Various embodiments provide, for example, buffer compositions and/or sieving formulations useful in connection with electrophoresis instruments, such as capillary electrophoresis (CE) devices. In various embodiments, a buffer composition can include Bis-Tris, TAPS and/or TAPSO, and, optionally, a chelating agent, such as EDTA. Methods of separating samples containing bio-molecules, such as DNA or RNA, are also described.

Electrophoresis is commonly used to separate biological molecules, such as deoxyribonucleic acid ("DNA"), ribonucleic acid ("RNA"), proteins, etc., according to size or length.
DNA base sequencing and fragment analysis are among the most useful embodiments of electrophoresis separations. In DNA base sequencing, for example, a DNA sequencing product is denatured and the resulting single stranded DNA sample is applied to an electrophoresis gel for separation.
Unfortunately, it is not uncommon to encounter sequencing errors involving specific sequences which are difficult to resolve. One such problem, called a "compression," occurs when the single-stranded fragments anneal to themselves to form a "hairpin" structure at a particular position. The following schematic generally illustrates such an occurrence:

This may cause the fragment to migrate more quickly through the gel than one would expect from its length, which can result in bands that run very close together, sometimes overlapping one another.

Buffers for electrophoresis and use thereof


A stringed instrument work station and hanging system 10 includes a low profile cabinet 12 configured with a slide-out drawer 14 that is shaped to support a guitar or other type of stringed instrument when repairing, adjusting, or otherwise working on the instrument. The drawer includes longitudinal walls or rails for spanning between the drawer end walls (46) for not only holding tools and spare parts for the stringed instruments, but also for supporting the body portion of the stringed instrument when the instrument is positioned on the opened drawer. Various neck supports (78) and (80) are utilized with the drawer (14) for supporting the neck of the stringed instrument when being serviced. The neck supports (78) and (80) can be positioned at various locations across the drawer (14).

The present invention pertains to work stations and hanging systems for stringed instruments, and in particular, guitars and similar instruments.
Before a musical performance, it is often necessary to adjust musical instruments, including guitars and other stringed instruments. There is often no convenient surface or bench on which to make adjustments or repairs to stringed instruments, especially when at a performance venue. Also, at a performance venue, once the guitar or stringed instrument is removed from its case, there are few locations at which to safely place the instrument and avoid inadvertent damage to the guitar from being bumped or otherwise disturbed. The present disclosure seeks to address the foregoing matters by providing a work station and hanging system for stringed instruments.

Work station and hanging system for stringed instruments


A layer assemblage for a semiconductor chip having a chip body for producing a soldering connection for the chip. The assemblage is provided on a side of a chip body formed from a semiconducting material, wherein the layer assemblage is formed from a plurality of sequential metal layers which follow one above another and are produced by means of a physical coating method, and wherein a solderable soldering layer is provided between a noble metal layer situated at a surface of the layer assemblage and the chip body. In order to avoid an undesired penetration of a solder through the layer assemblage the soldering layer has at least one internal interface formed by an interruption of the coating method.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to a layered metal chip used to produce a soldering connection for a power semiconductor module.
2. Description of the Related Art
Known chips for producing power semiconductor modules are usually soldered onto a support, e.g. a Direct Copper Bonded ("DCB") substrate or a metallic plate, for heat dissipation purposes. Reference is made to Lugscheider E. et al. "Spannungsreduktion in Chip-DCB-Verbunden mittels Ausnutzung der intrinsischen Spannungseigenschaften von PVD-Metallisierungsschichten" ["Stress reduction in chip-DCB composite assemblies by means of utilization of the intrinsic stress properties of PVD metallization layers"], Verbundwerkstoffe and Werkstoffverbunde [Composite materials and materials composites], M. Schimmerer (ed.), 2005. Soldering connections may furthermore be necessary for producing electrical connections.
In order to produce the soldering connection, a layer assemblage formed from a plurality of metallic layers is provided on at least one side of the chip body. The layer assemblage is generally terminated by a noble metal layer, which prevents an undesired oxidation of the metallic layers situated therebeneath. A soldering layer is usually situated below the noble metal layer, which soldering layer, during the production of the soldering connection, at least partly melts together with the solder and, after solidification, fixedly connects the chip body to the support via further metallic layers connected to the soldering layer.
During the production of chip-DCB composite assemblies, in particular, it may be necessary to carry out a plurality of soldering operations. In this case, it may happen that the layer assemblage produced from the metallic layers, in particular, is heated repeatedly to a temperature of from about 200 to about 250° C. When a soldering connection that has already been produced is reheated, it can happen that a new melt forms from the soldering layer and the solder advances in the direction of the chip body and penetrates through further metallic layers of the layer assemblage in an undesirable manner. Consequently, voids or pores can form within the layer assemblage. Such voids or pores weaken the mechanical strength and/or electrical conductivity of the soldering connection.


The present disclosure provides a semiconductor device which includes a base layer and a buffer structure. The base layer includes a first semiconductor compound having a first lattice constant and including a plurality of elements, and an atomic radius of one of the plurality of elements which has the largest atomic radius is defined as a first atomic radius. The buffer structure includes a second semiconductor compound and a first additive. The second semiconductor compound has a second lattice constant and the first additive has a second atomic radius. The second lattice constant is larger than the first lattice constant, and the second atomic radius is larger than the first atomic radius.

With the rapid development of technology, semiconductor devices play a very important role in the areas of data transmission and energy conversion. The research and development of the related materials also continue. For example, III-V compound semiconductor made of Group III and Group V elements can be used in a variety of photoelectric devices, such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs), laser diodes (LDs), solar cells, lighting, medicine, display, communications, sensing, and power systems. The LED device is suitable for solid-state lighting sources and has the advantages of low power consumption and long life so it has been gradually replacing traditional light sources and widely used in traffic signs, backlight modules, lighting apparatuses, and medical equipment.


An apparatus for automatically controlling the flow of fluid in an inlet conduit that provides the water supply for a home or building so as to prevent water damage due to a failure in the water system when unattended. The apparatus comprises a power circuit for supplying a low voltage DC power output which is connectable to a standard AC power source and includes an internal battery which operates in case of AC power failure. A flow sensor and a shutoff valve are connected in the inlet conduit. A control circuit which can be preset for different operational modes, receives and processes flow status signals from the flow sensor and provides output signals that control the shutoff valve, so that if continuous flow is detected in the conduit for a time period exceeding a preselected time, the shutoff valve will automatically close.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to an automatic shutoff system for a fluid supply and more particularly to means and methods for (1) detecting fluid movements (2) evaluating detected fluid movements according to predetermined criteria and (3) shutting off the system when undesired flow occurs.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The need for detecting leaks in plumbing systems and responding by closing shutoff valves has been widely appreciated. See for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,705,060, 4,518,955, 4,522,229 and 4,180,088. Undetected leaks may cause loss of valuable fluids conducted within the plumbing system, and the leaking fluid may cause extensive damages on the surroundings such as water damage or damage due to corrosion or even explosion.
Automatic shutoff systems heretofore devised experienced difficulty in detecting low volume fluid movement such as might occur due to a very small leak in the system. However, over a period of time, even small leaks may cause extensive damage. Accordingly, it became desirable to provide an effective low flow rate sensor in an automatic fluid shutoff system.
Another problem with prior art fluid shutoff systems arose with regard to providing ample power during normal power outages or failures. If a leak in the plumbing system occurred during an incipient power outage, shutoff systems of the prior art could not respond. Such power failures as well as plumbing system failures can be caused by the same catastrophic occurrence such as an earthquake, tornado, etc. Accordingly, it is necessary under such circumstances that an automatic fluid shutoff system incorporates a low voltage shutoff valve that is fully operable when energized by a low voltage battery. Moreover, it is desirable, if not essential, that a fluid shutoff system be fully operable with minimal power from a battery back up during periods of power outage and also be able to shut down the fluid plumbing system by means of the low voltage shutoff valve if and when the power failure continues past the life of the back up battery.
There are times when the plumbing system of a house or building is monitored and operated such as by a worker or homeowner but also there are times when the plumbing system is not monitored such as when the worker is called away or the home is vacant. If a fluid system malfunction or failure should occur in the absence of a monitoring person, serious damage and flooding could occur. Accordingly it is desirable to provide a highly sensitive means to automatically detect a malfunction and a lower power means to disconnect the fluid supply from the plumbing system. The shutoff should be accomplished within a predetermined time period of uninterrupted water flow when the plumbing system is monitored and within a relatively short time period of uninterrupted water flow when the plumbing system is not monitored by an operator or homeowner.
Accordingly, a general object of the present invention is to provide an automatic shutoff control system for a fluid or plumbing system that solves the aforesaid problems.
Another object of the invention is to provide a highly efficient and sensitive low flow rate sensor by a relatively small amount of power and thus in an automatic fluid shutoff system.
Another object of the invention is to provide a shutoff valve that is fully operable by a low voltage battey in the event of the loss of conventional house power.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an automatic fluid shutoff system that can be adjusted to accomplish system fluid shutoff within a longer period of uninterrupted water flow when the plumbing system is being monitored or to shut off the fluid supply within a relatively shorter predetermined period of uninterrupted water flow when the plumbing system is not being monitored by an operator or a homeowner.
Other objects of the invention are to provide a fluid shutoff system which can be easily installed with a minimum of tools and labor or which is durable and reliable; and one which is particularly well adapted for ease and economy of manufacture.


