A flow cell (2) includes a plate-shaped body 21 that is almost rectangular in a plan view, an introduction portion (22) that is made of a concave portion formed in the upper surface of the body (21), a channel (23) that is formed inside the body (21) and has one end connected to the lower end of the introduction portion (22), and a delivery portion (24) that is made of a concave portion formed in the body (21) and has the lower end connected to the other end of the channel (23). The introduction portion (22) is formed to cause the meniscus of a liquid introduced from an opening to apply, to the liquid, a positive pressure or a negative pressure whose absolute value is smaller than that of a negative pressure applied to the liquid introduced into the channel (23) by the meniscus of the liquid. The channel (23) is formed to cause the meniscus of the liquid introduced into the channel (23) to apply a negative pressure to the liquid. This invention provides a flow cell and a liquid feed system capable of more easily controlling feed of a trace amount of liquid.

Various kinds of measurement are performed in clinical examinations or examinations in the biochemical field. At this time, the amount of a sample solution to be measured is often very small. Hence, there are proposed technologies such as micro TAS (Total Analysis Systems) and Lab on a Chip, in which measurement is conducted at high sensitivity by controlling the flow of a trace amount of liquid using a small chip.
In such technologies, a simple measurement method such as fluorometry, absorptiometry, electrochemical measurement, QCM (Quartz Crystal Microbalance) measurement, ATR (Attenuated Total Reflection) measurement, or SPR (Surface Plasmon Resonance) measurement is employed in many cases. In particular, the SPR measurement does not need specimen liquid labeling for detection, and can directly detect an antigen-antibody reaction or DNA combination and also simplify the measurement procedure (for example, see patent literatures 1 to 3 and non-patent literature 1). Additionally, in the SPR measurement, since the measurement area can be linear or planar, the flow velocity between two points can be measured by measuring the time difference in the refractive index change between the two points (for example, see patent literature 4).
In these measurement techniques, a sample cell capable of holding a sample solution is used. A trace amount of sample solution is supplied to the sample cell and fed, in the sample cell, to a detection portion that performs measurement. This makes it possible to conduct measurement at higher sensitivity and higher efficiency without lowering the concentration of a specimen such as DNA or an antibody dissolved or dispersed in the sample solution. The sample cell that feeds the sample solution to the detection portion is called a flow cell.
Various kinds of methods are proposed as methods of transferring a trace amount of sample solution in a flow cell. For example, there is a method of transferring a sample solution to a channel formed in a flow cell by applying a pressure from outside using a syringe pump or the like. There also exist a method of transferring a sample solution using an electrostatic force, an electrowetting method, a method of transferring a sample solution using a volume change or bubble generation by heating, and a method using an electroosmotic flow.
Also recently proposed is a method of transferring a sample solution by forming, in a flow cell, a region serving as a channel or pump capable of manifesting capillarity for the sample solution (for example, see patent literature 2). For this method, a flow cell is proposed in which a supply portion including an introduction port to introduce a sample solution, a transfer portion including a capillary pump that sucks the introduced sample solution, and a channel for measurement provided between the introduction port and the capillary pump are formed on a line along the planar direction of a plate-shaped flow cell. In this flow cell, when the sample solution is supplied to the introduction port, the sample solution enters from the introduction port and reaches the capillary pump via the channel. The sample solution is sucked by the capillary pump and continuously flows through the channel. There is also proposed a method of forming droplets of different radii at the two ends of a channel and transferring the liquid by the difference between the magnitudes of surface tensions generated on the droplets (for example, see non-patent literature 2).
The liquid feed method using the capillary force is called a passive pump because no external driving force is needed. A flow cell having the passive pump does not need a peripheral device for liquid feed and is therefore advantageous in on-site measurement such as point of care. Particularly, in the flow cell described in patent literature 1, a specimen liquid does not flow out of the flow cell. Hence, the biohazardous effect on the operator is small, and wastes associated with measurement can be reduced. In addition, one flow cell is used only once in measurement and then discarded. It is therefore possible to suppress measurement errors such as cross contamination.
Since a manufacturing method based on lithography is used, silicon, quartz, a glass wafer, or the like is used the material of the flow cell. As a bonding method for forming the flow cell, a method using heating and fusing, anodic bonding, bonding by hydrofluoric acid, or the like is used.
To cause the flow cell to function as a biosensor, a biomaterial is immobilized in the flow cell. However, the biomaterial has a low resistance to a high temperature, strong acid, strong alkali, and organic solvent. It is therefore difficult to make the flow cell function as a biosensor if it is manufactured using the above-described bonding method after the biomaterial is immobilized.
Studies have recently been conducted on using polydimethylsiloxane (to be referred to as "PDMS" hereinafter) as the material of a flow cell. This is because PDMS has a strong self-adhesive force to a glass or silicon substrate and does not need a bonding process, and a flow cell can easily be manufactured only placing the PDMS on the substrate. In addition, PDMS is hydrophobic because its contact angle to an aqueous solution is 90° or more. In liquid feed using the surface tension of a droplet, the hydrophobicity is advantageous in forming the droplet. However, to introduce a solution serving as priming water in advance, forcible liquid feed using a pipette or the like is needed as preconditioning. This is because even if the substrate that forms the channel is hydrophilic, the remaining surfaces are made of the hydrophobic PDMS, and an aqueous solution cannot be introduced without pressurization from outside.
As is apparent from this, it is difficult to implement, only by PDMS, the passive pump using the capillary force as the driving force. For this reason, a reagent is applied to the PDMS surface to attain hydrophilicity. However, the hydrophilicity is lost as time elapses. Studies have been conducted on adding a modifying agent to the PDMS itself to make the PDMS itself hydrophilic and manufacturing a flow cell for blood test (for example, see non-patent literature 3).
The above-described flow cell is of a disposable type aiming at easy measurement on site. On the other hand, there also exists a demand to collect many specimen liquids to an analysis center or the like and analyze an enormous number of specimens. In this case, the environment permits operators to use sufficient power, water, and drug solutions, and there are few constraints of the size of the measurement device. Hence, the measurement cost can be reduced by repetitive measurement in which instead of using a disposable flow cell, after a specimen liquid is fed to the channel, water or a cleaning fluid is subsequently fed to clean the channel, and the next specimen liquid is then fed.
To implement the repetitive measurement, there is proposed a flow cell including a supply portion with an introduction port to introduce a sample solution, a discharge portion with a delivery port to deliver the sample solution, and a channel for measurement provided between the supply portion and the discharge portion. In this flow cell, liquid feed is generally controlled by a pump (for example, see patent literatures 5 and 6). More specifically, a negative pressure is applied to the pump connected to the delivery port to suck a specimen liquid or cleaning fluid supplied to the supply portion, thereby feeding the liquid.
In a case in which repetitive measurement is performed using this flow cell, for example, if the negative pressure is continuously applied to completely suck the liquid in the channel or delivery portion, it is difficult to suck a liquid to be measured next that is supplied to the supply portion because a gas exists in the channel or delivery portion. In this case, priming water needs to be supplied to the flow cell to fill the channel or delivery portion with the liquid, resulting in an increase in time. In the repetitive measurement, the operation of the pump is controlled to attain a state in which the liquid stays in the channel and the delivery portion. For example, the pump is stopped when the liquid in the introduction portion completely flows to the channel, thereby attaining the state in which the liquid stays in the channel and the delivery portion.
Such repetitive measurement is effective in, for example, blood coagulation measurement. In recent years, life-style related diseases caused by a Western dietary life, lack of exercise, accumulation of stress, the progress of aging, and the like have become a serial social problem. An example of a disease caused by the life-style related diseases is a thrombosis. The thrombosis is strongly correlated with a myocardial infarction. Hence, it will be more important to do blood coagulation measurement in a periodic blood test in the future.

NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE CORPORATION


Embodiments of this application disclose a communication method and an apparatus, and relate to the communications field, to resolve a problem of how to simultaneously perform transmission by using a plurality of light sources and increase transmission efficiency in a multi-light source scenario in an optical camera communications system. A specific solution is: generating N physical frames, where each of the physical frames includes a preamble, a mode indication, and valid data, the mode indication is used to indicate a sending mode of N light sources, the sending mode is a diversity mode or a multiplexing mode, and N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2; and sending the N physical frames by using the N light sources, where one light source sends one physical frame. The embodiments of this application are used in an optical camera communication process.

