An electronic apparatus includes a case body having an opening in an upper side thereof, an annular groove provided on the outer periphery of the opening and an engaging hole in a portion of the case above the annular groove, an annular sealing ring inserted into the annular groove, a frame for supporting printed circuit boards on which electronic circuitry is mounted, the frame being formed to include a terminal base provided on the side of the opening of the case body, and having a resilient projection for mating with the engaging hole of the case body from an inner side thereof, and a main body cover provided with an inwardly directed projection for mating with the engaging hole of the case body from an outer side thereof, the main body cover covering the opening by mating the projection with the engaging hole of the case body.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an electronic apparatus which includes a photoelectric switch.
2. Description of the Related Art
As shown for example in FIGS. 28 and 29, which are longitudinal sectional views as seen from different directions, a photoelectric switch includes a case 101 having an opening, an element holder 104 mounted at the opening and having an infrared light-emitting diode 102 and a phototransistor 103, and lenses 105 provided on respective optic axes. The case opening is closed by the lenses 105. A plate 106 is provided on the upper portion of the case 101, and light-emitting diodes 107, 108 for display purposes are provided on a predetermined portion of the plate. Also provided on the plate are dials or the like for sensitivity adjustment. The photoelectric switch also includes a terminal base portion 109, which is for switching on and off an externally applied signal, provided below a printed circuit board 112. A cable is inserted from an opening 110 provided in the back side of the case and is fixedly connected to a terminal on the terminal base portion 109.
With a photoelectric switch of this kind, the terminal base portion 109 provided with the terminal to which the cable is connected is situated at the lower part of the photoelectric switch. Consequently, after the printed circuit board 112 has been mounted on the upper portion, it is difficult to attach and detach the terminus of the cable and labor is required for wiring and maintenance operations. Further, a sealing structure between the lenses and a frame is achieved by providing an O-ring between a cover and the case, which has an L-shaped cross section, by way of example. However, a sufficiently air-tight and water-proof structure cannot be obtained owing to gaps between the lenses and frame and movement of the cover. Though use is also made of a photoelectric switch in which the frame is provided inside the case, the element holder and the frame are not designed as a unitary body. Consequently, more labor is needed for mounting and the molds needed are more complicated. The end result is higher manufacturing cost.
Furthermore, with a photoelectric switch of this type, the connecting portion between the terminal base and the printed circuit board is not so designed that the pin of a terminal attaching piece 111 is introduced into the printed circuit board 112. Accordingly, the terminal attaching piece 111 and the printed circuit board 112 are connected at a position indicated by a soldered portion 113. As a consequence, inserting the terminal attaching piece into the printed circuit board and soldering them together is difficult and results in poor assembly operability. In addition, there is little tensile strength in the direction of the arrow and automatic assembly is not possible.
In photoelectric switches and the like, a frame is provided within a case in order to fix a variety of parts. A printed circuit board is attached to the frame. In a case where a display lamp such as a light-emitting diode is attached to the printed circuit board, as shown in the top view of FIG. 30 and sectional view of FIG. 31, an opening 122 is formed in a frame 121, holes are provided in a printed circuit board 123 at a position corresponding to the opening 122, a display element 124 is inserted from above into the opening 122 of the frame 121 and into terminal holes of the printed circuit board 123, and the display element is attached by being soldered from below.
In an electronic apparatus of this kind, the fact that the display element 124 is inserted from the opening 122 at the upper side of the frame 121 makes it difficult to insert the terminals of the display lamp into the holes of the printed circuit board 123. In addition, assembly operability is poor since the soldering operation is performed by hand. Furthermore, a great deal of labor is involved and automatic assembly is not feasible.
In another photoelectric switch, as shown for example in the sectional view of FIG. 32, a holding portion 132 of a photoelectric element 131 to which are attached a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element is provided inside a case 130. There are cases in which a filter 133 such as a color filter or polarizing filter is attached to a horn-shaped part of the photoelectric element holding portion 132. When the filter is attached in the photoelectric switch of this type, the filter 133 is inserted into a portion cut away into a rectangular shape to conform to the shape of the filter 133, as shown in FIG. 33 which is a front view of the photoelectric element holding portion 132, and the horn-shaped portion surrounding the filter is deformed as by a soldering iron to secure the filter 133. Further, as shown in FIG. 34, the photoelectric element holding portion is provided with bosses 134, 135, the filter 133 is inserted into the rectangularly shaped cut-out portion of the horn-shaped holding member 132 with openings in the filter 133 being registered with the bosses 134, 135, and the bosses 134, 135 are deformed by heat to fix the filter 133.
However, in a photoelectric switch having such a filter, it is necessary to attach the filter at a position deep within the horn-shaped part of the photoelectric element holding portion. As a result, not only is an operation such as heat-caulking difficult to perform and greater labor required, but the filter may be damaged and cannot be secured normally. This tends to result in defective articles.
Photoelectric switches are classified into three types, names a transmission type, diffuse reflection type and regressive reflection type. In the reflection-type photoelectric switches, it is necessary to provide a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element at the front side of the case. Since the transmission-type photoelectric switch has a configuration in which the light-emitting element and light-receiving element are separated, only one of these is disposed on the front side of the switch. In order to converge the light beams from these photoelectric elements on a predetermined area or condense the reflected light beams, a lens is provided on the front side of the case. Each switch has its own special case depending upon switch type, and the arrangement is such that the lens is attached to the front side of the case and the light-emitting and/or light-receiving elements are secured within the case.
In accordance with a photoelectric switch of this kind, a different case is required for each kind of photoelectric switch. As a result, there are a large variety of parts and a great number of molds involved. This not only raises price but also complicates maintenance. If the transmission type photoelectric switch is adapted to use the same case as the reflection-type photoelectric switches in order that common cases can be employed, the lens will be offset far from the center of the photoelectric switch. This is undesirable in that it detracts from the appearance of the switch and therefore diminishes its commercial value.
In the photoelectric switch shown in FIGS. 28 and 29, no cover is provided for covering the terminals on the terminal base within the case. Accordingly, in cases where a commercial AC power supply is directly connected at the time of connection or adjustment, there is the danger of electric shock.
In order to protect the elements and circuitry mounted on the printed circuit board against electromagnetic noise, a shielding plate is attached to the printed circuit board of the electronic apparatus. In such case, projections 142 are provided on the bottom side of a box-shaped shielding plate 141, as shown in FIGS. 35 and 36, a printed circuit board 143 is provided with openings 143a at positions corresponding to these projections, the projections 142 are inserted into the corresponding openings 143a and the tips thereof are bent to secure the shielding plate 141, after which the projections 142 are connected by solder or the like to a grounded wiring pattern on the printed circuit board 143. The shielding plate 141 is thus attached to the printed circuit board 143.
In an electronic apparatus of this kind, it is necessary to insert the projections into the openings in the printed cirCuit board and bend the projections when attaching the shielding plate. This is a drawback in that labor is required at the time of assembly.
Furthermore, when an individual part 152 such as a light-emitting diode is attached to a printed circuit board 144, as shown in FIG. 37, the individual part 152 is retained in a holding portion 153 and an electrode pin 152a of the part is bent beforehand. The pin 152a is registered with and inserted into an opening 145 provided in the printed circuit board 144 and the pin is electrically connected and secured by soldering to a wiring pattern on the printed circuit board 144.
When the individual part is attached in this conventional arrangement, however, it is difficult to make the bend angle of the electrode pin 152a uniform, so that disparities in the bend angle usually occur. As a result, the electrode pin cannot be readily inserted into the opening 145 of the printed circuit board 144. In particular, when the assembly of the electronic apparatus is performed automatically, the electrode pin cannot be inserted into the opening of the printed circuit board unless the pin is bent appropriately. As a consequence, automation is difficult to achieve and assembly operability is poor when assembly is performed by hand.

Electronic apparatus including photoelectric switch


A tilt sensor 23 is provided on a CD optical pickup 11, and a sub-chassis 24 and a height adjustment mechanism 25 and the like are provided for adjusting the tilt of a DVD optical pickup 12. A recording or reproduction position is read in by the DVD optical pickup 12 while moving the CD optical pickup 11 and the DVD optical pickup 12 along guide shafts 18 and 26 respectively, the amount of tilt of the optical disk 16 at this position is detected by the tilt sensor 23 of the CD optical pickup 11, the tilt of the laser light axis from the DVD optical pickup 12 is adjusted in accordance with the amount of tilt that is detected, and the amount of tilt of the optical disk 16 is corrected.

