Apparatus and methods for body surfing which provide the body surfer a means to stabilize his ride and control his direction/position on a wave are described herein. According to one aspect, a body surfing apparatus includes a body suit having a torso, arms, and legs; a plurality of fins located on the torso; a plurality of fins located on the arms; and one or more fins located laterally on the legs. The fins are preferably attached to the body suit via an adhesive or mechanical means and the fins and suit may include a buoyant layer. In one embodiment, the body surfing apparatus includes a body suit with multiple segmentations and/or fins with multiple sliced cuts.

Body surfing is a way to enjoy the thrill of riding a wave. Body surfers, generally, simply extend their bodies horizontally, projecting their arms forward and in line with their body while allowing a breaking wave to drive them shoreward with the surf. To the body surfer, it is important to be able to ride waves of varied sizes, to enjoy a stable ride and to be able to control direction and position on a wave face. Since a body surfer rarely uses any equipment other than swim fins, it is quite difficult for a body surfer to adequately control the stability of his ride and control his direction and position on a wave face.
For a body surfing suit to work in real life, bending is key (to allow for swimming), and buoyancy in the correct location(s) is also key. It is preferable to have a buoyancy gradient that is greatest (e.g., most buoyant) at the surfer's head and tapers down toward the feet to ensure that the surfer does not plow and tumble face first.
A few body surfing suits can be found in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,106,331 to Lizarazu discloses a body surfing apparatus having a garment with a rigid outer shell attached to the torso portion of the garment and an inner buoyant unit underneath the torso portion of the garment. The rigid outer shell and inner buoyant unit make up a laminated multi-layered abdominal-chest plate. The shape of the abdominal-chest plate is contoured to cover the abdomen and extend upward into the central portion of the chest. This has two major problems: (1) the chest plate does not allow adequate forward bending because the rigidity of the laminated structure is not anatomically designed to allow full bending where the body actually bends (namely, the ribcage needs to be separate from the abdomen or it severely limits bending which one needs to swim properly) and (2) the suit puts the buoyant material in the wrong place, e.g., front center of the body, which results in plowing.
Additionally, the Lizarazu body surfing suit includes a number of fins located on the rigid outer shell and on the arms and legs of the suit. The arm fins are positioned on the upper arm region, are shaped incorrectly to be functional, and the lack of smooth edge detail causes a lot of drag. The arm fins do not likely provide buoyancy, but are rather present for stability. The legs fins suffer from similar problems as the arm fins and are present only for stability.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,013,271 to Bartlett discloses a body surfing suit having buoyant material placed on the chest and in various channels located on the legs of the suit. The Bartlett body surfing suit suffers from the following problems: (1) The buoyant material is incorrectly placed anteriorly and the main component includes coverage of the chest and abdomen in one piece; this makes the suit too rigid to allow adequate bending/tucking forward which is almost a requirement when maneuvering in the water to consistently catch waves. (2) In the upper chest and back region, the buoyant material is positioned both on the front and back of the suit in pad-like structures, but is not contoured anatomically and offers little benefit beyond adding some buoyancy. The back pads are simply buoyant areas without defined, streamlined 3-D contours. (3) The upper pointed regions of the chest piece extend out near the shoulder. These points impede anterior movement of the arm during the swimming stroke. (4) The suit does not have fins to aid in stability.
The present invention seeks to overcome these limitations by providing the body surfer a means to stabilize his ride and control his direction/position on a wave.


The object of the present invention is to provide a silicone resin composition for encapsulating an optical semiconductor element which has strong adhesiveness to a substrate and provide an optical semiconductor element which has high reliability. The present invention provides a silicone resin composition comprising an organopolysiloxane (A) having at least two alkenyl groups per molecule, a liner organohydrogenpolysiloxane (B-1) which has hydrogen atoms each bonded to a silicon atom at the both terminals and a liner organohydrogenpolysiloxane (B-2) which has a hydrogen atom bonded to a silicon atom at one terminal and a hydroxyl or alkoxy group bonded to a silicon atom at the other terminal, a branched organohydrogenpolysiloxane (C) having at least three hydrosilyl groups per molecule, a catalytic (D), and a condensation catalyst (E). The present invention also provides an optical semiconductor device provided with a cured product thereof.

In recent years, high brightness LEDs which generate a strong light and a large amount of heat have been commercialized and widely used for general purpose illumination. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-272697 discloses that a hinderdamine light stabilizer is added to a phenyl silicone resin to provide an encapsulating material having good heat resistance, stability in light resistance and weather resistance. The silicone resin composition has good light resistance, heat discoloration resistance and impact resistance, but the effect of the light stabilizer decreases in a long period of use, the phenyl group is decomposed to cause discoloration of the resin, and the siloxane bond is broken to degrade the resin.
Japanese National Phase Publication No. 2009-527622 discloses a silicone resin composition comprising a phenyl group-containing organopolysiloxane and a hydrogendiorganosiloxy-terminated oligodiphenylsiloxane. However, when the silicone resin composition is used in a high brightness LED package which generates a strong light and a large amount of heat, cracks occur at the edge of an LED package or the base of a lead frame. Particularly, its adhesiveness to silver is worse to cause peeling at the interface between an LED package and a silver frame.

High adhesiveness silicone resin composition and an optical semiconductor device provided with a cured product thereof


Examples disclosed herein provide methods and systems for updating participants in parallel ongoing conferences through a central conference call management system. In at least one implementation, a method of operating a conference call management system is provided. The method includes monitoring an ongoing first conference call, and receiving a request from one or more users for a second conference call to utilize at least some of the same resources as the first conference call. The method also includes determining an estimated time remaining for the first conference call by analyzing at least some content of the first conference call, and providing the estimated time remaining for the first conference call to the one or more users.

Audio and video conferencing systems frequently use common systems and other equipment which is shared among a large number of users through a scheduling system. For example, a first group of users may schedule a first video conference at a particular time, while a second group of users schedules a second video conference immediately following the first video conference using at least some subset of the same equipment.
Since these conferences are typically geographically remote, different subsets of conferencing equipment is in frequent use by widely different groups of users throughout a typical day. Occasionally, important conferences will need more time than they have scheduled to complete their agenda. In this case, later conferences must be delayed or re-scheduled to accommodate the earlier, importance conference.
Overview
Examples disclosed herein provide systems and methods for updating participants in parallel ongoing conferences through a central conference call management system. In one implementation, a method of operating a conference call management system includes, monitoring an ongoing first conference call, and receiving a request from one or more users for a second conference call to utilize at least some of the same resources as the first conference call. The method also includes determining an estimated time remaining for the first conference call by analyzing at least some content of the first conference call, and providing the estimated time remaining for the first conference call to the one or more users.
In another implementation, a conference call management system includes an input port for receiving communications from a plurality of end users, an output port for transferring communications to the plurality of end users, and a processing system coupled with the input port and the output port.
The processing system is configured to monitor an ongoing first conference call among a first group of the plurality of end users through the input port, and to receive a request through the input port from one or more users among a second group of the plurality of end users for a second conference call to utilize at least some of the same resources as the first conference call.
The processing system is also configured to determine an estimated time remaining for the first conference call by analyzing at least some content of the first conference call, and to provide the estimated time remaining for the first conference call to the one or more users among the second group of users through the output port.

System and method for updating participants in parallel overlapping conferences


A first server receives, from a client network application, a request for a network resource. The first server retrieves the requested network resource, where the requested network resource is handled by a second server that is different than the first server. The first server validates whether at least a portion of the retrieved network resource conforms to a set of one or more rules. If it does, the first server cryptographically signs the at least portion of the retrieved network resource thereby creating a digital signature. The first server transmits a response to the client network application that includes the at least the portion of the retrieved network resource and the digital signature. The client network application is configured to validate the first digital signature that validates that the portion of the network resource conforms to the set of rules.

Network resources, such as web pages, commonly include online advertisements that are served by advertisement servers that are different than the parent web page (sometimes referred to as the publisher web page). Advertisement creatives are written by many different companies with many different options. As a result, some advertisements cause page loading to be slow and non-performant.
AMP Ads for AMPHTML pages (A4A) is a way to render fast and performant ads in AMP pages. An AMP page is an HTML page that has certain restrictions and features in an attempt to speed up regular page loading. A4A advertisement creatives must obey a set of validation rules (with a limited set of allowed tags, capabilities, and extensions) in order to be rendered quickly and smoothly in the browser and do not degrade user experience.


The present invention provides a resin chassis base that can correspond to for various components and components with various sizes by providing a plurality of sets of mounting holes thereon. The present invention provides a resin chassis base that fixes an electric substrate, and is mounted to a component provided in an electric apparatus, the resin chassis base having formed thereon the plurality of sets of mounting holes in order to be screwed to various components and/or components with various sizes. The resin chassis base is screwed by use of any one of the plurality of sets of the mounting holes formed on the resin chassis base.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a resin chassis base that fixes an electric substrate and is provided to an electric apparatus, e.g., a display apparatus such as a thin liquid crystal display apparatus, and more particularly to a resin chassis base that can be mounted to various display panels of different types, each having a different inch size, and specification, and to an electric apparatus and a display apparatus provided with the resin chassis base.
2. Description of Related Art
A resin chassis base having mounted thereon various electric substrates and the like, is provided in an electric apparatus. The resin chassis base is bonded by being screwed to an internal member of the electric apparatus or a cabinet serving as a casing.
For example, Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 5-18018 describes that a locking portion is integrally formed on a predetermined position of a resin chassis base, to which a capacitor or the like is mounted, so as to project, and the locking portion is fitted to a mounting hole formed on an internal member, in order to mount the resin chassis base.