With development of light-emitting diode (Light-emitting Diode, LED) technologies, such an LED lamp that is energy-efficient, small in size, and has a long life span is widely applied to scenarios such as lighting, indication, and a screen display. In addition, an LED has a good time response characteristic, and a signal can be sent out by using a high-speed bright-dark flicker that cannot be observed through naked eyes. In this way, the LED has a potential to serve as a signal transmitter in an optical communications system. Therefore, a visible light communication (Visible Light Communication, VLC) technology is becoming a topic of increasing concern in the lighting industry and the communications industry.
Generally, for one LED optical signal, a photodiode (photodiode, PD) may serve as a photodetector, and for a plurality of LED optical signals, an image sensor (Image Sensor, IS) including a PD array may serve as a photoelectric receiver. Currently, modules such as LED light sources and cameras are built in devices such as mobile phones and cars. Although these light sources and these cameras are used only for lighting and video shooting, the light sources and the cameras lay a hardware foundation for actual application of an IS-based VLC system. Optical camera communication (Optical Camera Communication, OCC) between an LED light source and an optical camera can be implemented only by simply reconstructing the light source and the camera. Undersampled pulse width modulation (Undersampled Pulse Width Modulation, UPWM) is a camera communications technology that can implement zero flicker, and can achieve comparatively high spectral utilization. However, in an existing OCC system based on UPWM, only camera communication for a single light source is specified, but a communication method for a plurality of light sources is not specified. Therefore, for a multi-light source scenario, how to simultaneously perform transmission by using the plurality of light sources and increase transmission efficiency is a problem that urgently needs to be resolved.

Light sources communication method and apparatus


A barbed wire installation mechanism is provided that is supported on an ATV rack with one or more poles extending vertically from the ATV rack onto which one or more barbed wire spools are placed. The mechanism includes a base plate to which the poles are attached. To hold the base plate on the ATV rack, “L” shaped brackets are attached to the base plate opposite the poles. The “L” shaped brackets slide around beams of the ATV rack and serve to hold the base plate on the ATV. A metal securing disk with a center bore fits on the pole and is placed on top of the barded wire spools to prevent the spools from sliding off the poles. A safety frame is further attached to the base plate that supports a screen to prevent the barbed wire from contacting an operator, and provide greater protection for the driver during a rollover.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to installing barbed wire from a spool onto fence rails. More particularly, the present invention relates to a device that can support the barbed wire spool, the device being transportable by an ATV for installation of the barbed wire.
2. Related Art
Barbed wire is rolled from a spool making it heavy to carry, and somewhat difficult to handle due to the barbs. Devices have been made to enable attachment of the bail of barbed wire to a tractor so that the wire can be unspooled and attached as the tractor moves along. For more rugged terrain, support systems for use with ATVs have been suggested.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,016,986 entitled "Apparatus For Stringing And Retrieving Fencing" discloses a trailer to pull behind an ATV to unspool wire for attachment. The trailer supports guides disclosed for electric fence wire which, as opposed to barbed wire, will more easily flow through an installation guide mechanism.
Not all ATVs, however, are equipped with a trailer hitch, and pulling a trailer over rugged terrain may not be practical. In such cases, the spool of wire is usually hand carried. Likewise, a trailer or carriage is somewhat complex and difficult to store, and the wire on the trailer is shown supported at a low angle relative to the fence rail making installation more difficult. Systems that directly mount to the ATV, and do not require a trailer have been disclosed, but the systems have some drawbacks due to complexity and the possibility of off-balancing the ATV.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,709,351 entitled "Wire Roller" discloses one such system that can be attached to a rack on an ATV, rather than a trailer, and engages the tire of the vehicle which serves to unroll wire from a spool. The rolling and unrolling mechanism has some complexity, and the wire is supported horizontally at a low position relative to the fence rail. The wire spool which is somewhat heavy is supported by the rack and hangs behind the ATV, well off the normal center of gravity likely causing the ATV to rare up and overturn.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,946,113 entitled "Wire Reel Carrier" discloses another system that supports a wire spool horizontally from an ATV rack. The system carries the spool off the rear of the ATV rack, again likely causing the ATV to overturn. The spool is horizontally mounted with end plates on both ends of the support holding the spool of wire included creating a somewhat complex mechanism to prevent the spool from coming off.

Barbed wire installing system using all terrain vehicle (ATV)


A process for the separation of radioactive iodine compounds by precipitation is provided. This process comprises adding 0.1 to 3 parts by weight of a reducing agent and an effective amount of silver nitrate to 100 parts by weight of a liquid waste containing radioactive iodine compounds while keeping the liquid waste at a temperature ranging from 20.degree. to 80.degree.C., and stirring the obtained mixture for 0.5 to 72 hours to precipitate the radioactive iodine compounds. Silver nitrate is preferably used in a molar concentration which is 1 to 4 times that of radioactive iodine molecules contained in the liquid waste. By this process, iodates which could not be precipitated by conventional methods can be effectively precipitated and separated to thereby reduce the amount of radioactive iodine discharged to the environment.

The present invention relates to a process for separating radioactive iodine compounds contained in a liquid waste by precipitation. More particularly, it relates to a process wherein iodates contained in a liquid waste are reduced and then precipitated with silver nitrate.
The process of the present invention is applicable to the disposal of liquid waste discharged from, e.g., nuclear power plants, reprocessing plants and various nuclear energy research facilities.
A liquid waste discharged from nuclear facilities contains radioactive iodine compounds (mainly comprising molecular iodine, iodates and iodides). Known methods for the disposal of such radioactive iodine compounds in the liquid waste include (1) solidification, (2) ion exchange resin method, and (3) coagulating sedimentation method.
The solidification method (1) is a method of confining the iodine compounds in a solidified material such as asphalt. The iodine compounds flowing into an off-gas system are adsorbed on a silver/zeolite filter. According to the method (1), molecular iodine (I.sub.2) and/or organoiodine compounds tend to be released by the action of heat generated during solidification and iodide ion (I.sup.-) may be oxidized into volatile molecular iodine (I.sub.2). Further, the silver/zeolite filter is poorly effective in capturing the iodine compounds in some cases. The ion exchange resin method (2) is a method of passing the liquid waste through an ion exchange resin to adsorb the radioactive iodine compounds on the resin, thereby separating the compounds. However, the method (2) has a problem that the separation of the iodates is difficult. The coagulating sedimentation method (3) is a method of adding silver nitrate to the liquid waste to precipitate the iodine compounds. The method (3) also has a problem that the precipitation and separation of the iodates is difficult.
The main chemical forms of radioactive iodine contained in the above-described liquid waste are iodate ion (IO.sub.3.sup.-) and iodide ion (I.sup.-). The iodate ion has a possibility that it cannot be sufficiently separated by the ion exchange resin method or the coagulating sedimentation method according to the prior art but will be discharged into the sea. Alternatively, the residual iodate ion may be converted into volatile iodine in the subsequent solidification step to be discharged into the atmosphere. On the other hand, the iodide ion is in danger of being evaporated during the treatment of the liquid waste or being converted into a volatile chemical form by the action of heat or air and discharged into the atmosphere.