Polymers are disclosed that include a structure having the formula

Thiol-terminated sulfur-containing compounds are known to be well-suited for use in various applications, such as aerospace sealant compositions, which is due, in large part, to their fuel-resistant nature upon cross-linking. Other desirable properties for aerospace sealant compositions include low temperature flexibility, long application time (the time during which the sealant remains usable), short curing time (the time required to reach a predetermined strength) and high-temperature resistance, among others. Sealant compositions exhibiting at least some of these characteristics and containing thiol-terminated sulfur-containing compounds are described in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,466,963, 4,366,307, 4,609,762, 5,225,472, 5,912,319, 5,959,071, 6,172,179, 6,232,401, 6,372,849 and 6,509,418.
Nevertheless, a need in the art exists for polythioether polymers that may be used in curable compositions that can exhibit acceptable properties for aerospace compositions, such as aerospace coating or sealant compositions, while potentially having a reduced manufacturing and/or application cost as compared to prior art compositions exhibiting similar properties.

Polythioether polymers and curable compositions containing them

Abstract: wherein, R1 is independently selected from a C2-10 n-alkylene group, a C2-6 branched alkylene group, a C6-8 cycloalkylene group, a C6-10 alkylcycloalkylene group, —[(—CH2—)p—X—]q—(—CH2—)r—, or —[(—CH2—)p—X—]q—(—CH2—)r—, wherein at least one —CH2— unit is substituted with a methyl group, wherein p is an integer having a value ranging from 2 to 6, q is an integer having a value ranging from 1 to 5, r is an integer having a value ranging from 2 to 10, and X is selected from O, S, and —NR—, wherein R is hydrogen or methyl; R2 denotes a structure derived from allyl (meth)acrylate or a multi-functional (meth)acrylate; R3 is independently selected from hydrogen and an alkyl group; n is an integer having a value ranging from 1 to 60; and m is a rational number having a value ranging from 0 to 10. Also disclosed are curable compositions containing such polymers, methods for making such polymers, and methods of coating and/or sealing substrates with such compositions.


Audio input may be received at one or more microphones of a mobile device. Based on the audio input, a change in an acoustic environment of the device, such as a change in a direction of arrival of the audio input or a degradation in a quality of acoustic echo cancellation being performed upon the audio input, may be detected. A determination may be made that the detected change coincides with a non-acoustic physical event detected using an auxiliary sensor at the mobile device. The event may for example be device motion, a new proximate object, a change in a proximity of an object, a new heat source or a change in a heat level from a known heat source. Based on the determining, a signal processor, possibly comprising an audio beamformer or echo canceller, may be recalibrated, e.g. the audio beamformer or echo canceller may be caused to reconverge.

A mobile electronic device (or simply "mobile device"), such as a smartphone, tablet computer, cordless telephone, handheld two-way radio, digital audio recorder, or other device, may maintain a model of its acoustic environment. The term "acoustic environment" may refer to the location, in relation to a microphone array at the mobile device for example, of audio sources in a physical space in which the mobile device is situated. The location of each audio source may be represented as a direction or angle of arrival of the audio from the source relative to the microphone array. The term "acoustic environment" may alternatively, or in conjunction, refer to the location of reflecting surfaces within the physical space that may reflect sound and thereby cause acoustic echoes. This may be represented at the device as an acoustic path between an audio source (e.g. a speaker of the mobile device) and a microphone of the device.
A model of the acoustic environment may be used by the mobile device for various purposes. For example, a model of the location of one or more audio sources in the physical space relative to the device, may be used to facilitate beamforming. Beamforming generally refers to a signal processing technique used for directional signal reception by sensor arrays. In the case of audio, this is achieved by combining signals from the microphones comprising the array in such a way that desired signals at particular angles experience constructive interference while undesired signals experience destructive interference. In this manner, a desired audio source (e.g. a device user who is actively speaking) may be enhanced while undesired audio sources (e.g. other persons or background noise) may be attenuated or cancelled.
In another example, a model of the reflecting surfaces of the physical space may be used to facilitate echo cancellation. The term "echo cancellation" as used herein refers to the removal of an acoustic echo, such as the reflection of sound waves by surfaces in a physical space in which the mobile device is situated, via signal processing. For instance, when a remote talker's voice is played through the device speaker and bounces off a surface near the device, such as a proximate wall or the face of the user holding the device to his or her ear, an acoustic echo may be created. This acoustic echo may be received at the microphone of the mobile device. Cancellation of such an acoustic echo at the device may be desirable to avoid transmitting it back to the remote talker, who may consider it distracting to hear his or her own voice after a slight round-trip transmission delay. An acoustic echo can be removed at the mobile device by first identifying duplicated sounds (echo) in received audio input then "subtracting" those duplicate sounds from the received audio input. This technique may be implemented using a digital signal processor (DSP) hardware and/or software for example.

Using an auxiliary device sensor to facilitate disambiguation of detected acoustic environment changes


The present invention has an object to provide a polyalkylene glycol-based polymer having high anti-soil redeposition ability in washing treatment and having high compatibility with surfactants. The polyalkylene glycol-based polymer includes: a structure unit (a) derived from a polyalkylene glycol-based monomer (A) of a specific structure, and a structure unit (b) derived from a carboxyl group-containing monomer (B) at specific ratios.

Polyalkylene glycol-based polymers are useful polymers used in various industrial fields, and have high performance when used, for example, in dispersants, detergent compositions, and the like in aqueous environment. In the case that polyalkylene glycol-based polymers are used in aqueous environment, several influential factors such as the quality of water to be used and the interaction with other materials used in combination should be considered. Specifically, the hardness of water is different among countries or regions, and some of polyalkylene glycol-based polymers that produce various effects in aqueous environment with low water hardness may not produce sufficient effects in aqueous environment with high water hardness. When used, for example, in a detergent composition containing a surfactant, some polyalkylene glycol-based polymers may not have sufficient washing performance depending on the degree of the interaction with the surfactant.
Examples of conventional polyalkylene glycol-based polymers include copolymers produced from 40 to 99.5 mol % of a specific unsaturated carboxylic acid-based monomer, 0.5 to 60 mol % of an unsaturated alcohol-based monomer represented by the formula (P-1), and 0 to 40 mol % of a monomer copolymerizable with these monomers (see Patent Document 1). Patent Document 1 teaches that these copolymers have high ability to disperse carbon black and the chelate effect and therefore can be used as detergent builders.

In the formula, R1 and R2 independently represent H or a methyl group, and at least one of R1 and R2 is not a methyl group; R3 represents —CH2—, —(CH2)2—, or —C(CH3)2—; the total sum of the numbers of carbons in R1, R2, and R3 is 3; Y represents C2-3 alkylene group; and n is an integer of from 0 to 100. The copolymers are known to be suitable as dispersants for satin white (calcium sulfoaluminate hexahydrate) (see Patent Document 2).
Other examples of conventional polyalkylene glycol-based copolymers include soluble copolymers obtained by copolymerizing monomer materials essentially containing a specific unsaturated carboxylic acid-based monomer and an unsaturated alcohol-based monomer represented by the formula (P-2) (see Patent Document 3). Patent Document 3 teaches that these copolymers are suitably used in liquid detergent compositions because of their excellent washing performance such as high anti-soil redeposition ability and compatibility with surfactants.

In the formula, R1, R2, and R4 independently represent H or a methyl group, and at least one of R1 (or R4) and R2 is not a methyl group; R3 represents —CH2—, —(CH2)2—, or —C(CH3)2—; the total sum of the numbers of carbons in R1, R2, R3, and R4 is 3; Y represents a C2-18 alkylene group; and n is an integer of from 1 to 300.
In addition, polyalkylene glycol-based polymer compositions are disclosed (see Patent Document 4). These polyalkylene glycol-based polymer compositions have a sulfur oxoacid group at an end and are prepared by copolymerizing a (meth)acrylic acid-based monomer, an unsaturated polyalkylene glycol-based monomer having 6 to 300 polyalkylene oxide repeating units, and a monoethylenic unsaturated monomer copolymerizable with these monomers, and have an introduced sulfur amount S ((amount of S in polymer)/(total S amount)×100) of not less than 3. Patent Document 4 teaches that these polymer compositions are excellent in the calcium capturing ability, clay dispersibility, and anti-gelling property and therefore can be suitably used as detergent builders and the like.

Polyalkylene glycol-based polymer and process for producing the same


A vehicle structure includes a longitudinal structural element at each of its side edges, at least two shells superposed in such a manner as to form a housing, each shell being connected to the structural elements; at least one battery component comprising an energy storage unit arranged in the housing; and at least one fastener element connecting a shell to a member situated in the housing or to the other shell, the fastener element(s) being arranged in such a manner that the or at least one battery component is in compression in the shell-superposition direction, essentially corresponding to the vertical direction.

