction with any conventional conduit body.

Electrical conduit systems are required in order to safely provide electric power to homes, commercial buildings, and the like. These conduit systems often include long runs of rigid electrical conduits or tubing systems with frequent changes in direction, such as 90° turns. The conduits include interruptions with various couplings to accommodate bends or changes in direction. The conduits serve to provide a protective housing for the wires therein and to route these wires throughout the building or other installation as required. Conduits are typically constructed of a rigid metal pipe.
A conduit body is a separate portion of a conduit or tubing system that provides easy access through a removable cover to the interior of a raceway or tubing system. Conduit bodies are used primarily as junction or pull boxes and are usually installed to facilitate a change in direction of wires in a conduit. Conventional conduit bodies can have openings at one or more ends as well as through the upper and lower walls. A conventional naming system identifies various types of conduit body configurations as "LB," "LR," "T," "X" and "C" which define the relative orientation of access ports and a removable cover.
Typically, wiring conduits involves first passing an electrical guide wire through a conduit body into an electrical conduit to another conduit body. In an exemplary wire pulling operation, insulated wires are secured to a hook end of the guide wire and are then pulled back through the conduit. Specifically, wires are inserted through an opening on the bottom or side of the conduit body and out through another opening located along another side or top of the conduit body. The friction caused by pulling the wires through the conduit causes friction between the wires and edges of the hub access port of the conduit body. This makes it difficult to pull the wire through the conduit housing, especially if there are many bends along the conduit length. While power pullers are used for this purpose it is not unusual for the insulation to be damaged or even for the pulled cords to break. Once broken in a conduit, a partially pulled wire is then very difficult to access. In addition, damage to the insulation caused by friction of the insulation rubbing against the edges of openings of the conduit body may go unnoticed.
Attempts to minimize such friction associated with the rubbing of wires against the openings of conduit bodies are known. For instance, some manufacturers have inserted roller pins and smooth shields to minimize the friction. However, such devices are usually expensive to construct having multi-part assemblies, and may not be used with conventional conduit bodies.
Accordingly, there is a present need for a device that allows for a reduction in friction associated with wires rubbing against the inside of the openings of a conduit body.

Insert for aiding in wire pulling through conduit bodies


A new tail light enhancement system for providing a brake light which variably directs light towards another driver behind a vehicle depending upon the amount of brake pressure applied. The inventive device includes a plurality of vertical or horizontal convex lenses adjacent to one another, a corresponding plurality of lights, a central processing unit electrically connected to the plurality of lights, and a rheostat electrically connected to the central processing unit. The concentric portion of the convex lenses directs a substantial amount of light directly towards the other driver, while the outer portion of the vertical or horizontal convex lenses directed increasingly away from the other driver. The rheostat is mechanically attached to a brake pedal within the vehicle for determining the amount of brake pressure applied. The central processing unit electrically activates the concentric portion and the outer portion of the lights corresponding to the amount of brake pressure applied.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to brake light devices and more particularly pertains to a new tail light enhancement system for providing a brake light which variably directs light towards another driver behind a vehicle depending upon the amount of brake pressure applied.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of brake light devices is known in the prior art. More specifically, brake light devices heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
Known prior art includes U.S. Pat. No. 5,150,098; U.S. Pat. No. 5,089,805; U.S. Pat. No. 4,837,554; U.S. Pat. No. 4,918,424; U.S. Pat. No. 4,726,627 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,846,749.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not disclose a new tail light enhancement system. The inventive device includes a plurality of vertical or horizontal convex lenses adjacent to one another, a corresponding plurality of lights, a central processing unit electrically connected to the plurality of lights, and a rheostat electrically connected to the central processing unit.
In these respects, the tail light enhancement system according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of providing a brake light which variably directs light towards another driver behind a vehicle depending upon the amount of brake pressure applied.


Airfoils including a plurality of nozzles and venturi. The airfoils may include a body including an inner wall defining a high pressure fluid chamber, and a plurality of high pressure nozzles extending through the inner wall. Each high pressure nozzle may be in fluid communication with the high pressure fluid chamber. The airfoil body may also include an intermediate wall positioned adjacent to and surrounding the inner wall to define a low pressure fluid chamber formed between the intermediate wall and the inner wall, and a plurality of low pressure venturi extending through the intermediate wall. Each low pressure venturi may be in fluid communication with the low pressure fluid chamber. Additionally, the airfoil body may include an outer wall positioned adjacent to and surrounding the intermediate wall to define a cooling channel formed between the intermediate wall and the outer wall.

The disclosure relates generally to hot gas path components for turbine systems, and more particularly, to hot gas path components formed as airfoils that include a plurality of nozzles and venturi formed therein.
Conventional turbomachines, such as gas turbine systems, generate power for electric generators. In general, gas turbine systems generate power by passing a fluid (e.g., hot gas) through a turbine component of the gas turbine system. More specifically, inlet air may be drawn into a compressor to be compressed. Once compressed, the inlet air is mixed with fuel to form a combustion product, which may be reacted by a combustor of the gas turbine system to form the operational fluid (e.g., hot gas) of the gas turbine system. The fluid may then flow through a fluid flow path for rotating a plurality of rotating blades and rotor or shaft of the turbine component for generating the power. The fluid may be directed through the turbine component via the plurality of rotating blades and a plurality of stationary nozzles or vanes positioned between the rotating blades. As the plurality of rotating blades rotate the rotor of the gas turbine system, a generator, coupled to the rotor, may generate power from the rotation of the rotor.
During operation, turbine blades and vanes, and more specifically the airfoils of each, may be exposed to high temperature operational fluids flowing through the flow path of the turbine component. Over time and/or during exposure, the airfoils of the turbine blades and vanes may undergo undesirable thermal expansion and/or operational wear. The thermal expansion of the airfoils may result in damage to and/or outages of the blades/vanes of the turbine. When the airfoils become damaged or undergo an outage event, the operational efficiency of the turbine component, and in turn the entire turbine system, may be reduced. Additionally, when an airfoil is damaged or an outage event occurs, the turbine component may need to shutdown to replace the damaged turbine blade and/or vane, resulting in no power being generated by the turbine system when the blade/vane is replaced.
To minimize thermal expansion and degradation, airfoils are typically cooled. For example, conventional airfoils typically contain an intricate maze of internal cooling passages. Cooling air (or other suitable coolant) provided by, for example, a compressor of a gas turbine system, may be passed through and out of the cooling passages to cool various portions of the airfoil for the blades and vanes. Cooling circuits formed by one or more cooling passages in these conventional airfoils may include, for example, internal, near wall cooling circuits, internal central cooling circuits, tip cooling circuits, and cooling circuits adjacent the leading and trailing edges of the airfoil.
Typically in conventional systems, only high pressure cooling air may be provided to and utilized by the airfoils for cooling. As a result, substantially all or most of the cooling air flowing through conventional gas turbine static components must be provided from high-pressure sources, which are subject to a greater quantity of compressor pumping work. Cooling air from lower-pressure sources that may otherwise be available to cool the components cannot be used if the pressure is too low. This in turn may reduce the operational efficiency of the gas turbine system, and/or may require supplemental high pressure air generation system(s) to be incorporated within the gas turbine system. Using supplemental high pressure air generation systems to provide additional high pressure air to the system thus add undesirable build, installation, maintenance, and/or operational expenses to the gas turbine system.