Process for the separation of radioactive iodine compounds by precipitation


A radially compliant valve stem seal assembly is adapted for installation over a valve guide of an internal combustion engine. The assembly includes a metallic cylindrical straight-walled retainer with an elastomeric sealing element chemically bonded to the interior surface of the retainer. The sealing element includes upper and lower portions; the upper portion includes a pair of sealing lips comprising an oil sealing lip and a gas sealing lip. The lips are adapted to meter oil through an interface between the seal assembly and the associated valve stem for assuring proper lubrication at the interface. The lower portion of the elastomeric sealing element provides one or more annular radially inwardly oriented gripping ribs adapted to engage the guide via an interference fit. The gripping ribs are adapted to balance forces of installation against those of securement of the valve stem seal assembly over a wide valve guide diameter tolerance range.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to valve stem seal assemblies adapted to be installed over valve stems that are reciprocally movable within valve guides of internal combustion engines. More particularly, the invention relates to seal assembly retainers incorporating specially designed retention mechanisms for securement of such assemblies to valve guides.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Those skilled in the art will appreciate the manner in which intake and exhaust valves are employed in cylinder heads of internal combustion engines. Such valves, supported for reciprocal motion within valve guides, typically include integral elongated stems extending away from the engine cylinder heads, the ends of the stems interacting with rotating overhead cams for cyclic or repeated opening and closure of the valves against the force of valve return springs during the combustion cycle.
Obviously, in order to permit unobstructed reciprocal movement of the stem in the guide, some mechanical clearance must exist between the valve guide and the moving stem. A plurality of valve stems move reciprocally to and from the cylinder head, each within its individual guide, and so-called valve stem seal assemblies are used to seal against leakage of oil through a mechanical clearance path between each annular engine valve guide and its associated valve stem.
As is well known, the intake port of a combustion chamber is opened and closed by the reciprocating motion of at least one intake valve, which in turn is driven by the rotary motion of a cam, the latter being affixed to and rotatable with an engine camshaft. The intake valve permits fuel mixed with air to flow into the combustion chamber. In addition, most internal combustion engines have at least one exhaust valve and associated exhaust port for releasing expended combustion gases to the atmosphere. Typically, intake and exhaust valves are of similar construction, and both include stems integrally affixed to the valves.
In the typical engine, a valve stem seal assembly is fitted over or atop each valve guide, wherein each seal assembly includes a retainer frictionally mounted to an associated valve guide. Each valve stem seal assembly normally has two primary parts: 1) an elastomeric oil seal for controlling leakage of oil between the valve stem and guide as noted, and 2) a structural cylindrical retainer mounted atop of the valve guide to hold the oil seal in place.
Although valve stem seal elastomer body design, performance, and construction issues have seen much progress in recent years, there are current incentives to reduce manufacturing costs, particularly costs associated with the structural cylindrical retainers.
The valve stem seal retainer of the present invention addresses the noted manufacturing cost issues by providing a cost-effective, yet field flexible, design to accommodate a wide variety of valve guide geometries. Moreover, the structure is easily tailored to provide for proper retention of a valve stem seal assembly to a valve guide under a variety of installation and retention load requirements.
The disclosed invention is a one-piece valve stem seal and retainer assembly for an internal combustion engine. A plurality of such assemblies is contemplated for use in an engine, each designed for insertion over an engine valve guide for continuous engagement with an associated reciprocally moveable valve stem. The valve stem seal includes a retainer having a completely cylindrical, i.e. straight walled, metallic body. The body defines an interior surface to which an elastomeric sealing element is chemically bonded to provide a one-piece structure. The retainer is adapted to be inserted atop of an upper smaller diameter portion of a valve guide. It is inserted down over the guide to a point where it bottoms against a step formed between the upper smaller diameter portion and a lower larger diameter portion of the guide. The retainer is sized so as to provide a diametric offset with respect to the larger diameter portion of the guide; the offset provides a mechanism for avoiding interference between a valve return spring and the exterior retainer body. An upper section of the elastomeric sealing element contains a pair of sealing lips, including an oil sealing lip and a gas sealing lip. The upper portion of the sealing element also provides metering of a small amount of oil through the interface between the seal and associated valve stem for assuring adequate lubrication of the stem and guide interface.
A lower portion of the elastomeric sealing element includes one or more annular gripping ribs that engage the guide via interference fit to assure requisite valve stem seal retention force on the guide. Such force is sufficient to overcome countervailing forces tending to remove the seal from the guide that are created by reciprocal movement of the valve stem through the sealing lips. To the extent that the metallic retainer extends fully to the upper extremity of the elastomeric sealing element, the seal may be installed with a hammer, or other flat-faced tool, thus eliminating need for use of any special tool for its installation on a valve guide.

Valve seal assembly with straight-walled retainer


A predictive storage management system includes a storage system having storage devices, and a predictive storage management device coupled to the storage system via a network. The predictive storage management device includes a statistical time-series storage device usage sub-engine that retrieves first storage device usage data from a first storage device in the storage system and uses it to generate a first storage device usage trend model. A machine-learning storage system usage sub-engine in the predictive storage management device retrieves storage system implementation information from the storage system and uses it to generate a storage system implementation model. A storage management sub-engine in the predictive storage management device analyzes the first storage device usage trend model and the storage system implementation model to predict future usage of the first storage device and, based on that predicted future usage, performs a management action associated with the first storage device.

The present disclosure relates generally to information handling systems, and more particularly to managing storage devices in an information handling systems based on predictions about future usage of those storage devices.
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Information handling systems are sometimes provided in a Hyper-Converged Infrastructure (HCI) systems that may be provided by a software-defined Information Technology (IT) infrastructure that virtualizes the elements of "hardware-defined" systems using, for example, virtualized computing subsystems (e.g., a hypervisor subsystem), a virtualized Storage Area Network (SAN) (e.g., "software-defined storage"), and virtualized networking (e.g., "software-defined networking") provided one or more server devices. HCI systems have evolved from conventional discrete, hardware-defined systems that are connected and packaged together to a software-defined environment in which the functional elements are provided via server device(s) and converged via a hypervisor. In many situations, it is desirable to analyze the use of the virtualized SAN in order to perform a variety of management operations associated with the storage devices in the storage system that provides that virtualized SAN. However, conventional virtualized SAN use analysis is limited to analyzing the previous use of the virtualized SAN via statistical time-series models that tend to be poor at predicting virtualized SAN usage trends due to, for example, many time-series data sets exhibiting abrupt trend changes, step functions, periodicity, and significantly different growth rates. As such, conventional virtualized SAN use analysis is deficient in accurately predicting virtualized SAN usage trends, preventing useful storage device management functions including real-time storage capacity provisioning recommendations (e.g., to add new storage devices to the storage system that provides the virtualized SAN because a current storage capacity will be used up in the future), data purging, storage device/storage system reconfiguration, and/or other storage device management functions known in the art.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an improved storage management system.


A device obtains data, for a current media plan, that includes a cost adjustment factor, a duration of an unexecuted portion of the current media plan that is divisible into periods of time, and an unutilized budget, for the duration, that is divisible into budget portions based on the periods of time. The device generates a predictive baseline cost parameter by adjusting, by the cost adjustment factor, a baseline cost parameter of a previously implemented baseline media plan. The device predicts cost metrics for the current media plan using the predictive baseline cost parameter, and predicts performance metrics for the current media plan based on the cost metrics and predictive baseline cost parameter. The device determines target cost per point (CPP) values for the current media plan based on the cost metrics and performance metrics, and causes an action to be performed based on the target CPP values.

Effective marketing, based on implementing a well-researched media plan (e.g., media campaign), can set a business apart from the crowd. Monitoring media plan data, and analyzing the resultant media plan metrics, is essential for gauging the effectiveness of a media plan. Such metrics may include, for example, gross rating points (GRPs), click-through rates (CTRs), and/or metrics relating to the media plan reach, recall, and/or engagement.

Data platform and analytics for predicting media metrics


In recovering flat glass faceplates used in color cathode ray tubes (CRTs) where the CRT is rejected during manufacture, the faceplate is cleaned for re-use with a high pressure vapor blast incorporation small particles in a slurry form. The particles may be comprised of small plastic beads or pellets, with walnut shells reduced to particle size on the order of 40-100 mesh and pressures in the range of 20-30 p.s.i. used in a preferred embodiment.

This invention relates generally to the manufacture of color cathode ray tubes (CRTs) and is particularly directed to the recovery of flat glass faceplates in CRTs rejected during the manufacturing process for re-use.
A conventional CRT consists of an evacuated envelope having a neck portion, a glass faceplate, and a funnel portion therebetween. An electron gun disposed in the neck portion of the envelope emits energetic electrons which are directed onto the inner surface of the faceplate. Disposed on the inner surface of the faceplate are a large number of phosphor elements which glow momentarily when struck from the rear by electrons from the electron gun to produce a video image which is visible through the faceplate. Also disposed on the inner surface of the faceplate is a layer of a black, light-absorbing material in the form of a matrix which defines the phosphor dots. A metalized layer typically including aluminum is also frequently disposed on the CRT's inner surface to reflect the light produced by the electron-excited phosphor elements outward toward the viewer for enhanced video image brightness.
A CRT is particularly susceptible to the effects of ambient light incident upon its faceplate. Ambient light produces reflections from both the outer, or forward, surface of the CRT's faceplate as well as from its inner, or aft, surface. In the past, the surfaces of the CRT's faceplate have typically been roughened to a given surface texture either by pressing the glass surface, called stippling; by using a chemical process such as acid etching; or have been covered with a layer of anti-reflection coating to reduce reflections directed back toward the viewer which degrade the video image. The pressing and acid etching approaches roughen the surfaces of the faceplate so as to reduce specular reflection from the faceplate and increase its diffuse reflection. The layers of anti-reflection coating deposited on the faceplate's surfaces possess interference properties selected so as to minimize ambient light reflection from its forward and aft surfaces toward the viewer.
Recent developments in CRT technology have lead to the use of flat glass faceplates in color CRTs. These flat glass faceplates have attached to the inner surface thereof a flat tension mask (FTM) which is affixed to a support structure and is maintained in a tightly stretched condition. The FTM is in the form of a thin metal foil having a large number of very small apertures through which the electron beams are directed to permit the FTM to serve as a color selection electrode, or parallax barrier. The FTM support structure may be comprised of metal or a ceramic material and is affixed to the inner surface of the faceplate and attached to the FTM by means of a frit-based cement or by welding, depending upon the support structure composition.
The etched inner surface of the flat glass faceplate has a carefully controlled degree of roughness in order to minimize internal reflections without degrading video image acuity. The degree of roughness is generally expressed as a depression value range, with a roughness range of 10-20 microns root mean square (RMS) depression value range providing optimum video image acuity and minimum internal specular reflection.
During manufacture, the CRT undergoes numerous tests at various stages of assembly. This rigorous testing is intended to ensure that the product sold is of high quality and reliability. However, this demanding test schedule inevitably results in the rejection of CRTs at various stages of assembly. Because of the high cost of some CRT components, it is cost effective to salvage and re-use acceptable components of otherwise rejected CRT. One CRT component which is particularly desirable to salvage and re-use because of its relative cost and because it does not generally contribute to the rejection of the CRT is the flat glass faceplate. Before the flat glass faceplate can be re-installed in another CRT during assembly, it must be restored to its original condition, followed by the application of the various layers of video image producing and enhancing materials on its inner surface. This means that the glass faceplate must be separated from the CRT funnel; the FTM and its support structure must be removed from the glass faceplate; and the phosphor coating, black surround, and aluminized layer must be removed from the faceplate's inner surface.
Prior art approaches for cleaning the flat glass faceplate of a rejected CRT for re-use involve the application of pressurized water with a micro-soap and hot caustic solution to the faceplate. This approach has been of limited use because of the incomplete removal of the aluminized, phosphor and black matrix layers. Incomplete removal of any portion of any of the aforementioned layers from the inner surface of the faceplate renders the faceplate unacceptable for re-installation in a CRT. Acid etching employing hydrofluoric etching acid such as used in initial roughening of the faceplate's surface has proven to be effective in removing the aforementioned materials, but leads to additional etching of the glass surface. This additional etching increases the roughness, or texture, of the glass faceplate rendering it unacceptable for video image transmission.
The present invention addresses and overcomes the aforementioned limitations of the prior art by providing a method for cleaning the roughened inner surface of a flat glass faceplate used in a color CRT. By directing a vapor blast containing small particles or pellets onto the faceplate's inner surface, the various video image producing and enhancing materials disposed on the faceplate are removed. A preferred embodiment contemplates vapor blasting at a pressure on the order of 20-30 p.s.i. with a slurry of ground up walnut shells in water.