Motor vehicles are known in the prior art that comprise a body in white made up in its bottom portion of longitudinal structural elements and transverse structural elements. These elements are more particularly closed metal section members and they extend respectively in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle or in its transverse direction. The longitudinal structural elements may extend between the front and rear axles of the vehicle, in which case they are referred to as "underbodies" in this application (even though they are also referred to as "side rails" by other specialists in the field). They may also be situated in front of or behind these axles, in which case they are referred to as "side rails" in this application (even though they are also referred to as "longitudinal members" by other specialists in the field). The transverse structural elements are referred to as "cross-members" in this application.
More particularly a motor vehicle is known, in particular from patent FR 2 890 366, that comprises a floor made up of two superposed portions, the floor incorporating a vehicle electric battery arranged between the two portions of the floor. The floor is put into place in such a manner as to be connected to the longitudinal and transverse structural elements of the body in white of the vehicle.
Such a floor is appropriate for vehicles that possess a battery of relatively small capacity, e.g. for hybrid vehicles that include both an engine and an electric motor for providing propulsion. Nevertheless, when the capacity of the battery increases, thereby increasing its volume, the prior art architecture requires the cross-members of the vehicle to be raised and the structural elements to be redimensioned, or even additional structural elements to be provided, in order to reinforce the bottom portion of the body and prevent the battery from being damaged in the event of an impact involving the vehicle.
Such a vehicle architecture is also disadvantageous in that it increases the weight of the vehicle, while reducing the space available inside the vehicle cabin.


Provided is a display device. The display device includes a light guide plate; a light source disposed at a lateral side of the light guide plate; and an optical path conversion unit converting a path of the light emitted from the light source. A first area corresponding to a light emitting plane of the light guide plate and a second area adjacent to the first area are defined. The optical path conversion unit is disposed in the second area.

A Light Emitting Diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that converts electricity into ultraviolet rays, visible rays, and infrared rays through characteristics of a compound semiconductor, and is mainly used for appliances, remote controllers, and large billboards.
A high-brightness LED light source is used for a lighting device. Since the LED has very high energy efficiency, low replacement cost (due to its long lifecycle), strong resistance to vibration or impact, and no need for toxic substances such as mercury, it replaces incandescent light bulbs or fluorescent lamps in terms of energy conservation, environmental protection, and cost reduction.
Moreover, the LED is very advantageous for a light source of large and medium sized Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) TVs and monitors. Compared to a Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp (CCFL), the LED has more excellent color purity and less power consumption, and is easily miniaturized. Therefore, a prototype using the LED is mass-produced currently, and its research is in progress actively.
Recently, several techniques producing white light with a blue LED by using a Quantum Dot (QD) that emits red light and green light as a fluorescent substance are introduced now. This is because white light generated using the QD has high brightness and excellent color reproduction.
However, even when the above techniques are applied to an LED backlight unit, the need for research to reduce possible light loss and improve color uniformity is still necessary.

Display device with light guide plate and optical path conversion unit


Complexation of metal ions using chelating agents within a subterranean formation can often be desirable, such as to temper the formation of metal-containing precipitates. However, many chelating agents are produced commercially in an alkali metal salt form that may not be entirely suitable for use downhole, particularly in subterranean formations containing a siliceous material. The working pH range of some types of chelating agents may also be limiting. Treatment fluids comprising an aqueous carrier fluid having an acidic pH, a sulfonated iminodialkanoic acid, and ammonium ions may at least partially address downhole precipitation issues, while providing further advantages as well. Methods for forming sulfonated iminodialkanoic acids can comprise reacting an iminodialkylnitrile with a sultone under acidic conditions to form a fluid comprising a sulfonated iminodialkanoic acid and ammonium ions.

The present disclosure generally relates to complexation of metal ions and, more specifically, to dissolution of minerals, chelating agents suitable for use in conjunction with various subterranean treatment operations, and methods for synthesizing such chelating agents.
Treatment fluids can be used in a variety of subterranean treatment operations. Such treatment operations can include, without limitation, drilling operations, stimulation operations, production operations, remediation operations, sand control treatments, and the like. As used herein, the terms "treat," "treatment," "treating," and grammatical equivalents thereof refer to any subterranean operation that uses a fluid in conjunction with achieving a desired function and/or for a desired purpose. Use of these terms does not imply any particular action by the treatment fluid or a component thereof, unless otherwise specified herein. More specific examples of illustrative treatment operations can include, for example, drilling operations, fracturing operations, gravel packing operations, acidizing operations, scale dissolution and removal operations, sand control operations, consolidation operations, and the like.
Acidic treatment fluids are frequently utilized in the course of conducting various subterranean treatment operations. Illustrative uses of acidic treatment fluids during subterranean treatment operations include, for example, matrix acidizing of siliceous and/or non-siliceous formations, scale dissolution and removal processes, gel breaking, acid fracturing, and the like.
Acidizing operations may be performed to stimulate a subterranean formation and increase production of a hydrocarbon resource therefrom. During an acidizing operation, an acid-reactive material in the subterranean formation can be at least partially dissolved by one or more acids to expand existing flow pathways in the subterranean formation, to create new flow pathways in the subterranean formation, and/or to remove acid-soluble scale in the subterranean formation. Acidizing a subterranean formation's matrix can be particularly effective for stimulating production.
The material being reacted with an acidizing fluid can significantly dictate how an acidizing operation is performed. When acidizing a non-siliceous substance, such as a carbonate material, mineral acids, such as hydrochloric acid, may often be sufficient to affect dissolution. Organic acids may be used in a similar manner to hydrochloric acid when dissolving a non siliceous substance, especially at temperatures exceeding about 180° C. Siliceous materials, in contrast, are only readily dissolvable using hydrofluoric acid, optionally in combination with other acids to maintain a low pH environment. As used herein, the term "siliceous" refers to a substance having the characteristics of silica, including silicates and/or aluminosilicates. Illustrative siliceous materials can include, for example, silica, silicates, aluminosilicates, and any combination thereof, optionally in further combination with a non-siliceous substance, such as a carbonate material. Most sandstone formations, for example, contain about 40% to about 98% sand quartz particles (i.e., silica), bonded together by various amounts of cementing materials, which may be siliceous in nature (e.g., aluminosilicates or other silicates) or non-siliceous in nature (e.g., carbonates, such as calcite).
Carbonate formations contain minerals that comprise a carbonate anion. Calcite (calcium carbonate), dolomite (calcium magnesium carbonate), and siderite (iron carbonate) represent illustrative examples. When acidizing a carbonate formation, acidity of the treatment fluid alone can often be sufficient to solubilize the carbonate material by converting the carbonate anion into carbon dioxide and leaching a metal ion into the treatment fluid. As the concentration of dissolved metal ions rises, particularly at higher pH values upon spending of the acid, the solubility limit of the metal ions may be exceeded and precipitation of scale may occur.
Siliceous formations can include minerals such as, for example, zeolites, clays and feldspars. As indicated above, siliceous formations are usually acidized with hydrofluoric acid, optionally in combination with another acid, in order to react the siliceous minerals and affect their dissolution. Dissolved silicon species can be particularly prone toward undergoing secondary reactions with alkali metal ions to form highly damaging alkali metal silicate precipitates. Co-present non-siliceous minerals, such as carbonate minerals, may be concurrently dissolved while acidizing a siliceous material and lead to further precipitation issues.
Calcium ions and other alkaline earth metal ions can be particularly problematic when acidizing either siliceous or non-siliceous formations. As indicated above, the solubility limit of the metal ions may be quickly exceeded and deposition of scale may occur upon spending of an acid. In the case of siliceous formations acidized with hydrofluoric acid, calcium ions liberated from a co-present carbonate material can react readily with free fluoride ions to form highly insoluble calcium fluoride. Other metal ions can prove similarly problematic in this regard, either by forming an insoluble reaction product with hydrofluoric acid or by themselves upon forming an insoluble material under the particular conditions present in a wellbore. Calcium fluoride and other types of scale formed from metal ions can be highly damaging to subterranean formations, possibly even more so than if the initial acidizing operation had not been performed in the first place.
One approach that has been used to address the issues associated with dissolved metal ions is to employ chelating agents, which can sequester the metal ions in a more soluble and less reactive form of a metal-ligand complex. As used herein, the terms "complex," "complexing," "complexation" and other variants thereof refer to the formation of a metal-ligand bond without reference to the mode of bonding. Although complexation of metal ions may involve a chelation process, complexation is not deemed to be limited in this manner. Once bound in a metal-ligand complex, the metal ions may have a significantly decreased propensity to undergo a further reaction to form scale.
There are difficulties associated with chelation strategies, however. At low pH values, the carboxylic acid groups of many chelating agents may be substantially protonated, a form that can be ineffective for promoting metal ion complexation. This issue can significantly limit the working pH range over which an acidizing operation may take place, potentially limiting the acidizing operation's speed and effectiveness (i.e., by working at higher pH values). In addition, many chelating agents are commercially supplied in their alkali metal salt forms, which can be especially problematic for siliceous formations due to the precipitation issues noted above. Conversion of the alkali metal salt form of a chelating agent into the free acid form or an alternative salt form can often be problematic and/or expensive, particularly at the large scales needed to support subterranean treatment operations. Although numerous chelating agents are known, there are presently a very limited number available in suitable form and in sufficient supply to support widespread downhole use. Provisions for working with the less desirable alkali metal salt forms of commodity chelating agents presently may need to be made in order to facilitate their use in subterranean treatment operations.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Sulfonated iminodialkanoic acids formed from an iminodialkylnitrile and a sultone and methods for use thereof