As is well known, because the basic material of optical disks is synthetic resin, they may deform in a curve when formed. When a deformed disk is loaded onto a turntable of an optical disk drive, the recording surface of the optical disk is tilted with respect to an optical pickup, and laser light that is emitted from the optical pickup may not be radiated perpendicularly onto the recording surface of the optical disk. In this state, the spot of the laser light on the recording surface of the optical disk deforms generating coma aberration, and causing recording and reproduction errors of the optical disk.
Thus, for example JP H9-7207A discloses a technique for detecting the tilt angle (amount of tilt) of a recording surface of an optical disk while adjusting the tilt of a laser light axis from an optical pickup in accordance with the amount of tilt that is detected, and causing the laser light that is emitted from the optical pickup to be perpendicularly incident on the recording surface of the optical disk to correct the amount of tilt.
FIG. 3 shows an example of a conventional optical disk drive device. In this device, an optical disk 101 is clamped between a damper 102 and a turntable 103, and the turntable 103 is rotated by a spindle motor 104. Furthermore, the spindle motor 104 is fixably supported by a main chassis 105. One end of a sub-chassis 106 is linked to the main chassis 105 by a shaft 106a to support the sub-chassis 106 such that it is capable of tilting, and the other end of the sub-chassis 106 is freely supported by a support member 110 such that the sub-chassis 106 can move vertically with respect to the main chassis 105, and the other end of the sub-chassis 106 is elevated by a height adjusting mechanism 107 to control the tilt of the sub-chassis 106. A guide shaft 108 is fixed above the sub-chassis 106, an optical pickup 109 is supported by the guide shaft 108 such that it can freely move in the radial direction of the optical disk 101, and the optical pickup 109 is moved by a carrying mechanism 111. A tilt sensor 112 for detecting the tilt of the optical disk 101 is provided on the optical pickup 109.
Thus, while moving the optical pickup 109 in the radial direction of the optical disk 101, the amount of tilt of the optical disk 101 is detected by the tilt sensor 112 at the same time as recording or reproducing the optical disk 101 with the optical pickup 109, the tilt of the sub-chassis 106 is adjusted in accordance with the amount of tilt of the optical disk 101 by the height adjustment mechanism 107 to adjust the tilt of the optical pickup 109, and the laser light that is emitted from the optical pickup 109 is perpendicularly irradiated onto the recording surface of the optical disk 101. Thus, the amount of tilt is corrected.
Furthermore, JP 2000-76679A discloses a technique in which an optical pickup that contains two optical system for handling two different types of optical disks is used, wherein when one optical system is used for recording or reproducing an optical disk, the amount of tilt of the optical disk is detected by the other optical system.
However, in the techniques of both JP H9-7207A and JP 2000-76679A, the position for detecting the amount of tilt of the optical disk is fixed with respect to the position for recording or reproducing the optical disk, and it has not been possible to adjust (move) the position for detecting the amount of tilt with respect to the position for recording or reproduction during recording or reproduction. For example, in the technique of JP 9-7207A, it has not been possible to let the position for detecting the amount of tilt coincide with the position for recording or reproduction.
Furthermore, in the technique of JP 2000-76679A, if the laser wavelengths differ, then when one optical system is focused for recording or reproducing an optical disk, the focus of the other optical system is lost. Thus, the detection of the tilt of the optical disk with the other optical system may be adversely affected by fluctuations in, for example, the thickness of the substrate or refractive index of the optical disk.
Thus, in view of the above-noted conventional problems, and on the precondition that at least two optical pickups are provided for recording or reproducing optical disks such as CD (Compact Disc) and DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), it is an object of the present invention to provide an optical disk drive device that is capable of adjusting the position for detecting the amount of tilt in the radial direction of the optical disk with respect to the position for recording or reproduction while detecting the amount of tilt at the same time as recording or reproducing the optical disk, and to provide a method for correcting the tilt of the optical pickup.

Optical disk drive device and method for correcting tilt of optical pickup


A clamping apparatus for a tiebarless injection moulding machine is arranged to absorb all of the clamping forces. The machine has a machine frame supporting a fixed platen and a movable platen which carry mould halves. The movable platen is slidable along linear guide rails as is a force transmission member or second movable platen incorporated in a drive for the movable platen. The drive comprises a hydraulic cylinder and piston unit. A clamping structure has two, parallel clamping frames, each of which is substantially U-shaped so that upstanding clamping arms are defined in each clamping frame. Each clamping arm terminates in a respective force transmission part which has a curved surface and which abuts a respective one of the fixed platen and the second movable platen. When a moulding operation is undertaken, the mould halves carried by the fixed and movable platens are brought into clamping contact. The fixed platen remains contacted by force transmitting parts of the clamping frames and the second movable platen also contacts the force transmitting parts of the clamping frames. When full clamping force is applied to the mould halves, the curved surfaces of the parts receive the reaction forces and transmit those forces to the clamping frames which become deformed due to the absorption of the clamping forces. The absorption of the forces by the clamping frames, protects the machine frame against any deformation by the clamping forces.

The present invention relates to a clamping apparatus for a tiebarless injection moulding machine.
Tiebarless injection moulding machines offer better access to the moulding tool, and thereby facilitate and reduce the set up time of the machine each time the moulding tool is changed. Of course, as a tiebarless moulding machine does not have tiebars to absorb the huge forces transmitted to the platens and moulding tool during a moulding process it is imperative to have a properly designed mechanism to absorb the forces. In this respect, it is necessary that the two mould halves forming the moulding tool remain accurately aligned with each other whilst the two halves are pressed together and under application of high pressure.
Several attempts have been made to provide a tiebarless injection moulding machine which is able to deal with the clamping forces in a satisfactory manner.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,354,196 describes a clamping apparatus for a tiebarless injection moulding machine having a machine frame, the clamping apparatus comprising a fixed platen fixed to the machine frame, a movable platen supported by said machine frame, drive means for moving said movable platen towards and away from said fixed platen, and a clamping structure for maintaining the fixed and movable platens in a clamping position, wherein, in the clamping position of the fixed and movable platens, a respective part of the clamping structure is in force transmitting relationship with each of the fixed and movable platens such that the clamping structure is able to absorb clamping forces.
In the arrangement of U.S. Pat. No. 5,354,196 the clamping structure absorbs the clamping forces, whereby the base machine frame is kept from bending, and whereby a tight fit between the two platens is ensured. The arrangement provides a double structure in which the machine frame is isolated from the deforming effects of the clamping forces. Transmission of the clamping forces to the platens is achieved by way of pivotal joints.
However, the structure of U.S. Pat. No. 5,354,196 is somewhat complex and presents a number of practical limitations. Most notably, it has been found difficult to provide pivotal joints which can reliably transmit the huge clamping forces required, whilst preserving the rotational freedom required between the machine frame and the clamping structure.

Clamping apparatus for a tiebarless injection moulding machine


A system provides for the distribution of intellectual property logic blocks from a source to a user wherein the user may use the logic blocks during development but is prevented from using the block in production without permission. A sensor is connected in parallel with a first signal from the block and in series with a second signal from the block. When activity on the first signal exceeds a predetermined count, the output of the second signal is corrupted. In some embodiments all such sensors are connected to an aggregator which allows all blocks to continue to operate until all of them have exceeded their predetermined activity count. A state machine compares the values of two keys, one stored within the block, to another value stored in the state machine controller, and allows the block to be used in production if the key values coincide.

Field programmable devices, especially field programmable gate arrays, are often used by product designers for implementing the desired logic when prototyping a system, and sometimes for a production system. Their use involves combining digital logic gates to provide certain digital functions by the device. The logic may be completely created by the designer using logic descriptive codings, such as the well-known Verilog, RTL, and such. While such is needed for custom logic and the interconnect between functional blocks, designers often times purchase pre-designed logical blocks from third party vendors, reusing the vendors' intellectual property ("IP"). This is less expensive and more faithful since the blocks are well simulated and tested by the provider, making development of the final combined product faster. For example, one may buy a logical block for serial communication, buffer management, floating point calculating and such rather than "inventing" them from scratch.
Vendors of logical blocks are motivated to allow potential customers to try a logical block to verify operation, but are concerned that a designer might download the logical block, program it into a field programmable device, and thereby be able to replicate the device, including the proprietary logic, for free.
To date, the generally accepted solution to this problem has been the use of legal evaluation agreements between the vendor and prospective purchaser which limit the use of the logic to a short period of time and expressly prohibit its use in production products. Such legal solutions inhibit effective selling and marketing of third party logic blocks using modern techniques such as those used by other types of products on the internet.
Some IP vendors have implemented crude solutions by placing clock counters within their proprietary logic. The counters shut off a clock signal when the counter saturates (or, "counts out"), thereby making the chip unusable. The problems with this approach are threefold. First, the fact that the logic is a simple standard counter and tied to the clock makes it easy to detect and be disconnected by a skilled engineer, thereby defeating the protection mechanism. Second, such solutions are not cognizant of the fact that many logic blocks are likely to be placed into the same system to create interoperability, and therefore one block may arbitrarily shut off portions of the chip before other sections of have run long enough to show interoperability, making the total design difficult or impossible to verify. Third, it is a common practice to circumvent clock based systems simply by periodically resetting the system before the counters saturate.
What is needed for today's complex system designs to enable more effective selling techniques is a means of limiting the use of proprietary logic blocks within a functioning system that limits the functionality of the logic so as to make it unusable in a production environment while enabling its functionality and interoperability to be fully tested.