Cleaning of flat glass CRT faceplate with internal anti-glare surface


A system for helically driving an inspection probe within a tube of a nuclear steam generator is provided, wherein the system is particularly useful in driving a combination eddy-current and ultrasonic probe. The system generally includes a head assembly insertable with the tube for inspection, a drive frame assembly to be located external of the steam generator, and a conduit system connecting the head assembly and drive frame assembly. Particularly, the head assembly includes a portion fixable to the tube by a pressure bladder and a movable portion helically movable with a probe to the fixable portion. The drive motor and electrical pick-up are slidably movable on the drive frame assembly to move linearly with the probe during inspection so as not to limit the stroke of the probe, wherein the drive motor and pick-up are connected with the head assembly by way of two flexible coaxial conduits. The two conduits further provide two fluid flow paths to supply fluid to the bladder and couplant fluid for use during ultrasonic testing.

The integrity of the heat exchanger tubes in steam generators is of major concern to the nuclear industry for both performance reasons and economic considerations. Periodic inspections of these tubes must be conducted to look for degradation of the tubing, such as denting, pittinq, cracking which sometimes occurs in the tubesheet and support plate regions of the generator. As such nuclear steam generators become older, it is becoming increasingly important to develop new techniques of in service inspection for detection of tube degradation.
Eddy current probes and ultrasonic probes for in service inspection of such tubes are known in the prior art. Originally, eddy current in service inspection techniques were developed to detect wall thinning of the heat exchanger tubes. Such eddy current testing was based on the use of alternating current frequency instrumentation in conjunction with electric coil probes. The alternating current conducted through the probe coil created a time varying magnetic field which is turn induced eddy currents in the metallic walls of the heat exchanger tubes. These eddy currents in turn produced counter-magnetic fields that impeded the time varying magnetic field generated by the probe coil. Discontinuities caused by flaws in the metallic walls of the tubes tend to resist the eddy currents, which in turn lowers the impedance that the magnetic fields associated with the eddy currents imposes on the magnetic field of the probe coil. Thus, flaws could be detected by monitoring impedance changes in the coil of the eddy current probe.
As this test procedure evolved, multiple frequency, computer controlled instrumentation systems were used which could be connected to any number of special purpose eddy current probes each, of which was designed to detect a specific type of degradation. However, even with such improvements, eddy current inspection techniques could not detect some types of degradation with any reliability, and in some cases it was difficult or impossible to discriminate between signals produced by combinations of different types of degradation which may occur in a single location in the tube.
As a result, ultrasonic inspection systems have been developed which have been found to more accurately indicate what type of degradation might be present within a particular tube. Like eddy current test procedures, such ultrasonic systems have evolved since their introduction so that they now use sophisticated multi-channel, multi-transducer electronic systems capable of resolving different types of flaws. Such ultrasonic systems take a much longer time to conduct an inspection than eddy current inspection systems, although they do have the advantage of being especially effective in resolving flaws where eddy current testing is the most limited. The complimentary character of the ultrasonic and eddy current inspection techniques has led to the concurrent use of both methods in a combination probe, an example of which is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 079,860 filed July 7, 1987, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,337, by Warren Junker et al. and assigned to the Westinghouse Electric Corporation.
Ultrasonic testing techniques in a preferred usage require a couplant fluid such as water between the ultrasonic probe and the wall of the tube being tested. The couplant fluid increases the sensitivity of the probe in detecting flaws. In order to run a test, it is necessary to helically move the ultrasonic probe while also supplying the couplant medium around the probe during the testing procedure. In known ultrasonic systems, water couplant was injected into the tube around the ultrasonic probe by way of the same flexible drive shaft that was used to position and helically move the probe within the tube. Keeping the water couplant around the probe was accomplished by a barrel seal located around the flexible drive shaft. In such a known system, the transducer of the probe was moved circumferentially and axially within the tube by means of a screw thread, and the position of the probe relative to the tube wall was determined by means of a rotary encoder connected to the screw thread.
The drive system in this prior art system which rotated the flexible drive shaft was located at and mounted to the tubesheet of the steam generator. From the tubesheet, a flexible shaft was rotatably driven to helically move the ultrasonic probe within the steam generator tubing. However, this type system was limited in that the probe could only be extended into the tubes to a height of only about two meters above the tubesheet. Since the legs of the heat exchanger tubes are about 10 meters long, much of the tubing could not be inspected. Additionally, this system was cumbersome to move from tube to tube within the tubesheet.
To overcome these limitations, a drive system was developed that incorporated a miniature drive motor coupled to a rotary encoder device that could be inserted into the tube along with the probe body. This arrangement circumvented the previous limitation on probe height above the tubesheet, and the probe could be positioned anywhere up to the start of the U-bend of the tube. This drive system was also an improvement over the tubesheet mounted drive system in that the probe and its drive system could be easily moved from tube to tube with the use of known robots.
This drive system consists of a miniature motor coupled in tandem with a gear box and a screw mechanism that was mounted at the probe end which the probe itself was attached. This system also included an expandable, fluid actuated bladder which circumscribed the probe body for maintaining the position of the probe within the tube, and a slip ring arrangement that allowed electrical power to be conducted to the motor and to the probe. Unfortunately, this drive system has not proven to be entirely satisfactory due in part to the power limitation associated with the small size of the motor. It also has proven difficult to completely seal the electrical components such as the motor and slip ring arrangement from the couplant water. Finally, it has proven to be very difficult to effectively prevent the electrical wires between the probe and the slip ring arrangement from binding or tangling during the operation of the device, as a result of the distance changes between the probe and the slip ring as the screw mechanism axially moves the probe relative to the slip ring arrangement. In an attempt to solve this last problem, the wires were loosely coiled in an orifice within the cartridge to provide the required slack. However, the scan length was still limited to only about 2.5 cm with each location of the probe by the bladder. Thus, it was necessary to relocate the entire probe assembly many times to inspect even a decimeter of tubing. Since ultrasonic testing is in itself a slow process, the process was unreasonably lengthened by having to relocate the probe assembly so many times to do an inspection of any significant length of tubing.
Clearly, there is a need for a drive system that can helically move an inspection probe assembly having an ultrasonic probe over a greater stroke distance than prior art systems, and which has a sufficient torque to rotatably drive the probe while maintaining the electrical components safe from couplant water. Ideally, the drive system should allow the probe assembly to be easily moved from tube to tube, and should be highly reliable in operation.

Support equipment for a combination eddy current and ultrasonic testing probe for inspection of steam generator tubing

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A bypass tray to be used in an image forming apparatus, the bypass tray including a knock-up plate resiliently biased in an upward direction; and at least one stopper provided at least one side of the knock-up plate, rotatably provided so as to restrict a position of the knock-up plate while moving up and down.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and, more particularly, to a bypass tray of an image forming apparatus capable of preventing production of impactnoise or skewing of paper when the paper is fed through the bypass tray.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, an image forming apparatus includes a paper loading unit to load a plurality of sheets of paper on which an image may then be formed. The paper loading unit generally includes a cassette having the plurality of sheets of paper, the cassette being detachably provided to a body of the image forming apparatus, and a bypass tray forming a part of a casing of the body to feed a sheet of a print medium, special paper, or the like.
FIGS. 1 and 2 are side views illustrating a process of picking up a sheet of paper from a conventional bypass tray.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the bypass tray includes a knock-up plate 10 with a plurality of sheets of paper S stacked thereon, a support 12 provided at one side of the knock-up plate 10, an idle roller 11 rotatably provided at one end of the support 12, and a resilient part 20 to resiliently bias the knock-up plate 10 upward, the resilient part 20 having one end fixed to the knock-up plate 10 and the other end fixed to a body (not shown) of the image forming apparatus.
The knock-up plate 10 is provided at an upper portion thereof with a pickup roller 32 fixed to a rotary shaft 30, which is rotatably provided to the body (not shown). The pickup roller 32 picks up the sheets of paper stacked on the knock-up plate 10 sheet by sheet. Idle rollers 31, idling around the rotary shaft 30, are provided to both sides of the pickup roller 32, respectively. The rotary shaft 30 is provided with a cam 33 having a latch portion 34 to secure the idle roller 11 provided to the support 12.
A process of picking up the paper from the conventional bypass tray will now be described with the accompanying drawings.
Referring to FIG. 1, since the latch portion 34 of the cam 33 latches the idle roller 11, the knock-up plate 10 is resiliently biased by the resilient part 20 upwardly, but is not moved upwardly.
When the rotary shaft 30 is rotated by a solenoid (not shown) which selectively transfers a power from a driving power (not shown) to the rotary shaft 30, the pickup roller 32 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction. Also, the cam 33 fixed to the rotary shaft 30 is rotated with the rotary shaft 30 in the counterclockwise direction.
At that time, the idle roller 11 is released from the latch portion 34, and is then rotated along an outer periphery 35 of the cam 33 in a clockwise direction. As such, the knock-up plate 10 is moved upward by a resilient force of the resilient part 20, so that the stacked paper S comes into contact with the rotating pickup roller 32, and the stacked paper is picked up sheet by sheet starting with an uppermost sheet.
A clockwise rotation of the rotary shaft 30 causes the latch portion 34 of the cam 33 to again latch the idle roller 11, as shown in FIG. 1. A next sheet is picked up by repeating the above process.
As the idle roller 11 moves along the outer periphery 35 of the cam 33, the knock-up plate 10 is moved up and down to impact the uppermost sheet of paper. Therefore, there is a problem in that impact noise is significantly produced whenever the paper is fed. In addition, an alignment of the paper S stacked on the knock-up plate 10 may be disrupted, which in turn may cause poor paper feeding, and thus skew.

Bypass tray and image forming apparatus with the same


Compounds of Formula I:

The use of compounds which bind to nicotinic acetylcholine receptors for the treatment of a range of disorders involving reduced cholinergic function such as Alzheimer's disease, cognitive or attention disorders, anxiety, depression, smoking cessation, neuroprotection, schizophrenia, analgesia, Tourette's syndrome, and Parkinson's disease is discussed in: McDonald et al., (1995) "Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors: Molecular Biology, Chemistry and Pharmacology", Chapter 5 in Annual Reports in Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 30, pp. 41-50, Academic Press Inc., San Diego, Calif.; Williams et al., (1994) "Neuronal Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors," Drug News & Perspectives, vol. 7, pp. 205-223; Holladay et al. (1997) J. Med. Chem. 40(26), 4169-4194; Arneric and Brioni (Eds.) (1998) "Neuronal Nicotinic Receptors: Pharmacology and Therapeutic Opportunities", John Wiley & Sons, New York; Levin (Ed.) (2001) "Nicotinic Receptors in the Nervous System" CRC Press.

Abstract: Compounds of Formula I:

Abstract: and pharmaceutically-acceptable salts thereof, wherein Q, E and D are as defined in the specification, enantiomers, in vivo-hydrolysable precursors, pharmaceutical compositions and formulations containing them, methods of using them to treat diseases and conditions either alone or in combination with other therapeutically-active compounds or substances, processes and intermediates used to prepare them and uses of them for diagnostic and analytic purposes.


An airfoil has an airfoil structure that defines a cooling passage for directing a cooling medium through the airfoil structure. A swirl structure is operatively associated with the cooling passage and configured to impart a tangential velocity to the cooling medium flowing through the cooling passage. An airfoil has an airfoil structure that defines a first cooling passage and a second cooling passage for directing cooling medium through the airfoil structure, each cooling passage having a swirl structure that imparts tangential velocity on the cooling medium flowing through the associated cooling passage. A method of making an airfoil that includes forming an airfoil structure that defines a cooling passage for directing a cooling medium through the airfoil structure and forming a swirl structure that is operatively associated with the cooling passage and imparts tangential velocity to the cooling medium flowing through the cooling passage.

The present invention relates generally to gas turbine engines, and more particularly, to impingement cooling passages used in gas turbine engines.
A gas turbine engine commonly includes a fan, a compressor, a combustor, a turbine, and an exhaust nozzle. During engine operation, working medium gases, for example air, are drawn into the engine and compressed by the compressor. The compressed air is channeled to the combustor where fuel is added to the air and the air-fuel mixture ignited. The products of combustion are discharged to the turbine section, which extracts a portion of the energy from the combustion products to power the fan and the compressor.
The compressor and turbine often include alternating sections of rotating blades and stationary vanes. The operating temperatures of some engine stages, such as in the high pressure turbine rotor and stator stages, may exceed the material limits of the airfoils and therefore necessitate cooling of the airfoils. Cooled airfoils may include cooling channels, sometimes referred to as passages through which a coolant, such as compressor bleed air, is directed to convectively cool the airfoil. Airfoil cooling channels may be oriented spanwise from the base to the tip of the airfoil or axially between leading and trailing edges. The channels may be fed by one or more supply channels toward the airfoil base, where the coolant flows radially into the cooling channels. In some configurations, the cooling channels include small cooling passages, referred to as impingent cooling passages, which connect the cooling channel with an adjacent cavity or channel. The impingement cooling passages are sized and placed to direct jets of coolant on to interior airfoil surfaces such as the interior surfaces of the leading and trailing edges.
Prior airfoil designs have continually sought to decrease airfoil temperatures through cooling. A particular challenge in prior impingement cooled airfoil designs is with respect to a region affected by the thermal boundary layer. The thermal boundary layer of an impinging coolant jet is the flow region near the interior surface of the airfoil distorted by the effects of the coolant interacting with the surface. Because the thermal boundary layer distortion redirects a portion of the impinging coolant jet away from the interior airfoil surfaces, the cooling efficiency of the impingement jet decreases. However, due to the relatively high temperatures encountered during operation, a need still exists to improve impingement cooling of turbine blade and vane airfoils.

Airfoil cooling device and method of manufacture


A microfluidic device and method is provided for coupling discrete channels and for co-culture. The microfluidic device includes first and second bodies. Each body has a bottom surface and defines a channel. The channel in each body includes an inlet and an outlet communicating with the bottom surface. A first fluid, such as a first cell suspension, is provided within the channel of the first body and a second fluid, such a second cell suspension, is provided within the channel of the second body. The first and second bodies are movable between a first position wherein the outlet of the channel of the first body is spaced from the inlet of the channel of the second body and a second position wherein the fluid at the outlet of the channel of the first body communicates with the fluid at the inlet of the channel of the second body.

Microfluidics offers the precise control of many parameters of cellular micro-environments including fluid shear stress, diffusion of soluble factors, and patterning of cells and extracellular matrix. Microfluidic devices have been used to explore a variety of biological problems of interest, ranging from fundamental research in protein crystallization to diagnostic assays. As such, microfluidic devices are becoming a part of many new approaches to investigating cell behavior and interaction. On the micro-scale, certain physical phenomena and interactions play a much more significant role in system behavior when compared to the macro-scale. Developing new microchannel designs and methods will allow for more robust control of the micro-environment and system parameters leading to improved analysis.
As is known, cells do not live in isolation. In all multi-cellular organisms, such as the human body, the cells within the body continually receive and send signals that coordinate the growth, differentiation, and metabolism of the cells in diverse tissues and organs. For example, morphogens are signaling molecules secreted by cells. In embryos, concentration gradients of morphogens play a key role in the formation and differentiation of many tissues, as well as, set the stage for the formation of organs. Further, it has been found that more intricate structures are formed by local, and sometimes reciprocal, interactions between different cell types. For example, the hair follicle is formed and maintained according to reciprocal signaling between the epidermal and dermal components of the skin. Reciprocal interactions also take place in the nervous system during formation of axon scaffolds that are precursors to neuronal connections, as well as, in regeneration wherein glial signals can, in fact, be detrimental to the repair process. As such, it can be appreciated that a better understanding of tissue level signaling is important for the development of new therapies and for tissue engineering. In addition, robust tools for in vitro modeling may have utility for the discovery of new drugs that target signaling pathways.
To study reciprocal signaling in vitro, one can employ cells that either over-express a component of a pathway or have dominant negative allele. However, this process requires the prior knowledge (or at least a hint) of the pathways involved. Also, genetic manipulations are difficult if the interaction between the cells involves multiple pathways. Pharmacological inhibitors could be used, but these inhibitors are only available for some signaling cascades and tend to lack specificity.
An alternative way of studying reciprocal signaling is to observe two or more cell types involved as they are joined in co-culture or separated after having been in contact. Traditional co-culture techniques do not enable easy cessation of cell to cell communication within a co-culture. In a mixed co-culture, it is not possible to remove all signals originating with one cell type, while leaving the second cell type unaffected. For example, when using filter well inserts, cells are usually seeded on either side of a membrane. It can be appreciated that any effort to remove one cell type from a well is likely to disturb the other cell type. Even if one cell type is seeded on the bottom of a well and the other on a filter insert, it will be difficult and time consuming to remove the filter without causing crosstalk between the wells.
Further, it has been found that disparate cell types can be difficult to co-culture due to each cell types individual needs for stringent culture conditions. In addition, different cell types often develop and mature at different rates. As a result, roadblocks to the development of appropriate physiologically relevant connections between the cell types may be created if the cell types are initially cultured at the same point in time.
Therefore, it is a primary object and feature of the present invention to provide a microfluidic device and method for co-culturing cells in discrete channels of a microfluidic device.
It is a further object and feature of the present invention to provide a microfluidic device and a method for selectively coupling discrete channels of the device.
It is a still further object and feature of the present invention to provide a microfluidic device and a method that allows for cells to be simply and easily removed from a channel of a microfluidic device.
In accordance with the present invention, a microfluidic device is provided. The microfluidic device includes a first body having bottom surface and defining a channel. The channel includes an inlet and an outlet communicating with the bottom surface. A first fluid is provided within the channel of the first body. The first fluid has a radius of curvature at the outlet. The microfluidic device also includes a second body having an upper surface and defining a channel. The channel of the second body includes an inlet communicating with the upper surface and an outlet. A second fluid is provided within the channel of the second body. The second fluid has a radius of curvature at the inlet. The first and second bodies are movable between a first position wherein the outlet of the channel of the first body is spaced from the inlet of the channel of the second body and a second position wherein the fluid at the outlet of the channel of the first body communicates with the fluid at the inlet of the channel of the second body.
The first fluid has a surface tension at the outlet of the first body with the first and second bodies in the first position. The surface tension of the first fluid maintains the first fluid within the channel of the first body with the first and second bodies in the first position. The first body includes an upper surface and the inlet of the channel of the first body communicates with the upper surface of the first body. The fluid at the inlet of the channel in the first body has a radius of curvature less than the radius of curvature of the fluid at the outlet of the channel in the first body.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, a method of co-culturing cells is provided. The method includes the step of providing a channel network in a first microfluidic device. The channel network includes a channel having an input and an output. The first channel is filled with a first media. A channel network is provided in a second microfluidic device. The channel network in the second microfluidic device includes a channel having an input and an output. The channel in second microfluidic device is filed with a second media. The first media at the output of the channel of the first microfluidic device is brought into contact with the second media at the input of the channel of the second microfluidic device.
The method may include the additional step of depositing a drop on the input of the channel of the first microfluidic device so as to generate the flow of the first media from the input of the channel of the first microfluidic device to the output of the channel of the first microfluidic device. The drop at the input of the channel of the first microfluidic device has a radius of curvature less than the radius of curvature of the first media at the output of the channel of the first microfluidic device. In addition, it is contemplated for the drop at the input of the channel of the first microfluidic device to have a radius of curvature less than the radius of curvature of the second media at the output of the channel of the second microfluidic device. The method may also include the step of disengaging the first media at the output of the channel of the first microfluidic device from the second media at the input of the channel of the second microfluidic device.
The first media includes a first set of cells and the second media includes a second set of cells. The interaction of the first and second sets of cells are observed after the step of bringing the first media in contact with the second media.
In accordance with a still further aspect of the present invention, a method of coupling a channel in a first body and a channel in a second body is provided. Each channel includes an input and an output. The method includes the steps of providing a drop at the output of the channel of the first body and providing a drop at the input of the channel of the second body. The drop at the output of the channel of the first body is brought into contact with the drop at the input of the channel of the second body.
The method may include the additional steps of filling the channel of the first body with a first media and filling the channel of the second body with a second media. A drop is deposited on the input of the channel of the first body so as to generate the flow of the first media from the input of the channel of the first body to the output of the channel of the first body. The drop on the input of the channel of the first body has a radius of curvature less than the radius of curvature of the first media at the output of the channel of the first body. In addition, the drop on the input of the channel of the first body may have a radius of curvature less than the radius of curvature of the second media at the output of the channel of the second body.
The drop at the output of the channel of the first body may be disengaged from the drop at the input of the channel of the second body. It is contemplated for the drop at the output of the channel of the first body to include a first set of cells and for the drop at the input of the channel of the second body to include a second set of cells. The interaction of the first and second sets of cells after the step of bringing the drop at the output of the channel of the first body into contact with the drop at the input of the channel of the second body is observed.

Microfluidic device and method for coupling discrete microchannels and for co-culture


A method and device for concurrently transmitting a Wi-Fi signal and a Bluetooth signal via a common power amplifier and antenna. A first set of values indicative of transmission power levels of a Wi-Fi signal and a corresponding set of values indicative of transmission power levels of a BT signal are stored in a table. Information about activities pertaining to the BT signal including a value of a transmission power level of the BT signal is received. Based on the received value of the transmission power level of the BT signal, a corresponding value of a transmission power level of the Wi-Fi signal may be looked up from the table. Transmission of one or more of the Wi-Fi or BT signals may be controlled, based on at least one of the received information or the looked-up value of the transmission power level of the Wi-Fi signal.

Many wireless devices are capable of wireless communication with other devices using both wireless local area network (WLAN) signals and Bluetooth (BT) signals. For example, many laptops, netbook computers, and tablet devices use WLAN signals (also commonly referred to as Wi-Fi signals) to wirelessly connect to networks such as the Internet and/or private networks, and use Bluetooth signals to communicate with local BT-enabled devices such as headsets, printers, scanners, and the like. Wi-Fi communications are governed by the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, and Bluetooth communications are governed by the IEEE 802.15 family of standards.
To concurrently transmit both Wi-Fi signals and Bluetooth signals (e.g., to transmit information to the network via Wi-Fi signals while transmitting audio information to a BT-enabled headset), wireless devices typically use a first external antenna and a first associated power amplifier for the transmission of the Wi-Fi signals, and use a second external antenna and a second associated power amplifier for the transmission of the Bluetooth signals. Separate power amplifiers and antennas are typically used for the transmission of Wi-Fi signals and Bluetooth signals because of difficulties associated with concurrently transmitting Wi-Fi signals and Bluetooth signals using the same power amplifier. More specifically, conventional attempts to concurrently process Wi-Fi and Bluetooth signals in the same power amplifier typically cause the power amplifier to operate in a non-linear manner that can lead to the generation of undesirable out-of-band spectral components (e.g., intermodulation products) that violate FCC out-of-band emission limits.
Thus, although faster wireless connections to the network can be achieved by employing a second Wi-Fi channel, another antenna and associated power amplifier are typically required to accommodate the additional Wi-Fi channel. Unfortunately, because many wireless devices such as laptops include only two external antennas and associated power amplifiers, the use of two Wi-Fi channels in such wireless devices typically precludes the concurrent use of Bluetooth signals, which is undesirable. Thus, there is a need to enable the concurrent transmission of multiple Wi-Fi channels and one or more Bluetooth signals using only two pairs of antennas and power amplifiers in a manner that does not cause unacceptable signal distortion and that does not violate FCC out-of-band emission limits.
Like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts throughout the drawing figures.

Concurrent transmission of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth signals


A liquid discharge head includes a recording element substrate having a plurality of discharge ports for discharging liquid, and a plurality of recording elements for generating energy to discharge liquid, and an electric wiring substrate electrically connecting the recording element substrate and a driving circuit substrate having a circuit for driving the plurality of recording elements, the electric wiring substrate having a plurality of first electrical contact groups including a plurality of electrical contacts, for electrically connecting with the driving circuit substrate, provided along a disposed direction in which the plurality of discharge ports are disposed. The plurality of first electrical contact groups are detachably attached to a plurality of second electrical contact groups electrically connected with the driving circuit substrate, such that adjacent first electrical contact groups do not overlap each other in the disposed direction and in a direction orthogonal to the disposed direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid discharge head that discharges a liquid, and an electric wiring substrate to be used for the liquid discharge head.
2. Description of the Related Art
A typical inkjet recording head (hereinafter, also referred to as a "recording head") represented by a liquid discharge head that discharges a liquid, includes a recording element substrate comprising a discharge port that discharges a liquid and a recording element that generates energy for discharging an ink from the discharge port. Further, the recording head includes an electric wiring substrate electrically connected with a recording element substrate, for supplying power from the outside to the recording element and sending a signal for driving the recording element.
In this case, when a number of signals for driving the recording element substrate is increased to improve an image quality, then a number of wirings within the electric wiring substrate is increased. In addition, a full-line type recording head having a print width comparable with a width of a recording medium, as discussed in US Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0044355, may have an increased number of the recording element substrates, in order to adapt to the print width. Also in such a case, a number of the wirings within the electric wiring substrate is increased.
As a number the wirings is increased in this way, a number of electrical contacts with the outside provided in the electric wiring substrate is increased. In a case where these are integrated into a single connector, when the connector (electrical contact group) is attached or detached, an inserting/withdrawing force required for attaching/detaching it becomes large, and there is a risk that a load applied on the recording head may become large. Thus, the invention discussed in US Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0044355, has a configuration such that connectors (male connector 61 of sub-substrate 60) provided with a plurality of electrical contacts with the outside of the electric wiring substrate, are divided into two or more, and provided in a longitudinal direction of the recording head, in other words, along a disposed direction in which a plurality of the discharge ports are disposed.
In an electric wiring substrate having a plurality of connectors, when a plurality of connectors is arranged within a narrow region, adjacent connectors are arranged to come close to each other. As a result, a space to be used when connectors are attached or detached will be limited, and there is a risk that the workability may be degraded. In order to prevent degradation of the workability, it is desirable to arrange adjacent connectors apart enough from each other in the direction of the disposed discharge ports, and to secure a space where the connectors are attached or detached. However, in this case, it is possible that a width in the disposed direction of the discharge ports in a connector region where a plurality of connectors of the electric wiring substrate is provided, may become large.

Liquid discharge head and electric wiring substrate


A distributed constant type LC noise filter includes a dielectric formed into an insulating plate or cylinder, a first conductor spirally formed on the dielectric at one side to function as an inductor, a second conductor spirally formed on the other side of the dielectric at a location opposite to the first conductor to form a distributed constant type capacitor between the first and second conductors, and a shield conductor located on the dielectric between each adjacent lines in the first conductor to prevent a short-circuit therebetween, whereby noise components in signals on the first conductor can be eliminated without any short-circuit between each adjacent lines in the first conductor.

1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates to a distributed constant type inductance and capacitance noise filter which will be referred to "LC noise filter" hereinafter.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
There is known a noise filter which comprises a first conductor 12 spirally formed on an insulative substrate 10 made of ceramic or the like at one side as shown in FIG. 17A of the accompanying drawings and a ground conductor 14 formed on the same substrate at the other side as shown in FIG. 17B.
As shown in FIG. 18, such a noise filter functions as an LC noise filter wherein the first spiral-shaped conductor 12 provides an inductance (L) while an electrostatic distributed-constant capacitance (C) is provided between the first spiral-shaped conductor 12 and the ground conductor 14.
However, such an LC noise filter constructed according to the prior art has the following problems:
(a) First Problem:
The prior art noise filter causes an eddy current to produce in the ground conductor 14 which is located on the substrate 10 at its bottom face. Therefore, the first spiral-shaped conductor 12 could not provide such sufficient inductance as expected. As a result, the prior art noise filter only functions to provide electrical characteristics resembling those of a capacitor, rather than as an LC noise filter.
In other words, the first spiral-shaped conductor 12 of the prior art LC noise filter is coupled capacitively and also inductively with the ground conductor 14. Therefore, the current passing through the first spiral-shaped conductor 12 creates a magnetic flux which in turn creates an electromotive force in the ground conductor 14. Such an electromotive force causes a short-circuit current to be produce in the ground conductor 14 as shown by double-headed circular line A in FIG. 17B.
If it is assumed that the first spiral-shaped conductor 12 functions a primary coil in a transformer, the ground conductor 14 acts as if a secondary coil in the same transformer. For such a reason, the first spiral-shaped conductor 12 cannot provide such sufficient inductance level as expected.
(b) Second Problem:
This noise filter is adapted to eliminate noises included in signals which are provided in the opposite terminals 16 and 18 of the first conductor 12 functioning as an inductor. If the frequency of such signals is increased, a short-circuit will be created between each adjacent line in the first spirally formed conductor 12, as shown by arrow B. As a result, the first conductor 12 will not function as an inductor.
Such a short-circuit is more frequently created as the frequency of the provided signals is increased. Therefore, the conventional noise filters could not be used as high-frequency noise filters.


Measurement of a standard sample is repeated under control of an analysis control unit (94) while a CD voltage applied to a conversion dynode (61) of a detection unit (6) is gradually changed by a CD voltage adjustment unit (96). Then, every time a measured mass spectrum is obtained, a spectrum pattern determination unit (93) determines whether a pattern of the measured mass spectrum matches a pattern of a standard mass spectrum of a standard sample in a compound database (92), and determines the CD voltage at the time of being regarded as matching to be the set value. When the pattern of the mass spectrum is adjusted by changing the voltage applied to the ion lens (3), performance such as sensitivity is likely to be unstable due to stain on the lens electrode or the like, but since the detection unit (6) is unlikely to be affected by such a stain, unstable performance can be avoided.

In a common quadrupole mass spectrometer used for a gas chromatograph mass spectrometer (GC-MS) or the like, an ion source generates ions from compounds contained in a sample gas, the generated various ions are separated by a quadrupole mass filter according to the mass-to-charge ratio m/z, and the separated ions are detected by an ion detector. Repeating a mass scan over a predetermined mass-to-charge ratio range in the quadrupole mass filter allows a mass spectrum showing the relationship between the mass-to-charge ratio and the signal intensity to be repeatedly acquired. When compound identification is performed in such a mass spectrometer, the spectrum pattern of the obtained mass spectrum is compared with the spectrum patterns of the mass spectrum stored in the known compound database, and a database search (library search) of searching for a compound whose pattern is similar to the spectrum pattern is often performed (see Patent Literature 1 and the like).
There are various compound databases used for this purpose, but the recorded mass spectrums are often those measured by conventional type mass spectrometers. In such a case, the patterns may be somewhat different between a mass spectrum obtained by measuring a certain compound by using a relatively new type of mass spectrometer with high-precision and high-sensitivity and a mass spectrum of the compound stored in the compound database. Therefore, when compound identification is performed by using a compound database storing mass spectrums measured by such conventional type mass spectrometers, the mass spectrometer itself for performing the measurement is adjusted so that, regarding the same compound, the spectrum pattern of the measured mass spectrum and the spectrum pattern of the mass spectrum in the compound database match as much as possible.
The above adjustment can be said to be an adjustment that intentionally degrades the performance of the mass spectrometer, and normally, in order to efficiently introduce the ions generated by the ion source into the quadrupole mass filter, the voltage applied to the lens electrode constituting the ion lens disposed between the ion source and the quadrupole mass filter is often adjusted. Changing this voltage changes the convergence of the ion lens, but the degree of the change in the convergence differs depending on the mass-to-charge ratio. Therefore, changing the applied voltage to the lens electrode changes the introduction efficiency of ions to the quadrupole mass filter depending on the mass-to-charge ratio, and as a result, the spectrum pattern of the obtained mass spectrum changes. In addition, appropriately changing the voltage applied to the lens electrode in synchronization with the mass scan can also change the spectrum pattern of the mass spectrum.


A system and method optimizes hardware description code generated from a graphical program or model automatically. The system may include a streaming optimizer, and a delay balancing engine. The streaming optimizer transforms one or more vector data paths in the source model to scalar data paths or to a smaller-sized vector data paths. The streaming optimizer may also configure portions of the modified model to execute at a faster rate. The delay balancing engine may examine the modified model to determine whether any delays or latencies have been introduced. If so, the delay balancing engine may insert one or more blocks into the modified model to correct for any data path misalignment caused by the introduction of the delays or latencies. A validation model, a report, or hardware description code that utilizes fewer hardware resources may be generated from the modified model.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to code generation and, more specifically, to generating optimized code.
2. Background Information
Engineers, scientists and other users often work with computer-based, high-level development tools or environments to perform algorithm development, data visualization, simulation, and model design, among other tasks. Exemplary high-level development tools include the MATLAB® and Simulink® technical computing environments from The MathWorks, Inc. of Natick, Mass. With the Simulink® technical computing environment, a user creates an executable graphical model by selecting blocks from a library browser, placing them onto a canvas, for example in a graphical editor, and connecting them with lines that establish mathematical relationships and/or signals between the blocks. The Stateflow® modeling environment is an extension to the Simulink® technical computing environment that allows a user to specify state machines and flow charts. A Stateflow chart may be created by selecting states, junctions, and functions from a graphical palette, and entering them into a drawing window. The user can then create transitions by connecting states and junctions together.
Other add-on products or tools exist for generating code from Simulink models, MATLAB files and/or functions, often referred to as M-files and/or M-functions, and/or Stateflow charts. Specifically, a Simulink Hardware Description Language (HDL) Coder™ add-on product, also available from The MathWorks, Inc., generates HDL code based on Simulink models or Stateflow charts. The generated HDL code can be exported to synthesis and layout tools for hardware realization onto target hardware, such as Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Complex Programmable Logic Devices (CPLDs), etc. With the release of the Simulink HDL Coder add-on product, the Simulink technical computing environment can now be used for electronic design automation, and other design and exploration functions.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Hardware definition language generation for data serialization from executable graphical models


A liquid barrier system automatically deploys when a predetermined liquid level is attained, thereby preventing water or other liquid from entering a structure through an accessway, and automatically retracts when the liquid level recedes. The liquid barrier system includes a float housing assembly installed substantially below grade and adjacent an accessway to a structure. The system also includes a float assembly having a float which is positionable within a float housing relative to a liquid level in the housing. A barrier assembly includes a barrier interconnected to the float, and one or more seal members disposed along a periphery of an accessway. In a high water event, the float rises with the liquid level in the float housing thus causing the barrier to automatically deploy into a sealing engagement with the seal member(s) along the periphery of the accessway, thereby preventing the entry of fluid into the structure.

The present disclosure is directed to a liquid barrier system structured to automatically deploy in high water conditions, so as to prevent water from entering a structure through an accessway, and to automatically retract when the high water condition subsides. The system is structured to be installed in conjunction with a new structure, or an existing structure may be retrofitted to incorporate the inventive system.


A multilayer ceramic electronic component includes a hexahedral ceramic body including dielectric layers and having first and second main surfaces opposing each other in a thickness direction, first and second end surfaces opposing each other in a length direction, and first and second side surfaces opposing each other in a width direction; first and second internal electrodes stacked to have the dielectric layer interposed therebetween within the ceramic body and alternately exposed through the first and second end surfaces; and first and second external electrodes electrically connected to the first and second internal electrodes, respectively, and including first and second head parts formed on the first and second end surfaces, wherein width of the first and second head parts is less than width of the ceramic body, and when length, width and thickness of the ceramic body are defined as L, W, and T, respectively, T/W>1.0 is satisfied.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multilayer ceramic electronic component and a board for mounting the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In accordance with the recent trend toward miniaturization of electronic products, the demand for a multilayer ceramic electronic component having a small size and large capacitance has increased.
Therefore, efforts to stack thin dielectric layers and internal electrodes in greater amounts have been attempted using various methods, and recently, a multilayer ceramic electronic component in which the thickness of dielectric layers is reduced and the number of dielectric layers stacked therein is increased has been manufactured.
The multilayer ceramic electronic component is able to be miniaturized, due to the dielectric layers and the internal electrodes being thinned, allowing the number of stacked layers to be increased for the implementation of high capacitance.
As described above, the multilayer ceramic electronic component is able to be miniaturized and have an increased number of stacked layers, thereby implementing high capacitance. However, a thickness of the resultant multilayer ceramic electronic component may be greater than a width thereof, and when the multilayer ceramic electronic component is mounted on a board, it may frequently topple over, whereby a failure rate in mounting the multilayer ceramic electronic component has increased.
Therefore, research into improvements in reliability by preventing multilayer ceramic electronic components from toppling over when being mounted on a board and preventing a short defect, while implementing high capacitance, remains required.

Multilayer ceramic electronic component and board for mounting the same


Transistor architectures and fabrication processes generate channel strain without adversely impacting the efficiency of the transistor fabrication process while preserving the material quality and enhancing the performance of the resulting transistor. Transistor strain is generated is PMOS devices using a highly compressive post-salicide amorphous carbon capping layer applied as a blanket over on at least the source and drain regions. The stress from this capping layer is uniaxially transferred to the PMOS channel through the source-drain regions to create compressive strain in PMOS channel.

Semiconductor processing involves forming transistors on wafers. A transistor typically includes a gate dielectric and a gate electrode, a source and a drain, and a channel region between the source and the drain. In Complimentary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) technology, transistors may typically be of two types: Negative Channel Metal Oxide Semiconductor (NMOS) and Positive Channel Metal Oxide Semiconductor (PMOS) transistors. The transistors and other devices may be interconnected to form integrated circuits (ICs) which perform numerous useful functions.
The speed of a Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor (MOSFET) depends primarily on electron—in the case of NMOS—or hole—in the case of PMOS—mobility in the channel region between the source and the drain. In general, mobility is a measure of hole or electron scattering in a semiconductor. Increasing mobility can have a profound benefit for digital electronic devices allowing faster switching and lower power consumption. Therefore, methods of increasing electron and hole mobility in transistors have been a major focus.
One solution to increase transistor speed is to strain the silicon in the channel. Compressing the channel region in PMOS transistors is particularly important because hole mobility in PMOS transistors is much less than electron mobility in NMOS transistors due to the higher effective mass of holes.
Compressing the silicon lattice distorts its physical symmetry as well as its electronic symmetry. The lowest energy level of the conduction band is split, with two of the six original states dropping to a lower energy level and four rising to a higher energy level. This renders it more difficult for the holes to be 'scattered' between the lowest energy states by a phonon, because there are only two states to occupy. Whenever holes scatter, their motion is randomized. Reducing scatter increases the average distance a hole can travel before it is knocked off course, increasing its average velocity in the conduction direction. Also, distorting the lattice through compressive strain can distort the hole-lattice interaction in a way that reduces the hole's effective mass, a measure of how much it will accelerate in a given field. As a result, hole transport properties, like mobility and velocity, are improved and channel drive current for a given device design is increased in a strained silicon channel, leading to improved transistor performance.
Compressive nitrides have been used to improve performance of PMOS transistors. For example, silicone nitride (SiN) combined with hydrogen atoms have been reported to reach compressive stresses of close to 3 GPa. Note that compressive stress is presented as an absolute value that simplifies comparison of this property for various films. In general, controlling N—H, Si—H, and Si—N bond ratios currently allows developing films with up to 3.0 GPa compressive stress. However, compressive nitrides still can not meet requirements of future transistor generations where higher hole mobility (i.e. more compression in the channel region) are needed. Moreover, many compressive nitrides require annealing at elevated temperatures for prolonged time significantly impacting thermal budgets of transistors.
Silicone Germanium (SiGe) has also been used to strain the channel region. SiGe can be grown as an epitaxial layer into pre-etched silicon-based source and drain regions. Since SiGe lattice is larger than silicon lattice by about 4%, compressive stress is created in the channel regions. Compressive stresses of approximately 1 GPa have been reported, resulting in a 35% increase in current flow in PMOS transistors. However, because strain builds up asymmetrically in a SiG/Si stack, the maximum permissible stack height is typically no more than 50 nm limiting the overall stress level.
Amorphous carbon exhibit many attractive properties for thin film applications in semiconductors and other devices. (F. Piazza et al, Diamond Relat. Mater. 14, 994-999 (2005); B. Kleinsorge et al, Diamond Relat. Mater. 7, 472-476 (1998)). One such property is post-deposition residual compressive stress that can be used to strain the channel in PMOS transistor architecture. However, available deposition methods require high ion energy, such as 100 eV and above, that may be damaging to device. Bailey et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,470,661) and Neuberger et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,965,216) disclosed low temperature deposition of amorphous carbon films (also referred to as a diamond-like carbon (DLC) film) using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition from hydrocarbon/helium plasma. The method disclosed using an acetylene precursor diluted in helium resulting in 1.5 GPa compressive films. Such compressive stresses are not sufficient for new generation transistors.
Overall, higher compressive stresses, especially higher than 3.0 GPa and using regular PECVD with low ion energy such as 1-3 eV are desired for PMOS transistors. Accordingly, new transistor architectures and fabrication processes for generating channel strain are needed.

High compressive stress carbon liners for MOS devices


A system, method and a computer-readable medium for optimizing cascading style sheet (CSS) rules. The system includes a parser, an optimizer and a compiler. The parser is configured to generate a template tree and a CSS tree. The template tree is associated with a template file that includes one or more templates. The CSS tree is associated with a CSS file that includes one or more CSS rules. The optimizer is configured to traverse the template tree and the CSS tree, and identify each node in the template tree that has a reference to a CSS node in the CSS tree. When the reference exists, optimizer retrieves a CSS rule from the CSS node and appends the CSS rule to the node in the template tree. The compiler compiles the appended template tree.

The emergence and development of computer networks and protocols, such as the Internet and the World Wide Web (or simply "web" or "Web"), allow a user to use their computing devices to download and display a webpage. When a webpage includes many different sections or identical sections are included in different webpages, those sections may be represented using templates.
Often each template accesses a unique cascading style sheets (CSS) file that includes CSS rules. Conventional template processing systems link the contents of the CSS file in the HTML output stream even when only a subset of the CSS rules included in the CSS file are used.

Jslayout cascading style sheets optimization