Resin chassis base, and electric apparatus and display apparatus provided with the same


The invention realizes a double type coil used as a slant coil to generate a slant magnetic field for MRI, and the double type coil has small impedance and short length in comparison with the prior art. According to the invention, current path patterns constituted by a current path in spiral shape and a plurality of current paths in horseshoe shape surrounding the spiral path are formed respectively on the double semi-cylinder surfaces having the axis commonly. Directions of spirals on the two cylinder surfaces are opposite to each other. In the plural horseshoe-shaped paths on the two cylinder surfaces, a circuit is opened at the end on the same side of the cylinder. These current paths are all connected in series over the two surfaces thereby one current path is formed.

As a conventional example of a double type coil for generating a slant magnetic field for MRI, a slant coil apparatus is disclosed in JPB No. 194842/1987. FIG. 8 is a plan development of the slant coil apparatus.
The slant coil apparatus 51 is constituted by an inner coil 2 having coil width of W52 and coil length of L52, and an outer coil 53 having coil width of W53 and coil length of L53. Each of current paths R52, R53 of the inner coil 52 and the outer coil 53 is of spiral shape. In the plan development state, each spiral of the current paths R52, R53 takes shape of winding clockwise. These current paths are formed, for example, by etching a conduction layer of a flexible print board. In relation that a current path part at the utmost inside of the spiral of the inner coil 52 is connected to a current path part at the utmost outside of the spiral of the outer coil 53, both coils 52, 53 are connected in series and current flows from the power source E in the arrow direction. Dash-and-dot lines P52, P53 show the center lines of the coil widths W52, W53.
Each of sides A52 and A53 and the center lines P52 and P53 are aligned, and the inner coil 52 and the outer coil 53 are spaced by a definite distance and overlaid, and then curved into two, inner and outer, nearly coaxial semi-cylinders with the coil widths W52, W53 being made semi-circumferential lengths respectively thereby a double type coil is formed. In such overlaid state, the inner coil 52 and the outer coil 53 are opposite to each other in the direction of the spiral of the current paths. Patterns of the current paths R52, R53 are formed, so that when current flows there, a slant magnetic field is generated in the inside space of the inner coil 52 and the leakage magnetic field is made approximately zero in the outside apace of the outer coil 53.
The coil width W52 and the coil length L52 of the inner coil 52 are, for example, 1036 mm and 640 mm respectively, and the coil width W53 and the coil length L53 of the outer coil 53 are, for example, 1224 mm and 710 mm respectively.
As shown in FIG. 9, four sets of the slant coil apparatuses 51 are mounted on circumferential surfaces of two inner and outer bobbins 55, 56 constituted in nearly coaxial cylinder shape in symmetry with respect to the center cross-section of the bobbin thereby a lateral slant coil apparatus for MRI is formed. The inner coil 52 is mounted on the inside bobbin 55 and the outer coil 53 is mounted on the outside bobbin 56 respectively, the sides A52, A53 being directed to the symmetry surface.
In the above-mentioned slant coil apparatus 51 in the prior art, the current paths R52, R53 of the inner coil 52 and the outer coil 53 are in spiral shape respectively, and each of the inner coil 52 and the outer coil 53 has a current path part to form a desired magnetic field (hereinafter referred to as "main path") and a current path part only to return a current (hereinafter referred to as "return path").
In FIG. 8, in the inner coil 52, a lower half from the center of the spiral of the spiral current path R52 is a main path and an upper half is a return path, and in the outer coil 53, an upper half from the center of the spiral of the spiral current path R53 is a main path and a lower half is a return path. Therefore, a problem exists in that the whole current path becomes long and the impedance becomes high uselessly, and the response speed becomes slow and the drive power is increased.
Also since the coil lengths L52, L53 become long and the electromagnetic force generated by the coil becomes large, a problem exists in that noise attendant on switching of the slant magnetic field increases.
Disclosure of Invention
An object of the present invention is to provide a double type coil where impedance can be lowered and coil length can be shortened.
According to the present invention, on double semi-circular cylinders having the axis commonly, a current path pattern comprising a current path in spiral shape and a plurality of current paths in horseshoe shape surrounding the spiral current path is formed respectively. Directions of the spirals on the two cylindrical surfaces are opposite to each other. In the plural horseshoe-shaped paths on the two cylindrical surfaces, a circuit is opened at the end on the same side of the cylinder. These current paths are all connected in series over the two surfaces thereby one current path is formed.

Double type coil for generating slant magnetic field for MRI


A combined work light and dual power cord device includes a light-emitting assembly including a protective cage with an access door. A handle is rotatably conjoined to the light-emitting assembly that has a corrugated outer surface. An axial bore is formed along an entire length thereof. A first hook is connected to a top end of the light-emitting assembly. A second hook is connected to a handle bottom end. Mechanisms are included for rotating the handle about a bottom end of the light-emitting assembly and rotating the second hook about the handle bottom end. Primary and secondary power cords are coupled to the handle. A mechanism is included for automatically and simultaneously distributing first and second currents to the primary and secondary power cords respectively so that the second current is only transmitted to the secondary power cord if the first current is passing through the primary power cord.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to work lights and power cord assemblies and, more particularly, to a combined adjustable work light and multi-power cord assembly for providing users with a convenient power source for a peripheral electric powered device.
2. Prior Art
Over the years, many different types of tools have been developed and, nowadays, a tool exists for virtually every possible need. With the advent of power tools, accomplishing many tasks has become much easier and less time consuming. Most power tools (other than battery operated tools) are equipped with a fairly short power cable and extension cords are commonly used to provide extra length. Extension cords are a very convenient means of providing electrical power at locations removed from conventional electrical outlets and are used for a wide variety of applications and tasks.
Another device that is commonly used when performing work with powered or non-powered tools is a utility light, frequently referred to as a work light. A utility light is generally comprised of a light bulb, enclosed within a protective metal cage, and a fairly long power cord that supplies power to the bulb. A hook is usually attached to the metal cage for conveniently suspending the light bulb over the work area to provide sufficient light.
Utility lights with built in power outlets are known in the prior art, in which a power tool plug may be inserted. One prior art example shows a portable utility light that includes a socket assembly, a hollow handle for housing the socket assembly, and a wire mesh cage for protecting the light bulb. Unfortunately, maneuvering the light or the tool frequently causes the power tool plug to become dislodged, thus inconveniently interrupting the work process and causing a fair amount of frustration. Furthermore, the power cord provided with most tools is still too short to be comfortably used while being engaged with the utility light power socket.
Accordingly, a need remains for a combined adjustable work light and multi-power cord assembly in order to overcome the above-noted shortcomings. The present invention satisfies such a need by providing a work light and power cord assembly that is convenient and easy to use, is versatile in use, saves the user a considerable amount of time, and reduces the frustration associated with conventional work light power cord assemblies. Such a work light includes a pivoting handle that advantageously allows the light bulb to remain at a fixed position as the handle is being moved about when a user tugs on the power cord connected to the handle. The extended power cord conveniently allows a variety of peripheral electric devices to be attached to the work light, giving a user increased visibility of their work sight, while not interfering with the work process.

Combined adjustable work light and multi-power cord assembly


In a method of manufacturing a photo mask blank by forming an opaque film or a semi-transmission film on a transparent substrate, the film is subjected to irradiation of an ion generated by an ion source. A warp of the substrate by a film stress can be reduced (the film stress is relaxed), and density and denseness of the film can be enhanced. The film may be deposited on the transparent substrate by a sputtering method.

i) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a photo mask for use in manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuit, and the like, a photo mask blank as a material of the photo mask, and a method of manufacturing the photo mask blank.
ii) Description of the Related Art
In manufacturing of semiconductors such as a semiconductor element, IC and LSI, a manufacturing process of a photo mask for use in transferring a fine pattern onto a semiconductor wafer usually includes: a film forming step of forming films, such as an opaque film, a semi-transmission film (a translucent film), onto a transparent substrate obtained by precisely polishing synthetic quartz glass by sputtering, and the like; a resist coating step of coating a resist film on the films, such as the opaque film, by a spin coating method; an exposure step (delineating step) of irradiating a resist surface with an electron ray or a laser beam to selectively expose the resist film; a development step of developing the exposed resist film with a predetermined developer to form a resist pattern; an etching step of using the resist pattern as a mask to etch the films such as the opaque film and to obtain a predetermined opaque film pattern, and the like. In this case, the substrate thus obtained by the film forming step is generally called a photo mask blank.
Here, in the forming step of forming the opaque film, usually from a viewpoint of productivity, the film is formed by a usual DC magnetron sputtering method by using a DC magnetron sputtering apparatus and a chromium target. Alternatively, a thin film is formed by a reactive sputtering method executed by introducing at least one of gases such as nitrogen and oxygen.
Chromium or a chromium compound is used as the opaque film in an original sheet of the photo mask, that is, a binary photo mask blank, in which light intensity modulation is used to transfer the pattern. In addition, the sputtering method is mainly utilized as a method for forming the opaque film onto the substrate. However, when the opaque film such as a chromium film is formed by the sputtering method, the opaque film usually has a tensile stress, and the photo mask blank including the transparent substrate as a base therefore warps. Such warps bring about a high possibility of an insufficient focus depth for exposure or a design defect. This results in deterioration of the photo mask blank. Here, for a warp amount of the substrate, the substrate is measured by flatness measuring instrument by an optical interferometer, such as FM200 manufactured by TROPEL Co. In this case, a difference of height (P-V value) between a highest point and a lowest point from a level surface of the substrate is measured before and after the film formation, and the warp amount of the substrate generated by the film formation is defined by the difference of the P-V value before and after the film formation. That is, definition is made by:
(warp amount of substrate after film formation)xe2x88x92(warp amount of substrate before film formation)=(warp amount of substrate generated by film formation).
As a stress reduction method of the opaque film, there is a method of applying a bias on a substrate side during sputtering deposition and implanting an ion present in plasma. However, since the photo mask blank has a relatively large film formation area, and the substrate is a dielectric such as glass, it is difficult to obtain a uniform effect in the surface.
On the other hand, when a chromium compound thin film is formed as the opaque film, or a compound thin film such as MoSiN, MoSiON, SiON, SiN is formed as a semi-transmission film (phase shifter film), the film is usually formed by the reactive sputtering method such as the DC magnetron sputtering. However, during the film formation, the compound is also deposited on the surface of a target, and electric discharge becomes unstable (as a result, particles are generated by abnormal discharge). Therefore, there is a problem that a defect is liable to occur in the photo mask blank. Furthermore, the reactive sputtering method has a lower deposition rate and therefore has a problem of a bad productivity, as compared with the usual non-reactive DC magnetron sputtering method.
When the compound target is used to form the film by an RF magnetron sputtering method instead of the DC magnetron sputtering method, plasma during the film formation is widely spread as compared with the DC magnetron sputtering method. Therefore, the film is undesirably deposited inside a chamber, and acts as a generation source of particles on the mask blank and, as a result, there arises a problem that the defect is liable to occur in the photo mask blank.
Moreover, in consideration of precision of a size recently required for the mask pattern, it has been necessary to thin a resist and opaque film during pattern formation. However, in a thin film forming method that uses the conventional DC magnetron sputtering method, the chromium film is inferior to a bulk film in density and denseness. As a result, a sufficient optical density cannot be obtained, and a demand for thin film formation cannot be satisfied.
The present invention has been developed to solve the aforementioned problems, and a first object thereof is to reduce a warp of a substrate by a film stress generated in a photo mask blank (relax and control the film stress).
Moreover, a second object of the present invention is to thin a film by enhancement of density and denseness, particularly to thin an opaque film by enhancement of a shielding property, and to enhance resistance to chemicals and resistance to light by enhancement of denseness.
Furthermore, a third object of the present invention is to reduce film defects by reduction of particles by abnormal discharge in a reactive DC sputtering method or by reduction of the particles in a reactive RF sputtering method during formation of a compound opaque film or a compound semi-transmission film by a reactive sputtering method, and to enhance a deposition rate (enhance productivity) by acceleration of reactivity (promotion of reactivity).
Additionally, a fourth object of the present invention is to provide a high-quality photo mask blank and photo mask prepared in consideration of the aforementioned objects.
To achieve the aforementioned objects, the present invention has the following constitutions.
(Constitution 1) A method of manufacturing a photo mask blank for forming an opaque film or a semi-transmission film on a transparent substrate, the method comprising a step of forming the opaque film or the semi-transmission film onto the substrate by irradiating the substrate with an ion generated by an ion generator separately disposed in a film formation chamber during the deposition of the opaque film or the semi-transmission film on the transparent substrate by a sputtering method.
(Constitution 2) The method of manufacturing the photo mask blank according to Constitution 1, wherein the step comprises controlling a film stress of the opaque film formed on the substrate; defining (a warp amount of the substrate after film formation)xe2x88x92(a warp amount of the substrate before the film formation)=(a warp amount of the substrate generated by the film formation); and suppressing the warp amount of the substrate generated by the film formation to xc2x10.1 xcexcm or less.
(Constitution 3) The method of manufacturing the photo mask blank according to Constitution 1 or 2, wherein the step comprises directly introducing an inert gas into the ion generator from the outside of the film formation chamber; and ionizing the inert gas by the ion generator and irradiating the substrate with the ion.
(Constitution 4) The method of manufacturing the photo mask blank according to Constitution 1 or 2, wherein the step comprises directly introducing a reactive gas into the ion generator from the outside of the film formation chamber; and ionizing the reactive gas by the ion generator and irradiating the substrate with the ion.
(Constitution 5) A photo mask blank is prepared by the method according to any one of Constitutions 1 to 4.
(Constitution 6) A photo mask is prepared by using the photo mask blank according to Constitution 5.
According to Constitution 1, the opaque film or the semi-transmission film is formed onto the substrate by the sputtering method, and the substrate is irradiated with the ion generated by the ion generator (hereinafter referred to an ion source) separately disposed in the film formation chamber (a film material being deposited on the substrate is irradiated), so that density and denseness of a thin film can be enhanced. Thereby, the opaque film can obtain an effect that the opaque film can be thinned by enhancing a shielding property by the enhancement of density and denseness and that chemical durability can be enhanced by the enhancement of denseness. Moreover, the semi-transmission film (phase shifter film) can obtain an effect that the semi-transmission film is thinned by the enhancement of density and denseness, and the chemical durability, irradiation durability, and the like are enhanced by the enhancement of denseness. In this case, when an irradiation energy of the ion emitted from the ion source is raised, the density and denseness can be enhanced.
Moreover, according to Constitution 1, since the substrate is directly irradiated with the ion from the ion source during sputtering deposition, it is possible to control a film stress. Thereby, for the opaque film, it is possible to relax or control the stress of the opaque film. Concretely, for example, a Cr film formed by sputtering without ion irradiation has a tensile stress. However, according to the present invention, the substrate is directly irradiated with the ion from the ion source during the sputtering deposition, and the irradiation energy is controlled, so that the tensile stress can be reduced, also be controlled to be zero, or further be controlled to be on a compressive stress side. Moreover, for the semi-transmission film (phase shifter film), it is possible to control the stress of the semi-transmission film.
When heat treatment is not performed as described later, the irradiation energy is preferably controlled in consideration of the reduction effect of stress and the enhancement effect of density.
Furthermore, according to Constitution 1, in a film formation process of the compound opaque film or the compound semi-transmission film by the reactive sputtering method, the substrate is directly irradiated with the ion from the ion source during the sputtering deposition. Thereby, reaction is accelerated (promoted) in the vicinity of the substrate and efficiently carried out. Therefore, deposition rate can be raised and productivity can be enhanced as compared with a conventional reactive sputtering method in which the substrate is not irradiated with the ion from the ion source.
In the present invention, a preferable type of the ion source may irradiate ions of a high current density and low energy so as to establish a purpose of improvement of a film quality, and, specifically, may be, for example, an RF type, end hall type, Kaufmann type, and ECR type, but this invention is not limited to the above-mentioned types of ion sources.
According to Constitution 2, the method of Constitution 1 is used to control the stress of the opaque film formed on the substrate, and it is possible to suppress the warp amount of the substrate generated by the film formation to xc2x10.1 xcexcm or less, assuming that (the warp amount of the substrate after the film formation)xe2x88x92(the warp amount of the substrate before the film formation)=(the warp amount of the substrate generated by the film formation).
In Constitution 2, the method of Constitution 1 is used to control the stress of the opaque film or the semi-transmission film formed on the substrate. Furthermore, the stress of the opaque film or the semi-transmission film is controlled by applying thermal treatment or laser irradiation treatment. Thereby, it is possible to suppress a change amount or a variable from a warp state measured before the film formation to xc2x10.1 xcexcm or less, assuming that (the warp amount of the substrate after the thermal treatment or the laser irradiation treatment)xe2x88x92(the warp amount of the substrate before the film formation)=(the change amount from the warp state measured before the film formation).
Concretely, for example, when the irradiation energy of the ion source is changed, the stress of the opaque film is controlled to be on the compressive stress side. When the film is subjected to the thermal treatment or the laser irradiation treatment, the stress of the opaque film can be reduced and controlled to be in the vicinity of zero. Additionally, the ion irradiation energy can be controlled by a beam acceleration voltage and anode current. Moreover, for example, when the stress of the semi-transmission film is a compressive stress, the film is subjected to the thermal treatment or the laser irradiation treatment, and the stress of the semi-transmission film can be reduced or controlled to be in the vicinity of zero. In this case, it is unnecessary to control the irradiation energy of the ion source with a good balance with the stress reduction effect as described above. It is possible to aim only at the enhancement of the density, when the irradiation energy of the ion source is controlled. Therefore, the density can further be enhanced.
Additionally, a thermal treatment temperature is preferably 150xc2x0 C. or more, 200xc2x0 C. or more, 250xc2x0 C. or more, 300xc2x0 C. or more, 350xc2x0 C. or more, 380xc2x0 C. or more, or 550xc2x0 C. or more. In this case, when the thermal treatment temperature is higher, an internal stress can be reduced, but a change amount of transmittance also increases. Additionally, when the temperature is excessively raised, a time of temperature rise or drop is lengthened. This causes a problem of deteriorated productivity. Therefore, the thermal treatment temperature is preferably 700xc2x0 C. or less. A thermal treatment time may be, for example, one minute or more as long as heat is conducted through the entire semi-transmission film within this time.
An atmosphere for the thermal treatment preferably includes no reactive atmosphere such as oxygen. If the reactive atmosphere is included, a composition of a film thickness direction is changed by the thermal treatment. Therefore, a preferable atmosphere includes inert gases such as nitrogen and argon.
Additionally, the thermal treatment may be performed after the semi-transmission film is formed on the transparent substrate (in a blank state) or after the semi-transmission film is patterned (in a mask state). Additionally, when a fine pattern is thermally treated at a high temperature, a pattern shape is possibly deteriorated. Moreover, the thermal treatment performed in the blank state has an effect that a film quality fluctuation in the subsequent baking process of the resist (200xc2x0 C. or less, e.g., about 180xc2x0 C.) is suppressed. In order to obtain the effect, the film is preferably thermally treated at a temperature which is higher than the baking temperature of the resist (e.g., 200xc2x0 C. or more).
According to Constitution 3, the inert gas is directly introduced into the ion generator from the outside of the film formation chamber and ionized by the ion generator, and the substrate is irradiated with the ion. Thereby, the inert gas ion can efficiently be supplied to the substrate as compared with introduction of the inert gas only via a sputtering gas introducing port. Therefore, the aforementioned reduction effect of the film stress and the enhancement effect of the film density can further be raised.
According to Constitution 4, the reactive gas is directly introduced into the ion generator from the outside of the film formation chamber and ionized by the ion generator, and the substrate is irradiated with the ion. Thereby, the reactive gas ion can efficiently be supplied to the substrate as compared with the introduction of the reactive gas only via the sputtering gas introducing port. Therefore, a reaction speed can further be enhanced, the aforementioned reduction effect of the film stress and the enhancement effect of the film density can further be raised, and controllability of the film is also satisfactory. Moreover, when the reactive gas is introduced only via a gas introducing port for the ion source, an amount of the reactive gas to be introduced into the film formation chamber can be reduced as compared with the introduction of the reactive gas only via the sputtering gas introducing port. As a result, since generation of the compound on the target can be inhibited, abnormal discharge in the reactive DC sputtering method can be reduced. Moreover, the film is inhibited from being deposited inside the chamber, the particles in the reactive RF sputtering method can be reduced, and this can reduce the film defects.
According to Constitutions 5, 6, there can be provided a high-quality photo mask blank and photo mask prepared in consideration of various factors. Such factors may be, for example, the reduction of warp of the substrate, thinning of the film by the enhancement of density and denseness, enhancement of chemical durability and irradiation durability by the enhancement of denseness, reduction of film defects during preparation of the compound opaque film or the compound semi-transmission film by the reactive sputtering method, and the like.

Photo mask blank and method of manufacturing the same


An airfoil for a rotor blade including an uncoated profile substantially in accordance with Cartesian coordinate values of X, Y and Z to facilitate balancing performance and durability of the rotor blade and to facilitate improving an operating efficiency of a high-pressure turbine is provided. The profile is carried only to four decimal places, wherein Y represents a distance from a platform on which the airfoil is mounted, and X and Z are coordinates defining the profile at each distance Y from the platform.

This application relates generally to gas turbine engine assemblies and more particularly, to turbine rotor blade airfoil profiles.
In the design, fabrication, and use of turbofan engine assemblies, there has been an increasing tendency towards operating with higher temperatures and higher pressures to optimize turbine performance. In addition, as existing turbine rotor blade airfoils reach the end of their useful life cycle, replacement of the airfoils with redesigned airfoils is often necessary to accommodate the higher temperatures and higher pressures. Moreover, airfoil redesign is desirable without altering or changing other parts of the turbofan engine assemblies.
At least some known rotor blade airfoils are exposed to hot combustion gases. For example, some known turbofan engine assemblies include a combustor that is upstream of a high-pressure turbine. Combustion gases discharged from the combustor flow past the rotor blades. As a result of their exposure to hot combustion gases, such blades may be subjected to high stress and high temperatures caused by thermal gradients and mechanical loadings in the blades. Over time, because of continued exposure to the combustion gases, such blades may bow, creep, and/or crack thereby reducing the operating performance of the engine.
During the design process, the shape of each rotor blade airfoil, as defined by the camber length, chord length, leading edge incident angle, trailing edge exit angle, and trailing edge thickness is variably selected to produce an optimized airfoil design based on the design constraints of the turbofan engine assembly in which the blades are employed. Optimally, the rotor blade airfoil is designed to provide peak performance without sacrificing the aeromechanical integrity of the rotor blade. Often, the design constraints require balancing. For example, longer airfoil chord lengths may negatively impact the life of rotor blades by moving natural frequencies of the blades into an operating range of the turbofan engine assembly at selected operating speeds as compared to shorter airfoil chord lengths. However, in contrast, shorter rotor blade chord lengths may negatively impact performance of the high-pressure turbine as compared to longer airfoil chord lengths.
In addition, other operating constraints may affect the design process. For example, at least some known high-pressure turbine rotor blades are subjected to natural frequency modes that may cause blade damage. More specifically, such frequency modes may cause the high-pressure turbine rotor blades to resonate which may cause cracking, trailing edge deterioration, corner loss, downstream damage, performance losses, reduced time on wing, and/or high warranty costs. In particular, some of such rotor blades may be especially prone to overall aerodynamic loss and high strains in blade regions at 20-30% span near trailing edge regions.


A VT (Virtual Tributary) size setting section 3 allows selection of the VT size desired by the user of the apparatus by accepting setting data inputted by the user of the apparatus. The VT size comparing section 4 compares the VT size detected at the VT size receiving section 2 with the VT size set by the VT size setting section 3 in order to detect coincidence or noncoincidence. The data outputting section 5 executes the predetermined data processing of data extracted from a SONET (Synchronous Optical Network) transmission signal in accordance with the VT size set by the VT size setting section 3 when the result of the comparison at the VT size comparing section 4 indicates coincidence, but executes error signal processing when the result of comparison at the VT size comparing section 4 indicates noncoincidence.

This invention relates to a SONET (Synchronous Optical Network) transmission signal processing method and a SONET transmission signal processing apparatus.
A SONET transmission signal has a data transmission rate of 51.840 Mb/sec. Referring to FIG. 1, one frame of the SONET transmission signal is formed from data of 90 columns.times.9 rows in units of 1 byte (8 bits), that is, data totaling 810 bytes (6,480 bits). Accordingly, the SONET transmission signal has a frame length of 125 .mu.s.
One frame of a SONET transmission signal is divided into transport overhead A and synchronization payload envelope capacity B for transmission of the information payload. Transport overhead A is formed from the first three columns and has 9 bytes.times.3 columns=27 bytes allotted to it. Meanwhile, synchronization payload envelope capacity B is formed from the remaining 87 columns and has 9 bytes.times.87 columns=783 bytes allotted to it. Referring to FIG. 2, the first column of synchronization payload envelope capacity B is used as a pass overhead (POH), and the remaining 86 columns of synchronization payload envelope capacity B are used as payload capacity (the portion which substantially transmits the payload).
Data of the following four virtual tributary sizes (hereinafter referred to as "VT sizes") are accommodated in synchronization envelope capacity B:
(1) data of the VT 1.5 size (data transmission rate=1.728 Mb/s),
(2) data of the VT 2 size (data transmission rate=2.304 Mb/s),
(3) data of the VT 3 size (data transmission rate=3.456 Mb/s), and
(4) data of the VT 6 size (data transmission rate=6.912 Mb/s).
In order for data to be accommodated efficiently in synchronization payload envelope capacity B, synchronization payload envelope capacity B is divided into three blocks each including 29 columns as shown in FIG. 3, and fixed stuff formed from one column is inserted into the 30th and 59th columns. Further, data is accommodated into the 84 columns of the blocks (except for the POH and the two units of fixed stuff) in the following manner in accordance with the VT sizes.
(1) When the VT size is 1.5, four columns are allotted as one VT group, and the data is accommodated in synchronization payload envelope capacity B in units of 7 VT groups (4 columns.times.7=28 columns). For example, if the VT sizes of all data accommodated in synchronization payload envelope capacity B are equal and 1.5, as shown in FIG. 4, the first unit is accommodated in the second to the 29th columns (i.e., between the POH and the first unit of fixed stuff); the second unit is accommodated in the 31st to 58th columns (i.e., between the first and second units of stuff); and the third unit is accommodated in the 60th to 87th columns (i.e., in the columns following the second unit of fixed stuff).
(2) When the VT size is 2, three columns are allotted as one VT group, and the data is accommodated in synchronization payload envelope capacity B in units of 7 VT groups (3 columns.times.7=21 columns). For example, if the VT sizes of all data accommodated in synchronization payload envelope capacity B are equal and 2, as shown in FIG. 5, the first unit (21 columns) is accommodated in the second to the 22nd column, the first 7 columns of the second unit are accommodated in the 23rd to 29th columns and the remaining 14 columns of the second unit are accommodated in the 31st to 44th columns, the first 14 columns of the third unit are accommodated in the 45th to 58th columns and the remaining 7 columns of the third unit are accommodated in the 60th to 66th columns, and the fourth unit is accommodated in the 67th to 87th columns.
(3) When the VT size is 3, two columns are allotted as one VT group and the data is accommodated in synchronization payload envelope capacity B in units of 7 VT groups (2 columns.times.7=14 columns). For example, if the VT sizes of all data accommodated in synchronization payload envelope capacity B are equal and 3, as shown in FIG. 6, the first and second units are accommodated in the second to the 29th columns (i.e., between the POH and the first unit of fixed stuff), the third and fourth units are accommodated in the 31st to 58th columns (i.e., between the first and second units of fixed stuff), and the fifth and sixth units are accommodated in the 60th to 87th columns (i.e., in the columns following the second unit of fixed stuff).
(4) When the VT size is 6, one column is allotted as one group, and the data is accommodated in synchronization payload envelope capacity B in the units of 7 VT groups (1 column.times.7=7 columns). For example, if the VT sizes of all data accommodated in synchronization payload envelope capacity B are equal and 6, as shown in FIG. 7, the units from the first to the fourth are accommodated in the second to the 29th columns (i.e., between the POH and the first unit of fixed stuff), the units from the fifth to the eighth unit are accommodated in the 31st to 58th columns (i.e., between the first and second units of fixed stuff), and the units from the ninth to the twelfth unit are accommodated in the 60th to 87th columns (i.e., in the columns succeeding the second unit of fixed stuff).
Since the SONET transmission signal is permitted to assume any one of the four VT sizes according to the format of the SONET transmission signal, a SONET transmission signal processing apparatus must necessarily specify the VT size of the SONET transmission signal. A method of specifying the VT size of the SONET transmission signal in the SONET transmission signal processing apparatus is briefly described below.
(1) If the VT sizes of all data accommodated in synchronization payload envelope capacity B are equal to 1.5, as shown in FIG. 4, the value "11," which is VT size information representing VT size=1.5, is placed into two predetermined bits of each first byte (indicated as "Byte 1" in FIG. 4) of the first unit, and the SONET transmission signal including the VT size information is transmitted to the SONET transmission signal processing apparatus.
(2) If the VT sizes of all data accommodated in synchronization payload envelope capacity B are processing apparatus detects the VT size from the data of the two predetermined bits of each first bytes of the first unit.
However, since a conventional SONET transmission signal processing apparatus operates in accordance with the VT size detected in accordance with the method described above from a SONET transmission signal transmitted to the apparatus, there is a problem that the apparatus may not operate, depending upon a SONET transmission signal received, with the VT size the user desires, and consequently, the reliability of the output signal of the SONET transmission signal processing apparatus is low. Further, when the data of the two predetermined bits representing the VT size is transmitted to the apparatus contains an error due to trouble in the transmission line or at the transmitter side, the SONET transmission signal processing apparatus operates in accordance with the wrong VT size. This factor also results in the decreased reliability of the SONET transmission signal processing apparatus.

SONET transmission signal processing method and SONET transmission signal processing apparatus


The present invention is an improved structure for robotic cleaner primarily comprising of a chassis with plurality of spherical casters fixed to the periphery of bottom deck, a dust collector mounted on the chassis, a lifting actuation mechanism mounted on the chassis that includes a lifting power supply at least to drive two parallel and extendable first swing arms and two parallel and extending second swing arms through a relevant linking device, a first gear train and a second gear train that can pivotally rotate in reverse direction, a drive wheel mounted at the moveable end of the two parallel and extending first swing arms each, a driven wheel mounted at the moveable end of the two parallel and extending second swing arms each, plural advancing power supplies mounted at the middle section of the first swing arms.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an improved structure for robotic cleaner, and more particularly to a structure of cleaner that can climb a step obstacles or cross over a bump hindrance to negotiate different landforms and move to pre-designated location.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the wake of the development of science & technology, the application for variety of automation devices have been stepwise bringing in from the machine tools of large and medium size for production in the past to the livelihood products of compactness and precision as an aid to promote the convenience of daily life; therein, the robotic cleaner (the so-called cleaning robot) that can move autonomously is their typical application to the regular household life.
A conventional robotic cleaner, in any case, mainly comprises of a chassis mounted a dust collector with a dust-wiping paper roller or a rotary brush fitted underneath where necessary; also, there will be plurality of moving elements (for example: wheel or caterpillar band) assembled to the periphery around the bottom deck of the chassis to be driven by one of the power devices (motor and transmission gear box) already mounted on the chassis to drive the chassis for movement that allows the dust-wiping paper or the brush to follow the moving path of the chassis to sweep the surface to be cleaned; in the meantime, the dust collector can collect the swept dusts and miscellaneous articles; nevertheless, although the foresaid robotic cleaner can be operable to perform the cleaning on a plane in a manner of autonomous movement, spiral movement, skirting around the wall or zigzag movement, etc.; however, the operator shall give the cleaner a hand by pulling and lifting and helping the cleaner break away from a raised place (such as the sill or the step landforms with level difference) on the surface to be cleaned that fails the continuous movement of cleaner; thus doing not only results in an inconvenience against its use, but also restraints thereof occasion of application; the truly automatic performance is unachievable.
Therefore, the inventor of the present invention filed an Application No. 96100909 for a patent of "A robotic cleaner with climbing function" in this regard in Republic of China that discloses a structure that comprises of a chassis with a structure of dust collector mounted at the center of the chassis; wherein the dust collector is fitted a filter below its suction intake and the periphery of bottom deck around the chassis are fitted with plurality of downward-extending wheels while these wheels are fixed the spherical casters at their base; meanwhile, both opposite sides on the top of the chassis are erected two sets parallel and extending first swing arm and second swing arm respectively that allows the first arm and the second arm to pivotally rotate to stretch outward or retract inward to the chassis through a motor by driving the first gear for stretch and the second gears for retraction in conjunction with a belt to link with two linkages respectively; wherein, the external end of both the second swing arms are mounted a driven wheel that can be at idle rotation while both the first swing arms are mounted a drive wheel so that two motors mounted onto the chassis can transmit the power to these drive wheels respectively by passing through the plurality of advancing gear and a belt that enables the cleaner to retract the first and the second swing arms inside the chassis and allows the drive wheels to touch the ground (to match with each spherical casters) to be actuated for movement when used in a general plane status; when a climbing is desired, the cleaner can have the first and the second swing arms stretch outward and outside the chassis to support and lift the chassis for a certain height, and then actuate the drive wheels to move to overcome the need of moving on a landform of different height.
Even so, the aforesaid structure is to have the power supply (motor) of drive wheel mounted on the chassis and must transmit the power to the drive wheel at the external end of the first swing arm through the belt; therefore, in addition to the plural advancing gears connected to the output end of motor and two belt wheels assembled to the belt ends, the different status of separate rotation between the first swing arm and the belt (belt wheel) shall be overcome separately which makes thereof overall structure extremely complicated; it not only is inconvenient for assembly, but also is burdened the production cost; furthermore, its very difficult disassembly leaves a hard repair and maintenance operation; meanwhile, taking the advantage of belt connection for actuating the power may restrict thereof torque transmission where a higher transmission power is unbearable and a wear is prone to take place and affect the transmission efficiency after being used for a long time.
In the light of the abovementioned imperfection to the conventional robotic cleaner in possession of the climbing function, the inventor creates the present invention mainly focusing on the improvement against the foregoing imperfections.

Structural improvement for robotic cleaner

National Kaohsiung First University of Science


A thermistor having multiple metal layers about at least a portion of a semiconductor body. The thermistor includes a first thick film electrode layer, a reactive metal layer, a barrier metal layer and, optionally, a layer to facilitate attachment to an electrical contact. Also, a method of making the thermistor is described.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to a thermistor for temperature measurement, control and/or temperature compensation and a method of making the same. More particularly, the invention is directed to a thermistor having multiple layers of electrode metal.
2. Background of the Invention
Thermistors (thermally sensitive resistors), are ceramic semiconductors which exhibit large changes in electrical resistance with corresponding changes in temperature. Because of their sensitivity, accuracy, and stability, thermistors are generally accepted to be the most advantageous sensor for many applications including temperature measurement, compensation, and control. Thermistors are used extensively for commercial consumer electronic products, automotive, industrial, and medical electronic applications, food handling and processing, communication and instrumentation, computers, military and aerospace, and research and development. Some practical uses of thermistors include liquid level measurement, photography, thermometers, intravenous catheters, blood analysis, myocardial needle probes, automotive climate control, fuel level/temperature, temperature sensors for household appliances such as air conditioners, coffee makers, and data logger applications such as air, soil, liquid temperature probes. Their use in portable phones, earphones, quartz oscillators and transceivers continues to expand.
The most important characteristics of thermistors are an extremely high temperature coefficient of resistance and precise resistance versus temperature characteristics. The sensitivity to temperature change can result in a thermistor resistance change of 10 million to one over an operating temperature range. Prior art chip thermistors are of small size, square configuration, are available coated or uncoated, in leaded or unleaded embodiments, having operating temperature ranges of −80° C. to 300° C., and resistance ranges from 0.5 ohms to 40 megohms.
The electrical resistivity of a positive temperature coefficient (PTC) thermistor increases with increase in temperature. PTC thermistors switch from a low resistance to a high resistance state at a specific temperature. They are widely used as current limiters from −80° C. to 300° C., 0.5 ohms to 40 megohms. Conversely, the electrical resistivity of a negative temperature coefficient (NTC) thermistor decreases with increase in temperature. NTC thermistors are used to sense temperatures from −80° C. to 300° C. with nominal resistance at 25° C. from 0.5 ohms to 40 megohms. Therefore, they have a large temperature coefficient of resistance and a wide range of resistance values. They are also available in a wide range of sizes from 3 mm in diameter to 22 mm in diameter in adaptable shapes and sizes for a wide variety of mechanical environments. Typical applications for NTC thermistors include fan control, temperature sensing, circuit protection and temperature control. NTC thermistors are chosen when remote sensing is required, small size is desired, or where small temperature differences need to be measured.
NTC thermistors used for temperature measurement and compensation are usually made from various compositions including the oxides of manganese, nickel, cobalt, copper, iron, and other metals to form a ceramic semiconductor material. Thermistors may be formed into different shapes of bead, disc, rod, chip or flake configuration. The flake style thermistor is simply a much smaller size version of the chip thermistor. Wafer thermistors are produced by forming thin sheets of material including powders of the oxides of manganese, nickel, and other oxides combined in a binder. The material is sintered at elevated temperatures, coated with a conductive metal composition, and then diced to size. Leads are attached by soldering. The units are finally coated in an epoxy or other electrical insulation material for final protection and stabilization. A typical prior art thermistor element, shown in FIG. 1, represents a chip type thermistor composed of sintered powders of metal oxides (1) on which electrodes (2) and (3) are deposited.
Specifically, when the prior art thermistors with thick film electrodes made with Ag, PdAg or Au are attached to substrates (surface mount configurations, FIG. 1) or to leads (discrete component configurations, FIG. 2) with high temperature solders using processes operating between 200° C. and 380° C. at dwell times ranging from 5 seconds to 3 minutes, their electrical resistance shifts outside the allowable specified resistance tolerance (typically 2-5%). This results in a defective or deficient final product or sub-assembly into which the thermistor is assembled.
These resistance shifts of the prior art thermistors have now been found to be caused by a phenomenon called leaching, which occurs during the soldering process. Leaching occurs because the metal in the electrode has a higher affinity for the molten solder than its bond with glass frit or fritless binder of the electrode. As the thermistor electrode is being soldered, the metal is released from its bond with the glass frit or fritless binder of the electrode and is absorbed into the molten solder. As a result, the electrical resistance of the thermistor increases from its original value, prior to the soldering process. In other words, the metal element forming the external electrodes will be compromised due to the solder leaching.
The rate of leaching of the thermistor thick film electrode is dependent on the type of electrode material and the temperature and the duration of the soldering process to which the thermistor is exposed. Typically, exposing thermistors of the prior art to molten solder at temperatures above 200° C. for extended periods of time (greater than 5 seconds) is not recommended by thick film electrode manufacturers since degradation of the electrode increases more rapidly above this temperature and beyond this time. In addition to the shift in electrical resistance, leaching causes degradation of the solder-electrode and electrode-semiconductor bond. Weakened bonds may result in thermistors having greatly reduced stability and reliability.
Thick film Pt electrodes have been found to be resistant to leaching compared to other electrode materials. However, the high cost of thick film Pt electrodes renders the prior art thermistor not cost effective to manufacture. Also, it is more difficult to bond Au wire to thick film Pt electrodes using the thermo-sonic or equivalent wire ball bonding process.
In addition, prior art thermistors with thick film Ag or PdAg electrodes are not commonly used in hybrid microcircuit applications requiring 0.001″ OD gold wire (or equivalent) to be bonded using the thermo-sonic or equivalent wire ball bonding process because the wire bonds to these electrodes may not be reliable over the long term.
A thermistor element using two layers of thin film electrodes have been described in the prior art (U.S. Pat. No. 4,712,085). Other prior art (U.S. Pat. No. 6,008,717) describes a thermistor with a pair of electrodes in a shorter inner electrode and a longer inner electrode are mutually opposite each other and separated by a gap. However, this prior art does not solve the leaching problem described.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Embodiments disclose a system and method to send an alert/warning for a potential collision to a safety operator of an autonomous driving vehicle (ADV). According to one embodiment, a system perceives an environment of an autonomous driving vehicle (ADV), including one or more obstacles. The system determines whether the ADV will potentially collide with the one or more obstacles based on a planned trajectory. If the ADV is determined to potentially collide, the system determines a time to collision based on the planned trajectory and the one or more obstacles. If the determined time to collision is less than a threshold or the time to collision decreases for a predetermined number of consecutive planning cycles, the system generates a warning signal to alert an operator of the ADV. The system sends the warning signal to an operator interface of the ADV to alert the operator of the potential collision.

Vehicles operating in an autonomous mode (e.g., driverless) can relieve occupants, especially the driver, from some driving-related responsibilities. When operating in an autonomous mode, the vehicle can navigate to various locations using onboard sensors, allowing the vehicle to travel with minimal human interaction or in some cases without any passengers.
A safety operator for an autonomous driving vehicle can prevent traffic accidents and fatalities. A safety operator can take over automated driving systems when there is a clear danger of a collision. However, it is hard for a safety operator to be focused at all times. Thus a safety mechanism to remind the safety operators when they should pay extra attention is very important.

Collision warning system for safety operators of autonomous vehicles


One embodiment of the present invention provides a system that facilitates performing a cost-based optimization of authorization checks in a database system. During operation, the system receives a query at the database system. Next, the system estimates a cost for executing the query, which involves estimating a cost for evaluating authorization checks, which involve functional evaluations of access rights for data accessed by the query. The system then rewrites the query to include evaluating authorization checks within the query. The system also estimates a cost for executing the rewritten query. Next, the system determines if executing the rewritten query has a lower cost than executing the query and performing the authorization checks. If so, the system executes the rewritten query. However, if not, the system executes the query.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to database systems. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for performing cost-based optimizations of authorization checks in database systems.
2. Related Art
Many organizations use Access Control Lists (ACLs) to control an entity's access to particular objects within database systems. An ACL typically comprises a list of Access Control Entries (ACEs) that specify the privileges granted and/or denied to a given entity. ACLs may be stored in various formats, such as in eXtensible Markup Language (XML) files, or within database tables. Each format has advantages and disadvantages related to speed, resource consumption, and security.
When implementing a database system with ACLs, database administrators typically determine which ACL-based security model he or she will use. There are multiple ways to evaluate the ACLs involved in a given security model. However, in this situation, it can be problematic to determine which evaluation method should be used for a given request.

Performing cost-based optimizations of authorization checks in database systems


A portable auxiliary fan unit that can be installed into the sunroof of an automobile and exhaust the air from the passenger compartment of the vehicle. The fan unit includes a panel assembly which has a passage that provides fluid communication between the passenger compartment and the outside of the car. Within the passage is a fan which can induce air flow from the interior of the vehicle to the ambient. The fan is powered by a plurality of solar cells located beneath a transparent top panel member. The fan unit is installed into an opening of the roof that is created by fully retracting the sliding roof panel of the car. The unit has a pair of levers at opposite edges of the transparent panel. The levers are inserted into grooves that normally guide the sliding roof panel, to secure the panel and fan to the roof of the car. Once installed, the solar cells power the fan, which causes air to flow from the passenger compartment to the outside of the car.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable auxiliary fan unit that can be installed into the sunroof opening of an automobile.
2. Description of Related Art
The windows of an automobile are typically rolled up when the car is parked and unattended, to protect the vehicle from thieves and the environment. If the automobile is exposed to heat and light, the interior of the vehicle can become hot and stuffy. The passenger compartment may reach a temperature which causes permanent damage to the interior of the car. Additionally, food or other objects left in the car may become melted or spoiled. It is therefore desirable to provide the car with a fan unit that can circulate air through the passenger compartment when the vehicle is not running. To preserve the car battery, it is desirable to power the fan with an auxiliary source of power.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,038,674 issued to Merges discloses an auxiliary fan unit located in the roof of an automobile. The Merges device has a fan connected to a panel that can be pushed into an open position to provide an opening in the roof of the car. When the panel is open, the fan blows air into the passenger compartment. The fan is connected to a solar panel which provides power to the fan motor. Although the Merges fan unit can circulate air through the passenger compartment, rain and other foreign debris can fall into the car when the panel is in the open position.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,800,803 issued to Farmont discloses a sunroof that has an auxiliary fan. The fan is powered by photo voltaic cells mounted onto a fan frame. The cells and fan are covered by a transparent panel which can be pushed into an open position, to allow the fan to circulate air through passenger compartment of the car. The Farmont device is built into the roof and requires a modification of the car. The integration of the fan into the roof of the car also produces a permanent obstruction in the sunroof.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,003,866 issued to Ricci discloses a portable fan unit which can be installed into the sunroof of a car. The Ricci device has solar cells that provide auxiliary power to the fan. The solar cells are mounted to a transparent panel that is attached to the sliding roof panel of the car. The fan is located in a compartment which extends well above the roof line. The fan compartment creates a surface that generates undesirable drag on the vehicle. Additionally, the attachment of the panel to the sliding roof panel may result in damage to the sliding member. It would therefore be desirable to provide a separate, portable auxiliary fan unit that will not damage the car, require any changes to the car, or generate drag on the vehicle.


A source of radiation (10,12), particularly a pulsed accelerated electron beam, directs a beam of radiation through an irradiation chamber (14, 50). The irradiation chamber is depleted of oxygen and oxygen containing gases, such as being drawn to a vacuum of 10xe2x88x921 or greater Torr by a vacuum pump (20, 52). Particulate fluoropolymer material is entrained (36) in substantially oxygen free gas and conveyed through the irradiation chamber. The accelerated electrons break chemical bonds in the fluoropolymer particles and electrostatically charge the particles. Magnetic fields (42, 60) of different polarity rotate the charged particles such that they are irradiated from different sides. The irradiated fluoropolymer particles are cooled (24) and separated (26) from the entraining gas. The entraining gas is recirculated through pneumatic line (34) for a continuous cycle.

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for irradiating fluoropolymer materials. It finds particular application in conjunction with the irradiation of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP), and chlorotrifluoroethylene (CTFE) to degrade their mechanical properties. It is to be appreciated, however, that the present application is also applicable to the radiation treatment of other polymeric materials to alter chemical resistance, electrical properties, thermal stability, surface properties, and other characteristics.
Finally, milled PTFE is used as a common additive to inks and to lubricants. However, PTFE is an extremely tough material with very strong bonds. It is extremely difficult to mill into a fine powder.
In order to facilitate the milling process, radiation has been used to break chemical bonds in the PTFE polymer chains. In one technique, Teflon material was placed in open containers in a cobalt 60 (60Co) vault. Gamma rays from the cobalt 60 irradiated the PTFE for a duration which weakened the bonds sufficiently, typically on the order of several hours.
In another technique, PTFE material, in granules, sintered shavings, or other thin, small pieces was placed in an open tray. The tray was passed slowly through an accelerated electron beam irradiating the PTFE material. The product was raked or stirred and passed through the electron beam again.
These techniques have several drawbacks. First, a significant quantity of hydrogen fluoride (HF) gas is released into the atmosphere. Hydrogen fluoride is highly corrosive and toxic to workers in the environment. Other toxic and corrosive gases, including fluorene, are also released. Further, treatment of PTFE in open containers releases PTFE dust into the environment which settles on walkways and other surfaces. PTFE is an extremely slippery lubricant creating fall and other injury hazards to workers. Moreover, the PTFE dust in the environment can be breathed by the workers. The present invention contemplates a new and improved fluoropolymer material irradiations apparatus and method which overcomes the above referenced problems and others.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a method of irradiating fluoropolymer materials is provided. Oxygen and oxygen containing gases are removed from an irradiation chamber. The chamber is irradiated with penetrating, ionizing radiation. The fluoropolymer material is passed through the ionizing radiation in the oxygen and oxygen containing gas depleted environment of the irradiation chamber.
In accordance with more limited aspects of the present invention, the gases removed from the irradiation chamber include air and water vapor.
In accordance with a yet more limited aspect of the present invention, the irradiation chamber is evacuated.
In accordance with another more limited aspect of the present invention, the penetrating radiation is accelerated electrons.
In accordance with another more limited aspect of the present invention, the fluoropolymer material is in particulate form and the particles are rotated by magnetic or electrical fields.
In accordance with a yet more specific aspect of the present invention, irradiation of the fluoropolymer particles by the electron beam charges the dielectric fluoropolymer particles creating rotational forces.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, an apparatus is provided for irradiating fluoropolymer materials. A radiation source generates a beam of radiation which passes through an irradiation chamber. A vacuum pump draws down oxygen, oxygen containing gases, water vapor, and other gases from the irradiation chamber. A source of fluoropolymer materials supplies a fluoropolymer material to the irradiation chamber.
One advantage of the present invention is that it reduces the generation of toxic and corrosive gases.
Another advantage of the present invention is that it reduces and substantially eliminates the distribution of dust and toxic substances into the environment.
Another advantage of the present invention resides in improved worker safety.
Still further advantages and benefits of the present invention will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading and understanding the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments.

Apparatus for irradiating for fluoropolymer materials


A display device includes first transistors provided for every scanning line and second transistors having a first electrode connected to each scanning line and a second electrode to which a reference potential is inputted. A first electrode of the first transistor is connected to any one of gate lines belonging to a first group. A control electrode of the first transistor is connected to any one of gate lines belonging to a second group. A control electrode of the second transistor is connected to any one of reverse gate lines belonging to a second group. A scanning line drive circuit intermittently outputs, when the scanning line drive circuit outputs a non-selective scanning voltage to any one of the gate lines belonging to the second group, a selective reversal scanning voltage to a reverse gate line corresponding to the gate line in the reverse gate lines belonging to the second group.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display device such as a liquid crystal display device or an EL display device, and more particularly to a technique for reducing wiring from a video line drive circuit or a scanning line drive circuit to a display panel.
2. Description of the Related Art
Currently, as a liquid crystal display panel which is used in a liquid crystal television receiver set, a mobile phone or the like, a TFT-type liquid crystal display device is used. FIG. 1 shows an equivalent circuit of a conventional TFT-type active matrix liquid crystal display panel.
As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional liquid crystal display panel includes, on a liquid-crystal-side surface of one substrate of a pair of substrates which is arranged to face each other in an opposed manner with liquid crystal sandwiched therebetween, a plurality of scanning lines (also referred to as "gate lines") (GL) and a plurality of video lines (also referred to as "source lines" or "drain lines") (DL).
Regions surrounded by the scanning lines and the video lines constitute sub pixel regions, and each sub pixel region is provided with a thin film transistor (TFT) which has a gate thereof connected to the scanning line, a drain (or a source) thereof connected to the video line, and the source (or the drain) thereof connected to a pixel electrode (PX) and constitutes an active element.
Since liquid crystal is interposed between the pixel electrode (PX) and a counter electrode (CT), a liquid crystal capacitance (Clc) is formed between the pixel electrode (PX) and the counter electrode (CT). Although a holding capacitance (Cadd) is provided between the pixel electrode (PX) and the counter electrode (also referred to as "common electrode") (CT) in the actual constitution, the description of the holding capacitance (Cadd) is omitted in FIG. 1.
The respective scanning lines (GL) are connected to a vertical scanning circuit (also referred to as "gate driver") (XDV), and the vertical scanning circuit (XDV) supplies a selection scanning signal to the respective scanning lines (GL) sequentially. The respective video lines (DL) are connected to a horizontal scanning circuit (also referred to as "source driver" or "drain driver") (YDV), and the horizontal scanning circuit (YDV) outputs video voltages (so-called grayscale voltages) of R, G, B to the respective video lines (DL) within 1 horizontal scanning period. Here, JP-A-2007-140296 (patent document 1) discloses a technique which can decrease the number of outputs of a driver which drives video lines by performing the selection of the video lines by time division using RGB switches.
With respect to the thin film transistor (TFT), there has been known a thin film transistor in which a semiconductor layer is formed of an amorphous silicon layer (hereinafter referred to as "a-Si thin film transistor"), and a thin film transistor in which a semiconductor layer is formed of a polysilicon layer (hereinafter referred to as "poly-Si thin film transistor"). Recently, there has been also known a thin film transistor (TFT) in which a semiconductor layer is formed of a microcrystalline silicon layer (hereinafter referred to as "microcrystalline thin film transistor"). The microcrystalline thin film transistor exhibits performance between the performance of the a-Si thin film transistor and the performance of the poly-Si thin film transistor.
In general, a liquid crystal display panel for a liquid crystal television receiver set uses the a-Si thin film transistor as an active element thereof, and a liquid crystal display panel for a mobile phone uses the poly-Si thin film transistor as an active element thereof.
An operating speed of the poly-Si thin film transistor is two-orders of magnitude faster than an operating speed of the a-Si thin film transistor. Accordingly, in the liquid crystal display panel which uses the poly-Si thin film transistor as the active element thereof, the vertical scanning circuit (XDV) is formed of the poly-Si thin film transistor, and the vertical scanning circuit (XDV) is formed on a liquid-crystal-side surface of one substrate of a pair of substrates which constitutes the liquid crystal display panel.
The operating speed of the a-Si thin film transistor or the operating speed of the microcrystalline thin film transistor is slower than the operating speed of the p-Si thin film transistor. Accordingly, in the liquid crystal display panel which uses the a-Si thin film transistor or the microcrystalline thin film transistor as the active element thereof, a semiconductor chip which mounts the vertical scanning circuit (XDV) thereon is mounted on one substrate of a pair of substrates which constitutes the liquid crystal display panel, for example.
In general, as a method for mounting a semiconductor chip which constitutes the vertical scanning circuit (XDV) and the horizontal scanning circuit (YDV), there has been known a method in which a semiconductor chip which constitutes the vertical scanning circuit (XDV) and a semiconductor chip which constitutes the horizontal scanning circuit (YDV) are separately mounted on one substrate of a pair of substrates which is arranged to face each other in an opposed manner with liquid crystal sandwiched therebetween as shown in FIG. 1, and a method in which a semiconductor chip which constitutes a scanning circuit (RDV) which is formed by integrating the vertical scanning circuit (XDV) and the horizontal scanning circuit (YDV) is mounted on one substrate of a pair of substrates which is arranged to face each other in an opposed manner with liquid crystal sandwiched therebetween as shown in FIG. 2.
In either method, a selection scanning voltage is supplied to the respective scanning lines (GL) from the vertical scanning circuit (XDV) (or the scanning circuit (RDV)) and hence, it is necessary to provide the gate lines which connect the vertical scanning circuit (XDV) (or the scanning circuit (RDV)) and the respective scanning lines (GL) in such a manner that the number of gate lines is equal to the number of the scanning lines (GL).
However, in a miniaturized panel such as a liquid crystal display panel for a mobile phone or the like, when the number of pixel is increased to satisfy a demand for higher definition, there exists a possibility that gate lines cannot be arranged in the inside of the liquid crystal display panel. To cope with such a situation, considered is a line address drive method where in driving the scanning lines (GL), only scanning lines (GL) whose addresses are designated are selected.
In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, symbol VSYNC indicates a vertical synchronizing signal, symbol HSYNC indicates a horizontal synchronizing signal, symbol CK indicates a dot clock, and symbol Data indicates video data.

Panasonic Liquid Crystal Display Co., Ltd.


In accordance with the teachings described herein, systems and methods are provided for calibrating DC offset in a receiver. A DC calibration circuit may be used that is configured to receive a digital multi-carrier modulated (MCM) signal that includes a sequence of MCM symbols. The DC calibration circuit may include an accumulator and a compensator. The accumulator may be used to determine an estimated DC offset of a current MCM symbol in the sequence of MCM symbols. The compensator may be used to remove the estimated DC offset from a next MCM symbol in the sequence of MCM symbols. The accumulator may also be used to receive a plurality of digital samples that comprise the current MCM symbol and to determine the estimated DC offset by calculating an average of the plurality of digital samples.

DC offset is a common problem in direct-conversion receivers. DC offset in the received signal may be caused by several factors, such as self mixing at the receiver's RF mixers, calibration residue at the receiver's analog components and carrier leakage from the transmitter. This DC offset is typically less of a problem in OFDM systems because the DC tone is not used for signal transmission. However, there may still be a need to reduce or eliminate DC offset in an OFDM system in order to improve system performance. For example, reducing or cancelling DC offset may reduce the headroom requirement for each module in the analog and data path, prevent clipping during FFT processing due to DC accumulation, and reduce interference leakage from DC tone to other adjacent tones.
Traditionally, DC offset in a received communication signal is calibrated by applying a high pass filter after analog-to-digital conversion. With this method, the performance of DC calibration is dependent on the high-pass corner frequency of the filter. A high corner frequency will add more distortion to the signal, but will require less time to remove the DC offset. A lower corner frequency will result in less distortion, but will take longer to remove the DC offset. Consequently, the receiver either suffers from signal distortion by using a fast high pass filter or suffers from strong DC interference leakage during the first few symbols of a frame by using a slower high pass filter. This tradeoff often proves to be extremely challenging for system designers.

Systems and methods for calibrating digital baseband DC offset in an OFDM receiver


Technologies are described herein for generating a binary transition file. Multiple animation structures may be generated in the binary transition file. The animation structures may define a sequence of three-dimensional meshes. A header portion may also be generated in the binary transition file. The header portion may define slides that are applied to the three-dimensional meshes to produce a transition between the slides. A presentation program application may be modified with the binary transition file, thereby adapting the presentation program application to provide the transition.

Generally, electronic presentation program applications allow users to create high-impact dynamic slide presentations that include text, images, sound, video, and/or other types of multimedia. Some presentation program applications may provide, among other features, transitions between slides within a presentation. Slide transitions may refer to animation-like effects that occur when a user moves from one slide to the next slide while giving the presentation. A user may include slide transitions within the presentation in order to add visual flair to the presentation.
Presentation program applications may include functionality enabling a user to select a predefined transition from multiple available transitions to include in a presentation. In a conventional reverse engineering workflow for creating a predefined transition, a designer may brainstorm a transition concept and then create a visual representation (e.g., a video) of the transition concept. Using the visual representation as a reference, a programmer may create a set of mathematical expressions that represent the movements of the slide in the transition concept. Upon creating the set of mathematical expressions, the programmer may translate the set of mathematical expressions into program code that can be incorporated into a presentation program application. Testers may test the presentation program application and determine whether the executed transition corresponding to the program code is satisfactory. If the executed transition is not satisfactory, then the programmers may need to recreate the mathematical expression and retranslate the program code.
The conventional reverse engineering workflow has proven over time to be time-consuming and burdensome. The programmers may need multiple iterations of creating multiple sets of mathematical expressions and translating each set into program code before the testers determine that the executed transition is satisfactory. Each program code corresponding to a new set of mathematical expressions may require extensive testing. Further, some transitions involving intricate movements may not be conveniently expressed by mathematical expressions.
It is with respect to these considerations and others that the disclosure made herein is presented.


A printing system comprises a host computer, a laser printer of a paper ejecting type and another laser printer of a non-paper ejecting type, all connected to one another via a system bus. The host computer functions as the supply source of image information and as the data processor, and controls the laser printer of a paper ejecting type and the other laser printer of a non-paper ejecting type. A printing apparatus and method that can contribute to increasing the speed and convenience of secured print in this printing system are to be provided. To accomplish this, the laser printer of a paper ejecting type and the other laser printer of a non-paper ejecting type will execute interrupt print processing when the received job is a secured print job and there is any other job being processed if there are a plurality of paper discharging ports or execute promote print processing if there is only one paper discharging port.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printing apparatus and method, and more particularly, to a printing apparatus and method having a security function involving user authorization by means of a password or the like.
2. Background of the Invention
Along with the advance of networking technology over the recent years, network-compatible printing apparatuses including printers, facsimiles and copying machines have come into practical use, and printing systems in which these printing apparatuses are connected to a network to enable many users to share a small number of printing apparatuses for printing purposes are coming into extensive use.
On the other hand, as the documents to be printed may contain such items of confidential information as information on personnel administration and personal information, the following two techniques, for example, are proposed to make possible secured print, which would prevent other parties from seeing the contents of printed matters in an environment of sharing printing apparatuses.
As one of these examples, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-222150 proposes a printing system consisting of a host computer and printing apparatuses both connected to a network, wherein, when secured print is to be done, a printing job to which a password is added is transmitted to a printing apparatus, the password is also recorded on a floppy disk, and password collation is done via the floppy disk inserted into the printing apparatus to realize secured print. As another example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-039608 proposes a printing apparatus having an intermediate tray for stapling use, which realizes secured print in a simple way by temporarily storing printed sheets in the intermediate tray even if no stapling instruction is given, and ejecting the bundles of printing jobs to a paper discharging tray at once when all the jobs have been completed, thereby making it possible to keep the contents of the printed matters invisible until the printing is wholly completed.
However, both examples of the related art described above concern the mechanism of secured print itself, but neither makes any reference to the handling of a plurality of jobs. In the operation of secured print in a real office environment, since a plurality of users share the same printing apparatus for their common use, even if one of them tries to operate secured print for a confidential document, the printing apparatus may often be used for printing another document, and in such a case this user would have to wait in front of the printing apparatus until that printing job of somebody else is finished. Furthermore, during an operation to execute secured print such as undoing the restriction by the password, the job of someone else may be received.
Since secured print, very because of its nature, is an act that is done when the product of printing should not be seen by any unauthorized person, the user intending to do it has to wait in front of the printing apparatus, and in some cases he may have to wait in front of the printing apparatus until both the other person's printing job and his own secured print job end.
Further, the greater the number of persons sharing a printing apparatus, the more probable the printing apparatus is in operation, and to avoid this situation, the user has to execute secured print after confirming that the printing apparatus is not in printing operation; this circumstance makes secured print practically inconvenient in a usual office environment in which each printing apparatus is shared by a plurality of users.
In order to fundamentally solve these problems, the only available solution is to install an additional printing apparatus or apparatuses and reduce the utilization rate of each printing apparatus, but this is too costly a proposition to be realistic.
Thus, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-222150 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-039608 cited above take no heed of the mutual problems which are likely to occur among a plurality of users sharing one printing apparatus, and cannot contribute to increasing the convenience of secured print in an existing printing system built up in a usual office environment.