Apparatus for controlling the usability of intellectual property within a programmable device and method of using


A method and apparatus for correcting deviation of a temperature sensor placed in a header having a plurality of nozzles in an inkjet printer is provided. The deviation correcting method includes spraying ink through the nozzles a predetermined number of times, measuring a temperature of the temperature sensor corresponding to the number of sprayed times, measuring a voltage output from the temperature sensor, and determining a correction value of the temperature sensor using the measured temperature and the output voltage. According to the method and apparatus, it is possible to correct a large amount of deviation of a thermistor in a header without using an additional element, that is, an ambient sensor. Therefore, since an expensive ambient sensor is not used, costs can be reduced and a printer circuit configuration is simplified.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inkjet printer. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for correcting deviation of a temperature sensor placed in a header having a plurality of nozzles in an inkjet printer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Inkjet printers spray ink through a plurality of nozzles placed in a header by driving heaters placed in the header. Although the same driving pulse signal is applied to the header, a different amount of ink is sprayed based on a substrate temperature of the header. Since a print quality is affected by the substrate temperature of the header, there is a need for a printer to correctly detect a temperature in order to apply a driving pulse signal suitable for the temperature. For example, when it is low in temperature, the substrate is heated to increase the temperature. Conversely, when it is high in temperature, the driving pulse signal is decreased or the printer waits until the temperature falls.
Generally, a thermistor is used as a temperature sensor for sensing the temperature of the inkjet printer header. The thermistor is a thermally sensitive resistor whose resistance is changed sensitively according to change of a temperature. A voltage output from the thermistor is amplified in order to measure the temperature of the header. Then, the amplified analog output voltage is converted into a digital form. The temperature of the thermistor, that is, the temperature of the header can be measured based on the digitized output voltage. Normally, there is large deviation of ±20% in the thermistor. Thus, there is a need to correct the deviation of the thermistor for more accurate temperature readings.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,628,906, entitled "Image forming apparatus with temperature based control" discloses an image forming apparatus for sensing a temperature using such a thermistor.
As described above, it is needed to correct the deviation of the thermistor in the printer. In order to correct the deviation, a relatively high-priced ambient sensor, which is a sensor for sensing an ambient temperature, is placed in an engine board which is a main board of the printer. In order to correct the deviation of the thermistor in the printer having the ambient sensor, the voltage of the thermistor in the header is firstly measured. The output voltage from the thermistor corresponding to a current temperature is found by reading the accurate ambient sensor with respect to the measured voltage. Therefore, since the deviation of each thermistor is measured, the measured temperature of the thermistor can be corrected.
As described above, an IC (Integrated Circuit) type ambient sensor is additionally used in the engine board, in order to correct the deviation of the thermistor for sensing the temperature of the header in the conventional inkjet printer. However, there is a drawback that such an ambient sensor is expensive, even though it is accurate. Another drawback is that the printer circuit configuration is complicated.

Method and apparatus for correcting deviation of temperature sensor


In an image forming apparatus, a line width detection unit detects a line width from attribute data inputted from an attribute data input unit, an edge detection unit detects an edge from image data inputted from an image data input unit, and an AND calculation unit calculates an AND of results of these detections. A coefficient storage unit stores a coefficient set for each line width. A line width correction coefficient multiplication unit acquires a correction coefficient corresponding to the detected line width with regard to an edge and the detected pixel and performs a multiplication to thereby correct the line width.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, a line width control method and a line width control program product embodied in a computer readable medium. In particular, the present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, a line width control method and a line width control program product embodied in a computer readable medium each capable of reproducing a fine line of high quality.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a case that an image input apparatus such as a facsimile moves an original draft to read an image thereof, even when fine lines having a single width are read, those in a main scanning direction (lateral fine lines) are higher in output than those in a sub-scanning direction (vertical fine lines). Therefore, the fine lines in the sub-scanning direction are not corrected so much as compared with the fine lines in the main scanning direction. As a result, the lateral fine lines corresponding to the sub-scanning direction are degraded in image quality, for example, the lateral fine lines are patchy.
In order to overcome this problem, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 06-030267 (hereinafter, referred to as Patent Document 1) proposes an image reading apparatus capable of preventing patchy lateral fine lines and achieving improved image quality. According to this image reading apparatus, in a case that a lateral fine line minimum output is higher than a vertical fine line minimum output with regard to minimum output characteristics for a line width in an image input unit, a weight coefficient for a pixel in a sub-scanning direction is made larger than a weight coefficient for a pixel in a main scanning direction by an MFT correction in an image processing unit. Thus, a lateral fine line is prevented from being patchy upon read of an image.
However, even in image data inputted as described above, when a font is printed by an image forming apparatus such as an MP (Multi Function Peripheral), a dot tends to be expanded depending on performance of an engine. As a result, there arises a problem that reproducibility of a fine line is degraded.
When reproducibility of a fine line is degraded, the fine line can not be reproduced, so that there arises a problem that a type of a font can not be identified. In addition, the fine line is not outputted as a fine line, so that there arises a problem that an outputted image is degraded in quality. There also arises a problem that a font having a small size can not be identified.

Image forming apparatus capable of reproducing fine line of high quality

Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.


An IC chip package, in one embodiment, may include an IC chip including an upper surface including an overhang extending beyond a sidewall of the IC chip, and underfill material about the sidewall and under the overhang. The overhang prevents underfill material from extending over an upper surface of the IC chip. In another embodiment, a ball grid array (BGA) is first mounted to landing pads on a lower of two joined IC chip packages. Since the BGA is formed on the lower IC chip package first, the BGA acts as a dam for the underfill material thereon. The underfill material extends about the respective IC chip and surrounds a bottom portion of a plurality of solder elements of the BGA and at least a portion of respective landing pads thereof.

1. Technical Field
The disclosure relates generally to integrated circuit (IC) chip packaging, and more particularly, to an IC chip package having an IC chip with an overhang and/or ball grid array (BGA) blocking underfill material flow, and related methods.
2. Background Art
Package-on-package (PoP) is a new three-dimensional integrated circuit (IC) chip packaging technology that allows vertical integration of memory and logic ball grid array (BGA) modules. That is, a memory chip package and a logic chip package are stacked on top of one another to form an integrated package with a standard interface to route signals between them. PoP technology is of particular interest to the mobile market, e.g., for cell phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), camcorders, etc., because it provides for higher density of circuitry.
One challenge with PoP technology is controlling underfill material flow within the integrated package. Underfill material is designed to flow well to encase controlled collapse chip connectors (C4) under the chip, and typically requires approximately 2.5 millimeter (mm) of space around an IC chip. If such a space is not available (e.g., due to BGA pad locations), the underfill material needs to be stopped by other measures. This issue arises relative to PoP technology when, for example, the bottom package includes a flip chip plastic ball grid array (FC-PBGA). In this situation, as shown in FIG. 1, a top package 10 must be assembled to BGA pads 12 that are on a top surface 14 of a laminate 16 of a bottom package 18. Due to tight space constraints, as shown in left enlarged area in FIG. 1, underfill material 20 oftentimes can flow too far and contaminate, or even cover, BGA pads 12 and prevent joining of top package 10 to bottom package 18. As shown in FIG. 2, one current approach to this problem includes using a dam of ink 22 that is dispensed around IC chip 24 of bottom package 18 to stop underfill material 20 flow. This approach, however, presents a number of disadvantages such as increased cycle time and costs, additional equipment requirements, etc.
Another challenge related to controlling underfill material is maintaining the integrated chip package height very small. In this case, as shown in the right enlarged area in FIG. 1, limiting of underfill material 20 bleed on top of IC chip 24 of bottom package 18 is imperative since there is very limited space (S) between the bottom package's top surface 26 and a bottom surface 28 of top package 10. Currently, it is very difficult to underfill a thin chip while limiting the underfill material bleed on the chip packages' top surface to very small margins.

IC chip package having IC chip with overhang and/or BGA blocking underfill material flow and related methods

International Business Machines Corporation


An automatic color change paint spray system for vehicles moving along a production line which includes a paint spray device for painting. A first color change manifold is provided for supplying paint to the paint spray device. A paint feed tube connects the first color change manifold with the paint spray device. A second color change manifold is connected into the paint feed tube between the first color change manifold and the paint spray device, near the paint spray device.

Conventionally, an automatic color change paint spray system for vehicle bodies moving on a mass production line is generally composed of a spray nozzle or gun mounted on a travelling carriage and a plurality of color change valves mounted near the carriage connected to sources of paint by suitable hoses. The distance from the valves to the spray nozzle is about 4 to 5 meters. The valves are connected with the spray nozzle by a common manifold and a single hose. A thinner and air supplying valve unit is associated with the valves such that cleaning for a color change is carried out by cleaning the manifold and single hose connecting the manifold with the spray nozzle first by flushing with thinner or solvent and then drying with air. The automatic color change paint spray system is controlled by orders from a control unit. In use, the automatic color change paint spray system supplies a selected colored paint to the paint spray nozzle or gun by way of the single paint feed tube leading from the manifold to the spray gun. Japanese Patent Publication (Tokkosho) No. 59-50389 and other prior art discloses examples of such systems.
Although this known prior art system is generally satisfactory, its main drawback is that the distance from the paint color change valves to the spray gun is relatively long and due to the large number of paint colors for the vehicle painting that are presently required, diversification and the public's desire for more available colors, color change of successive vehicle bodies on the production line is more likely. Therefore, cleaning of the system for a color change occurs more frequently resulting in loss of paint and use of more solvent, air and power all of which result in a concomitant increase in cost.

