A scanning type microscope that captures substance information of the surface of a specimen by the tip end of a nanotube probe needle fastened to a cantilever, in which an organic gas is decomposed by a focused ion beam in a focused ion beam apparatus, and the nanotube is bonded to the cantilever with a deposit of the decomposed component thus produced. With this probe, the quality of the nanotube probe needle can be improved by removing an unnecessary deposit adhering to the nanotube tip end portion using a ion beam, by cutting an unnecessary part of the nanotube in order to control length of the probe needle and by injecting ions into the tip end portion of the nanotube.

The invention is related to a probe for a scanning type microscope which images a surface structure of a specimen, wherein nanotubes such as a carbon nanotube, BCN (boron carbon nitride) series nanotube, BN (boron nitride) series nanotube, etc. are used for the probe needle, in more detail, related to a probe for a scanning type microscope produced by focused ion beam machining which is manufactured by means of processes such as the nanotube of fastening, purifying and cutting using a focused ion beam apparatus.
In order to image a surface structure of a specimen by an atomic force microscope abbreviated as AFM, a scanning needle is needed which is caused to approach to the surface of the specimen for getting information from it. As the scanning needle, a cantilever made of silicon or silicon-nitride, on the tip of which a protruding portion (or pyramid portion) is formed, has been known in the past.
A conventional cantilever is formed by means of the micro-fabrication technique such as lithography, etching, etc. Since the cantilever detects atomic force from the surface of specimen by the tip of protruding portion, the degree of cleanness of an image is determined by the degree of sharpness of the tip portion. Then, in the sharpening treatment of the tip end of the protruding portion serving as a probe needle, an oxide process and an etching process for an oxide film which are sort of semi-conductor process technique are utilized. However, there is a lower limit in a reduction of size even in the semi-conductor process technique, so that the degree of sharpness of the tip end of the protruding portion described above is also physically limited.
On the other hand, a carbon nanotube was discovered as a carbon matter having a new structure. The carbon nanotube is from about 1 nm to several 10 nm in diameter and several xcexcm in length, and its aspect ratio is around 100xcx9c1000. It is difficult to form a probe needle of 1 nm diameter by means of the present technique of semiconductor. Therefore, in this respect, the carbon nanotube provides best condition for the probe needle of an AFM.
In such a situation, H. Dai and others published, in Nature (Vol.384, Nov. 14, 1996), a report with respect to an AMF probe in which a carbon nanotube is stuck on the tip of the protruding portion of a cantilever. Though the probe proposed by them was of epoch-making, the carbon nanotube fell off from the protruding portion during repeatedly scanning surfaces of specimens, since the carbon nanotube was simply stuck on the protruding portion
In order to solve this weak point, the present inventors have achieved to develop a method fastening firmly the carbon nanotube to the protruding portion of the cantilever. Results of this invention have been published as the Japanese patent application laid-open (Kokai) Nos. 2000-227435 and 2000-249712.
The first fastening method above-mentioned is that a coating film is formed in an electron microscope by irradiating an electron beam to the base end portion of a nanotube, and next the nanotube is fastened to the cantilever by means of covering the nanotube with the coating film. The second method is that the base end portion of the nanotube is fusion-fastened to the protruding portion of the cantilever by irradiating an electron beam on the base end portion of the nanotube or by causing to flow current, in an electron microscope.
It is a quite skilful method to fasten by coating or fusion-welding a nanotube base end portion using an electron beam, while enlarging an object image by means of an electron microscope. However, there is a limit in energy intensity of an electron beam of the electron microscope, so that this fact causes to yield a limit for coating-strength or fusion-welding-strength, and as the result, it was difficult to obtain fastening-strength beyond a certain degree.
Besides, lengths of nanotubes produced by an arc-discharge are inhomogeneous, so that it is necessary finally to homogenize quality of the nanotube products by unifying the lengths of the nanotubes. However, due to the above limit in the electron microscope, the cutting process of the nanotube has difficult points, so that the control of the nanotube length was not enough well done.
Furthermore, since an electron microscope is a device for treating electron beams, though it is possible to irradiate an electron beam, but being impossible to diffuse atoms of another element, or to implant ions into a probe needle nanotube, therefore, the improvement of the quality of nanotubes has not been progressed
The essential aim of the electron microscope is to obtain enlarged images of specimens in a clean imaging room being in the vacuum state. However, when an organic gas flows into this electron microscope and decomposes, a body-tube and the imaging room, which should be clean, are polluted with the organic gas or the decomposed matter. If this pollution gas is absorbed in and re-emitted from a wall-surface, the gas adheres to a surface of a cantilever. But, since it is difficult to remove the adhered pollution matter by an electron beam, this fact shows that there is a technical limit of the electron microscope, in manufacture of the nanotube probe needle.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to find an apparatus other than the electron microscope as a device in which the nanotube is fastened to a protruding portion of a cantilever, and to provide a probe for a scanning type microscope which can fasten and cut a nanotube probe needle and furthermore can improve the quality of the nanotube probe needle by implanting another element atoms, etc.
The present invention provides, in a probe for a scanning type microscope, by which substance information of a specimen is obtained by means of a tip end of a nanotube probe needle fastened to a cantilever; a probe for a scanning type microscope produced by focused ion beam machining, which is characterized in that the nanotube is fastened to a cantilever with a decomposed deposit produced by decomposing an organic gas by means of a focused ion beam in a focused ion beam apparatus.
The present invention provides a probe for a scanning type microscope described in the first part of the present invention, wherein a hydrocarbon is used for the above described organic gas.
The present invention provides a probe for a scanning type microscope described in the first part of the present invention, wherein an organic-metallic gas is used for the above described organic gas.
The present invention provides a probe for a scanning type microscope described in the first part of the present invention, wherein a silicon cantilever, a silicon-nitride cantilever or a cantilever coated with a conductive substance are utilized as the above described cantilever.
The present invention provides a probe for the scanning microscope produced by focused ion beam machining which is characterized in that unnecessary matter existing in a predetermined region is removed by irradiating an ion beam to the predetermined region of a nanotube probe needle fastened to the cantilever.
The present invention provides a probe for a scanning type microscope described in the fifth part of the present invention, wherein the above described unnecessary matter is a unnecessary deposit heaping up at a tip end portion of the nanotube probe needle or a unnecessary deposit heaping up near a base end portion of the nanotube.
The present invention provides a probe for the scanning microscope produced by focused ion beam machining which is characterized in that an unnecessary part of the nanotube probe needle is cut off and the length of tip end portion of the nanotube probe needle is controlled by irradiating an ion beam to the tip end portion of the nanotube probe needle fastened to the cantilever.
The present invention provides a probe for a scanning type microscope described in the seventh part of the present invention, wherein the nanotube is cut in a perpendicular or an oblique direction, in the cutting of the unnecessary part above described.
The present invention provides a probe for the scanning microscope produced by focused ion beam machining which is characterized by changing physical and chemical qualities of the probe needle by irradiating an ion beam to the predetermined region of the tip end portion of the nanotube probe needle fastened to the cantilever.
The present invention provides a probe for a scanning type microscope described in the ninth part of the present invention, wherein the above described ion element is fluorine, boron, gallium, or phosphorus.
The present inventors had earnestly investigated a device being substituted for an electron microscope, and as the result, had gotten an idea to use an ion beam instead of an electron beam; specifically had achieved an idea to utilize a focused ion beam apparatus (abbreviated as FIB apparatus) which can focus at will the ion beam and can process an object.
This FIB apparatus is a device by which various atoms are ionized, the ions are accelerated by means of an applied electric field, and this ion beam is focused by means of an electric field lens so that the beam section is made fine and the beam comes to be a high energy state, and by which a target is processed by means of irradiating the resultant focused ion beam to the target. Accordingly, the FIB apparatus comprises partial devices such as an ion source, an acceleration apparatus, a beam-focusing apparatus and a beam-operating device, etc.
An applied voltage can be freely arranged, and the energy of the ion beam can be arbitrarily set up by the acceleration apparatus. Various processes for nanotubes are possible by means of arrangement of the energy of the ion beam. By the present invention, an organic gas which is induced into a reaction chamber of the FIB apparatus is decomposed by the ion beam. Leaving a nanotube base end portion adhered to a protruding portion of a cantilever disposed in the reaction chamber, the above described decomposed gas heaps up on this base end portion, so that the nanotube is strongly fastened to the protruding portion of the cantilever by this decomposed deposit. In this manner, the xcx9c related to the present invention is accomplished.
In a case where the organic gas is a hydrocarbon gas, the above described decomposed deposit is a carbon deposit, and the nanotube is fastened to the protruding portion by means of this carbon deposit. In a case where the organic gas is an organic-metallic gas, the above described decomposed deposit is a metallic deposit, and the nanotube is fastened in a conductive state to the protruding portion by means of this metallic deposit.
As substances of the above-described hydrocarbon series, there are hydrocarbons of methane series, hydrocarbons of ethylene series, hydrocarbons of acetylene series, cyclic hydrocarbons, etc.; more concretely saying, hydrocarbons of less molecular-weight such as ethylene or acetylene are favorable among them. Furthermore, as the above-described organic-metallic gases, the following gases can be utilized; for examples, W(CO)6, Cu(hfac)2, (hfac: hexa-flouro-acetyl-acetonate), (CH3)2AlH, Al(CH2xe2x80x94CH)(CH3)2, [(CH3)3Al]2, (C2H5)3Al, (CH3)3Al, (Ixe2x80x94C4H9)3Al, (CH3)3AlCH3, Ni(CO)4, Fe(CO)4, Cr[C6H5(CH3)2], Mo(CO)6, Pb(C2H5)4, Pb(C5H7O2)2, (C2H5)3PbOCH2C(CH3)2, (CH3)4Sn, (C2H5)4Sn, Nb(OC2H5)5, Ti(i-OC3H7)4, Zr(C11H19O2)4, La(C11H19O2)3, Sr[Ta(OC2H5)6]2, Sr[Ta(OC2H5)5(Oc2H4OcH3)]2, Ba(C11H19O2)2, (Ba,Sr)3(C11H19O2), Pb(C11H19O2)2, Zr(OtC4H9)4, Zr(OiC3H7)(C11H19O2)3, Ti(OiC3H7)2(C11H19O2), Bi(OtC5H11)3, Ta(OC2H5)5, Ta(OiC3H7)5, Nb(OiC3Hxe2x80x2)5, Ge(OC2H5)4, Y(C11H19O2)3, Ru(C11H19O2)3, Ru(C5H4C2H5)2, Ir(C5H4C2H5)(C8H12), Pt(C5H4C2H5)(CH3)3, Ti[N(CH3)2]4, Ti[N(C2H5)2]4, As(OC2H5)3, B(OC2H3)3, Ca(OCH3)2, Ce(OCxe2x80x3H5)3, Co(OiC3H7)2, Dy(OiC3H7)2, Er(OiC3H7)2, Eu(OiC3H7)2, Fe(OCH3)3, Ga(OCH3)3, Gd(OiC3H7)3, Hf(OCH3)4, In(OCH3)3, KOCH3, LiOCH3, Mg(OCH3)2, Mn(OiC3H7)2, NaOCH3, Nd(OiC3H7)3, Po(OCH3)3, Pr(OiC3H7)3, Sb(OCH3)3, Sc(OiC3H7)3, Si(OC2H5)4, VO(OCH3)3, Yb(OiC3H7)3, Zn(OCH3)2, etc.
As for the nanotube, there are a conductive carbon nanotube or an insulation nanotube of BN series and of BCN series. And as for the cantilever for an AFM, there are a semi-conduction silicon cantilever and an insulation silicon-nitride cantilever. But a conductive cantilever can be manufactured by coating on a cantilever surface including the protruding portion with a conductive film such as metal, etc. and in the similar manner, the insulation nanotube can be transmuted to a conductive nanotube.
Accordingly, a conductive probe for an ion type scanning type microscope can be manufactured by means of electrically connection of the conductive nanotube with the conductive cantilever using a conductive deposit such as a metallic deposit. The conductive probe, owing to its conductivity, can be utilized not only for the AFM but also for a STM (tunneling microscope) which detects a tunnel-current. However, if the semi-conduction cantilever or the insulation cantilever is used as a cantilever, the cantilever, due to non-conductivity, can be used as the probe for an ordinary AFM which detects flexion.
As for the probe for the scanning type microscope related to the present invention, there are not only the above-described AFM and STM, but also a level force microscope (LFM) which detects differences of a surface by means of friction force, a magnetic force microscope (MFM) which detects magnetic interaction, an electric-field force microscope (EFM) which detects a gradient of an electric field, and a chemical force microscope (CFM) which images surface distribution of a chemical function group. All such microscopes are for obtaining surface information of specimens at the atomic level.
The tip end of a nanotube is a probe needle for detection. If an unnecessary deposit adheres to the tip end of the nanotube, this portion works as a probe needle so that the tip end of the nanotube captures error information and the image is caused to be dim. Accordingly, the unnecessary deposit adhering to the nanotube tip end portion is removed by means of ion beam irradiation, by increasing the ion beam energy of the FIB apparatus higher.
As was described above, in the present invention, the tip end portion of the nanotube is fastened to the protruding portion of the cantilever by means of the decomposed deposit. In a case where this decomposed deposit is formed to expand up to an unnecessary region, second processes such as a formation of a conductive film, etc. are caused to be difficult. In such a case, this unnecessary decomposed deposit near the base end portion can be removed by means of irradiation of a focused ion beam.
Length of produced nanotubes is in general quite indefinite. However, in order to unify nanotube quality, it is necessary to make uniform the lengths of the nanotube tip ends. Then, by solution-cutting the unnecessary parts of the nanotubes by means of the ion beam, the length of the nanotube is controlled. For this purpose, the energy of the ion beam is increased or an irradiation period is arranged.
In addition, in order to improve a quality of the nanotube tip end, ions can be shot into the nanotube by the FIB apparatus. Ions accelerated in high energy can be shot into the inner space of the nanotube, but low energy ions is driven on a surface layer of the nanotube and coats the surface of the nanotube. Particularly, when ions are shot into the tip end of the nanotube probe needle, these ions directly act to a surface of a specimen.
As the sort of the ion, an arbitrary element can be chosen, for examples, such as fluorine, boron, gallium, or phosphorus, etc. These atoms react on a carbon atom in the nanotube to form CF-combination, CB-combination, CGa-combination or CP-combination, which come to possess specific properties for these combinations.
In a case where the ions shot into the tip end of the nanotube are ferromagnetic atoms such as Fe, Co, Ni, etc., this probe for a scanning type microscope can be utilized for an MFM. That is, since these ferromagnetic atoms detect ferromagnetism of a surface of a specimen at the atomic level, this technique can greatly contribute to the progress of substance engineering such as the resolution of magnetic structure of a sample substance, etc.