A reciprocating mechanism includes two cylinders oppositely extended outwards from a housings a piston slidably engaged in each of the cylinders, a cap fixed to the free end of each of the cylinders, a pair of gears rotatably supported in the housing, a pair of pinions engaged between the gears, and a pair of racks engaged with the gears respectively and secured to the pistons respectively. The pinions and the axles are rotated by the gears and the racks when the pistons move toward each other and move away from each other.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mechanism, and more particularly to an actuator type reciprocating mechanism.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
A typical reciprocating mechanism is shown in FIG. 5 and is a pneumatic type mechanism, the mechanism comprises a cylinder "a" including two pistons c, c' slidably received therein and coupled together by a link b, the link b including an oblong hole formed therein and having a rack b1 formed therein, a gear d rotatably engaged in the oblong hole of the link b and fixed on an axle d1 which extends outward of the cylinder a; the pistons c and c' are caused to move rightward when pressurized air is injected into an inlet e which is formed in the left cap f of the cylinder a, and caused to move leftward when pressurized air is injected into another inlet e' which is formed in the right cap f' of the cylinder a, whereby, the gear d and the axle d' are rotated by the rack b1 . However, the output force of such a mechanism is not good enough for working purposes.
Another type of pneumatic mechanism is shown in FIGS. 6 to 9 and includes a shaft h extended outward of a cylinder, a rod k coupled to the shaft h and having an iron head k1 and k2 secured on each of the ends thereof, a blade i coupled to the shaft h and disposed in the cylinder; the blade i is moved counterclockwise (FIG. 6) when pressurized air is injected into the cylinder via the passage j, and moved clockwise (FIG. 8) when injected into the cylinder via the passage j'. As shown in FIG. 7, when the iron head k1 actuates a magnetic inductive mechanism ml, the pressurized air is caused to be injected into the cylinder via the passage j', and is caused to be injected into the cylinder via the passage j when the iron head k1 actuates the other magnetic inductive mechanism m2; similarly, the output force of such a mechanism is not good enough for working purposes.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages of the conventional reciprocating mechanisms.


The present invention is a multi-layer shadow mask and method of use thereof. The multi-layer shadow mask includes a sacrificial mask bonded to a deposition mask. The sacrificial mask provides protection against an accumulation of evaporant on the deposition mask which would cause the deposition mask to deform.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shadow mask for forming electronic elements on a substrate and, more particularly, to a multiple shadow mask structure for use in a vacuum deposition process.
2. Description of Related Art
Active matrix backplanes are widely used in flat panel displays for routing signals to pixels of the display in order to produce viewable pictures. Presently, such active matrix backplanes for flat panel displays are formed via a photolithography manufacturing process, which has been driven in the market by the demand for higher and higher resolution displays which are not otherwise possible with other manufacturing processes. Photolithography is a pattern definition technique which uses electromagnetic radiation, such as ultraviolet (UV) radiation, to expose a layer of resist that is deposited on the surface of a substrate. Exemplary photolithography processing steps to produce an active matrix backplane include coat photoresist, pre-bake, soak, bake, align/expose, develop, rinse, bake, deposit layer, lift off photoresist, scrub/rinse and dry. As can be seen, the active matrix backplane fabrication process includes numerous deposition and etching steps in order to define appropriate patterns of the backplane.
A vapor deposition shadow mask process has been used for years in microelectronics manufacturing. The vapor deposition shadow mask process is significantly less costly and less complex than the photolithography process. It is, therefore, beneficial to develop ways of fabricating backplanes for large-area displays by use of the more cost-effective vapor deposition shadow mask process rather than by use of the costly photolithography process.
In a shadow mask vacuum deposition process, a layer of evaporant accumulates on the shadow mask with each deposition event and, thus, with multiple runs, multiple layers of evaporant accumulate. However, as layers of evaporant accumulate on the shadow mask, the shadow mask starts to deform, i.e., curl or warp, due to the accumulation of evaporant material on the shadow mask. More specifically, the deposited evaporant material typically develops tensile stress, largely due to shrinkage from cooling, which causes the shadow mask to become compressively stressed. The composite system of the shadow mask (with its surface compressed) with one or more layers of accumulated evaporant material (with its surface tensioned) will consequently bend or warp in order to equalize the total stress. This warping undesirably enables evaporant material to undercut the shadow mask, i.e., spread between the shadow mask and the substrate at the edges of one or more apertures, which results in irregularities in the pattern that is deposited and may even cause electrical shorts. As a result, the shadow mask must be changed or cleaned regularly, e.g., ≦10 deposition events, to avoid this problem. However, regular changing or cleaning is not practical in a continuous flow system because it is time consuming and costly. Moreover, cleaning tends to remove slight amounts of the mask material itself and, thus, cleaning may change the size of one or more apertures slightly. The problem is illustrated in more detail with reference to FIGS. 1, 2A and 2B.
FIG. 1 illustrates a top view of a conventional deposition mask 110, which is representative of a standard shadow mask that is suitable for use in a standard shadow mask vacuum deposition process. Conventional deposition mask 110 is formed of, without limitation, a sheet of nickel, chromium, steel or other metal. Formed within conventional deposition mask 110 is a pattern of apertures 112, which are openings of a predetermined size, shape and location, according to an associated circuit layout. During a standard shadow mask vacuum deposition process, evaporant material passes through apertures 112 for deposition upon a substrate (shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B), as is well-known. The overall dimension of conventional deposition mask 110 is user defined, and the thickness of deposition mask 110 is typically in the range of, for example, 20 to 40 microns, but may be from 10 to 100 micrometers.
Publications disclosing shadow masks and methods of forming and using shadow masks include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,919,749; 5,139,610; 5,154,797; 6,156,217; 6,187,690; and 6,696,371, along with U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003/0193285.
FIG. 2A illustrates a cross-sectional view of conventional deposition mask 110, taken along line A-A of FIG. 1, in contact with a substrate 210 and prior to experiencing a deposition event. Substrate 210 is formed of, without limitation, anodized aluminum, flexible steel foil, glass or plastic. FIG. 2A shows that conventional deposition mask 110 includes a first surface 114 in intimate contact with substrate 210 and a second surface 116 which faces a deposition source (not shown) which supplies the evaporant material, such as, without limitation, metal, semiconductor, insulator or organic electroluminescent material, to be deposited via the evaporation process.
FIG. 2B illustrates a cross-sectional view of conventional deposition mask 110, taken along line A-A of FIG. 1, in contact with substrate 210 and after experiencing one or more deposition events which leaves a film or layer 212 of evaporated material on second surface 116 of conventional deposition mask 110. Second surface 116 of conventional deposition mask 110 becomes the "land area" for evaporant that does not pass through apertures 112 and, thus, layer 212 is formed thereon. Layer 212 is representative of evaporant material which has condensed and solidified on second surface 116 of conventional deposition mask 110 during one or more deposition events.
FIG. 2B illustrates the problem of conventional deposition mask 110 deforming between apertures 112 as a result of one or more deposition events. Specifically, between apertures 112, conventional deposition mask 110 curls or warps whereupon the edges of apertures 112 lift away from the surface of substrate 210. This curling or warping is caused by the difference in stress between conventional deposition mask 110 (with its surface compressed) and layer 212 (with its surface tensioned) that is deposited thereon.
As a result, the openings of apertures 112 become deformed and, thus, are no longer of the desired dimension. Furthermore, evaporant can spill into the resulting gaps between first surface 114 of conventional deposition mask 110 and substrate 210. This spillage is also known as "undercutting." Consequently, there will be undesirable irregularities in the end product because the resulting structures deposited upon substrate 210 are not of the desired geometry or dimension.
What is, therefore, needed and not disclosed in the prior art is a method for increasing the number of deposition events that a shadow mask can tolerate without warping, thereby improving the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of a continuous flow shadow mask vacuum deposition process.