Automatic color change paint spray system


A waveguide stub is connected to a pillar-type square-lattice photonic crystal waveguide. Within the waveguide stub, the diameter of a defect is made larger than that of the original photonic crystal waveguide thereby reducing the group velocity of a guided light. The original waveguide and the waveguide stub are smoothly connected via a taper waveguide. Because of low group velocity of light in the waveguide stub, free spectral range (FSR) decreases thereby allowing the size of the waveguide stub to be reduced.

It is desired that a technology appears for realizing an optical integrated circuit in which optical components are integrated like a transistor integrated circuit, in which electronic components are integrated. At present, an optical circuit is assembled by connecting optical components such as optical switches, wavelength filters, 3-dB couplers (optical couplers), etc. via optical waveguides such as optical fibers.
However, if a plurality of optical components can be integrated into a small chip, it is possible to dramatically reduce the volume, power consumption, and manufacturing cost of an optical circuit.
A host of technologies with the aim of realizing an optical integrated circuit have been developed so far, and among them is photonic crystal technology. A photonic crystal element or a photonic crystal, is, in a broad sense, a generic name for a structure in which the refractive index is periodically varied. In the present description, unless otherwise stated, "photonic crystal element" and "photonic crystal" are used as synonyms.
A photonic crystal has various special optical characteristics that originate from a periodic structure of refractive index distribution. The most representative characteristic is a photonic band gap (PBG). While, generally, light can pass through a photonic crystal, if periodic variation of refractive index within a photonic crystal is sufficiently large, light in a specific frequency band cannot propagate within the photonic crystal. A frequency band (or a wavelength band) of light in which light can pass through a photonic crystal is referred to as a photonic band. In contrast with that, a frequency band, light in which cannot be transmitted is called a photonic band gap (PBG) since it is a gap that is present between photonic bands. A plurality of PBGs may be present in different frequency bands. Photonic bands partitioned by PBGs are sometimes called a first band, a second band, a third band, etc. from the lower frequency side.
If a minute defect which disturbs the periodic structure of a refractive index (the periodicity of refractive index distribution) is present, light whose frequency is within a PBG will be confined in the minute defect. In that case, since only light whose frequency corresponds to the size of the defect is confined, a photonic crystal functions as an optical resonator. Therefore, such a photonic crystal can be employed as a frequency (wavelength) filter.
Moreover, when minute defects are successively positioned side by side in a line to form a line defect in a crystal, light whose frequency is within a PBG will be confined in the line defect and will propagate along the line defect. Therefore, such a photonic crystal can be employed as an optical waveguide. Such an optical waveguide formed within a photonic crystal is called a line-defect waveguide.
Once an optical filter and an optical waveguide are formed, it is possible to make up an optical functional element such as an optical modulator and an optical switch, etc. from one of them or a combination thereof. It is possible to make up an optical circuit by forming major optical functional elements within a photonic crystal and connecting those optical functional elements. From this reason, there are expectations for photonic crystals to be a platform for optical integrated circuits.
Here, in order to utilize the effect of a PBG in three mutually orthogonal directions x, y, z, the refractive index distribution of the photonic crystal is required to have a three-dimensional periodic structure. However, since a three dimensional periodic structure is complex, the manufacturing cost thereof tends to increase. Accordingly, it is often the case that a photonic crystal whose refractive index distribution has a two-dimensional periodic structure (hereafter, may be referred to as a "two-dimensional photonic crystal") is utilized. Specifically, a two-dimensional photonic crystal with a finite thickness, whose refractive index distribution has a periodicity in the substrate plane, but no periodicity in the thickness direction, is utilized. In such a case, the confinement of light in the thickness direction of the substrate is realized not by the effect of PBG, but by the total internal reflection caused by the refractive index difference.
Of course, it is noted that characteristics of a two-dimensional photonic crystal with a finite thickness will not be in perfect agreement with those of a two-dimensional photonic crystal with infinite thickness. However, if the refractive index distribution in the thickness direction of a two-dimensional photonic crystal with a finite thickness holds a mirror-reflection symmetry in a region in which light propagates, its optical characteristics substantially agree with those of a two-dimensional photonic crystal with infinite thickness. The performance prediction of a device made of a two-dimensional photonic crystal with infinite thickness is far easier than a performance prediction taking finite thickness into consideration. Accordingly, if it is possible to utilize a two-dimensional photonic crystal whose refractive index distribution holds a mirror-reflection symmetry, the design of a device which utilizes it will become easier.
So far, several specific structures of two-dimensional photonic crystals with finite thicknesses have been realized. Among them, a pillar-type square-lattice photonic crystal has a characteristic that the propagation speed of light in a line-defect waveguide is small in a wide band. That is, the group velocity is small. In general, using a waveguide in which the propagation speed of light is small makes it possible to create an optical circuit of the same function, with a short waveguide length. Therefore, a line-defect waveguide utilizing a pillar-type square-lattice photonic crystal is suitable for optical integrated circuits.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of a line-defect waveguide of a pillar-type square-lattice photonic crystal with a finite thickness.
As shown in FIG. 1, in the pillar-type square-lattice photonic crystal, circular pillar 1 made of a high dielectric constant material and having a finite height and circular pillar 2 having a smaller diameter than that of circular pillar 1 are disposed in small-dielectric-constant material 3 in a square-lattice pattern. Since the appearance in which these circular pillars are disposed in a square-lattice pattern resembles an appearance in which atoms are disposed in a lattice pattern in a crystal such as silicon and quartz, etc., and since this structure is for use in optics, it is called a "photonic crystal". Therefore, the materials for small-dielectric-constant material 3 and circular pillars 1 and 2 do not need to be crystalline, and can be amorphous.
In the case of the photonic crystal shown in FIG. 1, while circular pillar 1 is a circular pillar of a perfect photonic crystal, circular pillar 2 has a diameter smaller than that of circular pillar 1. Accordingly, circular pillar 2 is regarded as a defect introduced into a perfect crystal. In the following description, in order to discriminate a circular pillar of a perfect crystal from a circular pillar corresponding to a defect, in some cases, the former is called a "non-line-defect pillar", and the latter a "defect pillar", a "defect circular pillar", or a "line-defect pillar". However, it should be noted that that is not because the line-defect pillar itself has a defect.
Line defect pillars 2 of the photonic crystal shown in FIG. 1 are placed in a row on a certain straight line thereby forming a line, and a line-defect waveguide is formed with a line of line defect pillars 2, and non-line-defect pillars 1 in the periphery thereof. In the line-defect waveguide of the circular-pillar-type square-lattice photonic crystal shown in FIG. 1, the line of line defect pillars corresponds to the core of a total-internal-reflection confinement type waveguide, such as optical fiber; and the lattice of non-line-defect pillars on both sides thereof, and the dielectric material in the periphery correspond to the cladding. As, in the case of a total-internal-reflection confinement type waveguide, it functions as a waveguide only when a core and a cladding are present, in the case of a line-defect waveguide, it operates as a waveguide only when a line defect as well as non-line-defect pillars and a dielectric material in the periphery thereof are present.
Meanwhile, it is possible to give a waveguide of a photonic crystal a function such as filtering, etc. through a relatively simple structure. One type of such a waveguide structure is "Slab-type photonic crystal waveguide provided with resonator stub tuner" disclosed in JP2002-365599A. A short waveguide which is a "connection channel" is connected to a straight waveguide, and a "resonance stub" is connected to a point further from that position. The resonance stub resonates only at a specific wavelength within a transmission band of the straight waveguide. In the case of a light of a wavelength other than a resonance wavelength, the propagating light coming along the straight waveguide barely enters into the "resonator stub" and travels straight ahead as it is. In the case of a light of a resonance wavelength, since the light enters into the "resonator stub" and resonates, the propagating light coming along the straight waveguide will be reflected at the position where the "connection channel" is connected and returns to the original direction.
Thus, the waveguide in which a "resonance stub" is connected at the side of a straight waveguide can be used as a wavelength selection filter of a narrow band.
However, using the above described "resonator stub" results in a problem that, since it resonates only with a specific wavelength in the transmission band of the waveguide thereby operating as a filter, the resonator stub cannot be used when it is desirable to operate it as a filter for lights having a plurality of wavelengths in a wide band.