Probe for scanning microscope produced by focused ion beam machining


The disclosure provides a method, a device and a system for fault detection. The fault detection method includes following steps: acquiring interactive data generated during a working process of a target Internet of Things system, and generating data to be detected based on the interactive data; detecting whether the data to be detected is fault data or not, and performing an emotion analysis on the data to be detected which is judged as the fault data to obtain a corresponding emotion label; and extracting a corresponding fault type from a preset fault emotion mapping table based on the emotion label and outputting the fault type. In this disclosure, the interactive data is analogized to human emotions, and the faults are accurately found through the emotional analysis on the data, thereby achieving the fault detection of the Internet of Things system in a convenient, flexible and accurate manner.

With an emergence of Industry 4.0 and proposal of Made in China 2025, the industry has entered an intelligent era. With intelligence reconstruction of production equipment in key intelligent manufacturing fields, the industrial equipment will eventually be upgraded to be a large-scale one with intelligent integration and to be of a more complex structure. At the same time, reliability and safety in an intelligent mechanical equipment production must be taken into account, and condition monitoring and maintenance methods of various equipment in a corresponding Internet of Things system should be upgraded.
Currently in a traditional industry, two ways are mainly adopted to manage the industrial equipment system, that is, the Internet of Things system:
1. checking the equipment by a worker daily. However, because an ordinary worker don't know details about an equipment structure and internal conditions, they can only check obvious faults such as loose lines, which adds extra work to the workers, but can't guarantee safety and stability of the equipment, resulting in a low maintenance efficiency.
2. sending professional maintenance personnel from relevant management companies to repair faults. This solution is suitable for fault detection and maintenance of the Internet of Things system by the professional maintenance personnel in site after the faults have occurred in the Internet of Things system, but because the maintenance personnel often cannot arrive at the site quickly, an increased downtime and increased losses of the factory are caused.

Method, device and system for fault detection


An improved mechanism for feeding paper sheets from a stack by suction includes a manifold provided with a plurality of spaced sheet pick up devices carried by the manifold and in fluid communication therewith. The improved mechanism also includes motion orginating devices supporting said manifold for lifting the same and the suction mechanisms and a paper sheet held thereby from said stack and feeding it into the entry grippers or the printing roll feed mechanism of the printing machine. The motion originating devices are adjustable to pick up sheets at different locations relative to their leading edges while the printing machine is operating as contrasted with the heretofore necessary steps of shutting down the printing machine and making a mechanical adjustment in the feed linkage. The adjustment mechanism of the sheet register control extends to a point convenient to the printing machine operator.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to improvements in the feeding of sheet material such as paper sheets in an offset printing machine and more particularly to an adjustable sheet register controlling mechanism.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Paper sheet feed apparatus for offset printing machines and the like have been disclosed in the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,085,592, 3,169,018, and 4,146,217. These patents show sheet pick up devices which are relatively fixed and require shutting down the printing machine and making a mechanical adjustment in the feed linkage in order to accommodate paper sheets of differing weights, thickness, stiffness, and flexibility of the paper. This invention enables an operator to vary the registration of a plurality of vacuum shoes in the printing machine with a sheet of paper with respect to one end thereof whereby adjustment of the device enables the operator to position the vacuum shoes registry with the top sheet of paper at a desirable location with respect to the entry grippers or the printing roll feed.