Multiple shadow mask structure for deposition shadow mask protection and method of making and using same


Methods of tuning, switching or modulating, or, in general, changing the resonance of waveguide micro-resonators. Changes in the resonance can be brought about, permanently or temporarily, by changing the size of the micro-resonator with precision, by changing the local physical structure of the device or by changing the effective and group indices of refraction of the mode in the micro-resonator. Further changing the asymmetry of the index profile around a waveguide can alter the birefringence of the waveguide and allows one to control the polarization in the waveguide. This change in index profile may be used to change the polarization dependence or birefringence of the resonators.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is in the field of optics, specifically in changing the characteristics of the resonance of optical waveguide micro-resonators, very small optical micro-resonators with sizes on the order of 0.1 micrometer to 1 millimeter. Examples of such waveguide-based micro-resonators include, optical micro-ring resonators, and one-dimensionally periodic photonic band gap waveguide structures.
2. Prior Art
Micro-resonators, which are micrometer-sized optical resonant devices with resonance wavelengths in micrometer range, have gained significant interests due to its potential applications in integrated optics for optical telecommunication. Micro-resonators are useful as add-drop filters in wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) applications in optical telecommunication, since they can be designed to have resonance at the telecommunication wavelengths. In WDM applications, each micro-resonator adds or drops distinctive wavelengths of light that are resonant with the device. In such applications, an ability to locally tune the resonance of micro-resonators according to the specific wavelengths is crucial for successful implementation of micro-resonators in integrated optics.
Small micro-resonators, formed from high index difference (difference in the refractive indices of core and cladding) waveguide geometries are particularly useful since their free spectral ranges are large. High index difference waveguides, typically have index difference between the core and cladding equal to or larger than 0.3 and can be made in several different geometries, including channel waveguides and rib waveguides. A channel waveguide is a dielectric waveguide whose core is surrounded by a cladding that is composed of a material or materials with refractive indices lower than that of the core, and wherein the peak optical intensity resides in the core. High index difference waveguides can be defined in other waveguide geometries including a rib waveguide. A rib waveguide is a dielectric waveguide whose core is surrounded by a cladding that is composed of materials of which at least one has the same refractive index as that of the core. In waveguide configurations that are difference from a channel waveguide, a high index difference waveguide is defined as one that has a mode-field size similar to that of a high index difference channel waveguide (within 50% difference in cross-sectional area). In these waveguides, cladding is defined as a region where the evanescent field of optical modes exists.
Changing the characteristics of the resonance shape and position of a waveguide micro-resonator is an extremely important issue since the usefulness of such devices is predicated on such technology. One application of the waveguide micro-resonator is narrow band optical filtering in integrated optics. Wavelength division multiplexing (WDM), an increasingly used technology in optical communications, requires the use of such filters. Therefore, developing an efficient method of modifying the characteristics of such waveguide micro-resonators has been the subject of much research.
There are two approaches to changing the characteristics of the resonance shape. The first is to understand what characteristics of the response may be changed. For example, the resonance Q, or its quality, its position in the wavelength or frequency domain and its shape may all be changed.
The quality or the Q of the resonance can be changed by affecting the amount of time the energy stays in the resonator. One method shown to affect the quality of the resonance includes inducing absorption in a micro-resonator and a method to affect the shape by using cascaded micro-resonators. This first method is difficult to implement, since the amount of absorption that has to be induced is large and the method cannot be easily applied to indirect-band-gap semiconductors and wide band gap dielectric materials. The second method, while useful, does not lend itself well to any dynamic changes in the resonance, which is necessary for switching or modulating or even tuning the resonance of the micro-resonator.
The resonance position, that is, the resonant wavelength or equivalently the resonant frequency of an optical micro-resonator is determined by the physical dimension of the device as well as the index of refraction of the materials that comprise the cavity. Changing the effective and group indices of the cavity mode can therefore change the resonant wavelength. Tuning of micro-ring micro-resonators by using a UV sensitive glass as a cladding material over the core of a low index contrast (typically a difference in index of core and cladding of less than 0.1) ring waveguide has also been shown. By changing the index of refraction of the cladding the effective and group indices of the mode of the ring waveguide changes, resulting in a shift in the resonance line position. While this method is effective for low index contrast waveguides, the method may be less effective for high index contrast (typically difference in index of core and cladding equal to or greater than 0.3) waveguides as the amount of index change required for high index contrast waveguides may be too large. However, small index changes in the cladding of high index contrast waveguides can lead to significant shifts in the line position sufficient for fine tuning applications.
Methods have also been shown to change the resonances of semiconductor micro-resonators by changing the refractive index of the core (guiding layer) of the micro-resonator. However, the methods do not include index changes in the cladding region and non-semiconducting substrates. Another method involves using the specific case of micro-ring filters with input and output waveguides that cross. Such a micro-ring filter configuration is necessarily a low index difference waveguide system because cross talk and losses are otherwise large in high index contrast systems.
Another method, which has been used extensively, is a thermo-optic tuning method in which the thermo-optic effect is used to change the index of the core of the micro-resonator cavity by a change in temperature. Thermal tuning, while simple and easy to implement has the disadvantage of significant cross talk in potential high density applications.
The second approach of analyzing how a resonance shape may be changed is to understand what physical aspects of the micro-resonator may be easily altered to have the desired effect on the characteristics of the resonance shape. For example, the absorption method and local proximity of multiple rings has been used to change the resonance shape of a micro-ring. Various other methods involve the change of the resonator internal rate of decay to change the resonance shape of micro-resonator devices. The internal rate of decay of resonator is determined by absorption and loss in the ring.
Another way to tune the resonance of a micro-resonator is to apply stress to shift its resonance positions. If the applied stress induces a change in the refractive indices of core and/or cladding materials, the resonance condition changes in the micro-resonators and the resonance peak will shift according to such a change.
Tuning of optical resonance by stress has been achieved previously. A method of tuning the resonance of a large optical resonator using a bonded piezo-electric element has been described. A piezo-electric element is bonded on the top surface of an optical resonator to supply stress to the underlying optical resonator when a voltage is applied to it. The stress applied to the resonator induces a change in the refractive index and thus changes the resonance. This method is applicable only for large, discreet optical element, and is not suitable for locally tuning resonance of micro-resonators, which are significantly smaller and typically integrated on-chip with waveguide input and output. Therefore, it is desired to have an ability to locally tune micro-resonators on-chip.
The thermo-optic effect and the use of the UV sensitive oxide, are examples of changing the resonance position by altering the effective and group indices of the modes in a micro-resonator cavity. In the invention, the focus is on other methods to change the position and shape and resonances of high index contrast waveguide micro-resonators, which are easier to implement.
The mechanisms to change the resonance of micro-cavity resonators are split along three lines in the literature according to the desired speed or equivalently, the time frame of their intended use. The fastest applications are in modulation, which usually occurs at the speed at which data is encoded. In communications, the speed is in excess of 1 GHz, which corresponds to times of less than 1 ns. Switching occurs at the speed at which data needs to be routed between lines in communications network. Slow switching is on the order of a ms, while packet switching may be as fast as 1 ns. Finally, tuning refers to permanent or long-term changes in the resonance.
In accordance with the invention there are provided methods of tuning, switching or modulating, or, in general, changing the resonance of waveguide micro-resonators. Changes in the resonance can be brought about, permanently or temporarily, by changing the size of the micro-resonator with precision, by changing the local physical structure of the device or by changing the effective and group indices of refraction of the mode in the micro-resonator. Further changing the asymmetry of the index profile around a waveguide can alter the birefringence of the waveguide and allows one to control the polarization in the waveguide. This change in index profile may be used to change the polarization dependence or birefringence of the resonators. The invention is useful for changing the resonance characteristics of high Q (Q equal to or greater than 100) micro-resonators, since it is difficult to fabricate a waveguide micro-resonator that has a high Q resonance, with infinite accuracy.
It is an objective of the invention to provide methods for changing the resonance of an optical micro-resonator cavity. Methods and devices are provided for altering the position of the resonance in the frequency or wavelength domains of an optical micro-resonator cavity, and for altering the shape of the resonance of an optical micro-resonator cavity. It is another objective of the invention to provide a method for controlling the polarization in an integrated optics waveguide, and to provide a method for increasing or eliminating the birefringence of optical waveguide micro-resonators.
The methods to change the resonance of micro-resonator cavity include changing the absorption and thus the internal rate of decay of the micro-resonator cavity, changing the index of refraction of the materials in local proximity to the micro-resonator cavity, changing the physical structure of the micro-resonator cavity, changing the physical structure in the local proximity around the micro-resonator, changing the symmetry of the index profile of the micro-resonator cavity, and changing the material birefringence of the micro-resonator cavity.
In accordance with the invention, the etching or the removal or the adding of a film to an optical micro-resonator cavity changes the position of the resonance. The removal or the etching of the film may be brought about by chemical means which includes directly exposing the cavity to an oxidizing ambient. Further, modifying the local environment of the micro-resonator cavity using a micro-electrical and mechanical or MEMs device changes the shape of the resonance. A MEMs device can be used to bring either an absorbing material or otherwise a non-absorbing material in close proximity or in contact with the micro-resonator device.
Optical illumination with laser light, which can be absorbed by the core, induces a permanent refractive index change in the core or a permanent size change that in turn may be used to change the position of the resonance of the micro-resonator cavity. The use an electro-optical material as the cladding of a micro-resonator cavity, allows the resonance position of the cavity to be controlled.
Changing the index of refraction of the cladding of a high index contrast (difference in index of core and cladding equal to or greater than 0.3) waveguide cavity can be used for changing the position of the resonance. Changing the symmetry of integrated optical waveguide will result in a change in the polarization dependent behavior of the waveguide. This change may be exploited in an integrated optical waveguide polarization controller. Changing the symmetry of the index profile of the micro-resonator cavity can be used to induce or eliminate the cavity""s polarization dependent resonance position.
Applying local stress can locally control the refractive index of a micro-resonator. The change in the refractive index in turn will shift the resonance position of the micro-resonator.