A component mounting machine includes a tool station and a determination section. The tool station detachably accommodates a holding member including a main body section which can hold a component to be mounted on a board and multiple identification sections which can identify multiple accommodation angles. The determination section determines an angle difference in which the accommodation angle of the holding member differs from a predetermined accommodation angle. At least one identification section of the multiple identification sections is defined as a first identification section, the at least one identification section being exposed when the accommodation angle of the holding member is the predetermined accommodation angle in a close state in which the multiple identification sections are partially covered by a shielding member. When the determination section cannot recognize the first identification section in the close state, the determination section attempts to recognize a second identification section.

A component mounting machine described Patent Literature 1 includes a nozzle station in which multiple suction nozzles, which can be exchanged for a suction nozzle held on a rotary head, are arranged in multiple rows. Specifically, each of the multiple suction nozzles includes a flange section in which one cutout is provided. In addition, in the nozzle station, one fixing pin is provided in an accommodation position for each of the multiple suction nozzles. Each of the multiple suction nozzles is detachably accommodated in the nozzle station in such a state that one cutout fits on the fixing pin. That is, an accommodation angle of the suction nozzle in the nozzle station is determined uniquely.


This invention relates to novel humanized and other recombinant or engineered antibodies or monoclonal antibodies to the vitronectin αvβ3 receptor and to the genes encoding same. Such antibodies are useful for the therapeutic and/or prophylactic treatment of αvβ3-mediated disorders, such as restenosis, in human patients.

Integrins are a superfamily of cell adhesion receptors, which are heterodimeric transmembrane glycoproteins expressed on a variety of cells. These cell surface adhesion receptors include the vitronectin receptor αvβ3. The vitronectin receptor αvβ3 is expressed on a number of cells, including endothelial, smooth muscle, osteoclast, and tumor cells, and, thus, it has a variety of functions.
For example, the αvβ3 receptor expressed on the membrane of osteoclast cells has been postulated to mediate the bone resorption process and contribute to the development of osteoporosis [Ross, et al., J. Biol. Chem., 1987, 262: 7703]. As another example, the αvβ3 receptor expressed on human aortic smooth muscle cells has been postulated to stimulate their migration into neointima, which leads to the formation of atherosclerosis and restenosis after angioplasty [Brown, et al., Cardiovascular Res., 1994, 28: 1815].
The connection between antagonism of the vitronectin receptor and restenosis after vascular procedures was referred to by Choi et al, J. Vasc. Surg., 1994, 19:125-34. International Patent Publication No. WO95/25543, published Mar. 9, 1995, refers to a method of inhibiting angiogenesis by administering an antagonist of the vitronectin receptor.
Additionally, a recent study referred to an αvβ3 antagonist as promoting tumor regression by inducing apoptosis of angiogenic blood vessels [P. C. Brooks, el al., Cell, 1994, 79: 1157-1164]. Similarly a murine monoclonal antibody LM609 developed to the vitronectin receptor reported in International Patent Publication No. WO89/05155, published Jun. 15, 1995, was referred to as useful in the inhibition of tumor growth. See, also, D. A. Cheresh el al, Cell, 1989, 57:59-69.
While passive immunotherapy employing monoclonal antibodies from a heterologous species (e.g., murine) has been suggested as a useful mechanism for treating or preventing various diseases or disorders, one alternative to reduce the risk of an undesirable immune response on the part of the patient directed against the foreign antibody is to employ "humanized" antibodies. These antibodies are substantially of human origin, with only the Complementarity Determining Regions (CDRs) and certain framework residues that influence CDR conformation being of non-human origin. Particularly useful examples of this approach for the treatment of some disorders are disclosed in PCT Application PCT/GB91/01554, Publication No. WO 92/04381 and PCT Application PCT/GB93/00725, Publication No. WO93/20210.
A second and more preferred approach is to employ fully human mAbs. Unfortunately, there have been few successes in producing human monoclonal antibodies through classic hybridoma technology. Indeed, acceptable human fusion partners have not been identified and murine myeloma fusion partners do not work well with human cells, yielding unstable and low producing hybridoma lines.
Novel human mAbs or humanized antibodies are particularly useful alone or in combination with existing molecules to form immunotherapeutic compositions. There remains a need in the art for fully human mAbs to vitronectin receptor αvβ3 or humanized antibodies thereto which can selectively block the integrin αvβ3 and display a long serum half-life.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Methods of producing mechanical pulps from lignocellulosic material including partial defibration of lignocellulosic material in a chip press followed by liquid impregnation, preheating the lignocellulosic material for 20 seconds or less at a pressure between 7.5 and 12 bar (gauge) prior to mechanically refining the lignocellulosic material in a primary mechanical refiner at a pressure between 7.5 and 12 bar (gauge), thus obtaining a high freeness pulp.

In an aspect, the present invention generally relates to producing a high freeness pulp from lignocellulosic feed material via mechanical and/or chemi-mechanical refining techniques that may be suitable for paperboard and absorbency grade applications.
Techniques for mechanical and chemi-mechanical refining are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,758,720 describes a mechanical or chemi-mechanical refining system that includes three major subsystems: preprocessing, pretreatment, and production or primary refining.
The '720 patent describes a conventional preprocessing subsystem, such that a feed material comprising wood chips is washed then maintained in a pre-streaming bin or the like at atmospheric conditions for a period of time typically in the range of 10 minutes to 1 hour before being conveyed to the pretreatment subsystem.
The '720 patent further describes a pretreatment subsystem that includes a pressurized rotary valve for maintaining pressure separation between the preprocessing subsystem and the balance of the pretreatment subsystem, a pressurized compression device (such as a screw press), a decompression zone or decompression region (which may be part of the screw press or connected to the discharge of the screw press), and a fiberizing device (such as a disc or conical refiner).
As described in the '720 patent, the environment within the compression device, the decompression zone, and the fiberizer are all maintained at a saturated steam atmosphere in the range of about 5-30 psig (i.e., 0.3-2.1 bar). The '720 patent describes a transfer screw interposed between the pressurized rotary valve and the compression device, whereby the time period during which the chips in the transfer screw are exposed to the saturated steam pressure and temperature conditions, before entering the screw press, can be controlled. As a minimum, the '720 patent teaches that chips should be conditioned for a period of 5 seconds in a saturated steam atmosphere at 5 psig pressure.
The principle application for pulps produced using the method of the '720 patent were for mechanical printing paper applications including newsprint and magazine grades; such pulps are typically produced at lower freeness, less than 150 ml, and require significant energy application. An important goal of the '720 patent was to lower the energy consumption of energy intensive mechanical printing grade pulps.
It is understood in the art that high preheating and refining temperatures, well above the lignin softening temperature, are preferred in order to produce high freeness mechanical pulp from wood chips with low shive content. Such pulps are well suited for paperboard middle ply applications and are preferably refined at pressure levels in the range of 90 psig or higher; well above that used to produce mechanical pulps for printing paper applications. A drawback of these higher pressure pulps is lower pulp brightness. A chemi-thermomechanical pulping technique utilizing such high temperatures for high freeness pulp is disclosed, e.g., in U.S. Pat. No. 5,879,510.
It is believed that the prior art for producing higher freeness mechanical pulps, while achieving acceptable properties such as low shive content and good inter-ply strength, may be deficient in other aspects including long fiber content (too high), long fiber bonding (too low), inter-ply surface strength at a given bulk (too low), unbleached and bleached pulp brightness (too low). Incremental gains in surface strength without a sacrifice (reduction) in pulp bulk is an extremely important attribute for enhancing the competitiveness of paperboard middle layer pulps.

Methods for producing high-freeness pulp

Andritz Technology and Asset Management GmbH


Disclosed is an ultrasonic oscillator that heats a target using ultrasonic waves. The ultrasonic oscillator includes: a plurality of ultrasonic oscillation elements that oscillates the ultrasonic waves; a retention portion that retains the plurality of ultrasonic oscillation elements in a state where the ultrasonic oscillation elements are arranged along a concave thereof opposing the heating target; and a controller that controls the ultrasonic oscillation elements so as to oscillate the ultrasonic waves.

In the prior art, there has been proposed an ultrasonic probe including: an oscillator for treatment that has a plurality of arrayed first oscillation elements and applies ultrasonic waves for treatment to a subject; and an oscillator for diagnosis that has a plurality of arrayed second oscillation elements and applies ultrasonic waves for diagnosis to the subject and receives the ultrasonic waves for diagnosis reflected by the subject, in which the oscillator for treatment and the oscillator for diagnosis are stacked on top of one another (see WO 2004/066856).
In addition, there has been proposed an ultrasonic treatment device including: an ultrasonic generation source that generates ultrasonic waves for treatment; and drive means that drives the ultrasonic generation source such that the frequencies of the ultrasonic waves for treatment generated from the ultrasonic generation source change with time (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H8-131454).
In the prior art, there have been proposed devices that oscillate ultrasonic waves to heat targets. For the conventional devices, however, users are required to mechanically control the positions of ultrasonic oscillation elements with high accuracy so as to adjust correctly the positions that are heated using ultrasonic waves, and thus the burden that falls on the users operating such devices is heavy. Further, when such heating is used for treatment, persons to be treated are also forced to bear heavy burdens due to the considerable time required for preparations before the heating, severe limitations on the persons' body movement during the treatment, and so on.
In view of the above problems, the present invention has an object of correctly heating a target with simpler device configuration and user operations than in the prior art.