Sheet register control for printing machines


There are provided methods and apparatus allowing effective production of high purity hydrogen and recovery of carbon dioxide. There is disclosed a method of hydrogen production and carbon dioxide recovery for producing hydrogen and recovering carbon dioxide from a carbon-containing fuel, the method including a membrane separation reforming step of, with the use of a reformer provided with a hydrogen-permeable membrane, reforming the carbon-containing fuel and simultaneously separating hydrogen to obtain a hydrogen-permeable membrane permeated gas which is a gas having permeated the hydrogen-permeable membrane and a reformer off-gas which is a gas not having permeated the hydrogen-permeable membrane, and the method further comprising: with the use of a hydrogen separation membrane and a carbon dioxide separation membrane, treating the reformer off-gas to obtain a hydrogen-enriched gas and a carbon dioxide-enriched gas; or subjecting the reformer off-gas to a shift reaction and then separating the resulting gas into a carbon dioxide-enriched gas and a gas enriched in components other than carbon dioxide. Also disclosed is an apparatus for carrying out the method.

Hydrogen is expected as a future energy medium and active research and development have been done in a wide range of technical fields, such as production, storage and transportation, and use. The advantages using hydrogen as an energy medium include high energy utilization efficiency and the fact that a waste after combustion is only water.
Under the present circumstances, about 80% of primary energy is occupied by fossil fuels, such as petroleum, coal, and natural gas, and even though it will gradually decrease by the increase of use of renewable energy and the like from now on, it is expected that the high ratio will be maintained. Therefore, in the production of hydrogen, it can be said that, as a source of primary energy, the importance of the route using a fossil fuel as a raw material will not decrease for the time being.
A method of obtaining high purity hydrogen by performing a reforming reaction while extracting hydrogen using a hydrogen-permeable membrane such as Pd in a reformer for reforming fossil fuels is known as a method in which high purity hydrogen is obtained with simple apparatus (Patent Documents 1 and 2).
Such technology is effective in efficiently obtaining high purity hydrogen, but carbon dioxide is by-produced. Reduction of CO2 emission is said to be an urgent and important issue for preventing global warming. In such a situation, a technology for separating and recovering CO2 which is by-produced when hydrogen is produced from a fossil fuel is important as a technology capable of coping with both the reduction of CO2 emission and the early realization of the hydrogen society.
Patent Document 3 discloses a method in which a hydrogen-permeable membrane is used in a reformer for fossil fuels and produced carbon dioxide is separated. However, since carbon dioxide is separated by allowing it to be absorbed by an absorbent made of an alkaline compound, a complicated step with low energy efficiency was required, such as a step in which steam is used to provide heat for recovering carbon dioxide from the absorbent.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. H06-263402    Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. H06-345408    Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-321904

Method and apparatus for hydrogen production and carbon dioxide recovery


A radio access network (RAN) may transmit on a plurality of channels, each channel made up of a plurality of subcarriers. Each subcarrier defines a sequence of frames, each frame respectively defining a sequence of time slots. The RAN may transmit symbols in each time slot at at least a nominal power level on each of the subcarriers. The RAN may also determine a subcarrier that is likely to cause adjacent carrier interference between a first wireless device and a second wireless device. The RAN may also transmit null symbols in a first time slot of an initial frame on the determined subcarrier with a power level less than the nominal power level. Additionally the RAN may transmit subsequent symbols with the respective power level of each of the subsequent symbols is successively increased for each subsequent timeslot, for at least the duration of the initial frame.

A radio access network (RAN) typically includes base transceiver stations (BTSs), each of which radiate to define one or more wireless coverage areas. In each coverage area, the RAN may transmit on a plurality of channels, each channel defined by a frequency. For each channel in the plurality of channels, the RAN may transmit on a plurality of subcarriers within the channel. For example, the RAN may use orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) to transmit on multiple subcarriers within a channel. OFDM is used in wireless communication systems such as IEEE 802.11 (WiFi) systems, IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX) systems, and systems that use the Long Term Evolution (LTE) specifications of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).
In the OFDM approach, data is organized into symbols that are used to modulate a plurality of sub-carriers. The sub-carriers are spaced apart in frequency by a subcarrier spacing, Δf. Each subcarrier in the channel may define a sequence of frames, with each frame having a duration of T. Further, each frame may be divided into a sequence of time slots, with each time slot having a duration of t. Within each time slot, the symbols containing data may be transmitted in parallel on the subcarriers. Additionally, the RAN may transmit symbols at a nominal power level in each of a plurality of the time slots.
Each wireless communication device (WCD) may use one or more channels in the plurality of channels for the transmission of voice and data. For example, a WCD may simultaneously transmit voice on a first channel and data on a second channel. Additionally, the WCD may transmit data on several channels at once to maximize data throughput. The RAN may assign one or more channels to each WCD based on network capacity, RF channel conditions, or data throughput needs. Furthermore, channel assignments associated with the various WCDs in a coverage area may change with every subsequent frame.

Minimizing adjacent carrier interference by varying the power level of subcarriers


This invention provides a seal for the tank/developer section of a two-piece toner cartridge that is applied externally to the section at the opening of the developer roller, where it is intended to confront the drum in the fully assembled cartridge. The seal assembly includes a resilient seal member, illustratively constructed from a stiffening bar that caps a resilient/pliable foam or another elastomer. The foam impinges on the doctor blade where it meets the developer roller, to bias the doctor blade against the developer roller and seal this region against the exit of toner. The foam and stiffening bar have an elongated length that matches the developer opening so that this region is fully sealed along its length. The stiffener is flexibly attached to a sheet material. The sheet is secured to the cartridge surface at a respective edge on each side by releasable adhesive.

Laser printers are one of the most ubiquitous and useful equipment pieces in business and residential computing/document-handling environments. Their print engines employ a replaceable cartridge containing photoconductive drum that transfers black and white (or color) toner particles from a tank containing a reserve of such toner to a print medium, such as paper. The toner is electrostatically charged so that it is drawn from the tank onto a magnetized developer roller or other means that turns in conjunction with the photoconductive drum. The layer of toner deposited on the drum is then transferred to the charged regions of the drum. These charged regions conform to the image-to-be-printed, and are formed by a moving light beam (typically a solid-state laser) under the control of a print driver. The drum transfers the toner in the regions to the medium (e.g. paper) as moves against the rotating drum. After applying the toner to the medium, the drum passes through a wiper that removes any excess toner and a corona unit that de-charges the drum for re-exposure by the laser.
Many commercially available cartridges, such as the E360 series by Lexmark International, Inc. of Lexington, Ky., are provided as two-piece cartridge systems. That is, the tank and developer assembly is removably cradled within a photoconductive drum assembly. A gear train interconnects the drum to the tank assembly. In this manner, the less expensive tank components can be recycled when toner is exhausted, while the more-expensive and longer-lived drum assembly is retained. This increases the efficiency of the toner cartridge life-cycle by attending to the replacement of an exhausted toner supply, while avoiding the need to deal with the photoconductive drum until its service life is actually near an end.
Toner tanks are filled to a predetermined level by the original equipment manufacturer (OEM). In general, that level is less than the total volume of the tank. Many manufactures, such as Clarity Imaging Technologies, Inc. of Springfield, Mass., provide extended life versions of OEM cartridges that are more economical for users, and also more environmentally friendly, due to their longer life and less-frequent change-out schedule. A variety of proprietary techniques are employed to provide an extended life performance. One aspect of this technique is adding more toner to the tank than that provided by the OEM. For an extended-life cartridge to function properly with an increased toner level, modification of a variety of cartridge functions and parameters, such as the agitator timing, is typically required.
A particular consequence of an increased toner load in the cartridge tank is that the internal seals, which normally act to prevent loss of toner to the environment may be overwhelmed. One such seal is formed between the developer roller and its confronting doctor blade. By way of example, when performing a so-called "drop test" to verify the cartridge's commercial acceptability, the cartridge is released from a predetermined altitude onto a hard surface. A standard-life cartridge passes such a test because its internal components can resist the force of the toner load in the tank as it rapidly decelerates on impact. However, the increased mass and volume of the toner load in an extended life cartridge may cause some toner to be forced through the seal between the doctor blade and developer roller, and exit the cartridge. Other causes of toner loss can include (but are not limited to) vibration encountered during shipment and handling. In normal commerce, it is highly undesirable for a delivered cartridge to exhibit lost toner, as it leads to messy work areas and clothing, and generally reduces the user's confidence in the quality and value of the unit.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a system for preventing the exit of toner from a tank/developer assembly of a two-piece toner cartridge in both standard-life and extended-live units. This system should be inexpensive and easy to implement on existing cartridge designs and should avoid the need to redesign any cartridge components. This system should also be straightforward to manipulate by a user and should ensure minimal or no loss of toner for both standard-life and extended-life toner cartridges of a variety of types and from a variety of manufacturers.


A railroad car having a flat bed at the lowest possible level and a roof and side panels supported by stanchions at an extraordinary height is provided with cantilevered wheel seats for support of the front wheels of semistacked trucks with each truck backed into position by a forklift with the front end of the truck raised and its rear frame tucked in under the front end of a preceding truck. Side rails secured to the stanchions about one foot from the bed and about six inches in front of the stanchions help guide the trucks into proper position. Each wheel seat is comprised of two cantilevered box beams inserted into box receptacles supported by horizontal side box beams secured to the stanchions. A cross beam secured to the free end of the cantilevered box beams enhance the ability of the cantilevered box beams to support the weight of the truck and provide a place to secure an eye that receives a hook of a tie-down chain in a position directly below the front wheel axle of the truck.