Methods of altering the resonance of waveguide micro-resonators


Embodiments of the present invention provide for methods and systems for providing a financial instrument that possesses both credit features (secured and unsecured) and prepaid features. When a purchase is made using a financial instrument linked to an account, funds are first drawn from a line of credit until a credit limit is reached. Any additional funds required to make the purchase are then drawn from a secured account, such as a prepaid cash balance. In some embodiments, the additional funds are automatically drawn form the prepaid cash balance while in other embodiments an account holder manually transfers funds from the prepaid cash balance to the credit balance.

1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to financial instruments. More specifically, the present invention relates to methods and systems for a financial instrument having both credit (secured and unsecured) and pre-paid characteristics.
2. The Relevant Technology
Financial instruments, and particularly financial cards, are typically divided into two categories. First, prepaid or debit instruments provide an alternative payment method to cash when making purchases. When making a purchase with a prepaid instrument, such as a debit card, the debit card holder is typically required to have a cash balance in an account associated with the debit card that exceeds the purchase amount. A debit card is often referred to as a check card because funds used to make a purchase are typically withdrawn directly from the cardholder's bank account.
Second, credit instruments involve the granting of a loan and the creation of debt. A credit card is different from a debit card in that it does not remove money from the user's account after every transaction. Instead, the credit card issuer lends money to the consumer when a purchase is made, and the user is required to repay the borrowed amount plus interest.
Seldom does a single financial instrument combine the characteristics of both credit and pre-paid accounts. One example of a financial instrument having both credit and pre-paid characteristics is a bank account (e.g., a checking account linked to a debit card) that is associated with an overdraft protection account. In an overdraft protection account, an account owner typically maintains a cash balance with a financial institution and purchases are withdrawn from the cash balance. If the account owner makes a purchase or other withdrawal from the account that exceeds the cash balance of the account, the financial institution will automatically fund the remaining portion of the purchase or withdrawal by drawing on a line of credit (i.e., the overdraft account) that is associated with the account owner's primary account. The account owner is then required to repay the amount borrowed from the overdraft protection account.
The subject matter claimed herein is not limited to embodiments that solve any disadvantages or that operate only in environments such as those described above. Rather, this background is only provided to illustrate one exemplary technology area where some embodiments described herein may be practiced.

Financial instrument having credit and pre-paid characteristics


According to one embodiment, a digital filter circuit includes an EXOR circuit, a clock gating circuit, a reset control circuit, a counter, a filter time setting circuit, a comparator, and a decoder. The clock gating circuit outputs a clock gating signal. The reset control circuit generates a first signal. The counter generates a count signal. The filter time setting circuit latches the count signal when the first signal is in the enable state, and outputs a latched count value as a second signal. The comparator receives the count signal and the second signal, and outputs a third signal of the enable state when the value of the count signal and the value of the second signal match each other.

With the progress of digitalization of electronic devices for commercial and industrial uses, digital filter circuits are used in various fields. A digital filter circuit can easily achieve performance characteristics which it is difficult for an analog filter circuit to achieve.
The digital filter circuit needs a control circuit to perform digital filtering processing for a desired time period after receiving an input signal. Accordingly, there is a problem that the circuit is large in scale. Moreover, there is another problem that the power consumption is large since the digital filter circuit uses many counters and flip-flops.


A prediction processing system, method, and method for doing business is disclosed. The prediction processing system can collect, process, and publish event-outcome information. The prediction processing system can dynamically filter participants into groupings and iteratively optimize odds calculations over time. A proposal framework consisting of a various abstract proposal types can model and settle propositions. Game propositions can be automatically generated based on event categorization relationships, and users can themselves automatically establish their own game proposition and programs. The prediction processing system can provide game players or others with access to collective intelligence, including prediction information and information derived from prediction information. The prediction processing system can create groupings of better-performing predictors and provide them with information not generally available or additional stakes to increase the weight of their predictions in odds calculations. The prediction processing system can provide access to event-outcome information on a for-fee subscription basis.

Politicians, financial managers, attorneys, and all manner of individuals, both professional and private, have long been concerned with, and interested in, obtaining and discussing probabilities relating to the outcome of real-world events. See, e.g., James Surowiecki, Wisdom of the Crowds (2004). Past approaches to collecting and publishing such collective intelligence has suffered from a variety of shortcomings and resulted in difficulties with both the collecting of prediction data and ensuring the accuracy and quality of the data derived from the collected prediction data.
One classic approach to collecting predictions from individuals has been through the use of polling procedures, and in particular, face-to-face polling. Such an approach is limiting in that its scalability is a function of the number of available pollsters at a given time and in a given location. Similarly, it is dependent on the willingness and availability of a polling subject to participate in the polling activity at that same given time and given location. This has resulted in simplified survey questions and shortened overall surveys.
Mail-based surveys have attempted to address this limitation by providing the polling subject with the ability to answer polling questions at a time convenient for the subject. While this partially addressed the issue of convenience, there is typically very little motivation for the subject to go to the trouble of answering questions and returning the answers to the pollster. Telephone solicitation has attempted to reintroduce the pressure of direct communication, but this approach suffers the disadvantages too, such as annoying subjects with unexpected interruptions, resulting in limited response volume.
With the advent of the Internet long ago, it has long been possible to reach mass numbers of potential subjects in a less-intrusive manner than through direct interaction. Initially, polling was provided through email and email widgets. While this can be initially entertaining to email users, it often quickly becomes an annoyance, suffering the same dismissive fate of physical mail surveys.
Online surveys that displayed basic results, particularly within the context of a social network application or service such as Facebook®, were introduced relatively long ago as yet another way to try and entice individuals into participating in surveys and polls. These polls are typically very simple and short, as, again, there is little motivation for the subject to invest time and thought into engaging in trying to provide accurate information. In this context, polling tends to be extremely simple, and the prediction information produced is limited in terms of depth, accuracy and reliability.
Commercial prediction markets also have emerged, in part, as an attempt to address the lack of motivation for individuals to participate in thoughtful prediction behaviors. Many of these systems consist of a speculative market where the current market price of a prediction is interpreted as the probability of an event occurring in the future. The use of real money in these commercial markets has run afoul of various laws and regulations, resulting in such systems being entirely banned in at least some countries. In addition, the focus on trading activity rather than improving the accuracy and precision of the information derived resulted in the introduction of bias and sub-optimal derivation data.
In an effort to remove the commercial bias from the data collection activities, virtual prediction markets also have been introduced. These systems tend to be narrow in their focus and traditionally are relegated to specific niche markets. They are limited in the types of predictions they can host and manage, lack the necessary incentives to encourage lasting engagement by users, and generally offer no way for end users or groups to create their own private solutions without the help of costly third-party consulting. In addition, these systems also have typically required post-collection consulting services for data interpretation and relied on ad-hoc settlement methods, making it time consuming and costly to understand the resulting data and to extend the system to new markets.
Gamification of virtual prediction markets has been used as a mechanism to try and increase interest and participation in the use of such systems. These gamified systems tend to be very simplistic with extremely limited types of predictions and with a focus tending towards the game aspects of the system. They have typically adopted the trading model, suffering from the same disadvantages of the commercial predictive market solutions mentioned previously. The simplistic systems, along with the absence of broad and customizable integration with external services such as blogs, feed readers, search engines, and analytics systems, have not provided sufficient motivation for extended high-volume participation. As a result, there has been a lack of sufficient participation to generate useful aggregated collective probabilities, a lack of demand for the publication of such data, and therefore an inability to substantially monetize data publication.
Further, prior prediction generating or gathering systems are typically rigidly structured by the system provider. They have provided little if any ability for end users or other users of the systems to provide input into establishing a prediction generating, gathering, or reporting program.

Prediction processing system and method of use and method of doing business


A system and method to improve data access over a network. According to one embodiment of the present invention, a device for caching data from a server, such as e-mail messages, is provided at a location close to an end user. According to another embodiment of the present invention, a centrally stored address list is provided that may be accessed by a client to determine the best or nearest server for data access.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relates to transmission of data over a computer network. More particularly, the present invention relates to caching data from a server, such as e-mail messages, at a location close to an end user to improve data access.
2. State of the Art
Poor performance is a major problem associated with end users who must access e-mail messages or similar personal data stored on a server over a wide area network (WAN). This problem is often due to a combination of high network latency and low transmission bandwidth. One possible solution is to cache the data at a secondary location closer to the end user. Known caching solutions are intended to deal with relatively static data, however, such as when proxy servers are used to store data in the form of web content. A data store comprising web content is considered "static" in the sense that a single data set may be provided for access by multiple users and typically does not require modification on a regular basis. A data store on an e-mail server, on the other hand, is comprised of multiple message stores that are constantly modified by separate users. By design, e-mail servers centralize frequent asynchronous activities from disparate locations, such as with e-mail server to e-mail server message processing and e-mail to client message processing. Thus, there is a high frequency of change in an e-mail data store, and maintaining synchronous information between a cache and a host e-mail server is not possible using conventional static caching techniques. Caching of an e-mail server needs to occur at a much more granular level, i.e., at substantially the same rate as transactions occurring on the e-mail server.
In view of the foregoing, what is needed is a system and method that overcomes the problems associated with caching e-mail messages or similar dynamically changing data on a network.