A fast method of verifying a lithographic mask design is provided wherein catastrophic errors are identified by iteratively simulating and verifying images for the mask layout using progressively more accurate image models, including optical and resist models. Progressively accurate optical models include SOCS kernels that provide successively less influence. Corresponding resist models are constructed that may include only SOCS kernel terms corresponding to the optical model, or may include image trait terms of varying influence ranges. Errors associated with excessive light, such as bridging, side-lobe or SRAF printing errors, are preferably identified with bright field simulations, while errors associated with insufficient light, such as necking or line-end shortening overlay errors, are preferably identified with dark field simulations.

This invention relates generally to the field of optical lithography, and more particularly, to a method for verifying the accuracy of the results of an Model Based Optical Proximity Correction (MBOPC) software tool for use in an optical lithography simulation, to provide accurate correction of the device shapes in a photo-mask that fulfill required performance criteria for the resulting Very Large Scale Integrated (VLSI) circuit.
The optical micro-lithography process in semiconductor fabrication, also known as the photolithography process, consists of duplicating desired circuit patterns onto semiconductor wafers for an overall desired circuit performance. The desired circuit patterns are typically represented as opaque, complete and semi-transparent regions on a template commonly referred to as a photomask. In optical micro-lithography, patterns on the photo-mask template are projected onto the photo-resist coated wafer by way of optical imaging through an exposure system.
The continuous advancement of VLSI chip manufacturing technology to meet Moore's law of shrinking device dimensions in geometric progression has spurred the development of Resolution Enhancement Techniques (RET) and Optical Proximity Correction (OPC) methodologies in optical microlithography. The latter is the method of choice for chip manufacturers for the foreseeable future due to its high volume yield in manufacturing and past history of success. However, the ever shrinking device dimensions combined with the desire to enhance circuit performance in the deep sub-wavelength domain require complex OPC methodologies to ensure the fidelity of mask patterns on the printed wafer.
The ever increasing cost of mask manufacturing and inspection and the ever increasing complexity of OPC and RET require that the mask is correctly and accurately simulated for potential defects before the mask is manufactured. This area is generally known as Mask Manufacturability Verification or printability verification. Accurate simulation is the primary focus of Printability Verification. This means that the Printability Verification simulation should not miss any real error on the mask. The cost of finding the error when the mask is actually manufactured and is being used for chip manufacturing is extremely high. Nevertheless, there are two other equally important objectives of a Printability Verification tool. First it needs to be done as quickly as possible. The feedback from the Printability Verification is used for development of OPC and RET. A fast feedback is useful to minimize the Turn around Time (TAT) for OPC and RET developments. Second there should be as few false errors as possible. A false error is defined as error identified by Printability Verification using its simulation tool, which does not happen on the wafer. Since, a missed error is significantly more expensive than a false error, all printability verification tools are expected to err on the conservative side. However, since each error, whether false or real needs to be checked manually, it is important that there are not too many false errors either. If there are too many false errors, the real errors may be missed by the manual inspection and also it would require a lot of time to shift through all the false errors to find the real errors.
Optical models used in printability verification are typically the same optical models that may be used in model-based optical proximity correction (MBOPC). These approaches are in one form or another, related to the Sum of Coherent Source (SOCS) method, which is an algorithm for efficient calculation of the bilinear transform of the Hopkins integral, to be described in more detail below. The SOCS approximation of the Hopkins integral involves convolution of Hopkins kernels (eigenfunctions).
Current printability verification methods tend to simulate the whole mask layout image with the most accurate model using very conservative criteria. This tends to increase the runtime of the printability verification along with the number of false errors.
In current art, printability verification is done with the largest number of Hopkins kernels that are computationally possible. The larger the number of the kernels used, the greater the accuracy of the resulting simulated image. On the other hand with as the number of kernels used increases, the runtime performance for printability verification gets slowed down considerably. The same simulation accuracy is used over the whole layout irrespective of whether there is any error or not. Typically, over the majority of the layout, there are no printability errors. Furthermore, the goal of printability verification is to determine the existence of errors in printability, and identify such errors, rather than accurately determining what the image will look like. However, it is also important that any real printability errors are not missed as a result of less accurate simulations.
In view of the above, there is a need for a fast method of mask printability verification that is efficient in identifying printability errors without missing any such errors.

Printability verification by progressive modeling accuracy


A method and apparatus for continuously presenting a sample from a stream of particulate material which contains crystalline substances and for effectively continuously analysing the sample by X-ray diffraction are provided. An extracted sample flow is fed onto a continuously moving carrier and its surface smoothed and flattened for X-ray diffraction patterns to be detected and analysed to provide a compositional analysis for the crystalline substances. The sample is continuously removed from the carrier prior to further sample being fed onto the carrier. The invention is particularly applicable for phase composition analysis of cement and cement clinker and provides an effectively continuous analysis substantially in real time in contrast to prior art laboratory analyses of discrete samples.