Airfoils including plurality of nozzles and venturi


A viscous clutch head may be replaced by selecting a viscous clutch head and a mount adapter. The viscous clutch head and the mount adapter may be selected from a group of universal modular fan drives and from a group of mount adapters. The mount adapter of a threaded type or a flange and bolt type may be selected. Depending on the viscous clutch head to be replaced, a fan adapter and/or a pilot adapter may also be selected from a group of fan adapters and from a group of pilot adapters. Accordingly, a range of models of viscous fan clutch systems may be replaced by using a limited number of parts. These parts may be stored on a tool cart. As different models of viscous fan clutch systems may be replaced using a limited number of parts, the in-stock inventory of replacement parts may be reduced.

A conventional viscous fan clutch system consists of a clutch acting as an input member and a fan acting as an output member. Both clutch and fan are on a shaft assembly which drives the input member, in turn powering the output member. As the driving member, the clutch transfers torque to the fan through shearing of a viscous fluid, thus driving the fan. A pumping mechanism and temperature sensor regulate the amount of fluid in the cavity between clutch and fan, thus setting the amount of torque transmitted to the fan through shearing.
Clutches can have different design parameters based on the application. The fan can provide cooling when the engine temperature rises about a threshold temperature. In this case, the clutch and fan are fully engaged to transfer more torque and drive more air in order to cool the engine to the desired temperature. When the engine temperature is below a threshold temperature, the fan clutch can partially disengage, avoiding unnecessary power expenditures from the engine. Instead of a threshold temperature, factors such as delayed or advanced engagement time, valve size or rpm may be used to set clutch and fan engagement.
When a viscous clutch fan assembly fails, parts may be replaced with a compatible repair part. Given the wide range of applications for viscous fan clutches, there are numerous models and makes, each with their own integral mounting systems. In the heavy duty viscous clutch market, manufacturers and dealers may have to build and stock several thousands of different parts to provide replacements for each model of viscous fan clutches, as each model of viscous fan clutch requires model-specific replacement parts.


An array of skewed cooling air conduits are embedded within a ceramic turbine blade for cooling an upper blade surface by producing a cool air film thereon, and by removing heat through conduction. The conduits provide a large bonding surface area in the ceramic, and are recessed to prevent clogging by the ceramic and to prevent direct contact with the hot gas stream at the upper blade surface.

The present invention relates to the field of aircraft turbine blades and more particularly the cooling of ceramic blades.
Ceramic blade outer airseal life is a perennial problem in the first stage of high temperature turbines. Typical ceramic airseal failure is characterized by either cracking or partial spalling, resulting in an increased turbine tip clearance which produces a high leakage flow, reducing turbine efficiency. Such failure can be alleviated by the incorporation of a film cooling of the upper surface of the ceramic blade portion.
FIG. 1 illustrates a typical prior art ceramic airseal cooling design for a turbine tip. The upper surface 11 is the hottest portion of the ceramic body 1 and is cooled by the impingement of air illustrated by arrows 5 at the lower surface of the support substrate of the ceramic body. The cooling air flows through air ducts 7 and 9 to cool the lower surface 13 of ceramic body 1. Since the ceramic layer has a low thermal conductivity, this cooling technique produces a very hot ceramic upper surface 11 and a relatively cold lower inner surface, resulting in a high thermal gradient across the ceramic layer, to induce a high thermal stress tending to weaken the blade.
The teaching of passing cooling air through parallel conduits embedded in turbine blade portions is old in the art. The cooling air passes through, for example, honeycombed passages in U.S. Pat. 3,172,621 to Erwin, and forms a cooling air film upon the surface of the airfoil containing the cooling air honeycombed passages. U.S. Pat. No. 4,384,823 to Graham et al illustrates the concept of providing an array of cooling air tubes which transmit air to surfaces of a turbine blade. Other U.S. Pat. Nos. such as 4,684,322 and 4,249,291, illustrate the teaching of embedding cooling tubes within the body of turbine blade portions to cool surfaces thereof. It is the principle object of the present invention to provide a method of producing an array of cooling air passages embedded within a ceramic blade portion to be cooled which is believed to be more suitable than the approaches of the prior art.

Method and apparatus for cooling high temperature ceramic turbine blade portions

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Air Force


Provided is an agricultural fungicide that contains at least one selected from the group consisting of a novel nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compound represented by Formula (I), a salt thereof, or an N-oxide compound thereof. In Formula (I), R represents a group represented by CR1R2R3 or a cyano group. R1 to R3 each independently represents a hydrogen atom, an unsubstituted or substituted C1-8 alkyl group, an unsubstituted or substituted hydroxyl group, or the like. R4 or R5 represents a halogeno group or the like. Y or Z represents a carbon atom or the like, and A or D represents a benzene ring or the like. X represents an oxygen atom or a nitrogen atom or the like.

In agricultural crop cultivation, a variety of control agents are used to deal with crop diseases. However, there are very few agents which fully satisfy the requirements for use as a control agent due to reasons such as an insufficient control effect, limited use due to the emergence of agent-resistant pathogens, phytotoxic or contaminating effects on plants, or toxicity to humans, domestic animals, and fish, and an adverse effect on the environment. Therefore, the need for agents having fewer disadvantages of this kind and which are safe to use is required.
Related to the present invention, in the following Patent Document 1 or 2, quinoline derivatives having similar chemical structures to the compounds according to the present invention, and agricultural fungicides containing the quinoline derivatives as active ingredients, are disclosed.

Nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compound and agricultural fungicide


A washing machine includes a casing constituting the appearance, a support bar having one end connected to the casing and a suspension for connecting the other end of the support bar to the outer tub so as to suspend the outer tub within the casing, and for absorbing vibrations from the outer tub. The suspension includes an air cap through which the second end of the support bar passes. The air cab is installed on the outer circumference of the outer tub and moves along the support bar according to vibrations from the outer tub. A first friction member fitted on the support bar and disposed within the air cap to contact the inner surface of the air cap. A second friction member contacts the support bar and generates greater frictional force with the support bar than the force generated between the first friction member and the inner surface of the air cap to effectively decrease vibrations.

In general, washing machines are appliances that wash laundry using water flow created by rotation of a washing tub or washing wings and impacts exerted by washing wings as well as emulsion actions by detergent. A washing machine proceeds with washing, rinsing, and/or dehydrating processes to get rid of dirt from objects to be washed (hereinafter, referred to as 'laundry') through an action between detergent and water.
A typical washing machine includes a casing forming an outer appearance thereof, an outer tub suspended in the casing, and an inner tub provided to be rotatable in the outer tub. Further, such washing machine includes a suspension to attenuate vibrations that occur to the outer tub when the inner tub and/or a pulsator rotate.
Typically, the suspension is configured to reduce vibrations occurring to the outer tub using elastic/restoring force of a spring and viscous force of a fluid. Such suspension may effectively reduce vibrations in a normal state where the outer tub vibrates within a constant amplitude range, but has a limitation in reducing vibrations in a transient state where the outer tub vibrates at a larger extent than that of the normal vibration state.
In other words, in case a typical suspension is designed to be optimized for the transient vibration state with a larger amplitude, the suspension exhibits a lower vibration attenuation effect in a normal vibration state with a relatively smaller amplitude. On the contrary, in case the suspension is designed to be optimized for the normal vibration state, the suspension may provide a sufficient vibration attenuation effect in the transient vibration state. Accordingly, there is a need for a method of effectively attenuating vibrations in both the normal vibration state and the transient vibration state.

Washing machine having a friction suspension


A skills game includes a game set with a deck of cards, various-shaped building blocks, a projectile launcher, projectiles, and target pieces. Players take turns selecting a card, building structures, launching projectiles, and knocking down targets.

Skills games have been and continue to be an ample source of amusement for children. Enhancements, features, and themes that spark a child's imagination and provide continued engagement of the game with the child add to its play value.
One video game line made available for the IPHONE, IPAD and ANDROID mobile devices by the Finland-based developer ROVIO MOBILE LTD is entitled ANGRY BIRDS. As a player enters a level in the ANGRY BIRDS video game, the device displays a structure appearing to be made from various materials including wood, glass or ice and stone. Various-sized and -shaped green pigs appear within the structure. The structure scrolls off-screen and a slingshot with a queue of various-sized, -shaped, and -colored birds scrolls on-screen. The birds serve as projectiles for the slingshot to be launched against one side of the structure. The player launches each bird projectile by touching the mobile device screen with a finger, dragging the finger across the screen to simulate pulling back the projectile in the slingshot pocket, and lifting the finger from the screen to launch the projectile. Additional properties particular to each projectile may be activated by tapping the screen while the bird projectile is in flight. The goal is to knock over the green pigs, either by the projectile birds directly or with portions of the collapsing structure. A bonus area with golden eggs was made available in a later chapter release of the game. Golden eggs hidden throughout the game unlock other levels and features. In some versions of the game, images of wooden crates labeled with "TNT" are interspersed in the structure. When struck, the wooden crate explodes and destroys objects within a short radius and sends objects within a larger radius flying. While the game play of ANGRY BIRDS is fanciful and engaging, it is limited to a single-player virtual world with simulated physics. Furthermore, the ANGRY BIRDS video game lacks the excitement and challenge of a tangible skills game apparatus and methods associated therewith.


The invention relates to methods, apparatuses and computer programs for generating receiver-specific correction information for correcting pseudorange observations. The method comprises: receiving raw observations obtained by the NSS receiver observing NSS multiple frequency signals from a plurality of NSS satellites over multiple epochs; obtaining precise satellite information on: (i) the orbit position of each of the satellites, (ii) a clock offset of each of the satellites, and (iii) a set of biases associated with each of the satellites; estimating ambiguities in the carrier phase of the received raw observations, using the precise satellite information, or information derived therefrom; computing combination values based on the received raw observations together with the estimated ambiguities, to cancel out the effects of the geometry, the effects of the clocks, troposphere and ionosphere; and generating the correction information per satellite, based on the computed combination values.

Navigation satellite systems (NSS) include both global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) and regional navigation satellite systems (RNSS), such as the Global Positioning System (GPS) (United States), GLONASS (Russia), Galileo (Europe), BeiDou (China), QZSS (Japan), and the Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS) (systems in use or in development). A NSS typically uses a plurality of satellites orbiting the Earth. The plurality of satellites forms a constellation of satellites. A NSS receiver detects a code modulated on an electromagnetic signal broadcast by a satellite. The code is also called a ranging code. Code detection includes comparing the bit sequence modulated on the broadcasted signal with a receiver-side version of the code to be detected. Based on the detection of the time of arrival of the code for each of a series of the satellites, the NSS receiver estimates its position. Positioning includes, but is not limited to, geolocation, i.e. the positioning on the surface of the Earth.
An overview of GPS, GLONASS and Galileo is provided for instance in sections 9, 10 and 11 of Hofmann-Wellenhof B., et al., GNSS, Global Navigation Satellite Systems, GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, & more, Springer-Verlag Wien, 2008, (hereinafter referred to as "reference [1]").
Positioning using NSS signal codes provides a limited accuracy, notably due to the distortion the code is subject to upon transmission through the atmosphere. For instance, the GPS includes the transmission of a coarse/acquisition (C/A) code at 1575.45 MHz, the so-called L1 frequency. This code is freely available to the public, whereas the Precise (P) code is reserved for military applications. The accuracy of code-based positioning using the GPS C/A code is approximately 15 meters, when taking into account both the electronic uncertainty associated with the detection of the C/A code (electronic detection of the time of arrival of the pseudorandom code) and other errors including those caused by ionospheric and tropospheric effects, ephemeris errors, satellite clock errors and multipath propagation.
An alternative to positioning based on the detection of a code is positioning based on carrier phase measurements. In this alternative approach or additional approach (ranging codes and carrier phases can be used together for positioning), the carrier phase of the NSS signal transmitted from the NSS satellite is detected, not (or not only) the code modulated on the signal transmitted from the satellite.
The approach based on carrier phase measurements has the potential to provide much greater position precision, i.e. up to centimetre-level or even millimetre-level precision, compared to the code-based approach. The reason may be intuitively understood as follows. The code, such as the GPS C/A code on the L1 band, is much longer than one cycle of the carrier on which the code is modulated. The position resolution may therefore be viewed as greater for carrier phase detection than for code detection.
However, in the process of estimating the position based on carrier phase measurements, the carrier phases are ambiguous by an unknown number of cycles. The phase of a received signal can be determined, but the number of cycles cannot be directly determined in an unambiguous manner. This is the so-called "integer ambiguity problem", "integer ambiguity resolution problem" or "phase ambiguity resolution problem", which may be solved to yield the so-called fixed solution.
GNSS observation equations for code observations and for carrier phase observations are for instance provided in reference [1], section 5. An introduction to the GNSS integer ambiguity resolution problem, and its conventional solutions, is provided in reference [1], section 7.2. The skilled person will recognize that the same or similar principles apply to RNSS systems.
The main GNSS observables are therefore the carrier phase and code (pseudorange), the former being much more precise than the latter, but ambiguous. These observables basically enable a user to obtain the geometric distance from the receiver to the satellite. With known satellite position and satellite clock error, the receiver position can be estimated.
Due to different tracking and multipath mitigation technology used by different receivers or different generations of receiver board, significant receiver-dependent satellite code biases exist among different receiver models.
Yamada, H., Takasu, T., Kubo, N., Yasuda, A., Evaluation and calibration of receiver inter-channel biases for RTK-GPS/GLONASS, 23rd international technical meeting of the satellite division of the institute of navigation, Portland, Oreg., USA (2010) (hereinafter referred to as "reference [2]"), found that, for the GLONASS system, the biases may amount to several meters in the L1/L2 band.
Reussner, N., Wanninger, L. GLONASS Inter-frequency Biases and Their Effects on RTK and PPP Carrier-phase Ambiguity Resolution, Proc. of ION GNSS 2011, Portland, Oreg., USA (hereinafter referred to as "reference [3]"), found that the ionosphere-free GLONASS code biases are present also for same receiver type baselines and may amount to several meters. Furthermore, these biases cannot be modelled as a function of the GLONASS channel number k (for more details in that respect, see for example "GLONASS Interface Control Document, Navigational radiosignal In bands L1, L2", Edition 5.1, Moscow, 2008, section 126.96.36.199: "Frequency plan"). Finally, there is evidence that, even for antipodal GLONASS satellites (same channel number k), the biases may reach the meter level. The method disclosed in reference [3] does not allow the estimation of the L1 and L2 biases separately, but only the ionosphere-free combination of such biases.
The effect of the receiver code biases per satellite is apparent when the double-difference multipath combination residuals are computed, as shown in FIG. 2.
The existence of the code biases degrades the positioning accuracy in single-receiver and differential mode. It is thus useful to remove these biases through a proper calibration process. The proper calibration of such biases improves not only the NSS positioning but also the estimates of the receiver and satellites clocks and the medium-induced delays (troposphere and ionosphere). For the end user, this may result in a better precision of the user receiver coordinates achieved in a shorter time span.
A typical calibration process is to use a zero-baseline setup (see reference [2], and Al-Shaery, A., Zhang, S., Rizos, C., An enhanced calibration method of GLONASS inter-channel bias for GNSS RTK, GPS Solutions (2013) 17:165-173, hereinafter referred to as "reference [4]"), where at least two receivers are connected to the same physical antenna, and receivers (of the same type) are calibrated with respect to reference receivers (of the same type). With zero-baseline calibration, the code bias of each satellite can be derived from one receiver relative to a reference receiver. This approach is very accurate as the multipath, troposphere and ionosphere effects are cancelled out. The drawback is that the receivers need to be connected to the same antenna. Additional effects due to the antenna and the antenna cable are not accounted for. A zero-baseline setup is schematically illustrated in FIG. 8. The square represents the antenna, and the two rectangles represent the receiver to be calibrated and the reference receiver, respectively.
In some cases, this setup can be substituted by a short-baseline setup. The short-baseline (few meters) calibration reduces the medium-dependent errors, while the geometry is removed by the a-priori knowledge of the antenna coordinates and satellite positions. The antenna effect is accounted for in the short-baseline calibration setup, so that the approach is more suitable to calibrate smart antennas (receiver and antenna integrated in the same housing) than zero-baseline calibration. A short-baseline setup is schematically illustrated in FIG. 9.
There is a constant need for improving the implementation of positioning systems based notably on GNSS (or RNSS) carrier phase measurements, to obtain a precise estimation of the receiver position, in particular in view of the problems associated with the above-mentioned calibration approaches.

Navigation satellite system positioning involving the generation of receiver-specific or receiver-type-specific correction information


The invention relates to a profile for a seal comprising a metal reinforcement having a U-shaped cross-section. The reinforcement is sheathed with plastic. At least one virtually inextensible filament is embedded in the plastic in an intermediate zone between the profile and an associated sealing element in the region of the median fiber of the profile. According to the invention, the metal reinforcement is formed by bending a planar reinforcement into the shape of a U. The planar reinforcement comprises a succession of exposed rectangular elements having long sides perpendicular to the plane of symmetry of the U and short sides parallel to this plane of symmetry. The rectangular elements are joined to the contiguous elements by two spacers parallel to the plane of symmetry of the U.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to sealing structures and more particularly to sealing structures of the type known as complex.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Complex seals comprise a profile in the shape of a U-section having a metal reinforcement sheathed in a flexible material such as rubber or plastic. This type of profile is intended to be fixed by crimping on a projecting edge or a projecting part of an automobile body. This profile is associated with a sealing element, which is, for example, hollow and is intended to be compressed between two parts of the bodywork, for example, a door and its frame.
In order to avoid deformations and, in particular, sagging of the profile in areas of pronounced curvature, which would result in lack of leaktightness between the surfaces separated by the seal, commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,310,164 suggests a profile defined by the combination of two features:
a U-shaped metal reinforcement which is broken down into alternating exposed sections, resulting from the presence, alternately, of discontinuous spacers aligned axially in the plane of the spread-out profile and of discontinuous spacers oriented laterally relative to the axis; and PA1 plastic which coats this reinforcement and incorporates, in a manner known per se, at least one virtually inextensible filament made, for example, of glass fiber, in an intermediate zone between the profile and the contiguous sealing element and, more specifically, in the median fiber zone of the profile.
In respect of the first feature, the aforementioned U.S. Patent explains that the intention is to remedy the disadvantages of reinforcements used in the previously known art which were of a shape known as "fish-bone." That is to say, comprising a longitudinal element possessing, on either side, perpendicular lateral appendices, or appendices which were evenly formed of separate and distinct elements.

Seal structures, particularly for automobile bodywork


A method and apparatus are provided for maintaining access control lists (ACLs) within TCAM on a line card in a data packet router, the rules being applied to incoming data packets. Each interface may be associated with multiple ACLs, and multiple interfaces may be associated with single shared ACLs. The shared ACLs include rules applicable to more than one interface. Other ACLs are specific to a particular interface. When searching for a rule to apply to an incoming data packet, the filter searches both the specific ACL and the shared ACLs associated with the interface over which the data packet arrived. Using the shared ACLs, duplication of common rules is reduced, thereby reducing the total number of rules stored on the line card and saving memory storage space. The invention is also applicable to sets of rules other than ACLs.

Internet routers in communication systems receive internet protocol (IP) packets at interfaces on line cards. A router contains numerous line cards, each of which can have a number of interfaces. Typically, each interface has an associated access control list (ACL) stored on the line card within a Ternary Content Addressable Memory (TCAM). An ACL is a set of rules to be applied to IP packets in order to filter unwanted packets, or perform other actions on packets such as counting or copying. Each rule is composed of a key and an action. When an IP packet arrives through an interface, the router extracts specific fields from the packet to form a key and searches the ACL associated with the interface for a rule having a matching key. If a rule is found, the filter applies the action associated with the rule to the packet.
Interfaces may have identical sets of rules. Some routers take advantage of this to simplify configuration and troubleshooting, and to improve robustness. Sets of rule are copied between ACLs. However, once loaded into the TCAM, each rule of each ACL of each interface is stored and accessed separately. There is therefore no saving of TCAM storage space. Other routers go further and share a single ACL between two or more interfaces. While this somewhat reduces the amount of TCAM storage space needed, this is only possible if the interfaces have all their rules in common.
Improvements in the storage capacity of TCAMs has not progressed as quickly as improvements in access rate. Due to space and power constraints associated with TCAMs and to the cost of TCAMs, it is preferable to keep the number and size of TCAMs on each line card to a minimum. This may be difficult in some situations, as routers often support hundreds of interfaces and hundreds of ACLs, requiring large TCAM storage space. Line interface cards which minimized the total number of rules being stored would allow fewer or smaller TCAMs to be used, thereby saving space and power. Alternatively, such cards could support more rules for the same space and power usage.

Access control listing mechanism for routers


Multi-piece golf balls having at least one component made of a rubber composition comprising substantially oriented nanostructures are provided. For example, the nanostructures may be in the form of nanofibers, nanorods, nanotubes, and nanoparticles. The multi-piece golf ball contains a core, which may have a dual-core construction including a center and surrounding outer core layer or other multi-layered structure. Preferably at least one of the core layers is formed from a polybutadiene rubber composition comprising the nanostructures. The polybutadiene rubber may be chemically or non-chemically modified. The polybutadiene preferably has a cis-bond content of at least 80%.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to multi-piece golf balls and more particularly to golf balls having at least one component made of a composition comprising an oriented nanostructure. The multi-piece golf ball includes a core, which may be constructed of a center and surrounding outer core layer. Preferably at least one of the core layers is formed from a composition comprising a rubber material and the oriented nano structure. The golf ball further includes a cover, which may be a dual-cover having inner and outer cover layers.
2. Brief Review of the Related Art
Today, both professional and amateur golfers use multi-piece solid golf balls. Basically, a two-piece solid golf ball includes a solid inner core protected by an outer cover. The inner core is made commonly of a rubber material such as natural and synthetic rubbers: styrene butadiene, polybutadiene, or polyisoprene. Highly neutralized ethylene acid copolymer ionomer resins (HNPs) also may be used to form the core. The outer cover is made commonly of thermoplastic or thermoset resins such as ionomers, polyolefins, polyamides, polyesters, polyurethanes, and polyureas. As new materials and manufacturing processes have become more economically feasible, three-piece, four-piece, and five-piece solid golf balls have been introduced. Different materials are used in the golf ball construction to impart specific properties and playing features to the ball.
For example, the resiliency and rebounding performance of a golf ball is based primarily on its core. Balls having a high resiliency tend to reach a high velocity when struck by a golf club. As a result, the ball tends to travel a greater distance. This helps the ball travel longer distances. In a majority of golf balls used today, conventional cores comprise polybutadiene rubber ("PBR"). The core construction may be single or multi-layered. That is, the golf ball may include a single core layer (center). In another version, the golf ball may have a dual-core construction comprising an inner core and at least one surrounding core layer. In yet another version, the golf ball may contain a multi-layered core comprising an inner core, intermediate core layer, and outer core layer. The PBR compositions typically contain "fillers," which are added to adjust the density and/or specific gravity of the material. Adjusting the weight of the golf ball either towards the center or outer surface of the ball changes the flight and spin characteristics of the ball.
The industry continues to look at new materials, for example, nano-sized materials such as nanofibers, nanotubes, and nanoparticles that could be used in constructing golf ball components. Kim et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,794,447 discloses golf balls incorporating nanofiller material in their cores, outer cover layers, or, intermediate layers. The material includes a polymer such as polyamide, ionomer, polycarbonate, polyurethane, polystyrene, polyethylene, fluoropolymer, polyamide elastomer, thermoplastic polyolefin, polyester elastomer, polyester, polyolefin, thermoplastic elastomer, thermoplastic vulcanizate, or epoxy resin. Nano-particles of inorganic material are dispersed in the polymeric material. The particles have a size of one micron (μm) or smaller and particles preferably consist essentially of clay, such as hydrotalcite, montmorillonite, micafluoride, or octosilicate.
Jordan et al., US Patent Application Publication US 2007/0191526 discloses golf balls having a core and cover surrounding the core. At lest one of the layers is formed from a composition comprising nano-clays and a fully neutralized ethylene acid copolymer or other ionomer resin. The acid groups in the ionomer resin may be neutralized by a salt of an organic acid, a cation source, or a suitable base. The nano-clays are described as being high aspect ratio additives typically based on montmorillonite clay. The nano-clays preferably have a 50% average dry particle size of 6 μm or less and a 10% average dry particle size of 2 μm or less with a preferred aspect ratio of 100 to 150.
Sullivan et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,261,647 discloses golf balls having a core, vapor barrier layer, and cover. The barrier layer is formed from a polymer comprising a nano-material s such as smectite minerals; carbon nanotubes; fullerenes; single-wall and multi-wall carbon nanotubes; polymer nanofibers; and carbon nanofibrils with an average particle size of less than 100 nm. According to Sullivan '647, the nano-material creates a tortuous path across the barrier layer to prevent vapor from penetrating therein. Suitable polymers are described as including ionomeric copolymers and terpolymers, thermoplastic elastomers, polybutadiene rubber, balata, grafted metallocene-catalyzed polymers, polyurethanes, and polyureas.
Isogawa et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,294,069 discloses a golf ball having a core and cover layer. The resin composition used to form the cover layer contains a base resin and cation-treated phillosilicate in the form of nano-sized fine particles. The primary particles have a thickness of 10 nm or smaller, and are in the shape of flat plates having a length and a width of 1 nm or smaller. The '069 patent describes polyurethanes, ionomers, polyamides, polyesters, polyolefins, polystyrene-based elastomers, and mixtures thereof as being suitable base resins.
One drawback with adding nanostructures is that such fillers are generally difficult to disperse in the composition. The very small size of the particles makes them hard to disperse. As a result, agglomerates of particles may faun in the polymeric matrix. If a significant amount of agglomerates and aggregates form, they may negatively affect physical properties such as modulus and hardness. Because of this poor dispersibility, the desired levels of hardness and modulus may not be achieved when using such nanostructures.
It would be desirable to have a rubber composition containing nanostructures that could be used to make a core for a golf ball, wherein the nanostructures are dispersed highly throughout the composition. The nanostructures, for example, particles, tubes, or fibers, should be dispersed homogenously to prevent or minimize the tendency of particles to stick together and form aggregates. Also, good dispersion is important, because it means the material can be molded more easily into a golf ball core or other ball component.
The present invention provides golf ball cores and other ball components made from rubber compositions containing nanostructures. The nanostructures are homogenously dispersed in the rubber compositions, thus providing the material with good physical properties. In turn, the rubber compositions can be molded into components for golf balls. The resulting golf ball has high quality playing performance.

Compositions for golf balls based on oriented nanostructures


Disclosed are a method, a device and a system for improving system accuracy of an X-Y motion platform, and the method includes: taking a picture of a preset calibration board synchronously as a controlled equipment on an X-Y motion platform moves, and analyzing the picture to obtain pixel coordinates of a calibration point in the picture, where the preset calibration board is taken as a reference; acquiring actual coordinates of the calibration point on the calibration board, and calculating actual position coordinates of the controlled equipment on the X-Y motion platform from the actual coordinates and the pixel coordinates of the calibration point; and adjusting a motion control system of the X-Y motion platform according to the actual position coordinates, to control the motion of the X-Y motion platform to perform motion compensation for the controlled equipment. With the technical solution of the invention, the system accuracy can be improved, and the requirements for assembly and device selection can be reduced.

An X-Y motion platform system is a fundamental part of many digital control processing apparatuses and electronic processing apparatuses such as a worktable for laser processing apparatus, a surface attaching apparatus and a two-dimension (2D) measuring apparatus. A motion control system of the existing X-Y motion platform is mainly constituted by a computer, a motion controller, a step motor and related software. A conventional X-Y motion platform includes two (motor-driven) linear motion units, each of which generally includes a screw rod and a guide rail, and the combined motion of these two linear motion units generates a planar motion with two degrees of freedom (i.e. directions of X and Y axes) of the worktable.
However, an error tends to occur during the control on the motion of the worktable. For example, in the case that the worktable is desired to move to an ideal position with coordinates (302 mm, 216 mm), if the worktable is actually moved to a position with coordinates (301.98 mm, 216.07 mm), an error of (0.02 mm, 0.03 mm), which is also called as absolute movement error, is caused. The reason for causing the absolute movement error of the existing X-Y motion platform includes:
1) electric motor factors, i.e. an error caused by the electric motor per se, and an accumulative error is caused if the step motor stalls;
2) screw rod factors, i.e. an error in the motion screw rod per se, which depends on the category of the screw rod, for example, as shown in FIG. 1 showing lead errors (in a unit of μm) at various travels of the screw rod, an error of 6 μm is caused for a travel of 500 mm of the screw rod in the category CO with the highest system accuracy;
3) return-to-zero error, that is, an error might occur each time the motion platform returns to the origin, and hence the motion of the motion platform cannot always start at the same position each time;
4) assembly error, that is, an unavoidable error occurs to the assembly of the X-Y motion platform; and
5) other errors such as temperature and humidity errors.
As such, the system accuracy of the existing conventional X-Y motion platform is 10 μm to 50 μm.
In order to improve the system accuracy of an X-Y motion platform, an X-Y motion platform based on linear motor and a grating ruler X-Y motion platform based on marble platform have been proposed. The X-Y motion platform based on linear motor employs a better linear motor and a high-accuracy screw rod, and has system accuracy of ±10 μm considering by all the error factors. Likewise, the grating ruler X-Y motion platform based on marble platform employs a better linear motor and a high-accuracy screw rod, and has some essential parts made of marble which is of the grade shown in FIG. 2, however, due to the jitter interference of the grating ruler, the accumulative error cannot be eliminated in the background of large noise, the design requirements for hardware are strict, and the overall system accuracy is ±5 μm.
To improve the system accuracy of the X-Y motion platform in the prior art, stricter requirements are laid on the assembly and selection of devices, the system accuracy is limited, and further improvements are required.

Method, device and system for improving system accuracy of X-Y motion platform


In a gas discharge tube, a first discharge path-induction portion is arranged between a first discharge path-limit portion and a second discharge path-limit portion. A voltage is applied to the first discharge path-induction portion from the outside. As a result, an active starting discharge capable of passing through a first opening of the first discharge path-limit portion is produced between a cathode portion and the first discharge path-induction portion. As a consequence, there is facilitated the discharge at a starting time to pass through a second opening. As a consequence, there is achieved a rapid starting of discharge between the cathode portion and an anode portion. Therefore, in order to achieve further enhancement of brightness, there can be carried out with ease a further miniaturization pertaining to the openings, in terms of its area size, of the discharge path-limit portion while the starting properties being kept excellent, without any increase in a voltage at the starting time of the lamp so much.

There is disclosed as a prior art pertaining to the related technical field a gas (deuterium) discharge tube in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.6-310101 publication. In a gas (deuterium) discharge tube described in this publication, there are arranged two metal partition walls within the discharge path between an anode and a cathode, wherein each of the metal partition walls is provided with small holes, whereby the discharge path is caused to be narrowed. As a result, it is made possible to obtain light with a high luminance by means of the small holes on the discharge path. Further, provision of three or more metal partition walls could lead to a further higher luminance. The smaller holes are made, the higher luminance of light there can be obtained.

High-luminance gas discharge tube with diaphragm elements within discharge path


A support apparatus, computer-implemented method, and article of manufacture for supporting a processing of a character string in a document. The support apparatus includes: a document storage unit; a designation reception unit; a document acquisition unit; a historical-information storage unit; a reference-information generator; and a presentation unit. The method includes: receiving designation from a user; acquiring a document from the document storage device based on the designation by the user; reading pieces of historical information related to the acquired document from the historical-information storage device, and thereby generating reference information for helping the user to select a processing of the character string in the document; and presenting, to the user, a screen for receiving the designation of the processing of the character string in the acquired document, together with the reference information.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique for supporting a processing of a character string in a document. More particularly, the invention relates to a technique for helping a user to determine the content of a processing of the character string in the document by providing reference information.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, call logs of a customer support center or the like have been utilized for planning a business strategy, and project documents created in the past have been shared for reuse to enhance the efficiency or the quality. Such call logs or documents, however, include confidential information or personal information such as an organization name or a product name in many cases. Before the call logs or the documents are used, the confidential information or the personal information needs to be masked in advance.
The "black-list" masking technique is a conventionally known technique which uses a dictionary that includes risky words to be masked, matches words with the risky words, and replaces the matched words with turned letters (for example, see Japanese Application Publication No. 2002-259368 and Japanese Application Publication No. 2004-227141). However, since the "black-list" masking technique has a drawback in that masked words are limited to ones detected on a dictionary or rule basis, some of the candidates to be masked might not be detected. Thus, a detection error needs to be corrected manually. This causes problems in that masking is not efficiently performed in a short time and that there is a risk of leaking confidential or personal information if a risky word is overlooked by human error.
Another masking is the "white-list" masking technique. The technique performs masking by first masking all words, and then unmasks any word determined to be safe based on a safe word list enumerating safe words common to all the documents. In the "white-list" masking technique, even though a safe word that would normally be unmasked might remain in a masked state when the word is not included in the list, confidential or personal information does not leak. A full-fledged safe word list improves readability. However, because a safe word list is created manually, creating such a list is time-consuming.
Japanese Application Publication No. 2007-172404 and Yohei Ikawa, Daisuke Takuma, and Hiroshi Kanayama, "A Masking System for Confidential Documents by Unmasking Safe Words," Technical Report of the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers, DE, Data Engineering, Vol. 106, pp. 79-84, Jul. 7, 2006 disclose techniques in which, for creation of a safe word list common to all the documents, the importance of a word is calculated based on the frequency of appearance, the character string length, and the likeness of the word; and words are presented in descending order in the importance to prompt a user to determine whether or not to unmask each of the words. Yohei Ikawa, Daisuke Takuma, and Hiroshi Kanayama, "A Masking System for Confidential Documents by Unmasking Safe Words," Technical Report of the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers, DE, Data Engineering, Vol. 106, pp. 79-84, Jul. 7, 2006 shows an experimental example in which, by processing words in descending order in the importance in the manner as mentioned above, 90% readability was achieved through checking of 35% of the total words.
Accordingly, the above techniques enable efficient creation of a full-fledged safe word list common to all the documents manually. However, the aforementioned experimental example shown in Yohei Ikawa, Daisuke Takuma, and Hiroshi Kanayama, "A Masking System for Confidential Documents by Unmasking Safe Words," Technical Report of the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers, DE, Data Engineering, Vol. 106, pp. 79-84, Jul. 7, 2006 shows that 65% of the rest of the words need to be checked in order to increase the readability from 90% to 100%. Also from a cost-effectiveness viewpoint, it is not appropriate that a limited number of staffs such as a creator or an administrator of a document take charge of checking the 65% of the rest of words for increasing the readability.

Apparatus, method, and program for supporting processing of character string in document

International Business Machines Corporation


A method of upgrading software in network elements of a telecommunications network where operation of a plurality of network elements of a first type depends on operation of a network element of a second type. The method comprises receiving upgrade packages by the network element of the second type and at least part of the network elements of the first type. At least part of the network elements of the first type entering a waiting state and starting their upgrade when start of the upgrade of the network element of the second type is detected.

Currently telecom operators upgrade their Radio Network Subsystem (RNS), i.e. Radio Network Controller (RNC) and Radio Base Stations (RBS) at separate times and this happens generally during different maintenance windows (mostly at nights). When the RNC is being upgraded it does not handle any calls. Similarly, when the RBS is being upgraded it does not handle any calls.
In order to minimise the impact of such software upgrades on the operation of the network the RBSs are upgraded in batches. There are many ways to select batches of RBSs for upgrade. One, commonly used, is based on RBS type because of similar upgrade times.

Software upgrades of network elements in telecommunications network


The present invention provides an apparatus and method for substrate transport. In systems according to the invention, at least a first and second chamber are provided. The first chamber may be a load lock and the second chamber a processing chamber. A substrate transfer shuttle is provided and is moveable along a linear path defined by guide rollers between one position in the first chamber and another position in the second chamber. In this way, the substrate may be transferred, in both a forward and a reverse direction, between the first chamber and the second chamber. The substrate transfer shuttle is structured so that a substrate may be removed therefrom by moving a support in one of the chambers from a lowered position to an intermediate position, after which the substrate transfer shuttle may be removed from the chamber.

The invention relates to substrate processing, and more particularly to transferring substrates to and from processing chambers.
Glass substrates are being used for applications such as active matrix televisions and computer displays, among others. A large glass substrate can form multiple display monitors, each of which may contain more than a million thin film transistors.
The processing of large glass substrates often involves the performance of multiple sequential steps, including, for example, the performance of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) processes, physical vapor deposition (PVD) processes, or etch processes. Systems for processing glass substrates can include one or more process chambers for performing those processes.
The glass substrates can have dimensions, for example, of 550 mm by 650 mm. The trend is toward even larger substrate sizes, such as 650 mm by 830 mm and larger, to allow more displays to be formed on the substrate or to allow larger displays to be produced. The larger sizes place even greater demands on the capabilities of the processing systems.
Some of the basic processing techniques for depositing thin films on the large glass substrates are generally similar to those used, for example, in the processing of semiconductor wafers. Despite some of the similarities, however, a number of difficulties have been encountered in the processing of large glass substrates that cannot be overcome in a practical way and cost effectively by using techniques currently employed for semiconductor wafers and smaller glass substrates.
For example, efficient production line processing requires rapid movement of the glass substrates from one work station to another, and between vacuum environments and atmospheric environments. The large size and shape of the glass substrates makes it difficult to transfer them from one position in the processing system to another. As a result, cluster tools suitable for vacuum processing of semiconductor wafers and smaller glass substrates, such as substrates up to 550 mm by 650 mm, are not well suited for the similar processing of larger glass substrates, such as 650 mm by 830 mm and above. Moreover, cluster tools require a relatively large floor space.
One way to improve such processing tools is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/946,922, entitled xe2x80x9cMODULAR CLUSTER PROCESSING SYSTEM,xe2x80x9d assigned to Applied Komatsu Technologies, Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif., and incorporated above by reference. The use of a modular processing system is disclosed, where substrate movement exterior of processing islands is performed by conveyors or robots on tracks. Substrate movement interior of processing islands is performed by a substrate transporter. In this type of system, the transporter may move a substrate into or out of a processing chamber, after which the transporter may stay resident in either load lock.
Similarly, chamber configurations designed for the processing of relatively small semiconductor wafers are not particularly suited for the processing of these larger glass substrates. The chambers must include apertures of sufficient size to permit the large substrates to enter or exit the chamber. Moreover, processing substrates in the process chambers typically must be performed in a vacuum or under low pressure. Movement of glass substrates between processing chambers, thus, requires the use of valve mechanisms which are capable of closing the especially wide apertures to provide vacuum-tight seals and which also must minimize contamination.
Furthermore, relatively few defects can cause an entire monitor formed on the substrate to be rejected. Therefore, reducing the occurrence of defects in the glass substrate when it is transferred from one position to another is critical. Similarly, misalignment of the substrate as it is transferred and positioned within the processing system can cause the process uniformity to be compromised to the extent that one edge of the glass substrate is electrically non-functional once the glass has been formed into a display. If the misalignment is severe enough, it even may cause the substrate to strike structures and break inside the vacuum chamber.
Other problems associated with the processing of large glass substrates arise due to their unique thermal properties. For example, the relatively low thermal conductivity of glass makes it more difficult to heat or cool the substrate uniformly. In particular, thermal losses near the edges of any large-area, thin substrate tend to be greater than near the center of the substrate, resulting in a non-uniform temperature gradient across the substrate. The thermal properties of the glass substrate combined with its size, therefore, makes it more difficult to obtain uniform characteristics for the electronic components formed on different portions of the surface of a processed substrate. Moreover, heating or cooling the substrates quickly and uniformly is more difficult as a consequence of its poor thermal conductivity, thereby reducing the ability of the system to achieve a high throughput.
As noted above, efficient production line processing requires rapid movement of the glass substrates from one work station to another. Other requirements include a structure that can firmly support the glass substrate during transfer and that can transport the glass substrate to all areas of a work station or processing island.
The present invention allows large glass substrates to be moved within a processing station and from one processing station to another. In systems according to the invention, at least a first and second chamber are provided. Typically, the first chamber is a load lock and the second chamber is a processing chamber. The processing chamber may serve as an inspection station, a CVD chamber, a PECVD chamber, a PVD chamber, a post-anneal chamber, a cleaning chamber, a descumming chamber, an etch chamber or a combination of such chambers. The load lock may be employed to heat or cool the substrate. Two load locks may be employed, one to perform heating and the other to perform cooling. The load locks each include a platen for supporting the substrate.
A substrate transfer shuttle is used to move substrate along a guide path defined by, e.g., guide rollers.
The substrate transfer shuttle is moveable along a linear path defined by guide rollers between one position in the first chamber and another position in the second chamber. In this way, the substrate may be transferred, in both a forward and a reverse direction, between the first chamber and the second chamber. The substrate transfer shuttle is structured so that a substrate may be removed therefrom by moving the platen from a lowered position to an intermediate position, after which the substrate transfer shuttle may be removed from the processing chamber. The substrate transfer shuttle includes first and second longitudinal side rails at respective first and second sides thereof. The shuttle also includes first and second pluralities of substrate support elements extending inwardly from the first longitudinal side rail and positioned to pass below the substrate when the substrate transfer shuttle is removed from the processing chamber. The substrate support elements extend about 15-30% of a dimension of the substrate, and more particularly about 22% of the width of the substrate. Drive mechanisms are employed that engage with at least the first longitudinal side rail to move the substrate transfer shuttle along at least portions of the shuttle path.
Implementations of the invention may include one or more of the following. A valve may be employed to selectively seal the first chamber from the second chamber when closed and to permit transfer of the substrate between the first chamber and the second chamber through the valve when open. Multiple shuttles may be employed for convenience in a particular process. Further, multiple intermediate chambers may be located between the first and second chambers.
The susceptor in the processing chamber includes a plurality of lift pins which are movable through holes in the susceptor and which support the substrate above the susceptor.
Steps of the method include positioning a substrate onto a substrate transfer shuttle in a load lock, and moving the substrate transfer shuttle from the load lock into a processing chamber along a first portion of a path. The substrate is removed from the substrate transfer shuttle and positioned it on a platen in the processing chamber. The substrate transfer shuttle is then removed from the processing chamber and the substrate is processed. Following processing, the substrate transfer shuttle is moved into the processing chamber and the substrate is positioned thereon. The substrate transfer shuttle and the substrate are moved into the load lock, and the substrate is removed from the substrate transfer shuttle.
Advantages of the invention include one or more of the following. The invention eliminates unnecessary substrate movement in a semiconductor processing system. For example, the substrate may be transferred horizontally except for loading and unloading on the susceptor. The invention also eliminates more expensive and cumbersome vacuum robots and transfer chamber systems. The invention allows removal of a substrate transfer shuttle during processing, reducing contamination.
The details of one or more embodiments of the invention are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.


An air bag module for venting inflation gas if an out-of-position vehicle occupant is too close to the module for proper air bag deployment. The module has an air bag canister comprising a side wall having gas channel port to communicate with the ambient air, an inflator, an air bag cushion, a deployment door, a structural gas channel, and a venting system connecting the structural gas channel to the at least one gas channel port. The venting system permits venting of gas through the gas channel port when the out-of-position occupant applies sufficient force on the deployment door to prevent the air bag cushion from reaching a fully deployed condition.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a passenger vehicle occupant restraint system having an air bag module and, more particularly, to an air bag module having direct venting.
2. Background Art
Occupant restraint systems employing air bag modules are well known. During a collision of a predetermined magnitude, an air bag cushion is inflated by an inflator and is deployed in the vehicle for protection of the vehicle occupant. The air bag cushion is deployed at a high rate of speed and force optimized to protect a wide range of occupants under various conditions. There are, however, times when deploying an air bag cushion is not desirable, such as when a vehicle occupant is so close to the air bag that normal deployment of the air bag may cause injury to the occupant. An occupant that is too close to the air bag is said to be out of position. Various air bag module designs have been developed to reduce the amount of pressure and force caused by an air bag deployment to an out of place vehicle occupant. For example, some systems use vents on the air bag cushion that open and release gases generated by the inflator as the bag is deploying. However, these systems only control the rate and amount of inflation of the air bag cushion in a predetermined manner, but do not do so in response to the position of the occupant.
Another system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,206,408 uses vents on the air bag canister side wall that are initially open and slidingly close if no force is exerted on the deployment door. If force is exerted onto the deployment door, the vents remain open and the gas is vented therethrough, thereby thwarting deployment of the air bag cushion. However, this device is exceedingly complicated to manufacture requiring sliding mechanisms.
It would be desirable to have an occupant restraint system employing an air bag cushion that does not fully deploy when an occupant is out of position that is of a simple design.
It is an object of this invention to provide an occupant restraint system having an air bag module that does not fully deploy an air bag cushion if the vehicle occupant is out of position and is of a simple design.
Accordingly, this invention features an air bag module having direct venting of the air bag inflator gas into the ambient air if external force is exerted on the deployment door. If no external force is exerted on the deployment door, then the air bag cushion deploys normally through the deployment door and into the passenger compartment. The air bag module comprises an air bag canister having at least one side wall, the at least one side wall having at least one gas channel port to communicate with the ambient air, an air bag cushion attached to the canister, an inflator attached to the air bag canister for providing gas, a deployment door attached to the canister, a structural gas channel configured to communicate with the at least one gas channel port to provide venting of gas provided by the inflator to the ambient air if external force is applied to the deployment door, and a venting system connecting the structural gas channel to the at least one gas channel port and operative to prevent venting of gas through the gas channel port from the canister when the air bag cushion is in a substantially deployed condition.
In a first embodiment of the invention, the venting system comprises a non-porous fabric gas channel pivotally connecting the structural gas channel to the side wall proximate the gas channel port and a tether connecting the air bag cushion to the structural gas channel. During normal air bag cushion deployment, the air bag cushion is inflated by the inflator, thereby pulling the tether taut and pivoting the structural gas channel and the non-porous fabric gas channel to a position wherein the non-porous gas channel blocks the gas channel port and preventing gas from venting and loss of gas.
In a second embodiment of the present invention, the venting system comprises a plug located outside the canister and a pulling system to connect the plug to the air bag cushion. The plug could be connected directly to the air bag cushion by a plug tether, or indirectly by connecting the plug tether to an air bag-shaping tether. During normal deployment of the air bag cushion, the tether connected to the plug is made taut, thereby pulling the plug into the gas channel port and preventing any gas from venting therethrough.
In a third embodiment of the invention, the venting system comprises a non-porous fabric gas channel connecting the structural gas channel to the gas channel port, and a cinch tether attached to the air bag cushion and encircling the non-porous fabric gas channel, whereby deployment of the air bag cushion causes the cinch tether to cinch the non-porous fabric gas channel which prevents gas from venting through the gas channel port.


A display panel, a driving method, and a display device are provided. The display panel includes a pixel circuit and a light-emitting element. The pixel circuit includes a data-writing module, a driving module, a compensation module, and a first light-emission controller. The driving module is configured to provide driving current for the light-emitting element. The driving module includes a driving transistor, and the driving transistor is an NMOS transistor. The data-writing module is connected between a data-signal input terminal and a first terminal of the driving transistor for selectively providing a data signal for the driving module. The compensation module is configured to compensate a threshold voltage of the driving transistor. The first light-emission controller is connected between a first power signal terminal and a second terminal of the driving transistor for selectively providing a first power signal to the driving module.

In a display panel, a pixel circuit provides driving current required for display to a light-emitting element of the display panel, and controls whether the light-emitting element enters a light-emitting stage. Accordingly, a pixel circuit becomes an indispensable element in most of self-luminous display panels.
However, in a current display panel, as usage time increases, internal characteristics of a driving transistor in a pixel circuit may change. Accordingly, a threshold voltage of the driving transistor may drift, and overall characteristics of the driving transistor may thus be affected. As a result, display uniformity of the display panel may be affected.
The disclosed structures and methods are directed to solve one or more problems set forth above and other problems in the art.

Display panel, driving method, and display device

Xiamen Tianma Micro-Electronics Co., Ltd.


The subject disclosure is directed towards resolving an uncertain transportation context by suggesting one or more potential diversions. An automated routing system may generate routing information that includes map data as well as a location of a diversion having an expected cost in compliance with the uncertain transportation context. Such a diversion may be a waypoint that satisfies one or more user needs given an unknown/uncertain destination.

An individual traveling from one location to another location typically employs a map as a guide. A number of commonly available systems support map generation and route planning. By way of illustration, the user can input a start position and a destination/endpoint and the system can yield suitable driving directions and/or appropriate map(s) (e.g., highlighting a route). These systems may overlay the map with additional information, such as current traffic patterns, weather information and/or the like. These systems can be utilized in connection with other devices, such as personal computers, laptop computers, handhelds, cell phones and the like.
Vast amounts of information may be associated with the user's transportation context, including a current geographic location and, if the user is traveling, a surrounding geographic area. The destination also constitutes an integral part of the transportation context. However, conventional systems employing Global Positioning System (GPS)-based techniques (as well as other conventional techniques) typically require the user to directly input the destination. Users may not input a destination every time that they are traveling and thus, relevant information corresponding to the destination and/or an associated route may not be provided to the users. For instance, the user may not enter a destination when traveling to a location to which he/she often travels such as work, home, school and/or the like; accordingly, the relevant information is not provided. One example of such relevant information may indicate helpful waypoints en route to the destination, but such information is not provided if the destination is unknown or uncertain.


A pedestrian airbag apparatus includes a folded airbag and an inflator that supplies an inflation gas to the airbag. Upon completion of the inflation, the airbag includes a transversal inflation portion, two longitudinal inflation portions, and partitions including end-side partitions arranged to extend from both left and right ends of the transversal inflation portion inward in the left and right direction and thus to block front side regions of the longitudinal inflation portions. The airbag further includes tethers limiting a spacing distance from a storage portion for the airbag by connecting proximal portion sides of the tethers to regions on distal end sides of the end-side partitions and connecting distal end sides of the tethers to the storage portion.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a pedestrian airbag apparatus having an airbag configured to cover an upper surface region of a cowl and front surface regions of left and right front pillars upon completion of inflation.
2. Background Art
Conventionally, as a pedestrian airbag apparatus, one has been known in which an airbag thereof includes, upon completion of inflation, a transversal inflation portion arranged substantially along a left and right direction to cover an upper surface extending from a rear end of a hood panel to a lower portion of a front wind shield arranged on a rear side of the hood panel, and two longitudinal inflation portions adapted to extend from both ends of the transversal inflation portion toward the rear side and to cover front surfaces of left and right front pillars. In such a conventional pedestrian airbag apparatus, the transversal inflation portion of the airbag includes partitions intermittently formed substantially along the left and right direction, and gas communication passages penetrated in a front and rear direction in regions between the partitions, and thus an inner region of the transversal inflation portion is partitioned into transversal cell sections arranged side by side in the front and rear direction. Also, in the airbag, a gas inlet connected to an inflator is arranged on the front transversal cell section arranged on the front side, and the front transversal cell section is configured to cover an upper surface of the rear end of the hood panel upon completion of inflation (e.g., see JP-A-2006-327360). In addition, according to the conventional airbag, a tether is arranged to be connected to a storage portion at a location near a connection region of the transversal inflation portion to the longitudinal inflation portions, thereby limiting a spacing distance from the storage portion.
[Patent Document 1] JP-A-2006-327360
However, in such a conventional pedestrian airbag apparatus, the partitions for partitioning the transversal inflation portion are not arranged on regions in front of the longitudinal inflation portions, and thus an inflation gas flowed into the front transversal cell section from the gas inlet is directly introduced into the longitudinal inflation portions from both left and right ends of the front transversal cell section. Therefore, even if the tether is arranged at such a location near the connection region of the transversal inflation portion to the longitudinal inflation portions to limit a spacing distance from the storage portion, because the inflation gas is directly introduced into the longitudinal inflation portions from both left and right ends of the front transversal cell section upon initial inflation of the airbag, it is difficult to inhibit regions (regions on outer edge sides in a vehicle width direction) on proximal portion sides of the longitudinal inflation portions from floating from the storage portion, and accordingly, there is room for improvement in terms of quickly deploying the longitudinal inflation portions while inhibiting floating or fluttering.
Accordingly, in order to solve the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a pedestrian airbag apparatus, in which longitudinal inflation portions can be inhibited from floating from a storage portion or from fluttering upon deployment and inflation of an airbag, thereby quickly covering front surfaces of front pillars.