Some embodiments of the present invention provide a system that executes a garbage collector in a computing system. During operation, the system obtains a throughput model for the garbage collector and estimates a set of characteristics associated with the garbage collector. Next, the system applies the characteristics to the throughput model to estimate a throughput of the garbage collector. The system then determines a level of performance for the garbage collector based on the estimated throughput. Finally, the system adjusts a tunable parameter for the garbage collector based on the level of performance to increase the throughput of the garbage collector.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to techniques for performing garbage collection. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and system for maximizing throughput for a garbage collector.
2. Related Art
The throughput of a generational garbage collector is highly dependent on various parameters associated with the generational garbage collector, such as the relative sizes of memory regions for different generations and/or the tenuring threshold of objects within the heap. The behavior of the generational garbage collector may additionally be affected by other considerations, such as a maximum pause time during which garbage collection is performed and/or a maximum footprint of the heap.
In particular, a tradeoff between throughput, pause time, and footprint may occur from variations in generation sizes and in the tenuring threshold. For example, a very large young generation may increase throughput at the expense of footprint and pause time. Similarly, the tenuring threshold may affect generation sizes and pause times.
Existing techniques for tuning generational garbage collector performance involve the use of heuristics to adjust generation sizes, tenuring thresholds, and/or other parameters associated with the garbage collector. For example, a heuristic policy for dynamically adjusting generation sizes may try to meet, in order of importance, a pause time goal, a throughput goal, and a maximum footprint goal. Policies for dynamically adapting the tenuring threshold may involve the comparison of relative amounts of time spent on minor and major garbage collections and/or the promotion of enough data out of a particular generation to meet a pause time goal. However, such policies are unable to determine generation sizes and/or tenuring thresholds that maximize and/or optimize garbage collection throughput for a given pause time goal and footprint goal. Hence, generational garbage collector performance may be improved by a comprehensive analysis of the factors affecting throughput, pause time, footprint, and/or other considerations related to garbage collection.

Maximizing throughput for a garbage collector


A system includes a plurality of portable lockers. Each of the portable lockers includes a lockable compartment configured to contain contents. The system also includes a docking station that includes a vault configured to secure the plurality of portable lockers, a user input device configured to receive a request from a user to take a first portable locker of the plurality of portable lockers, a biometrics sensor configured to collect a biometric from the user, and a processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured to determine, based on the biometric, whether the user has permission to take the first portable locker and control the vault to release the first portable locker to the user in response to a determination that the user has permission to take the first portable locker.

Managers and owners of businesses or other organizations often need to rely on employees or other individuals to carry valuable objects (e.g., cash) between a business location and some other location, for example a bank branch. Individuals carrying such valuable objects may have easy opportunities to misappropriate the valuable objects entrusted to them or may be easy targets for muggings or thefts while the valuable objects are in transit. Furthermore, such valuable objects may be targets of theft attempts while located at a business or at another location (e.g., at a bank branch), for example by those tasked with counting or otherwise handling the valuable objects. The risk of theft or other loss of valuable objects in transit, in use, and in storage may therefore be substantial.

Portable locker and docking station system


The present disclosure relates to the field of brainwave technology, and provides a detection device and a detection method. The detection device includes: a brainwave acquisition circuit configured to collect a brainwave signal of a user in the case that a distance between the user and a to-be-detected object is smaller than a threshold; and a processing circuit configured to process the collected brainwave signal to acquire brainwave information, and acquire a detection result of the to-be-detected object in accordance with the brainwave information. The brainwave information includes at least one of olfactory information and gustatory information of the user.

The present disclosure relates generally to the field of brainwave technology, and more specifically to a detection device and a detection method.
In the 1980s, two American scientists, Linda B. Buck and Richard Axel, worked together to investigate the functioning of the olfactory system. They found that different odor receptors are distributed on a cell membrane of a human nasal cavity, and 3% of the total number of human genes (i.e., about 1000 genes) are used to code odor receptors so as to differentiate different odors. Although humans have only about 1000 odor receptors, these can be combined in a huge number of ways, so as to form a huge number of distinct odor patterns. On this basis, a person can be capable of differentiating and memorizing about 10,000 odors. Odorant molecules may be bound to the odor receptors located in epithelial odor receptor cells of the nose. After these odor receptors are activated by the odorant molecules, electrical signals can be generated by the odor receptor cells, then transmitted to a small region of the brain where olfactory bulbs are located, and then transmitted to the other regions of the brain so as to form a specific pattern. In this way, the person may consciously sense an odor (e.g., the smell of jasmine), and remember this odor at another time.
In addition, the human olfactory system is highly specialized. For example, each odor receptor cell only expresses one kind of olfactory receptor gene, and the number of kinds of odor reception cells are the same as the number of kinds of the odor receptors. A neural signal may be transmitted by the odor receptor cell to a micro structure of the olfactory bulb in the brain called an "olfactory glomeruli," There are about 2000 glomeruli in the human brain, i.e., the number of the glomeruli is double the number of kinds of odor reception cells. The olfactory glomeruli is also highly specialized, and neutral signals are transmitted by odor receptor cells carrying the same receptors to the corresponding olfactory glomeruli, i.e., information derived from the cells having the same receptor may be collected by the corresponding olfactory glomeruli. A neutral cell called a mitral cell is subsequently activated by the olfactory glomeruli, and each mitral cell is only activated by each olfactory glomeruli, so as to maintain the speciality of the information transmission in the olfactory system continuously. Next, the information is transmitted by the mitral cell to other portions of the brain. In this way, the information derived from different kinds of odor receptors may be combined into a pattern corresponding to a particular odor, and the brain is able to consciously that odor.
Apart from the mechanism of human olfactory function, Buck and Axel discovered that the brains of other animals are also capable of consciously sensing specific odors. For example, rats are trained in such a manner as to search for people buried under the debris after an earthquake. To be specific, the rat is macrosmatic, and after being trained for several months, it may remember the human odor. An electrode can be implanted into the rat's brain and connected to an electronic transmitter. If the rat senses the odor of a target, its brainwave diagram can express such information as "aha, I've got it". Based on this signal, it is possible to determine a position of the rat, i.e., a position of the trapped person.
Along with the development of brainwave detection and analysis technology, the above scientific achievement has a great theoretical value, and is relevant to a wide range of applications.


A faucet contains: a hollow body, a control assembly, an inlet pipe set, a mixing-water outlet pipe, a pull hose, a spray head, and an isolation pipe. The hollow body includes an inflow portion and an outflow portion. The control assembly includes a mixing valve and an operation element. The inlet pipe set includes a cold-water inlet pipe and a hot-water inlet pipe. The mixing-water outlet pipe includes a first connector and a second connector. The pull hose includes an inlet segment and an outlet segment. The spray head is connected with the outlet segment of the pull hose, and the spray head is removed from and fixed on the outflow portion of the hollow body. The isolation pipe includes a channel defined therein so that the pull hose slidably moves in the isolation pipe and avoids contacting with the inlet pipe set and the mixing-water outlet pipe.

A conventional pull-out or pull-down faucet contains a hollow body, a control assembly arranged on a basin (in a kitchen), and an inlet pipe set including a cold-water inlet pipe and a hot-water inlet pipe and connected with the control assembly so as to supply mixing water of cold water and hot water to a mixing valve set of the control assembly.
A mixing ration of the mixing water is controlled by using a control element of the control assembly. A mixing-water outlet pipe is coupled with the control assembly so as to guide the mixing water. A pull hose is connected with the mixing-water outlet pipe so as to supply the mixing water to a spray head from the hollow body, wherein the spray head is fixed on an outflow portion of the hollow body so as to pull the spray head to any position of a water tank. A counterweight assembly is secured on the pull hose under the basin, when the spray head is retracted or pulled, it moves back to an original position by using the counterweight assembly.
The basin has a housing aperture through which a threaded pipe is inserted so as to screw with a bottom of the hollow body, and a screw element is screwed with the threaded pipe and is abuts against a bottom fence of the basin, thus locking the hollow body on the basin.
When the pull hose contacts with the inlet pipe set and the mixing-water outlet pipe and the spray head is pulled, the pull hose is pulled forcefully. When the spray head is removed, it cannot move back to the original position quickly. To overcome such a problem, a size or a weight of the counterweight assembly is increased.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages.


A system is provided for confirming certification of combinations of secure elements and mobile devices. The system includes secure element data and a secure element component on a removable secure element. The secure element component detects insertion of the removable secure element in a mobile device, retrieves the secure element data, and retrieves mobile device data from the mobile device. The secure element component determines whether a combination of the removable secure element and the mobile device is certified based on a comparison of the secure element data and the mobile device data. The secure element component provides a certification alert via a user interface on the mobile device in response to a determination that the combination of the removable secure element and the mobile device is not certified.

Transaction devices are portable items that store data, such as credit cards, debit cards, gift cards, access cards, and cards for various prepaid services or goods. Magnetically encoded transaction devices typically store data in a magnetic strip. "Smart cards" are transaction devices that store data in nonvolatile memory, and typically contain data processing circuitry that offers some degree of computing capacity.
A smart card may be a "proximity read" transit card, which may communicate with a card reader without physically contacting the card reader. Communication between a proximity read smart card and various types of card readers may occur via a radio frequency signal, optical signal, wireless Internet connection, or other communication method known in the art or hereafter developed. As an owner or a user of a smart card passes through a fare gate, a card reader may cause value to be automatically deducted from value stored on the smart card.
A mobile device, such as a mobile phone, may include a smart card. Thus, if a card reader is present at a location where commercial transactions occur or where proximity read smart cards are used, the smart card in the mobile device may make payments, provide access to restricted areas, and perform other functions or transactions typically performed by smart cards. A mobile device may implement the functionality of multiple smart cards by containing a super-smart card, a smart card that emulates or enables multiple smart cards by containing multiple smart card applications. A smart card application is the software, hardware, or combination of both that provides the capability of a smart card. Multiple smart card applications on a smart card enable the smart card to emulate multiple smart cards.

Confirming certification of combinations of secure elements and mobile devices


A motor vehicle with a vehicle body, which comprises at least a pair of struts, at least one vibration-selective detection unit for detecting longitudinal stresses on the struts during operation of the vehicle, and at least one actuator for producing a force that counteracts the longitudinal stress, wherein the at least two struts are connected by a holding device, which is movably supported relative to the body, wherein a common actuator is configured for simultaneously adjusting the struts connected by the actuator.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a motor vehicle, especially a convertible with an automobile body, to which are assigned a pair of struts, at least one vibration-selective detection unit for detecting longitudinal stresses of the struts during operation of the vehicle, and at least one actuator for producing a force that counteracts a longitudinal stress.
2. Description of the Related Art
A general problem encountered with motor vehicles is that external excitation of vibrations during driving, say, by driving over uneven roadway features, for example, potholes or bumps, can cause undesired vibrations of the automobile body. Vibrations of this sort in the automobile body reduce driving safety and comfort. This problem is especially pronounced in convertibles with an integral body and frame, which, due to the nonrigid roof that cannot brace the body, especially when the roof is open, have a stability disadvantage compared to closed vehicle superstructures. However, this is basically a problem in all vehicles, including those that do not have an integral body and frame, say, frame vehicles, such as motorcycles or vehicles with an aluminum body, which are wholly or partially supported by a sectional frame.
It is well known that so-called vibration dampers, i.e., damping masses, can be provided to prevent the development of vibrations, which are suitable for damping vibrations of certain frequencies, to which the dampers are tuned. The tuning is possible only for a certain individual frequency. Moreover, adaptation to the given type of vehicle type is necessary, and the arrangement of the dampers in the hollow spaces of the car body is structurally difficult. The dampers themselves must have a high mass, which is at odds with the low vehicle weight and economical operation that are desired.
DE 198 20 617 C2 reveals the possibility of equipping individual, inherently length-variable struts of an integral body and frame or of a vehicle frame with a detection unit for detecting external longitudinal stresses on the given strut, an actuator for producing an active counterforce, and a control unit for the actuator. This makes it possible selectively to counteract the external excitation of vibration with short response times. However, this requires considerable structural expense, since the struts must be variable in length and equipped with the specified functional units.

Motor vehicle body or supporting frame comprising a vibration damping device


A push-pull converter configured to convert an input voltage to an output voltage according to a transfer ratio is provided. The push-pull converter comprises a transformer, a first and a second switch transistor arranged to operatively provide the input voltage to the transformer such that the transfer ratio is obtainable, a first and a second rectification transistor arranged to operatively receive a first and a second part, respectively, of the output voltage from the transformer such that the transfer ratio is obtainable. The push-pull converter is further configured to synchronously operate the first switch transistor and the first rectification transistor, synchronously operate the second switch transistor and the second rectification transistor, and operate the first and second switch transistors 180 degrees out of phase with respect to each other.

For many years the trend in the field has been to use a non isolated push-pull converter with diode rectification and a transfer ratio of one to create the bias voltage for RF transmitting transistors. The converter can also operate as a boost converter by placing a load between nodes for output and input voltage. This allows for a high efficiency boost conversion using small magnetic components.
Lately the power requirement from said converter, i.e. the above mentioned converter comprising diode rectification and having a transfer ratio of one, has increased. Moreover, transfer ratios greater than one are often required. At the same time, board area available for the converter has been reduced. This force an extreme efficiency incensement compared to the known solution.
In FIG. 1, a known converter is shown. The converter converts an input voltage Vin to an output voltage Vout. The converter uses diode rectification, by means of diodes D_A, D_B, for providing parts of the output voltage averaged via the inductor L1 and capacitor C1.

Synchronous non-isolated push-pull converter


A hand held sprayer mechanism with remotely actuated spray tip. The invention includes a sprayer sub-assembly coupled to a spray head adapter. The sprayer sub-assembly has a fluid chamber with an exit port and means for pressurizing the fluid contained within the chamber to thereby cause displacement of the fluid through the exit stem. The sprayer includes a valve which opens by forcing the exit stem towards the container. The spray head adapter is configured to remotely secure to the exit port and at least partially contain the sprayer sub-assembly. The spray head adapter includes a body, a spray tip and finger ledges extending out from the body and spaced apart from the spray tip a substantial distance. The user can remotely actuate the spray valve and release a spray stream by application of compressive force between the finger ledges and the proximal end of the sprayer sub-assembly extending out from the body of the spray head adapter. The remotely actuated spray tip allows for greater accessibility to ulcerated tissue cavities, reduced infection potential by placing operator's finger tip outside and away from the wound, enhanced precision directional control of atomized particles, spray expulsion in any direction and greatly enhanced shatter resistance of the device.

Many topical medications including antiseptics, analgesics, anesthetics and Platelet-Derived Growth Factor (PDGF) are applied to integument or skin to reduce tactile sensation, cause numbing or aid in the healing process. Likewise, anti-fungal medications must also be topically applied in most circumstances.
Various hand held applicators such as aerosol sprayers and squeeze bottles have been developed for topical application of liquid medical products. For many topical applications, it is desirous to atomize the liquid medication being applied. Atomization is the mechanical subdivision of liquid into drops. The atomized drops can have a wide range of sizes depending on the particular application. A spray is typically considered to be coarse drops having a size in the range of 100 to 1,000 microns in diameter. To mist a liquid is considered to be the atomization of liquid into fine drops sized in the range of 10 to 100 microns in diameter. For most topical medication applications, spraying is considered sufficient. However, it is highly desirable for the user applying the medication to have an atomization device, or sprayer, which provides good directional control of the spray and allows the medication to be applied from a distance that will not jeopardize further traumatization of the skin by inadvertent touching by the user's hand or by the sprayer itself.
Some topical pharmaceuticals and medications come commercially prepackaged in medication vials, similar in appearance to cartridges used for syringe applications, but modified as a sprayer sub-assembly. The sprayer sub-assembly includes an index finger actuated spray pump with a spray head which directs the spray from the pump at a 90.degree. axis from the longitudinal axis of the vial. One such product is marketed by Amgen Corp. of Thousand Oaks, Calif. and available from Tower (Medical) American Convertors division of American Hospital Supply Corporation under part no. 92308 (31/2".times.8") 8T89E (hereinafter "PDGF Airless Topical Applicator"). These spray sub-assemblies require the user to grasp the sprayer between the thumb and fingers and use the index finger to actuate the sprayer head in a pumping motion and discharge the medication from the sprayer to the desired surface. The actuation of the sprayer sub-assembly is similar to that used for commercially available hand held aerosol breath sprays.
There are several disadvantages with this sprayer structure. Because the spray head is used to actuate the spray pumping mechanism, the spray head must be moved, or pumped, relative to the liquid container or vial to actuate the spray mechanism. Furthermore, the head is pumped by the index finger and the spray exits from the spray head at a 90.degree. angle relative to the axis of the pumping motion and at a point immediately adjacent the user's index finger, the directional control of the spray is compromised. Unless the user compensates for the pumping motion by moving the entire spray assembly during spraying, each pump or stroke of the spray head causes the point of origin of the spray to change in location. This motion compromises the directional stability of the spray stream.
Additionally, the index finger actuated pumping structure requires the user to grasp the spray assembly in such a way that the longitudinal axis of the spray assembly must be positioned generally parallel to the surface of the skin receiving the spray. This positioning is a product of the spray exit stream being directed at a 90.degree. angle relative to the pumping axis of the sprayer. In some circumstances, the user may have to position the sprayer close to the skin to aim the spray in a particular area. This awkward positioning may cause inadvertent contact between the traumatized skin receiving the spray and the user's hand or the sprayer itself. Where sterility is concerned, this potential for contact has profound ramifications.
Accurate aiming of an index finger controlled sprayer can also be a problem. Once the user grasps the sprayer, the nozzle on the spray head faces away from the user. Due to the shape of a typical index finger actuated spray head, the user cannot be sure of the aim until spraying has begun. The first pump of the sprayer sometimes directs the spray in an undesired direction. Furthermore, users with large index fingers or improperly positioned index fingers may also deflect part of the exiting spray with the index finger protruding in front of the spray nozzle. This may also compromise aiming and sterility. Therefore, there is a need for an improved hand held topical sprayer which eliminates these and other disadvantages of prior art devices.

Topical sprayer with remotely actuated spray tip