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for continuously presenting a sample from a stream of particulate material which contains crystalline substances and effectively continuously analysing the sample by X-ray diffraction (XRD). More particularly, the present invention relates to phase composition analysis of cement and cement clinker and will be described in relation to this application, however it is to be understood the invention is applicable for analysing other materials which include crystalline substances, such as for example from mineral processing streams.
In the manufacture of cement, feedstock materials such as limestone, shale, sand and iron oxide are blended, milled and then fired in a kiln from which cement clinker is derived. The cement clinker with some additives, is then milled to produce cement. The milling, which is the final stage in manufacturing cement, is usually carried out in a ball mill, ie a rotary mill which contains a charge of steel balls. As the mill rotates the input materials (mainly cement clinker and small amounts of additives such as gypsum, limestone and sometimes fly ash) are ground and mixed to a fine state or powder.
X-ray diffraction measurements may be made on the cement clinker from the kiln, the clinker being suitably cooled and crushed to a fine powder for the measurements. Such measurements can provide information on the ratios between the different clinker phases and on the percentage of free lime. The strength of a final cement product is significantly determined by these phase ratios, and the amount of free lime is an indicator of the degree of burning in the kiln. Furthermore, the mineralogical composition can provide information regarding temperature profiles in the kiln, and indicate deviations from the optimum. Thus such X-ray diffraction measurements, if available on line, would provide information which can be used to control the kiln operation, burner adjustment and hence product quality.
X-ray diffraction measurements may also be made on the cement powder from the cement finish mill. These can provide information on the ratios of gypsum and other additives in the cement, information about crystal phases in the cement clinker, information on free lime and portlandite (prehydration) and on the degree of dehydration of the gypsum. Such ratios also affect the strength of the final cement product and the degree of gypsum dehydration affects the cement setting time. Thus, if these measurements were available on-line, information would be provided which can be used to control the milling and thus the quality of the final cement product. By way of example, the hydration states of gypsum in conjunction with the free lime and calcium aluminate content and form can be used to predict setting times. Furthermore, the finish mill operating temperature can be used to adjust the gypsum dehydration and hence control setting times. By way of further example, the mineralogical composition can be used to predict the strength development of cement product. The composition and fineness of the cement can then be adjusted to provide a target cement strength.
Heretofore to the applicant""s knowledge, X-ray diffraction measurements of ex-kiln cement clinker and ex-mill cement powder have generally been laboratory based. For such measurements, a sample of the process stream, which may be taken automatically or by hand, is delivered to the laboratory where individual sample pellets, of the order of only a few grams, are prepared and presented to the XRD machine, either by hand or using robotics. The time taken for such sample preparation and measurement limits the usefulness of the information for process control. Furthermore, the extra grinding required to reduce the particle size to enable static samples to be analysed by the X-ray analysis may cause changes in the dehydration states for milled cement.
According to a first aspect, the present invention provides a method for analysing a stream of particulate material containing crystalline substances including
(i) extracting a sample flow from the stream of particulate material,
(ii) preparing the sample flow for X-ray diffraction measurements and conveying the so prepared sample flow through a measurement station,
(iii) directing an X-ray beam onto the sample flow as it passes through the measurement station and detecting diffracted X-rays over an angular range to provide a diffraction pattern,
(iv) analysing the diffraction pattern to determine a composition for crystalline substances in the sample,
(v) repeating step (iii) to provide diffraction patterns from the continuously moving sample at predetermined intervals, and
(vi) repeating step (iv) for each diffraction pattern from step (v),
whereby a series of sequential composition determinations from the sample flow are provided which represent the composition of crystalline substances in the stream of particulate material.
It will be appreciated that the above described method can provide a wide angular range diffraction pattern at short intervals from a continuously moving sample. The series of sequential composition determinations from such patterns represents the composition of the stream of particulate material substantially in real time. The series of composition determinations also gives effectively a xe2x80x9ccontinuousxe2x80x9d analysis of the stream of particulate material (the term xe2x80x9ccontinuousxe2x80x9d in this context meaning continuing discrete compositional determinations separated by short time intervals).
Preferably the diffracted X-rays of step (iii) are simultaneously detected over the angular range.
Preferably the diffraction patterns are analysed using a whole pattern analysis method, for example the Rietveld method.
Preferably step (ii) includes feeding the sample onto a continuously moving carrier and smoothing and flattening its surface and more preferably the sample is formed into a bed on the moving carrier. Preferably the carrier includes an endless groove for receiving the sample and into which the sample is preferably packed to form the bed. The preparation of the sample flow is to ensure that the sample surface is presented to the measurement station at a constant height. Following step (iii) the sample is continuously removed from the carrier prior to feeding further sample onto the carrier.
Using this invention, extra grinding of an ex-mill cement sample is not required because the moving sample presented to an X-ray diffraction machine ensures that even with larger particle sizes, a suitable number of particles can be expected to be oriented in such ways as to fulfil the Bragg condition for diffraction from every possible interplanar spacing. This improves the quality of the XRD data by improving the particle statistics. Preferably the sample is fed onto a carrier having an endless groove at a rate such that the groove is overfilled, in which case excess sample is removed from the carrier and the sample in the groove suitably presented for packing thereinto.
According to a second aspect the invention provides a method for continuously presenting a sample from a stream of particulate material containing crystalline substances for obtaining X-ray diffraction analyses of the particulate material, including
(i) extracting a sample flow from the stream of particulate material,
(ii) feeding the sample flow onto a continuously moving carrier and smoothing and flattening its surface,
(iii) continuously moving the carrier to move the sample through a station for performing X-ray diffraction measurements on said flat and smooth sample surface, and
(iv) continuously removing the sample from the carrier prior to feeding further sample flow onto the carrier.
According to a third aspect, the invention provides apparatus for analysing a stream of particulate material containing crystalline substances, including
means for extracting a sample flow from the stream of particulate material,
means for preparing the sample flow for X-ray diffraction measurements and conveying the so prepared sample flow through a measurement station,
a measurement station including an X-ray generator and position sensitive detector for detecting X-ray diffraction patterns from the prepared sample flow,
processor means for analysing the X-ray diffraction patterns to determine a composition for crystalline substances in the sample from each diffraction pattern and for providing a series of sequential composition determinations, thereby representing the composition of crystalline substances in the stream of particulate material.
Preferably the position sensitive detector for taking X-ray diffraction patterns of the sample is a curved position sensitive detector or area detector capable of simultaneous collection of a wide angular range of the x-ray diffractogram, rather than a sequential position sensitive detector for establishing a diffractogram in a series of measurements.
Preferably the means for preparing the sample flow includes a carrier for receiving the extracted sample flow, the carrier being drivable for continuous movement, and means for smoothing and flattening the surface of the sample on the carrier as the carrier moves and prior to the carrier conveying the sample flow through the measurement station.
Preferably the carrier includes an endless groove and said means for smoothing and flattening the surface of the sample packs the sample into the groove.
Preferably the means for smoothing and flattening the surface of the sample is a driven roller positioned over the endless groove.
Preferably the apparatus includes means for removing excess sample from the carrier prior to said means for smoothing and flattening the surface of the sample packing the sample into the endless groove. This means may be a scraper and vacuum apparatus.
Preferably the carrier is formed for the sample to be removed therefrom, or the apparatus includes means for removing the sample therefrom, prior to where the carrier receives the extracted sample flow and after the sample passes the measurement station.
Preferably the carrier is a horizontal wheel mounted for rotation about a vertical axis, and the endless groove is an annular groove in an upper surface of the wheel.
Preferably the apparatus includes means for removing the sample from the carrier prior to where the carrier receives the extracted sample flow, which means for removing the sample may include a scraper and vacuum apparatus.
The method may be performed on (and the apparatus positioned for) cement clinker which exits the kiln, in which case some of the clinker may be cooled and crushed to a powder to provide the stream of particulate material from which a sample is continuously extracted and fed onto the carrier.
The method may also or alternatively be performed on (and the apparatus positioned for) cement powder which exits the finish mill. Using this invention, extra grinding of the ex-mill cement sample is not required because the moving sample presented to an X-ray diffraction machine ensures that even with larger particle sizes, a suitable number of particles can be expected to be oriented in such ways as to fulfil the Bragg condition for diffraction from every possible interplanar spacing in a manner that accurately represents an XRD powder pattern.
The continuous withdrawal of a sample from the process stream allows its analysis on a continuous basis and thus the provision of substantially real time or current product data on which decisions can be made to control the process. Such control may be effected automatically, for example as in a closed loop feedback system, or manually by a process operator.
The term xe2x80x9ccontinuousxe2x80x9d and similar terms such as xe2x80x9ccontinuouslyxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9ccontinuallyxe2x80x9d as used herein, are to be understood as meaning that the steps or measurements as so qualified apply for the duration of a discrete measurement cycle, which cycle may not be continuous in itself. That is, the invention encompasses the use of a number of sequential and discrete measurement cycles, with the above described steps of the method applying for each discrete cycle, as well as a measurement cycle which is long term and thus may be said to be xe2x80x9ccontinuousxe2x80x9d in itself.
According to a fourth aspect, the invention provides apparatus for presenting a sample from a stream of particulate material for X-ray diffraction measurements, including,
a carrier for receiving a continuous feed of the material, the carrier being drivable for continuous movement,
means for preparing the sample on the carrier and for smoothing and flattening its surface,
and wherein the carrier is such that the said sample is removed, or the apparatus includes means for removing said sample therefrom, as the carrier moves, the removal of the sample occurring prior to where the carrier receives the feed of sample and after the sample passes a measurement station.
Although the carrier is preferably a horizontally orientated wheel or table which is mounted for rotation about a vertical axis, with the above-mentioned endless groove being an annular groove in an upper surface thereof, other configurations for the carrier are possible, for example an endless belt type conveyor which may have a longitudinal groove in its outer facing surface. For a carrier in the form of a rotatable carrier, the apparatus will include means for removing the packed sample from the carrier groove, which means may be an appropriately shaped stationary scraper for scooping the groove clean as the carrier rotates, or a suitable suction device or a combination of both. For a carrier in the form of an endless conveyor, the sample may fall off as the conveyor turns through 180xc2x0 to follow its return path and may additionally include an appropriate scraper or other device to assist removal of the sample.
The packing of the sample into the endless groove accompanied by a smoothing and flattening of its surface is preferably accomplished by a driven roller which is positioned over the endless groove. The apparatus preferably further includes a rotatable brush for cleaning the roller. However the invention encompasses other forms of devices for such packing, for example a spatula.
XRD analysis of minerals is only able to analyse the crystals of the material largely at the surface of the sample presented to the XRD instrumentation and as the focus of the X-ray beam on the sample is tight, for example an area of the order of 4 mm2, the more sample that is presented for analysis, the higher the confidence that the result is representative of the material in the process stream. The present invention, in providing a continuous sample supply, is a significant improvement over the above described prior art where only a single pellet of a few grams is periodically prepared and analysed. It is also important for accuracy that the sample surface be very smooth and flat, for example for a sample of powder which gives a residue on a 40 micron screen of less than 20% and can be delivered for analysis at less than 100xc2x0 C., the surface should be smooth and flat to within 10 microns. The preferred form of device for packing and flattening the sample within the endless groove, namely a driven roller, provides for such accuracy.

Method and apparatus for X-ray diffraction analyses


It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a structure and method of processing signals, which includes transforming a signal into subbands by applying a forward discrete wavelet transform (FDWT) to the signal, partitioning the subbands into overlapping subband subsets, inverse transforming the overlapping subband subsets into signal subsets by applying at least one inverse discrete wavelet transform (IDWT) to the overlapping subband subsets, and combining the signal subsets to reproduce the signal. The IDWT is applied to all of the subband subsets in parallel.