A railroad car that solves many of the problems of the prior art in hauling large trucks is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,834,608. The car is completely enclosed making it difficult for a casual vandal to even ascertain whether or not it is hauling trucks. A jack traveling on tracks along the bed of the enclosed railroad car is used to pick up by its front axle the front of each truck loaded in succession to back it into position with its front end raised and its frame tucked under the front end of the preceding truck.
Raised platforms on the sides of the railroad car bed provide a channel between them to accommodate the traveling jack, but that significantly decreases the headroom of the railroad car which may be needed for clearance over the cabs of the trucks being loaded. Considering that this railroad car of extraordinary height is built with the roof already as high as possible for the standard height of overpasses, tunnels, and the like, the use of raised platforms is undesirable.
Longitudinally movable seats for the front wheels of the trucks hauled eliminate the need for temporary, usually makeshift, devices of the prior art to hold in a raised position the front end of each truck loaded. The wheel platforms disclosed in the aforesaid patent hang vertically while stowed until a truck being loaded is in proper position. Then they are moved longitudinally along beams secured to the sides of the railroad car into position along side of the truck's front wheels and pivoted up into a horizontal position under the front wheels. There they are secured in a horizontal position by diagonal arms (struts). The problem with that arrangement for front wheel seats is that they are so heavy that they require two persons to move and position each one safely.

Light weight stowable front wheel seats for hauling large semistacked highway trucks in railroad cars of extraordinary height


An ECM apparatus includes a stationary cathode tool having a passage, and a drive mechanism for moving a bar-shaped workpiece through the passage of the cathode tool while simultaneously rotating the workpiece. Electrolyte flows, from a manifold on one end of the cathodic tool to a manifold at the other end, through the passage, between the wall of the passage and the workpiece. An electric current is simultaneously established in the electrolyte, between the wall of the passage and the workpiece. The internal shape of the cathodic tool wall has a gradual transition from a circular entry opening to a lobed exit opening, and lobes formed in the wall of the tool are shaped so that they twist in the direction of workpiece rotation, in order to form helical lobes in the workpiece.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,892,217 and 2,028,407, to R. J. L. Moineau, disclose a gear mechanism for use as a progressive cavity pump or motor. In a typical application of progressive cavity technology, the drilling of subterranean wells, a progressive cavity motor is used as a downhole motor to convert the energy of a flowing drilling fluid to mechanical power to rotate a drill bit.
In a progressive cavity pump or motor, both the stator and the rotor are formed with helical lobes. An interference fit between the external profile of the rotor and the internal profile of the stator provides a seal isolating the cavities of the pump or motor from adjoining cavities. The seal resists the fluid pressure which results from the mechanical pumping action, or from the conversion of fluid motion to mechanical energy in a motor.
Because of the requirement for an interference fit between the rotor and stator, one or both of these components must be covered with a resilient, or dimensionally forgiving, material, usually an elastomer, which also allows the pump or motor to pass or transfer abrasive particles and other objects carried along with the fluid. Historically, the resilient material has been provided on the interior of the stator. The rotor is coated with hard chromium to increase the wear resistance of its contacting surface.
In order to minimize friction where the rotor contacts the elastomer on the inside of the stator, the rotor must have a very highly polished surface. Currently a conventional milling process is used to generate the required outside profile along the length of the rotor. A polishing operation is then carried out to change the relatively rough surface resulting from the milling operation to an acceptable finish for chrome plating. Stainless steel alloys such as 17-4PH are often used to manufacture the rotors, because of their corrosion resistance, and their relatively easy machining.
The rotors of progressive cavity pumps typically have a bearing journal at one end, and therefore cannot be shaped by extrusion. The helical lobes of the rotor typically extend from a first end toward the second end, but stop short of the second end to allow for a bearing journal and attachment features. The rotor may be solid, or may have a hole bored partially or totally through its length. Rotors with more than one lobe have multiple concave areas that stop at some point along the length of the rotor, thus limiting the ways in which they can be manufactured.
Many other bar-like products also have external profiles that do not extend along their entire length. They have concave areas that also limit the method of manufacture. Thus this invention, while described in the context of the manufacture of a rotor for a progressive cavity fluid device, has potential applications in the manufacture of various other products.


Memory devices including word lines coupled to pull-down transistors are disclosed. A memory device may include a number of memory cells, a first word line, and a second word line. The first word line may be configured to apply a voltage to a number of transistors to access at least one of the number of memory cells. The first word line may include a first portion electrically coupled to a first driver and a second portion electrically coupled to a gate of a pull-down transistor. The second word line may be positioned adjacent to the first word line. The second word line may include a third portion electrically coupled to a second driver and a fourth portion electrically coupled to a terminal of the pull-down transistor. Associated systems are also disclosed.

Memory devices are typically provided as internal, semiconductor, integrated circuits in computers or other electronic systems. There are many different types of memory including, for example, random-access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), resistive random access memory (RRAM), double data rate memory (DDR), low power double data rate memory (LPDDR), phase change memory (PCM), and Flash memory.
Memory devices may include many memory cells configured to be accessible by word lines and bit lines. The word lines may extend in parallel relative to the memory cells.
Some memory devices include a number of memory cells, each configured to store a bit of information, e.g., as a charge on a capacitor. The memory devices further include access transistors, word lines, and bit lines configured to provide for access to the number of memory cells. Access to the memory cells may provide the ability to discharge and charge the memory cells individually to read and write data to the memory cells collectively. The word lines and bit lines may be arranged in rows and columns around, above, and/or below the memory cells. The word lines may be long conductive lines, arranged in parallel, closely spaced, and configured to be charged individually.
Word lines may be affected by capacitive coupling. For example, when a particular word line is charged with an access voltage (e.g., to activate an access transistor), word lines adjacent to the particular word line may receive voltage through capacitive coupling. Charging (even partial charging) of word lines that are not intended to be accessed may result in discharging (or partial discharging) of memory cells which may impair performance of the memory device.

Word lines coupled to pull-down transistors, and related devices, systems, and methods


A method implemented by computer-networks comprises the following steps: creating a mutual aid group capable of accommodating a plurality of small businesses using programming codes by assigning values to its attributes including the attribute on the shares which the prize offered by the mutual aid group is divided into; and storing the created mutual aid group in a mutual aid group storage area in a database; and recruiting at least one business into the mutual aid group by the businesses subscribing for the share of the mutual aid group for jointly running a prize promotion; and running the collective promotional campaign through the mutual aid group for all the members having joined the mutual aid group to produce winners; and controlling the running process of the mutual aid group including the process of grouping the businesses, the process of running the collective campaign, and the transformation of these processes. A system based on the computer-networks supports the implement of the above method.

To promote a product or a service a business usually has to advertise, to increase sales and the popularity of a product the business need also do advertising, so, various advertisements have become ubiquitous. On the other hand, in the today's world flooded with the advertisements, general consumers seam to be experiencing "advertising blindness", and they pay attention to the mediocre advertisements less and less. The advertising effectiveness appears uncertain. In this context, running a prize promotion like a sweepstake or a contest finds favor with a number of businesses because the prize promotion can more effectively attract public attention to them and their products. A research report said that 49% of the consumers logged onto the Internet at least once per month to enter the sweepstake; 24% of the consumers made their first online purchase based on the attractive sweepstake; and 76% of commercial sites named the sweepstake or the contest as their preferred method of the promotion. These facts indicate that the prize promotion has become a significant method and a popular way to promote a brand, to increase sales and to drive traffic. Particularly at present, the boom of electronic commerce sets a broader stage for the prize promotion.
As stated above, there are two main types of prize promotion, i.e. the sweepstake and the contest. This classification is based on the type of the prize promotional campaign. Regardless of which type, however, it is important to comply with the laws and regulations as running the prize promotion. According to federal, state, and local laws the sweepstakes or the contest becomes a "lottery", and thus, illegal, if all of the following three elements are present:                Prize—A prize is always present in such promotions.        Consideration—Consideration generally means that an entrant has to make a purchase or a payment or in some states do something substantial.        Chance—A chance means that a winner is selected at random.
Since the prize is always present in such promotions, one of the other two elements must be eliminated to avoid violating the laws. The difference between the sweepstake and the contest is just which element is eliminated. For the sweepstake, because a winner is selected by drawing of chance, the consideration must be eliminated, and thus the organizer of the sweepstake can't require a player to pay, purchase or do anything substantial for playing the game, while for the contest, a winner is selected on the basis of player's skill rather than the chance, so the chance has be eliminated, and thus it is allowed to require a payment or a purchase to enter the contest in most states. A business may choose a suitable type of prize promotion according to its need. The sweepstake and the contest are popular with the businesses and the consumers. However, at present there are some problems hindering the more widespread and more effective utilization of the prize promotion.
Problem 1, UNFAIRNESS: The sweepstake and the contest have large appeal. That is because they provide an opportunity to win the attractive prize. However, at present only those large businesses are able to run the sweepstake or the contest, but most of small businesses haven't the wherewithal to solely bear the high cost of the prize promotion. Supposing the annual sales of a restaurant can reach 1 million based on its operating condition, and the maximum profit is 100 thousand, how much money could the restaurant spend on the promotion? McDonald can offer a million as the prize for promoting its hamburger, but a local individual burger shop near a McDonald store can't bear such a high cost; that is to say, it can't do this only by itself because of lack of its wherewithal. The small business can afford some small gifts at most, but the small gifts can't compare with the large prize in attracting the consumers. Obviously, the small business is in an unfair and unfavorable position in running the promotion and market competition.
Problem 2, HARD CONTEST: As mentioned above, if a business desires its customers to make purchase while it runs a prize promotional campaign, it can only run the contest rather than the sweepstake to comply with the laws. To run a genuine contest the test question must really be able to test the player's skill, but isn't as simple as 1+2=? For a contest, it is the requirement that only a few players can win. If a number of players can pass the test, and finally to select the winners by the chance, the campaign isn't the genuine contest, but is the sweepstake. This is illegal. So, to run the genuine contest the business must build a professional test question bank and an executive system. This is very difficult for the small businesses, even for a big company because they lack necessary professional and technical resources. Maybe someone suggests employing a professional team. This is a good idea, but to employ the professional team to build the professional question bank and its corresponding executive system the business will have to spend lots of money. This indicates running the contest is more difficult and more complex than running the sweepstake. The business clearly knows that running the contest can increase even more sales, but they have to select the sweepstake. This is just the reason why the utilization of the contest is less than the utilization of the sweepstake in the prize promotional campaign. Some professional exams are well known, such as TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) and CPA (Certified Public Accountant) exam, as well as other intelligence exams. Unfortunately, no business can use anyone of them for the promotional contest. The reasons are that the systems of these exams and tests don't relate to running the prize promotion structurally. The professional exam is a close system and focuses on a professional field. Nobody can rent or share the exam and test systems. For example, if a business wants to hire accountants, the business can't rent the CPA exam system to test its candidates because the system structure of the professional exam isn't open to the businesses.
Problem 3, TOO HIGH COST: To run the prize promotion the business need do a lot of works: issuing tickets for the promotion, collecting the tickets, drawing winning numbers, selecting winners, particularly for the contest also including building the professional test question bank and marking an answer and so on. This must put a lot of labor and materials into the promotion, and the question bank doesn't often be used, this results in a higher operational cost and the waste of the resources. As mentioned above, if the business employs really the professional team it will have to spend lots of money. Without doubt, it is impossible to do so for overwhelming majority of the businesses particularly for the small businesses.
Problem 4, DECEIT: Certain deceitful matters occurred occasionally in the prize promotion. These deceitful matters mainly involve the following three aspects: First, some businesses ran a false contest deliberately or accidentally, for example, a false testing question may be so simple that everybody can answer, say, 1+2=?, that is to say, the question isn't a question at all. Finally a winner is still selected by drawing of chance or according to the business's discretion, and their purpose is just to intend to increase their sales by running such a nominal contest. The nominal contest complies with the laws in form, but it is still the sweepstake in fact. Obviously, this deceit is illegal. Second, some dishonest businesses didn't make good on their promises for the prize after the prize promotions ended. The promised prize finally becomes irredeemable. Third, some dishonest businesses set winning numbers in advance and divulge the numbers to their friends, even didn't set the winning numbers at all so that nobody would win the prize forever. Similarly, they can divulge their test questions and correct answers to their own preferred person.
Problem 5, DIFFICULTY OF UNION: Maybe a business can unite with other acquainted businesses by the personal relationship to share the prize promotion, but in this way the number of united businesses is always limited. In fact the more the number of businesses is, the less the cost born by each member is. Besides, the union is quite localized, but most of the businesses don't like to see their neighbors running a similar prize promotion at the same time in the same area because that will poach their customers and thus reduce the effect of their promotion. If there is a public platform that enables those unacquainted businesses to easily come together, it will overcome the difficulty. Though some websites collect the various prize promotions on their own websites, they only provide information about the prize promotions and links leading to the prize promotions. The prize promotions don't really run on the collectors' websites. The collectors don't manage the promotions, in fact, are unrelated to the promotions at all. The promotions are exclusive separately to one business, and don't recruit any new member.
Problem 6, SCATTER: Up to now the prize promotions are separately operated by some businesses and run in their respective sites in isolation from each other. Under this condition, it isn't easy to attract the public attention because the public doesn't know where the business and its promotion are. Usually the business has to do additional advertising to announce its promotion. This must increase the cost and reduce the effect of the promotion. Why do the consumers like to go to the trade show or the shopping mall? That is because there are a number of selectable shops concentrated there. Why do the businesses like to go to the trade show? That is because there is very heavy traffic there. So, for the prize promotion, either the business or the consumer expects such a place to enable the businesses and the consumers to converge.
Well then, is there any PRIOR ART that can solve the above problems? No good solution is found. Herein we can only cite two farfetched examples: the Groupon and the Kickstarter. The Groupon provides a platform for buyers to buy something in the form of a group for a wholesale discount. The Kickstarter is a funding platform for creative projects. On the Kickstarter anyone is eligible to launch a project. If someone likes the project, the one may pledge money to the project to make it happen. The Kickstarter creates a way for creators and audiences to work together to make a thing. When many backers jointly fund one project, it becomes to pool more small funds for a great task. Both provide a platform that enables the buyers and the backers to easily come together for a certain purpose, that is to say, they solve one of the above difficult problems, but they both can't solve the other problems. In fact they don't relate to the prize promotion because they lack the infrastructure of running the contest and the sweepstake.
TECHNOLOGICAL BACKGROUND: Generally, the majority of the small businesses don't know each other, and their business classifications are various, and they locate likely in different cities and areas. It is quite difficult to let lots of small unrelated businesses come together before the computer and the Internet arose, but with progress of the Internet technology and the client-server network architecture, it has become possible and very easy. The Internet comprises a vast number of computers including mobile devices and various computer networks interconnected by wire or wireless communication links. The interconnected machines exchange information and data using various services, such as the World Wide Web (WWW), Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), e-mail, Instant Communication, File Transfer Protocol (FTP), and so on. The World Wide Web service allows a server system to send graphical webpages of information to a remote client system, and the client system can then display the webpages. Each resource of WWW, such as a computer or a webpage, is uniquely identifiable by a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). To view a specific webpage a client has to specify the URL for that webpage in a request, e.g. a Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) request. The request is forwarded to the web server system supporting that webpage by a browser. When that server system receives the request, it should send that webpage to the client system, and after receiving the webpage the client system typically displays that webpage by the browser. The client-server network architecture provides the technological base of solving the above difficult problems hindering the development of the prize promotion.

System and method for sharing a prize promotion


In a voltage regulator including an inductor current flowing through a sense element with a first temperature coefficient, and a current sense circuit for generating a current sense signal related to the first temperature coefficient by sensing the inductor current from the sense element, a temperature compensation device and method determines a second temperature coefficient according to the first temperature coefficient and temperature variation, and produces a compensation signal with the second temperature coefficient to compensate variations in the current sense signal caused by the first temperature coefficient.

Voltage regulators have been applied extensively in various electronic products as power supplies. In state-of-art voltage regulators, in order to prevent load from being damaged due to voltage spike of the output in transients, voltage droop function is adapted for diminishing the voltage spike on the load in transients. FIG. 1 schematically shows a conventional voltage regulator 100 with voltage droop function, in which driver 104 switches transistors 106 and 108 coupled in series between input voltage Vin and ground GND in response to pulse width modulation (PWM) signal provided by control circuit 102. Thereby, inductor current IL is generated to charge output capacitor Co so that output voltage Vo is produced. In the control circuit 102, from the voltage drop across current sense resistor Rs due to the inductor current IL flowing therethrough, current sense circuit 110 produces current sense signal
                              Ix          =                                    IL              ×              Rs                        K                          ,                            [                  EQ                                -                              1                ]            where K is the equivalent resistance of the current sense circuit 110. The current sense signal Ix passes through droop resistor RADJ and produces load line droop voltageVdroop=Ix×RADJ.  [EQ-2]Because of virtual ground, the voltage on pin 116 intends to be equal to reference voltage Vref, and therefore the output voltage will beVo=Vref−Vdroop.  [EQ-3]Error amplifier 112 generates error signal EA from the difference between its inverting and non-inverting inputs, and PWM comparator 114 compares the error signal EA with ramp signal Vramp to determine the PWM signal for the driver 104. From the equations EQ-1, EQ-2 and EQ-3, it is known that the output voltage Vo of the regulator 100 will decrease as the inductor current IL increases.
FIG. 2 schematically shows another conventional voltage regulator 200 with voltage droop function, which comprises control circuit 102, driver 104, transistors 106 and 108, current sense circuit 110, error amplifier 112, PWM comparator 114, and current sense resistor Rs as well. However, the reference voltage Vref is coupled to the non-inverting input of the error amplifier 112 via the droop resistor RADJ and pin 116, and the output of the current sense circuit 110 is coupled to the non-inverting input of the error amplifier 112. When the current sense signal Ix passes through the droop resistor RADJ, load line droop voltage Vdroop is produced as described in the equation EQ-2. The inverting input of the error amplifier 112 is coupled to the output Vo, and thereby the output voltage Vo follows the equation EQ-3 due to virtual ground. Consequently, according to the equations EQ-1, EQ-2 and EQ-3, it is known that the output voltage Vo of the regulator 200 will decrease as the inductor current IL increases.
In a voltage regulator with droop function, the load line droop signal proportional to the output current is sensed by the current sense resistor. Unfortunately, the resistance of an ordinary resistor is a function of temperature, so that the load line is also the function of temperature. Consequently, incorrect operations may happen because the control circuit 102 provides incorrect PWM signal due to the incorrect current sense signal Ix caused by the temperature coefficient of the current sense resistor Rs. In order to prevent mal-operations by the control circuit 102 resulted from temperature variations, the droop resistor RADJ with proper negative temperature coefficient is chosen to be positioned in the vicinity of the current sense resistor Rs to compensate the voltage variations caused by temperature changes on the current sense resistor Rs with positive temperature coefficient. Nevertheless, resistors with negative temperature coefficients are not ordinary resistors and thereby are more expensive. In addition, in order to position the droop resistor RADJ nearby the current sense resistor Rs, the conductive wire between the pin 116 and droop resistor RADJ is lengthened, which makes the pin 116 tend to be affected by switching noises. Moreover, there is always a distance between the resistors RADJ and Rs, and hence the temperature changes in the resistors RADJ and Rs are different, thereby introducing inaccurate compensation to the current sense signal Ix. Furthermore, the position of the droop resistor RADJ in one voltage regulator may be different from that in another, and thereby various resistors with different negative temperature coefficients have to be prepared for the droop resistor RADJ in applications of various voltage regulators.

Temperature compensation device and method for a voltage regulator


A circuit arrangement (16) for monitoring electrical isolation in a power supply system (7). Electrical isolation is provided between a high-voltage system (8) and a low-voltage system (9), wherein the high-voltage system (8) and the low-voltage system (9) are connected to ground (14), and wherein the high-voltage system (8) has a first connection (T+) for a first supply voltage potential and a second connection (T−) for a second supply voltage potential of a voltage source (10). In each case, at least one variable resistor (Rm1, Rm2) is connected between the connections (T+, T−) and ground (14), and a voltage measuring device (17) for detecting a potential shift of the ground (14) relative to the supply voltage potentials when at least one of the resistors (Rm1, Rm2) is varied. And an evaluation device, which determines the ability of the electrical isolation to function depending on the detected potential shifts.

The invention relates to a circuit arrangement for monitoring electrical isolation in a power supply system, in particular a motor vehicle, which electrical isolation is provided between a high-voltage system and a low-voltage system of the power supply system, wherein the high-voltage system and the low-voltage system are connected to ground, and wherein the high-voltage system has a first connection for a first supply voltage potential and a second connection for a second supply voltage potential of a voltage source.
In addition, the invention relates to a method for monitoring electrical isolation in a power supply system as has been described above.
Circuit arrangements and methods for monitoring electrical isolation are known from the prior art. In particular in the case of modern motor vehicles which have a so-called hybrid drive apparatus, the on-board power supply system comprises at least two subsystems, a high-voltage system which is connected to a high-voltage source, which supplies energy to at least one electric machine or draws energy produced by the electric machine, and a low-voltage source for supplying the conventional part of the on-board power supply system, which supplies energy to loads, for example, such as interior lighting, a radio or a navigation system. Standards, regulations and functional requirements demand electrical isolation between the high-voltage system and the low-voltage system. This electrical isolation needs to be monitored in order to be able to ensure safe operation of the motor vehicle. For this monitoring, various methods are already known, but these methods have the disadvantage that only asymmetric cases are identified, i.e. when the isolation or electrical isolation with respect to the two voltage systems are impaired identically, this cannot be identified. Other methods are complex and involve high costs, and further methods cannot be used in the case of a clocking inverter, i.e. they can only be implemented before or after an operating cycle, but not during use of the power supply system.
Generally, both voltage systems are connected to ground or to a ground connection, wherein the high-voltage system is expediently connected to ground at a high resistance, and to in each case one of the energy stores. For this purpose, the high-voltage system has two connections, of which one is or can be connected to a first supply voltage potential, for example the positive terminal, and the second connection is or can be connected to a second supply voltage potential, for example to the negative terminal, of the voltage source.

Circuit arrangement and method for monitoring electrical isolation


A light source module includes a receiving container, a light source disposed in the receiving container and a filter filtering the light produced from the light source. A backlight unit includes a plurality of light source modules. The plurality of light source modules include a first light source module with a filter and a second light source module alternately disposed with the first light source module. The filter includes a substrate, a transparent layer disposed on the first metal layer and a second metal layer disposed on the transparent layer. The filter transilluminating light of specific area is disposed on the light source module. Thus, the backlight unit having high color reproducibility may be manufactured.

1. Field of the Invention
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a light source module and a backlight unit having the light source module. More particularly, exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to multiple light source modules with multiple filters and a backlight unit having the multiple light source modules with multiple filters.
2. Description of the Related Art
Nowadays, large screen LCD apparatus, such as television, include backlight unit having red-green-blue (RGB) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) for displaying images having high color reproducibility are being developed. The LCD apparatus requires an image having high color reproducibility and satisfying the requirements of the Adobe RGB color space, which is a standard color space made by Adobe Systems Incorporated, U.S.A.
The color ranges displayed by monitors, digital printers, printing press, etc., are limited. The limited color range displayed by a digital device is defined as a color space.
The Adobe RGB color space includes a broad color range. Particularly, the Adobe RGB color space includes broad color ranges corresponding to green and blue colors. The Adobe RGB color space is employed in printers, scanners, digital cameras, monitors, etc.
When the Adobe RGB color space is used in image data, a monitor is required to display an image of the wide color range to support the Adobe RGB color space, thereby displaying the image having required colors. Accordingly, the requirements for satisfying the Adobe RGB color space in the LCD apparatus having the LEDs have become even more important.
To meet the requirements of high color reproducibility, a backlight unit uses light sources including blue light-emitting diode with red phosphor and green light-emitting diode. But, the backlight unit can only cover 95% of the Adobe RGB. Accordingly, manufacturing the backlight unit satisfying the requirements of high color reproducibility is being recognized as an important issue.

Light source module and backlight unit having the same


A system and method is disclosed for locating people or objects. In particular, a system and method for locating a wireless mobile station using a plurality of mobile station location estimators is disclosed. The system is useful for 911 emergency calls, tracking, routing, people and animal location including applications for confinement to and exclusion from certain areas. Additionally, a computational system and method for calibrating the relative performance of multiple models for various application domains is disclosed (e.g., medical, vehicle, communication diagnosis, robotics, seismic signal processing, recognition of terrestrial and/or airborne objects from satellites), wherein each such model may generate hypotheses (e.g., estimates and/or predictions) of an unknown condition. Additionally, the computational system and method may be distributed across a network such as the Internet.

Introduction
Wireless communications systems are becoming increasingly important worldwide. Wireless cellular telecommunications systems are rapidly replacing conventional wire-based telecommunications systems in many applications. Cellular radio telephone networks ("CRT"), and specialized mobile radio and mobile data radio networks are examples. The general principles of wireless cellular telephony have been described variously, for example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,295,180 to Vendetti, et al, which is incorporated herein by reference.
There is great interest in using existing infrastructures for wireless communication systems for locating people and/or objects in a cost effective manner. Such a capability would be invaluable in a variety of situations, especially in emergency or crime situations. Due to the substantial benefits of such a location system, several attempts have been made to design and implement such a system.
Systems have been proposed that rely upon signal strength and trilateralization techniques to permit location include those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,818,998 and 4,908,629 to Apsell et al. ("the Apsell patents") and U.S. Pat. No. 4,891,650 to Sheffer ("the Sheffer patent"). However, these systems have drawbacks that include high expense in that special purpose electronics are required. Furthermore, the systems are generally only effective in line-of-sight conditions, such as rural settings. Radio wave surface reflections, refractions and ground clutter cause significant distortion, in determining the location of a signal source in most geographical areas that are more than sparsely populated. Moreover, these drawbacks are particularly exacerbated in dense urban canyon (city) areas, where errors and/or conflicts in location measurements can result in substantial inaccuracies.
Another example of a location system using time of arrival and triangulation for location are satellite-based systems, such as the military and commercial versions of the Global Positioning Satellite system ("GPS"). GPS can provide accurate position determination (i.e., about 100 meters error for the commercial version of GPS) from a time-based signal received simultaneously from at least three satellites. A ground-based GPS receiver at or near the object to be located determines the difference between the time at which each satellite transmits a time signal and the time at which the signal is received and, based on the time differentials, determines the object's location. However, the GPS is impractical in many applications. The signal power levels from the satellites are low and the GPS receiver requires a clear, line-of-sight path to at least three satellites above a horizon of about 60 degrees for effective operation. Accordingly, inclement weather conditions, such as clouds, terrain features, such as hills and trees, and buildings restrict the ability of the GPS receiver to determine its position. Furthermore, the initial GPS signal detection process for a GPS receiver is relatively long (i.e., several minutes) for determining the receiver's position. Such delays are unacceptable in many applications such as, for example, emergency response and vehicle tracking.
Summary of Factors Affecting RF Propagation
The physical radio propagation channel perturbs signal strength, frequency (causing rate changes, phase delay, signal to noise ratios (e.g., C/I for the analog case, or Eb/No, RF energy per bit, over average noise density ratio for the digital case) and Doppler-shift. Signal strength is usually characterized by:                Free Space Path Loss (Lp)        Slow fading loss or margin (Lslow)        Fast fading loss or margin (Lfast)
Loss due to slow fading includes shadowing due to clutter blockage (sometimes included in Lp). Fast fading is composed of multipath reflections which cause: 1) delay spread; 2) random phase shift or Rayleigh fading; and 3) random frequency modulation due to different Doppler shifts on different paths.
Summing the path loss and the two fading margin loss components from the above yields a total path loss of:Ltotal=Lp+Lslow+Lfast Referring to FIG. 3, the figure illustrates key components of a typical cellular and PCS power budget design process. The cell designer increases the transmitted power PTX by the shadow fading margin Lslow which is usually chosen to be within the 1–2 percentile of the slow fading probability density function (PDF) to minimize the probability of unsatisfactorily low received power level PRX at the receiver. The PRX level must have enough signal to noise energy level (e.g., 10 dB) to overcome the receiver's internal noise level (e.g., −118dBm in the case of cellular 0.9 GHz), for a minimum voice quality standard. Thus in the example PRX must never be below −108 dBm, in order to maintain the quality standard.
Additionally the short term fast signal fading due to multipath propagation is taken into account by deploying fast fading margin Lfast, which is typically also chosen to be a few percentiles of the fast fading distribution. The 1 to 2 percentiles compliment other network blockage guidelines. For example the cell base station traffic loading capacity and network transport facilities are usually designed for a 1–2 percentile blockage factor as well. However, in the worst-case scenario both fading margins are simultaneously exceeded, thus causing a fading margin overload.

Multiple evaluators for evaluation of a purality of conditions


The coating of internal surfaces of a workpiece is achieved by connecting a bias voltage such that the workpiece functions as a cathode and by connecting an anode at each opening of the workpiece. A source gas is introduced at an entrance opening, while a vacuum source is connected at an exit opening. Pressure within the workpiece is monitored and the resulting pressure information is used for maintaining a condition that exhibits the hollow cathode effect. Optionally, a pre-cleaning may be provided by introducing a hydrocarbon mixture and applying a negative bias to the workpiece, so as to sputter contaminants from the workpiece using argon gas. Argon gas may also be introduced during the coating processing to re-sputter the coating, thereby improving uniformity along the length of the workpiece. The coating may be a diamond-like carbon material having properties which are determined by controlling ion bombardment energy.

Often the assembly of the various components of a piping system adversely affects the properties of the material used for piping. For example, welding of the high purity 316L stainless steel tubing used to supply process gas for semiconductor manufacturing equipment can change the properties of the stainless steel. The change is due to heating and vapor plume effects, such that when the gasline is filled with a corrosive gas (e.g., SiCl2H2), it is usually the heat effected zone (welded area) that is most likely to exhibit corrosion failure. This is also true for the exhaust piping that forms the path from pumps to scrubbers.
Much effort has been expended in improving the corrosion resistance of specialty metal alloys, for example stainless steel, by precisely defining chemistry levels (e.g., 16 to 18% Cr in 316L SS) and decreasing impurity levels (e.g., less than 0.03% S and C in 316L SS) that remain after melting and refining. This requires specialized steel manufacturing methods, such as vacuum oxygen decarburization (VOD), vacuum induction melting (VIM) and vacuum arc remelting (VAR), which add significant cost. An additional problem with low impurity steel is that machinability, hardness and other relevant considerations can be negatively affected. Expensive post machining processing, such as burnishing and electropolishing, often must be performed in order to meet hardness and surface roughness requirements specified by organizations, particularly Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI). One solution to these issues is to coat a lower grade base material with a high quality coating material having the desired mechanical, electrical or optical properties (e.g., high hardness and corrosion resistance). Typically, these types of properties will be found in metal, ceramic or diamond-like coatings.
Other expensive specialty alloys, such as Hastelloy and Inconel (both of which are federally registered trademarks of Huntington Alloys Corporation), are commonly used for exhaust piping in not only the semiconductor industry, but in chemical processing industries in general. These alloys exhibit high temperature strength and corrosion resistance. Again, a less expensive base material can be used if a suitable surface coating is applied to the interior surface which is to be exposed to the corrosive environment.
A fundamental concern in the use of high-grade metals or metal coatings for corrosion resistance is that the assembly of the high purity metal components often includes welding of the various components. As previously noted, the heat associated with the welding process can change the chemistry of the steel or the coating. As a consequence of differences in vapor pressures of the various components, some material will vaporize and re-deposit downstream on the surface. This change in chemistry can destroy the effort placed on manufacturing the steel to be corrosion resistant and has been shown to be a major source of corrosion failures that cause particulate and contamination problems and ultimately can cause system failure and health and safety issues as a result of leaks.
Prior art coating methods include chemical vapor deposition (CVD), physical vapor deposition (PVD), plasma spray, electroplating and sol-gel. Of these methods, CVD and PVD provide the highest quality films with regard to purity, adhesion, uniformity and other properties. Both of these techniques require the use of a specialized vacuum chamber, making it difficult to coat fully assembled components. In the case of piping or tubing for carrying corrosive material, the interior surface that is in contact with the corrosive material must be coated. For very low pressure techniques such as PVD, where the pressure is below or near the molecular flow region, coating interior surfaces has been limited to only large diameter and short length (small aspect ratio) tubes. Similarly, CVD techniques are limited to such applications, due to the need to supply heat for the chemical reaction, which can damage heat-sensitive substrates. Plasma enhanced CVD (PECVD) can be used to lower the temperature required for reaction, but there is then difficulty in maintaining uniform plasma inside the pipe and in preventing depletion of source gas as it flows down the pipe.
The plasma immersion ion implantation and deposition (PIIID) technique has been shown to be useful for coating the external surfaces of complex shapes. PIIID is performed by applying a negative bias to the workpiece, which will pull positive ions toward the workpiece, if the plasma sheath is conformal. There are also improvements that can be made to film properties such as adhesion and film density via ion bombardment of the workpiece.
Methods of coating the interior surface of tubes have been described whereby the source material to be applied is inserted into the tube and then sputtered or arced off onto the tube. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,026,466 to Wesemeyer et al. describes a method of inserting a cathode into a tube and arcing the cathodic material onto the inside of the tube. U.S. Pat. No. 4,407,712 to Henshaw et al. describes a hollow cathode with a high evaporation temperature metal source inserted into a tube, with a cathode arc removing the source material from the hollow cathode and coating the inside surface of the tube. This type of arrangement has several drawbacks, including being limited to only large diameter tubes (due to having to insert the hollow cathode tube with associated heat shield and cooling tubes into the tube to be coated), the requirement of complicated arrangements for motion of anode and hollow cathode through the tube, and the generation of macro-particles by cathodic arc.
The known types of methods have the disadvantage of having to be performed at a remote location in a specialized vacuum chamber. This precludes the ability to coat all the welded sections of a long run of corrosive gasline or exhaust piping after welding has been completed. U.S. Pat. No. 4,714,589 to Auwerda et al. describes coating the inside of a tube by plasma activated deposition of a gas mixture, but this method is limited to electrically insulative tubes and coatings, and involves a complicated system for moving a microwave source along the outside of the tube. A less complex approach is sought.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and system for coating internal surfaces of prefabricated process piping in the field


A method of monitoring signals is disclosed, wherein a plurality of command signals and address signals are consecutively expressed, as a measurement target. The method includes setting a strobe timing that has a predetermined initial value; calculating an error rate by monitoring the plurality of command signals, in accordance with the strobe timing; monitoring the plurality of address signals, and calculating a burst rate from a difference between the consecutive plurality of address signals, in accordance with the strobe timing; identifying timing where the calculated error rate and calculated burst rate are both optimized; and in the event the timing where both the calculated error rate and calculated burst rate are optimized cannot be identified, altering a predetermined value of the set strobe timing, and repeating the calculating, monitoring, and identifying.

The present invention relates to a mechanism that ensures the accuracy of measurement data of a signal. More specifically, the present invention relates to performing calibration of trace data that records access to memory.
Trace data (command signal, address signal) of actual access to main memory (DDR DRAM) of the computer can be acquired by using a specialized hardware. DDR DRAM (Double-Data-Rate Dynamic Random Access Memory) is sometimes referred to as DDR SDRAM (Double-Data-Rate Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory). DDR DRAM is a type of standard for DRAM including a semiconductor integrated circuit that is used in personal computers.
With DDR DRAM, data is transferred at the rising edge and falling edge of the clock signal, and theoretically, a double data transfer rate is achieved as compared to SDRAM that operates synchronous to the clock. For normal signal integrity checks, calibration is performed by comparing the actual measurement value using a given value such as a test pattern and the like, and an anticipated value. With DDR DRAM, periodic calibration is performed at system startup for the data signal, but calibration is not performed at all for the command signal and the address signal.
Tracing is performed by monitoring a signal line (using FPGA and the like) for the command and address of the measurement target, but if the measurement target is high speed (synchronization at the nanosecond level is required), fine adjustment of strobe timing must be performed or accurate measurement data cannot be obtained. With a trace that uses snoop on the signal line, if calibration is performed by the acquired signal, the calibration operation of the measurement target can also be used for the calibration of the tracer, but adaption of this technique is difficult for the command signal and the address signal of DDR DRAM.
Because there is no technique that calibrates the command signal and the address signal of the DDR memory described above, a mechanism that ensures the accuracy of the measurement data of the tracer is necessary. As a software technique, a specific access pattern is generated in a specific physical address from a CPU, and verification is possible by comparing the measurement data, however several problems exist.
From the fact that concealing access by cache and identification of exact time is difficult, one-to-one correspondence of memory access by SW on the CPU and actual memory access is difficult. Also, with a general purpose OS that uses a virtual address, access to a specific physical address cannot be generated. Synchronization of SW and HW at a high speed nanosecond level is difficult, and detection of verification data from the large amount of trace data is necessary.
With conventional technology that uses a hardware device, a waveform of the DRAM signal can be visualized by sweeping trigger timing and threshold voltage using a logic analyzer. Based on looking at the waveform diagram, fine adjustment of the strobe timing is possible. The logic analyzer displays a signal on a digital circuital that is too fast to be observed by humans. The logic analyzer can only examine the transition timing of the signal, and the measurement value must be examined by a separate protocol analyzer.
However, although existing products that use a logic analyzer as a base are expensive, the amount of data that can be traced is small, and use for long term measurement is not possible. On the other hand, if FPGA is used, a measurement device that is comparatively inexpensive can be implemented, but achieving reliability of a measurement signal similar to that of a logic analyzer that uses a dedicated circuit is difficult. There is demand for a tracer that can ensure reliability of measurement data obtained in large amounts, has general purpose properties, is inexpensive, and has scalability.
International Patent Publication WO2002/063473, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application 2002-229814, and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application 2003-150403 disclose that a required logic function is achieved using FPGA, and a system such as a CPU bus and the like is evaluated (calibrated) using the logic function. Japanese Unexamined Patent Application 2011-59953 discloses a device that verifies logic of the memory controller. However, none of the foregoing publications relate to calibration techniques for a bus that uses the various properties that are a part of memory bus and CPU bus protocol.

Integrity check of measured signal trace data

Lenovo Enterprise Solutions (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.


Aspects of the present invention relate to methods and systems for determining output responses and device targets for multi-colorant output devices. Some aspects relate to methods and systems for multi-dimensional rectilinear sampling, transformation of samples from an unlimited colorant space to a colorant-limited space, obtaining additional samples within a colorant-limitation hyperplane and interpolation of values in a colorant-limited space.

Printing device technology faces the problem of sampling and modeling a colorant-limited multi-colorant signal space. For example, in halftone offset printing processes, there is often a total area coverage limit (TAC limit), e.g., 280%, for colorants to be applied. Such limits may be media type dependent. Similar limits often apply to inkjet, electro-photographic and other color printing processes. In this example, any CMYK combinations where C+M+Y+K exceeds 280% will over-ink the paper and might cause mechanical, image quality, or drying problems—depending on the particular printing process. The problem arises in converting colorant values from a non-limited color space to a colorant-limited color space.

Methods and systems for sampling and modeling of colorant-limited, multi-colorant color spaces


The systems and methods of the present invention provide for a number of improvements to the TV consumption process, including personalization, community viewing, shared presence and context, messaging, access to ratings and recommendations (including community reviews), alerts, etc. One method that the present invention provides allows for the indication of a given user's context to be provided to other users, such as users in the given user's social network. The method comprises generating an indication of a change in context for a given user, the context comprising information regarding an action of the given user. The indication of the change in context for the given user is propagated to one or more users in the social network for the given user. The indication of the change in context of the given user is presented to users in the given user's social network in conjunction with TV content.

The present invention generally provides methods and systems for facilitating messaging and messaging related services in a television environment. More specifically, the present invention provides methods and systems that facilitate the interaction between messaging and television platforms to allow for interaction between users in a television environment.
Systems for distributing TV content are generally well known to those of skill in the art. Over the past several decades, the number of systems designed for the distribution and consumption of TV content has proliferated, while the number of available channels of TV content has skyrocketed. For example, viewers are now able to consume TV content over cable, over the air broadcast, satellite, fiber optic, as well as other point (and multipoint) to multipoint distribution systems, each potentially offering several hundred channels of scheduled and on-demand TV content. Consumers have had difficulty in effectively utilizing the pool of available TV content due to a lack of useful tools for analyzing programming to determine the TV content that is potentially the most enjoyable to the user. Furthermore, the viewing of TV content has heretofore been an essentially solitary experience outside of viewing TV content with another individual located at the same location.
Messaging services, as well as platforms for providing the same, are also well know to those of skill in the art. A messaging platform provides a foundation for shared communications between users and allows a user to identify one or more"buddies", which are users of the messaging platform who are in a given user's social network. For example, two users using a messaging client, each in communication with a messaging server, may exchange instant message communications between their respective clients. Using messenger clients and servers, users may also engage in a shared web browsing experience, as well as sharing other applications. Unfortunately, there are no techniques for implementing the shared experience and interactivity with other users of a messaging platform when viewing TV content.
In order to overcome these shortcomings and other problems associated with existing apparatuses and techniques for viewing TV content and interacting with messaging platforms, embodiments of the present invention provide systems and methods for both a shared viewing experience of TV content, as well as providing messenger and messenger related services and content within the framework of viewing TV content, in addition to other improvements to the art.

Framework for providing digital home services


A device for feeding a converting unit with a web substrate, the converting unit converting the substrate when stopped. The device includes a main drive roller rotating on a main shaft a main electric drive motor (14) rotating (T) the main roller (12), a satellite roller oscillating about the main roller (12), between upstream and downstream on the path of a substrate. Two lateral levers secured to the main shaft hold the satellite roller and are mounted on the main shaft. The substrate is maintained between the main and satellite rollers to change cyclically between a constant speed to a zero speed at the exit side of the satellite roller. At least one secondary electric drive motor oscillates the main shaft, the two lateral levers and the satellite roller.

The present invention relates to a device for feeding a converting unit with a web substrate. The invention also relates to a station for feeding a converting unit with a web substrate, the converting unit converting the substrate when stopped. Such a station comprises a feeding device according to the present invention. Such an unit for converting the substrate is a diecutting platen press or else a printing platen. The invention finally relates to a packaging production machine incorporating a feeding station with a web substrate and a subsequent unit for converting the substrate.
A packaging production machine is designed for the manufacture of boxes, which will be suitable for forming packages, by folding and gluing. In a packaging production machine, production begins with an initial continuous substrate, that is to say a virgin web, for example of cardboard, that is unwound continuously, printed by one or more printing units, optionally embossed, and then cut in a diecutting platen press.
The blanks or boxes obtained are then shingled before being stacked in rows in order to form stacks in a delivery and palletizing station for the purpose of storing them or conveying them out of the production machine.
A diecutting platen press or a printing platen is a converting unit that requires a momentary stopping of the progression of the substrate during the conversion. Because of the continuous feeding upstream, an accumulation of the substrate occurs in the form of an upstream loop.
A feeding station is used first of all for placing the printing in longitudinal and lateral register with the cutting. The other function of the feeding station is to create cyclically and to control this loop at all times which becomes longer during the stop due to the working of the press and which becomes shorter when the feeding of the press resumes for the purpose of the subsequent conversion. The feeding station transforms the continuous progression of the substrate into an intermittent progression, at each work cycle of the converting unit, while maintaining a constant tension of the substrate at the loop control.

Device for feeding a converting unit with a web substrate for a feeding station in a packaging production machine


A method, computer program product, and system for identifying collaborators is described. A command precursor associated with delivery of a voice command associated with an electronic meeting is received. An audio signal including the voice command is received. A portion of the audio signal is identified as representing the voice command, based upon, at least in part, receiving the command precursor. The voice command is interpreted. The interpreted voice command is caused to be executed.

In various situations, individuals and/or groups may participate in electronic meetings. Electronic meetings may be interactions among individuals facilitated by electronic means. For example, communication applications may facilitate speech-, text-, and/or video-enabled communication sessions among a plurality of individuals. Certain electronic meetings may include presentation of audio-visual media to meeting participants in addition/as an alternative to speech, text, and/or video communication. For example, certain communication applications may permit meeting participants to view and/or control the presentation of various slides or other content. In the context of electronic communication, individuals may sometimes employ voice commands in order to activate and/or control various functionality.

Interleaving voice commands for electronic meetings

International Business Machines Corporation