The present invention generally relates to wavelet-based image compression systems and more particularly to an image compression system that performs inverse discrete wavelet transform processing in parallel to achieve higher processing speeds.
Conventional wavelet-based image compression systems apply a two-dimensional forward wavelet transform to an image in order to transform the image into subbands. Each such subband is a band pass filtered and reduced resolution version of the original image. This permits the subbands to be amenable to compression by various means. Reconstruction of the original image requires that all such subbands must first be decompressed, followed by the application of an inverse discrete wavelet transform (IDWT) to transform these subbands back into the original image.
Although the present invention does not depend on lifting (described below), its utility is greatly enhanced by lifting. The invention also utilizes tiling to allow random and/or multiresolution access.
Tiling is described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 5,710,835 (hereinafter ""835) and the same is incorporated herein by reference. The invention described below is fundamentally different than the system described in ""835 because the ""835 system is designed to reduce the hardware necessary to perform the lifting/tiling operations. To the contrary, the present invention is designed to increase processing speed. In its operations, the present invention performs many actions in parallel, which actually increases the number of required hardware components (which is in direct contrast to the goal of reducing hardware components in ""835). The ""835 patent tiles the image with possibly overlapping tiles, so as to facilitate random access during reconstruction. This also is done to decrease the amount of processing hardware and to decrease the required processing speed. As discussed below, the invention tiles each subband with minimally overlapping tiles, with no concern towards random access. This is done to increase the amount of processing hardware in order to increase the net processing speed.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a structure and method of processing signals, which includes transforming a signal into subbands by applying one or more forward discrete wavelet transforms (FDWT) to the signals as in the Mallat decomposition described in ISO/IEC 15444-1, partitioning the resulting subbands into overlapping subband subsets, inverse transforming the overlapping subband subsets into signal subsets by applying one or more inverse discrete wavelet transforms (IDWT) to the overlapping subband subsets, and combining the resulting signal subsets to reproduce the signal. The IDWT is applied to all of the subband subsets in parallel. The inverse transform operation includes performing lifting upon the subband subsets to minimize the required overlap between adjacent overlapping subband subsets. The partitioning is performed so as to minimize an overlap between adjacent overlapping subband subsets. The invention can further include discarding excess sample values that occur as a result of overlap between adjacent overlapping subband subsets.
The invention can thus comprise a method of image compression utilizing inverse discrete wavelet transforms (IDWT), including partitioning a set of forward discrete wavelet transform (FDWT) coefficients into two or more overlapping subband subsets, simultaneously performing an IDWT of each subset using lifting (such that an overlap between adjacent subband subsets is minimized), recombining the subband subsets, and discarding excess sample values that occur as a result of overlap between adjacent subband subsets.
One advantage of the invention lies in speeding up inverse discrete wavelet transformations (IDWT) of subband data. This is done by partitioning the data input to the IDWT in a specific and minimally overlapping manner, to allow multiple IDWT operations to be performed on these partitions in parallel. Another advantage of the invention lies in the reduction of the size required of memory elements used in storing intermediate values within a multi-dimensional IDWT. The invention allows such memory element reduction because the required lengths of these elements are proportional to the length of each subset that is being inverse transformed. Thus, by reducing the lengths of the subsets, the required length of the memory element is correspondingly reduced.

Parallel inverse discrete wavelet transform


A stone sieve assembly includes a cutting blade, a back plate, and a plurality of bars. The plurality of bars are spaced apart from one another and extend between the cutting blade and the back plate. The plurality of bars have a leading section positioned proximate the cutting blade and a trailing section positioned proximate the back plate. The trailing section tapers inwardly as it approaches the back plate.

Stone pickers have long been used in the farming and landscaping industry to sieve through the layers of soil to separate and collect rocks and soil debris, while allowing useful topsoil to pass through and return to the top of the field. These layers of soil would be passed over a sieve formed of a series of bars which selectively allowed smaller material to pass through gaps between the bars, while keeping larger material, such as rocks, above the bars. Rotating tines aligned within the gaps between the bars would be used to then push the larger material off the surface of the sieve towards a receptacle, which could hold a large number of rocks and other material until it needed to be discarded. By removing these unwanted rocks and debris, damage to other farm machinery may be avoided and crops may experience better growing conditions.
While traditional stone sieves have proven to be very useful, they have a number of drawbacks. Sometimes, a stone enters the sieve in a "wrong" position, it may contact or direct a tine outward from an opening between the bars of the sieve. This causes the tine to make contact with at least one of bars of the sieve, which could damage the tine, bars, or both. Similarly, sometimes issues in manufacturing lead to misalignment of the tines and the bars of the sieve, such that tines may contact the bars of the sieve.


A modular guy anchor includes an anchor head and an anchor shaft. The anchor head includes a tubular region for receiving the anchor shaft. The anchor shaft has one end that extends into or through the tubular region and is retained therein. The anchor shaft is preferably galvanized steel coated over at least a portion of its length with a corrosion-resistant material. The corrosion-resistant material is preferably applied over any portion of the anchor shaft that is exposed to soil during normal use. The modularity of the guy anchor facilitates stocking, shipping, and installation, while the corrosion resistance of the anchor shaft promotes longevity.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to guyed construction techniques, and, more particularly, to techniques for anchoring guyed and additionally guyed towers.
2. Description of Related Art
Towers are widely used in many industries, including television transmission, radio communication, cell phone communication, wind turbines, and power transmission, to name a few.
Some towers, known as "guyed towers" or "additionally guyed towers," rely on guy wires to maintain or assist in maintaining the towers in a vertical orientation. Generally speaking, these towers include a vertical main body, or "mast," that stands on one end atop a base, which is generally concrete. Guy wires attach to the mast along its length, extend down and away from the mast, and attach securely to the ground using anchors. Most guyed towers are triangular in cross-section, and a minimum of three guy anchors are typically provided and are spaced apart by approximately 120-degrees to provide a stable base for holding the mast vertically. Often, guyed towers require three, six, or more guy anchors with multiple guy wires originating from different vertical levels of the tower attached to each guy anchor.
The term "guyed towers" describes towers whose masts have no independent means of support. They rely entirely upon guy wires to hold them upright. By contrast, the term "additionally guyed towers" describes towers that are essentially free standing, although they require guy wires to provide reinforcement and stability.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional guy anchor 100 for an erected tower. As shown in this example, four guy wires 110 originating from the tower's mast attach to an anchor head 114. The guy wires 110 are generally composed of steel or some other high tensile strength metal. A shaft 116 extends from the anchor head 114 and into the ground 124. Typically, the anchor head 114 and shaft 116, which are also generally made of steel, are provided as a single unit, with the shaft 116 permanently welded to the head 114. The distal end of the shaft 116 is typically buried in a steel-reinforced mass of concrete 118, also known as a "dead-man." The weight of the dead-man 118 and the earth above it holds the shaft 116 securely in place, even in the presence of large forces on the tower due to wind and precipitation.
The typical guy anchor assembly 100 may also include turnbuckles 112. One turnbuckle 112 is generally provided for each guy wire 110. The role of the turnbuckles 112 is to fine-tune the tightness of each guy wire 110.
To prevent damage due to lightning strikes, the guy wires 110 are each electrically connected via a conductive cable 120 to a ground spike 122. The ground spike 122 is typically made of copper. The cable 120 and ground spike 122 form a low impedance path to ground. This arrangement is designed to conduct high current surges away from the shaft 116, thereby preventing damage to the shaft which could otherwise compromise the mechanical stability of the tower.
One drawback of the conventional guy anchor assembly 100 is that the anchor shaft 116 often corrodes over time. Over several years of use (and sometimes less time), corrosion may lead to a complete failure of the anchor shaft 116, which can result in a collapse of the tower it supports.
Guy anchor shaft corrosion typically affects the area of the shaft exposed to soil, i.e., underground but excluding the region encased within the dead-man 118. Corrosion may be galvanic or electrolytic in nature, or may be caused by other factors. In an effort to prevent corrosion, guy anchor shafts are typically galvanized.


A kitchen appliance for processing content is described. The kitchen appliance comprises a body portion, a removable accessory received by the body portion, the removable accessory being in contact with the content during processing thereof; and at least one sensor incorporated into the removable accessory. The kitchen appliance also comprises a wireless transmitter associated with the removable accessory, the transmitter receiving input from the at least one sensor and transmitting parameters associated with the input; and a controller in the body portion for controlling operation of the kitchen appliance based upon the parameters. The removable accessory is a food processing attachment that rotates with a mixing action.

The complexity of food and beverage preparation processes is ever increasing. However, many of those preparation processes require accurate sensing of one or more properties of the food or beverage being prepared. One such property is temperature. Many food and beverage preparation processes require a very specific temperature to be reached. That temperature is then either required to be maintained, or used as a prompt for a next preparation step to be performed. Thus, without accurate temperature sensing the success and repeatability of the preparation process is uncertain.
Some kitchen appliances, such as stand mixers, have the ability to heat its content being mixed, while other kitchen appliances, such as ice cream makers, have the ability to cool the ingredients. In order to fully control the heating or cooling process, accurate temperature sensing of the content is desirable.
There is a need for kitchen appliances being able to accurately measure properties of the food or beverage during the preparation thereof.

Kitchen appliance for sensing food and beverage properties


There is provided a system and a computer program product for detecting a conflict between a transaction and a TLB (Translation Lookaside Buffer) shootdown in a transactional memory in which a TLB shootdown operation message is received by a processor to invalidate at least one entry in a TLB of the processor corresponding to at least one page. The processor tracks pages touched by the transaction. The processor determines whether the received TLB shootdown operation message is associated with one of the touched pages. The processor aborts the transaction in response to determining that the received TLB shootdown operation message is associated with one of the touched pages.

This disclosure relates generally to a system for detecting a conflict between a transaction and a TLB (Translation Lookaside Buffer) shootdown in a system supporting transactional memory, and particularly to a system for preventing a transaction from being aborted if there is no conflict between that transaction and a TLB shootdown.

Detection of conflicts between transactions and page shootdowns

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION