A method for incinerating contaminated soil or other material utilizing an incinerator, such as a CBC, which is operated below atmospheric pressure and apparatus for carrying out such decontamination by delivering the soil to be processed in desired particulate size to the incineration unit, e.g., to a recirculation loop through which separated solids are being returned from a cyclone to a CBC. The system for supplying the contaminated soil is isolated from the chute leading to the incineration unit by a feeder that forms an agglomerated plug which serves as a pressure seal and prevents any gas flow therepast. Illustrated are a pair of twin counterrotating screws which include shafts that extend past the ends of the screw flights to locations where rotary cutters having multiple blades are mounted. Soil being carried between the flights of the rotating screws continuously agglomerates to form a plug at the downstream end which continuously advances toward the cutter blades that slice it into chips of desired thickness, which then pass through all or a portion of a pug-mill before entering a chute leading to the incinerator. The screws and rotary cutters are advantageously mounted on common shafts so as to allow longitudinal adjustment of the distance between the cutter and the screw to vary the length of the plug.

There are numerous contaminated hazardous waste sites throughout the United States of America and in other countries throughout the world which, if allowed to remain untreated, have the potential for creating long term odor and/or health problems. In recent years, these situations have begun to attract the attention of environmentalists and others, and both government and industry have begun to focus on the immediate problems and the potential future problems posed by such sites. In the United States, Congress has created the Superfund to defray the expenses for the clean-up of some of the more potentially hazardous of these sites.
Containment of such hazardous waste material, either on-site or off-site, does not eliminate the problem, but merely defers it or transfers it. However, it has now been proven that incineration of these hazardous materials can be used to effect thermal destruction of the hazardous organic components leaving generally inorganic residues in uncontaminated condition which can be returned to the excavation from which the contaminated soil was removed.
Although incineration generally is eminently feasible for cleanup of such contaminated soil, the operation must be carried out in the United States under conditions that will meet the strict standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) so that no significant amounts of hazardous, or potentially hazardous, inorganic components exit along with the stack gas and so that residue from such an incineration method is no longer hazardous so it can preferably be returned to the site of removal. Moreover, such incineration should be capable of operation with relatively high efficiencies so as to accomplish the decontamination of large amounts of contaminated soil in a reasonable period of time and under widely varying environmental conditions of high and low temperatures and varying moisture contents. Research efforts in this area have been continued in an effort to better achieve such objectives in a commercially feasible manner.

Feed system for incineration of contaminated material


A method and system for using a voicemail system. A command is received, from a first telephone device connected to the voicemail system after a call from a second telephone device was received by the first telephone device. The command is for the voicemail system to pause a process of recording a voicemail message being spoken by a user using the first telephone device. In response to the receiving the command, the voicemail system is directed to pause the process of recording the voicemail message, which results in the process of recording the voicemail message being paused by a pause/resume invocation system that is remote to the voicemail system.

Voicemail is a feature that is common to many modern telephony systems, including both landline and wireless systems. When a call is placed to a subscriber on a telephony system that includes a voicemail system and if the call is not answered, the call can be redirected to an automated system that instructs and enables the caller to record a voicemail message. The voicemail message is then typically retrieved by the intended recipient at a later time. In modern telecommunications systems, network-based voicemail systems provide the subscribers with the ability to receive and review saved voice messages left by calling parties when the subscriber's telephone is busy or unanswered.
In instances when a caller records a voicemail and receives an incoming call, the caller may presently continue to record the voicemail by ignoring the incoming call, or the caller can answer the call leaving a partially recorded voicemail message. If the caller continues to record the voicemail, the incoming call is ignored and may be transferred to a voicemail, which often results in the user needing to return a call to the incoming caller. If the caller answers the incoming call, the voicemail recording is typically abandoned, resulting in a partially completed recording. The result is generally that either the voicemail must be abandoned or the incoming call must be ignored.
In the majority of prior art voicemail systems, the caller is provided with an audible instruction prior to recording, which indicates that the caller may push a key such as a '*' key to pause recording, with other keys to resume recording, play back, or start over. Similarly, with call waiting, the caller leaving a voicemail in such a system may be alerted to an incoming call and can pause the recording if the caller is aware of the proper codes to use. The caller can switch to the call, and then switch back to resume recording. Such voicemail systems have the ability to return to record the voicemail after placing a call from within the voicemail system. Such applications, however, may not permit the user to receive a call or to allow the inbound call event to automatically signal a pause with respect to the external voicemail system. Also, such systems do not provide the ability to instruct the inbound caller about the voicemail event or the ability to suspend the voicemail system.
Therefore, a need exists for an improved method and system for automatically pausing and resuming a voicemail message, while receiving an incoming call. A need also exists for notifying the incoming caller about the user voicemail interaction.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

International Business Machines Corporation


A front atomization structure of a single-hole atomization fuel injector comprises a tube, an installation sleeve, a valve base, a flow splitter, an overflow member, a rotating flow member, and a metering member. Splitting recesses are arranged at the flow splitter to split a flow into a plurality of streams. An overflow hole is arranged at the overflow member to further limit the stream of the split flow. A rotating flow hole and a rotating flow recess are arranged at the rotating flow member. Upon passing the rotating flow recess, the stream of the split flow impacts a bottom portion of the rotating flow recess blocked by the metering member to form a turbulent stream which converges toward the rotating flow hole. Also provided is a single-hole fuel atomization and injection device.

With the development of China's machinery industry, more and more machinery equipment has been widely used.
In the automobile manufacturing industry, there are thousands of types of auto parts. Taking a fuel injector of an engine as an example, the fuel injector belongs to a fuel injection system, and the fuel injection system refers to a fuel supply device that uses the fuel injector to directly inject a certain amount of fuel into a cylinder or an intake port under a certain pressure. According to different types of injected fuel, fuel injection systems can be divided into a gasoline injection system, a diesel injection system, a gas fuel injection system, etc. According to different control methods, fuel injection systems can be divided into a mechanical control type, an electronical control type and an electromechanical hybrid control type.
At present, an electronically controlled fuel injector is widely used. The electronically controlled fuel injector accepts the fuel injection pulse signal sent by ECU to precisely control the fuel injection quantity. The spray characteristics of the fuel injector include atomization particle size, oil mist distribution, oil beam direction, range and diffusion cone angle. There are many types of the fuel injectors, and the parts on the fuel injectors are relatively complicated. For the electronically controlled fuel injector, the atomization structure is a very important part.
In the conventional technology, the atomization structure of the electronically controlled fuel injector mainly includes a valve body and a valve hole (or an injection hole), etc. When a valve core on the valve seat is lifted by an electromagnetic drive mechanism or other equivalent drive mechanisms, the fuel, for example the gasoline, passes through the valve hole, since the diameter of the valve hole is very small, which may be an order of 10−4 m. When the fuel passes through the valve hole, the pressure increases sharply, and the liquid fuel will generate an atomization effect, forming a large number of tiny atomization particles that are flushed into the combustion chamber of the cylinder, which are in good contact with and mixed with the air, and facilities improving the combustion efficiency. However, in the conventional technology, because the shape of the injection hole of the electronically controlled fuel injector is circular or annular, the effect of the fuel atomization is poor, the particle size of the atomization particle is large, liquid beams are easily formed, and the atomization fineness is low.
Therefore, how to improve the fineness of the fuel atomization, refine the particle size of atomization particles, and improve the effect of the fuel atomization are technical problems needed to be solved urgently by those skilled in the art.

Single-hole fuel atomization and injection device and front-facing atomization structure thereof


Disclosed herein is a spreading growth habit type verbena plant having long stems. The plant has abundant branching and each node in the branches contacting the ground commonly forming deep-spreading roots. The plant forms many flowers from on ascending spikes with and a great profusion of blooms. The flowers exhibit petals having a deep purplish pink coloration, with a small deep strong purplish red eye. The plant is highly resistant to heat, cold, rain, diseases, and pests.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of Verbena obtained from the crossing of one verbena plant (.female.) which was selected from a crossing of `Rainbowcarpet Brightpurple` (.female.) and a wild type of verbena plant (.male.) native to Brazil, and `Rainbowcarpet Red` (.male.). The `Rainbowcarpet Brightpurple` and `Rainbowcarpet Red` parents are botanically known as Verbena.times.hybrida Voss.
Verbena of the presently commercialized `Rainbowcarpet` series is a semi-erect growth habit having medium stems, medium branching, and a scant number of flowers in ascending spikes, and has moderate tolerance to heat and cold. Accordingly, this invention was aimed at obtaining a new variety having a spreading growth habit, abundant branching, many flowers, high tolerances to heat and cold, and resistances to diseases and pests, which are superior to those of said `Rainbowcarpet` series, and also having a pink flower color.
A crossing of `Rainbowcarpet Brightpurple` as the female parent and a wild type of verbena plant native to Brazil as the pollen parent was practiced, in 1988, at the Plant Biotechnology Laboratory, Institute for Fundamental Research of SUNTORY Ltd., residing at 2913-1 Torihara, Hakushu-cho, Kitakoma-gun, Yamanashi-ken, Japan. From this crossing, 75 seedlings were obtained in the spring of 1988, then a crossing of the 20 seedings which were selected from obtained 75 seedings as the female parent and `Rainbowcarpet Red` obtained from TAKII SEED & SEEDLING Corp., as the pollen parent was practiced at the same place. From this crossing 60 seedlings were obtained in the summer of 1988, from which 3 seedlings were selected, propagated by cutting, and then grown as a trial by flower bedding and potting for the spring of 1989. Only one of the 3 resulting plants was selected. The botanical characteristics of the finally-selected plant were then examined, using a similar varieties, `Rainbowcarpet Rose` and `Rainbowcarpet Brightpurple`, for comparison, from the spring of 1990. As a result, it was concluded that this verbena plant is distinguishable from any other variety whose existence is known to use, and this new variety of verbena plant was named `Sunmaref TP-P` (Tapien Pink.RTM.).
In the following description, the color-coding is in accordance with the Horticultural Color Chart of The Royal Horticultural Society, London, England (R.H.S. Color Chart), and the Inter-Society Color Council-Nation Bureau of Standards Color Name (ISCC-NBS Color Name). A color chart based on The Japan Color Standard for Horticultural Plants (J.H.S. Color Chart) is also added for reference.
`Rainbowcarpet Brightpurple` used as the female parent in the obtaining of one verbena plant used as the female parent in the breeding this new variety `Sunmaref TP-P` is one of the `Rainbowcarpet` series bred by the TAKII SEED & SEEDLING Corp., Japan. The `Rainbowcarpet` series includes `Rainbowcarpet Rose`, `Rainbowcarpet White`, and the like. The main botanical characteristics of `Rainbowcarpet Brightpurple` are as follows.
Plant: PA0 Stem: PA0 Leaf: PA0 Flower: PA0 Plant: PA0 Stem: PA0 Leaf: PA0 Flower: PA0 Plant: PA0 Stem: PA0 Leaf: PA0 Flower:
Growth habit.--Semi-erect. PA2 Plant height.--25-30 cm. PA2 Plant extension.--30-35 cm. PA2 Blooming period.--Late April to November. PA2 Diameter.--2-3 mm. PA2 Anthocyanin pigmentation.--Absent. PA2 Branching.--Medium. PA2 Pubescence.--Scant. PA2 Length of internode.--35-40 mm. PA2 Phyllotaxis.--Opposite. PA2 Shape of blade.--Broadly ovate. PA2 Length.--20-25 mm. PA2 Width.--15-20 mm. PA2 Depth of incision.--Deep. Color.--Deep yellow green (R.H.S. 141A, J.H.S. 3706). PA2 Pubescence.--Few. PA2 Direction.--Ascending. PA2 Outward curvatuve of petal.--Slightly curved. PA2 Diameter.--10-15 mm. PA2 Length.--13-15 mm. PA2 Color.--Vivid purple (R.H.S. 82A, J.H.S. 8606). PA2 Color intensity.--Absent. PA2 Overlapping of petals.--Separate. PA2 Spike.--25-30 mm in length; and 30-35 mm in diameter. PA2 Calyx.--0.5-1.0 cm. PA2 Anthocyanin pigmentation of calyx limb.--Present. PA2 Peduncle.--Less then 2 mm in diameter; and 6.0-8.0 cm in length. PA2 Number of flowers.--Few (9.+-.2). PA2 Productive organs.--1 pistil and 5 stamens. PA2 Physiological and ecological characteristics.--Moderate resistances to pests and diseases, and moderate tolerances to cold and heat. PA2 Growth habit.--Spreading. PA2 Plant height.--10-15 cm. PA2 Plant extension.--80-100 cm. PA2 Blooming period.--Late April to November. PA2 Extending.--40-50 cm. PA2 Diameter.--2-3 mm. PA2 Anthocyanin pigmentation.--Absent. PA2 Branching.--Abundant. PA2 Pubescence.--Medium. PA2 Length of internode.--20-30 mm. PA2 Phyllotaxis.--Opposite. PA2 Shape of blade.--Ovate. PA2 Length.--15-20 mm. PA2 Width.--10-15 mm. PA2 Depth of incision.--Deep. PA2 Color.--Deep yellow green (R.H.S. 141A, J.H.S. 3706). PA2 Pubescence.--Medium. PA2 Direction.--Ascending. PA2 Outward curvature of petal.--Slightly curved. PA2 Diameter.--10-15 mm. PA2 Length.--12-15 mm. PA2 Color.--Brilliant purple (R.H.S. 86C, J.H.S. 8604). PA2 Color intensity.--Absent. PA2 Overlapping of petals.--Separate. PA2 Spike.--30-40 mm in length; and 35-40 mm in diameter. PA2 Calyx.--0.5-1.0 cm in length. PA2 Anthocyanin pigmentation of calyx limb.--Absent. PA2 Peduncle.--1-2 mm in thickness; and 30-50 mm in length. PA2 Number of flowers.--Medium (10.+-.2). PA2 Productive organs.--1 pistil and 5 stamens. PA2 Physiological and ecological characteristics.--High resistances to disease and pests, and high tolerances to heat and cold. PA2 Growth habit.--Semi-erect. PA2 Plant height.--25-30 cm. PA2 Plant extension.--20-25 cm. PA2 Blooming period.--Late April to November. PA2 Diameter.--2-3 mm. PA2 Anthocyanin pigmentation.--Absent. PA2 Branching.--Medium. PA2 Pubescence.--Scant. PA2 Length of internode.--35-40 mm. PA2 Phyllotaxis.--Opposite. PA2 Shape of blade.--Broadly ovate. PA2 Length.--20-25 mm. PA2 Width.--15-20 mm. PA2 Depth of incision.--Shallow. PA2 Color.--Deep yellow green (R.H.S. 141A, J.H.S. 3706). PA2 Pubescence.--Few. PA2 Direction.--Ascending. PA2 Outward curvature of petal.--Slightly curved. PA2 Diameter.--10-15 mm. PA2 Height.--13-15 mm. PA2 Color.--Vivid red (R.H.S. 42A, J.H.S. 0707). PA2 Color intensity.--Absent. PA2 Overlapping of petals.--Separate. PA2 Spike.--25-30 mm in length; and 30-35 mm in diameter. PA2 Calyx.--0.5-1.0 cm in length. PA2 Anthocyanin pigmentation of calyx limb.--Present. PA2 Peduncle.--Less than 2 mm in diameter; and 6.0-8.0 cm in length. PA2 Number of flowers.--Medium (10.+-.2). PA2 Productive organs.--1 pistil and 5 stamens. PA2 Physiological and ecological characteristics.--Moderate resistances to diseases and pests, and moderate tolerances to cold and heat.
The plant used as the pollen parent in the obtaining of the female parent in the breeding of this new variety `Sunmaref TP-P` is a wild type of verbena plant native to South Brazil and this wild type of plant is presently maintained at the Plant Biotechnology Laboratory of SUNTORY Ltd. The main botanical characteristics of the pollen parent are as follows.
`Rainbowcarpet Red` used as the pollen parent used in the breeding of this new variety `Sunmaref TP-P` is one of the `Rainbowcarpet` series bred by the TAKII SEED & SEEDLING Corp., Japan. The main botanical characteristics of the `Rainbowcarpet Red` are as follows.
This new variety of verbena plant, `Sunmaref TP-P` was asexually reproduced by cuttings at the aforementioned the Plant Biotechnology Laboratory, Institute for Fundamental Research of SUNTORY Ltd., residing at 2931-1 Torihara, Hakushu-cho, Kitakoma-gun, Yamanashi-ken, Japan, and the homogeneity and stability thereof were confirmed.


Disclosed is an apparatus and method for color-editing capable of simply carrying out color-editing spectral values, such as spectral reflectance, spectral transmittance, spectral radiance and spectral radiant intensity. When color-editing a spectral value of spectral image, the spectral color is transformed into a low-dimensional color space easy for the human to handle in an HLS space transforming section and color-editing and color-correction are carried out in the low-dimensional color space in on HLS color-editing section thereby generating a proper spectral value from a transformed low-dimensional color in a spectral-space inverse-transforming section. Also, a spectral color editing section receives a spectral editing instruction signal and transforms a wavelength width of a spectral color peak to a narrow one, thereby improving saturation.

There are various ones of utilization as apparatuses for color-image processing, including scanners, digital cameras, printers and displays. As a method to exchange image data between such apparatuses, there is transformation into color-image data wherein the color image data inputted at an input unit is once transformed into a color space not relying upon the apparatus and then outputted to an output unit. Such a system is called a color management system.
In the color management system, by establishing transformation between the signal of the image input unit and the color space not relying upon the apparatus, data can be delivered to any of the image output units. There is no need to determine color transforming processes in the number of combinations of input and output units. Meanwhile, in case the color image data inputted at the image input unit is previously transformed into a device independent color space not relying upon illumination besides upon the apparatus, it is possible to output from the output unit an image of under an illumination different from the illumination of during image input. The device independent color space not relying upon the apparatus is generally an XYZ tri-stimulus value prescribed by the International Standard Organization CIE or an L*a*b* equivalent color space.
By nature, color is expressed by a spectral radiance as to in what degree each wavelength of color is contained. The XYZ tri-stimulus value is of three scalar quantities obtainable by weighting the spectral radiance through the color-matching function as defined under the CIE and thereafter integrated in the visible portion. Meanwhile, the L*a*b* equivalent color space is a three-dimensional color space the XYZ tri-stimulus value is normalized by reference white.
Color, in nature, is 31-dimensional huge data sampled at an interval of 10 nm over a visible portion of from 400 nm to 700 nm. On the contrary, the expression form of color in three dimensions, such as XYZ tri-stimulus value or L*a*b* equivalent color space has been so far used, instead of spectral colors, as the quantity representative of a color to be perceived by the human, because of the reason the human eyes are to perceive by three types of cones.
However, by the recent improvement in information processing capability, there is a trend toward developing the apparatuses spectrally expressing colors in place of XYZ tri-stimulus values and L*a*b* equivalent color spaces. Spectral expression includes spectral reflectance, spectral transmittance, spectral radiance, spectral radiant intensity and so on. Spectral radiance contains illuminant information, because it expresses an amount of light radiated from a subject. The spectral radiance, removed of a spectral distribution of illuminant, is termed as spectral reflectance or spectral transmittance.
There is a widespread of the color management systems for handling spectral reflectance or transmittance, of spectral expressions, as a device independent color space. Namely, those are the systems which estimate a spectral reflectance or transmittance of a subject, to handle a spectral reflectance image or spectral transmittance image as an image thereof. Hereinafter, the color in spectral expression as represented by spectral reflectance or transmittance is collectively referred to as a spectral color.
The apparatuses handling spectral colors include, for example, a skin color measuring method and spectral reflection spectrum estimating method described in JP-A-7-174631 and a color simulation apparatus described in JP-A-9-233490. In these apparatus, a spectral reflectance image of a subject is estimated from an image inputted at an image input unit, in order to analyze the physical properties of the subject or simulate an image of the subject as viewed under various illuminants.
Traditionally, color editing has been conducted in the color spaces that depend to the respective apparatus such as cameras, displays, printers and the like, i.e. in the camera RGB color spaces, printer CMYK color spaces, display RGB color spaces. However, by the widespread color management systems dealing with the spectral colors, there arise the applications for color-editing or color-correcting the spectral image as independent color spaces.
The apparatuses for color-editing spectral images include, for example, a color processing apparatus described in JP-A-7-162694. According to this document, the spectral color of color sample is displayed in the form of a graph in a spectral color display window, whereby the user is allowed to directly edit a graph curve to a desired form by the use of an editor, such as "illustrator" by Adobe. Thereupon, the edited spectral color is transformed into an xy chromaticity and an HCV signal which are respectively displayed in an xy chromaticity diagram display windows and an HCV display window. The user again edits the spectral color with reference to the values in the xy chromaticity diagram display windows and HCV display window.
On the other hand, the apparatus for color-correcting spectral images, e.g. the apparatus for estimating a spectral reflectance from an image inputted at the image input unit, includes the foregoing skin color measuring method and spectral reflection spectrum estimating method described in JP-A-7-174631 and color simulation apparatus described in JP-A-9-233490.
These apparatuses carry out pincipal-component analysis of spectral reflectance and express it with basis in m-dimensions lower than 31-dimensions. Then, a coefficient m-dimensional vector is estimated from the input image data by a neural network. Next, a spectral reflectance is computed from the estimated m-dimensional vector, thereby estimating the spectral reflectance.
However, in expressing a spectral reflectance on certain basis, unless the basis contain something like a delta function narrow in wavelength width, such a color cannot be estimated. Namely, this results in an impossibility to obtain, as an estimation value, a quite saturated color having a narrow wavelength width. Consequently, the estimated image is of an image giving an expression comparatively low in saturation. For this reason, there is a desire for an approach to color-correct an estimated spectral image into a more saturated color. However, there exist no systems for making color-correction in the spectral image.
In the conventional spectral-image color-editing apparatus, the human is required to directly modify the shape of spectral-color curves as huge as 31-dimensions. In what degree the color is changed by what way correction is done, is the operation not easy to understand and hence difficult, despite of the capability to utilize guidance including XYZ signals, L*a*b* signals or HCV signals.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A method and apparatus for detection of DLP violations with language detection are described. A DLP product may monitor data content associated with the computing system, and identify a language of the data content. Based on the identified language, the DLP product identifies from among multiple DLP policies a first set of one or more DLP policies that are applicable for the identified language (referred to herein as language-specific DLP policies). The DLP product scans the data content using the first set to detect a violation of one of the DLP policies in the data content, and performs a DLP action in response to the detected violation.

A modern organization typically maintains a data storage system to store and deliver sensitive information concerning various significant business aspects of the organization. Sensitive information may include data on customers (or patients), contracts, deliveries, supplies, employees, manufacturing, or the like. In addition, sensitive information may include intellectual property (IP) of an organization such as software code developed by employees of the organization, documents describing inventions conceived by employees of the organization, etc.
Organizations take lot of efforts to install DLP components, especially on important machines where confidential data is getting generated, but they may not be able to protect each computer in the enterprise, due to reasons like large number of different platforms or operating systems (OS), machine outages, quick and dynamic provisioning of virtual machines, no clear and individual accounting for test and lab machines. DLP technologies apply configurable rules to identify objects, such as files, that contain sensitive data and should not be found outside of a particular enterprise or specific set of host computers or storage devices. Even when these technologies are deployed, it is possible for sensitive objects to 'leak'. Occasionally, leakage is deliberate and malicious, but often it is accidental too. For example, in today's global marketplace environment, a user of a computing system transmits data, knowingly or unknowingly, to a growing number of entities outside a computer network of an organization or enterprise. Previously, the number of entities were very limited, and within a very safe environment. For example, each person in an enterprise would just have a single desktop computer, and a limited number of software applications installed on the computer with predictable behavior. More recently, communications between entities may be complex and difficult for a human to monitor.
Due to global business presence, many organizations have content classification polices supporting various languages. Current DLP solutions make use of all these policies irrespective of the language of content being scanned, which is quite inefficient. Ideally, content needs to be scanned only by using content specific policies. For example, there is no need to scan the data content with specific English-based polices when the data content is in Japanese.

Language detection to improve efficiency of content scanning engine in data loss prevention (DLP) systems


A power inverter configured to convert electrical power from an energy source to electrical power that can be pushed into a utility grid. The power inverter comprises a power train and a controller having an address. The controller is configured to provide gate drive signals to the power inverter for the power inverter to operate. The controller comprises a sensor for measuring electrical power that is pushed into the utility grid, non-volatile memory for storing an accumulated value of the electrical power, and a communication device configured to communicate information from the controller to a device remote from the power inverter. The controller is further configured to execute a smart contract corresponding to the address.

Green energy refers to energy produced in such a fashion as to not harm the environment. Examples of green energy sources are photovoltaic panels and wind turbines. It has become customary for utilities in various parts of the world to sell green energy, for which some users are willing to pay a premium. In other cases, utilities or governments use incentives to encourage the purchase of green energy. Some governments encourage the purchase of green energy tokens corresponding to specific quantities of green energy, and in some cases, to specific green energy sources that are effectively assigned to a utility customer.
Green energy production is typically monitored through the use of standard utility-grade meters that are electrically situated between green energy sources and the utility grid. A problem with this setup is the difficulty in verifying the actual energy source. It is relatively straight-forward for someone to replace an expensive green energy source (such as a photovoltaic panel and inverter) with a less expensive polluting energy source (such as a diesel generator).


A child's motivational toothbrush of unitary construction such that no part, of the toothbrush can be nondestructively detached so as to endanger a child. The toothbrush has as a part of its handle construction a three dimensional figure which has a cavity in which an electronic package is sealed, and from which an electronic activation switch is accessible to a user. When the activation switch is pressed the electronic package cycles through a program that produces sounds and electrical impulses that activate lights that blink on and off in a programmed sequence. The intersection between the handle and the toothbrush is provided with and aid for the clean and destructive detachment of the brush end from the handle end so that the brush end can be discarded and the handle end saved.

The teaching of children to practice good dental hygiene should begin at an early age.
Children's tooth brushes are generally smaller in size and have bristles that are configured for use by children.
Children's tooth brushes are also designed to take into account a child's special needs to be protected against harm.
It has been found that children can do a better job of brushing if the griping portion of the tooth brush handle is enlarged to aid griping and manipulating by a child's hands.
It has also been found that children will brush more regularly if the brushing is motivated by various positive sensory perceptions that accompany the brushing.

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An access casing assembly structured for placement at least partially within a subterranean formation by forcing the access casing assembly thereinto, comprising a plurality of casing sections operably coupled to form a central elongated cavity for providing access to the subterranean region is disclosed. Further, a tip portion of the access casing assembly may include a porous filter through which liquid or gas may communicate with the central elongated cavity. Also, a receiving member or at least one engagement hub may form a portion of the central elongated cavity and may include an engagement feature configured for selectively and lockingly engaging a locking structure of a device to be positioned within the access casing assembly. Methods of use are disclosed. A tensiometer is disclosed including a chamber structured for allowing at least partially filling with a fluid subsequent to contact therewith.

Characteristics of a subterranean formation are important in many fields. Seismic properties, hydrogeologic properties, and constituents found within a subterranean formation may be of interest for a number of useful pursuits.
For instance, water and associated contaminants may seep into the ground and travel through a subterranean region known as the vadose zone (a region of unsaturated soil). Water and associated contaminant movement within the vadose zone may influence, to a large degree, a quantity of contamination (such as gasoline additives, agricultural chemicals, or buried waste leakage) that may be distributed in a water supply (such as an aquifer). Therefore, gaining an understanding of how the water and associated contaminants move in the vadose zone may be valuable for waste containment efforts. Moreover, understanding how fluids travel through a soil region may be an important aspect of environmental studies and may be helpful in developing improved irrigation. Information regarding the movement of water and associated contaminants in a vadose zone is generally acquired through the use of conventional subterranean probes or other devices.
For instance, several conventional apparatuses and methods have been used to facilitate such testing and information gathering. More specifically, conventionally, devices such as tensiometers and vapor samplers have been employed for indicating a subterranean characteristic, respectively. Further, with regard to sampling subterranean liquids, various methods and apparatus have been employed, including extraction of a soil core, introduction of vacuum-based or absorptive devices or materials, use of suction lysimeters, solution samplers, and other methods. Although there are several types of lysimeters, the term "lysimeter," as used herein refers to a device for sampling subterranean liquids, without limitation. Other conventional apparatus may involve testing soil moisture or other parameters.
Another problem associated with conventional hydrogeological sensors may be fragility. Often, conventional hydrogeological sensors are made of ceramic, tin, copper, plastics, or similar such materials and cannot be installed directly through difficult materials such as hardened soils, concrete, steel, other metals, or waste products. Further, even if a conventional hydrogeological sensor is successfully placed within a subterranean region, it may not easily be repaired or replaced.
Also, placing conventional probes into a contaminated subterranean formation for data collection may not be desirable, because the placing of conventional probes may often require drilling or coring which would bring contaminated "cuttings" to the surface and may also allow contaminated emissions to escape from the hole which is drilled. As a result, in one approach, conventional test probes may typically be placed in areas distal or peripheral to contaminated sites. Unfortunately, such probe placement only provides information when a contaminant has migrated outside of the waste disposal site area. As a further disadvantage, when a contaminant has migrated outside of the waste disposal site area, it is likely that a major contaminant plume may already exist, thus making potential remediation and containment efforts more difficult and costly.
Thus, some conventional apparatuses have been developed for addressing the above-mentioned difficulties. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,915,476 to Hubbell, assigned to the assignee of the present invention and the disclosure of which is incorporated, in its entirety, by reference herein, discloses a monitoring well including a conduit having a coupler which allows for assembly of a number of different monitoring devices within the monitoring well. However, a borehole must be drilled for disposing the conduit therein.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,826,972 to Clark, assigned to the assignee of the present invention and the disclosure of which is incorporated, in its entirety, by reference herein, discloses a suction lysimeter for sampling subterranean liquids wherein the casing may be driven (e.g., by direct push, sonic drilling, etc.) into a subterranean formation. However, the function of the apparatus disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 6,826,972 to Clark is limited to a lysimeter.
In view of the foregoing, it would be highly desirable to provide improved methods and apparatuses which facilitate subterranean interaction, testing, or sampling in either contaminated or non-contaminated subterranean regions, while substantially avoiding these and other shortcomings of conventional apparatuses and methods.

Apparatuses for interaction with a subterranean formation, and methods of use thereof


A device and method of clamping bicycles in a mouth (6) having a moveable jaw (8) and a stationary jaw (7) to which a high load potential may be utilized within a toggle joint (18) and ratchet mechanism (14) and a release (12) may be triggered to open a mouth in a quick movement(s). In embodiments, a multisized object securement grip (9) may be located on a contact surface of a moveable jaw and stationary jaw to allow for universal gripping of various sized objects.

In the clamping field, such as with bicycle repair fields, it may be desirable to utilize clamping systems which allow for the stable and secure attachment of an object to a clamp. Conventional bicycle repair stands may be rigid and may incorporate a clamping device to grip a bicycle frame which may allow a bicycle to be rotated to any position in order to facilitate work on any component of the bicycle. A clamp support, such as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,385,280 to Littlepage et al., may utilize a riser member, clamp-support member and a screw operated clamp. There are other known devices for bicycle repair clamps and stands, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,981,491 to Snyder, a work stand may include a pair of relatively movable jaws between which a tubular member may be clamped.
Previous clamps may not have provided adequate attachment of various sizes of objects, such as various sizes of bicycle tubing and the like within a clamp. Some clamps in the past may have provided a jaw clamp allowing jaws to enclose upon an object such as tubing. While a jaw clamp may be adjustable for different sized tubing, it may not adequately hold tubing so that a user may work with or perhaps even rotate a bicycle without having to readjust the clamp attachment.
Other clamps may use a pivot type motion to open and close, such as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,605,321 to Jarvis, in which a bicycle may be supported by a base and an end may double over itself. U.S. Pat. No. 6,547,116 to Anderson et al. describes a bicycle work stand which can be oriented in a desired position and may have a clamp assembly including a clamp handle tube and clamp side plates. A clamp handle tube may effect pivotal movement of a side plate into clamped and unclamped positions. It may require time consuming readjustment for secure clamping of tubing of different sizes.
Finally, other clamps may use an adjustable nut and screw to enable clamping jaws to be tightened or released. For example, in U.S. Des. 356,901 to Schoenig et al., a screw may be used to move jaws of a clamp in a closed and open position. This may require a user to have a certain amount of strength and it may also require a period of time to open and close the clamp.

Secure, quick attachment and release bicycle support systems


The disclosure concerns a light display panel with a matrix of pixels each comprising three monochrome electroluminescent diodes of three colors. The diodes are controlled by a control circuit delivering electrical power P to each diode, said electrical power being expressed in the form Pxe2x88x92k.Pr, wherein Pr is a reference electrical power particular to the diodes of each color and k is a coefficient selected according to the display to be presented. Over the course of time the reference electrical power is subjected to different variations depending on the colors, to compensate for the aging of the diodes.

The present invention relates to illuminated display panels.
More specifically, the invention relates to an illuminated display panel having at least one matrix of light pixels, each pixel comprising at least three monochrome electric light elements emitting light respectively in at least three complementary colors, operation of the light elements being controlled by an electronic control system which determines an electrical power P applied to each light element, this electrical power being expressed in the form of P=k.Pr, where:
Pr is a reference electrical power specific to the light elements of each color
and k is a real number at least equal to 0, selected as a function of the display to be presented on the panel.
Known display panels of this type enable illuminated displays to be presented in color.
However, the light elements are generally provided in the form of electroluminescent diodes of differing technologies depending on the colors, which means that aging in these diodes differs from one color to another. This results in a drift in the colors of the illuminated panel over a period of time.
The particular objective of this invention is to overcome this disadvantage.
To this end, the invention proposes an illuminated display panel of the type in question essentially characterized in that the electronic control system is set up to vary the reference electrical power Pr specific to the light elements of each color over time, in accordance with a different predetermined variation depending on the colors, in order to compensate, at least partially, for the effects of aging of the light elements.
As a result of these features, any drift in the colors of the illuminated panel over time is prevented or at least reduced.
In preferred embodiments of the invention, one and/or the other of the following features may be incorporated:
the electronic control system is set up so as to measure and store an operating time of the light elements, this electronic control system also having numerical values in memory enabling a theoretical reference electrical power Pt to be determined depending on the operating time of said light elements, this theoretical reference electrical power differing depending on the colors, and said electronic control system being set up to determine the reference electrical power Pr corresponding to each color by means of the formula: Pr=a.Pt+b, where a is a positive constant that is not zero and b is a constant at least equal to 0, a and b being specific to each color;
a=1; b=0;
a=1 and b is a value determined on the basis of experimental light intensity measurements conducted on the panel;
b=0 and a is a value determined on the basis of experimental light intensity measurements conducted on the panel;
the operating time of the light elements is measured per group of light elements and the theoretical reference electrical power Pt is also determined for the same groups of light elements;
the values a and b are common to all the light elements of a same color belonging to the panel;


The present invention is directed to a method for enhancing the rate of formation of the reaction products of a carboxylic acid and a urea having the formula:

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a method for enhancing the rate of the formation of the reaction product of a carboxylic acid and a urea, such as a substituted urea, via acid addition. The reaction product may be used as an agricultural product to improve plant growth. More specifically, the present invention is directed to the addition of at least one acid to a solution including the carboxylic acid and urea.
2. Description of the Background
Urea, being approximately 46% by weight nitrogen, has long been preferred as a nitrogen source for fertilizing soils to stimulate plant growth. However, urea suffers from high ammonia losses when used in the presence of moisture. This disadvantage effectively restricted the use of urea for many years. It is believed that these losses are caused by the hydrolysis of urea in the presence of moisture and the enzyme urease. The addition of a water soluble salt to aqueous solutions of urea has been suggested as a means for reducing ammonia volatilization. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,500,335. While substituted ureas are also known, e.g., diphenylurea, they have found little agricultural use.
Diacyl ureas are a product formed by the reaction of a carboxylic acid and a urea. For example, diformylurea (DFU) is formed by the reaction of 2 equivalent of formic acid with urea over 5-7 days. The by-product of the reaction is water.
While activity with this formulation has been good, improvements in performance are desirable. As such, previous formulations have included the addition of various compounds to the diacyl urea formulation prior to use. For example, potassium hydroxide and formate may be added to the formulation. The addition of potassium hydroxide may be included to adjust the pH of the formulation, see U.S. Pat. No. 6,710,085, U.S. Pat. No. 6,448,440, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,040,273, the contents of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference. However, a formulation that does not require the addition of such compounds would be advantageous.

Method for enhancing the rate of the formation of the reaction product of a carboxylic acid and urea via acid addition

Abstract: where R1, R2, R3 and R4 are the same or different and are selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, substituted and unsubstituted alkyl, allyl, vinyl and alkoxyl groups having from 1-6 carbon atoms, substituted and unsubstituted phenyl groups and the halides. The rate of formation is enhanced by adding acid to a solution including the carboxylic acid and the urea. Preferably, the reaction product of the present invention is N,N′-diformylurea or N,N′-diacetylurea. These reaction products, e.g., diformylurea, have been found to produce significantly improved growth in a variety of agricultural products when applied to the seed, to the surrounding soil or to the foliage of the emerging plant.


A multi-layer stripline assembly interconnection includes a first stripline sub-assembly having a first surface and a first plurality of vias disposed in the first surface adapted to receive a plurality of solid metal balls. The interconnection further includes a second stripline sub-assembly having a second plurality of vias disposed in the first surface of the second sub-assembly adapted to be aligned with the first plurality of vias. Reflowed solder is wetted to the second plurality of vias and to the corresponding plurality of solid metal balls.

Not applicable.
Not applicable.
This invention relates generally to radar system circuits and communications systems circuits and, more particularly, to multi-layer stripline radio frequency (RF) circuits and interconnection methods.
As is known in the art, a radar or communications system generally includes a transmitter, a receiver, and an antenna having a feed circuit with at least one conductive member generally referred to as a reflector, radiator or antenna element. As is also known, an array antenna can include a plurality of sub-assemblies having phase-shifting elements and transmit/receive (T/R) elements disposed in an array having multiple layers interconnected to provide modules. RF signals can be phase-shifted and received or transmitted using the same radiator.
To enable the transmission of RF signals between the active T/R modules and the radiators, radar and communications systems utilize a plurality of RF transmission line circuits (also referred to as stripline circuits) which couple transmitted and received signals between the radiators and the active transmit/receive modules. The RF stripline circuits are conventionally provided as multiple layers of RF circuit boards that are stacked and bonded together for mechanical support and include RF transmission lines physically interconnected with plated vias. The interconnection of sub-assemblies is required because of restrictions in drilling and plating xe2x80x9cblindxe2x80x9d vias (i.e., vias interconnecting stripline circuits that extend only partially into a multilayer laminate).
Conventional approaches to interconnecting stripline circuits are limited by relatively tight process tolerances such that the number of laminated circuit board layers that can be interconnected is limited. A first known approach to interconnect circuits is to solder individual RF circuit boards together. This approach attempts to make the interconnection between pairs of via pads and between ground planes on each of two circuit boards. The reliability of soldering via pads is limited because the solder flow is difficult to control. Short circuits are sometimes caused by the solder bridging a relief area between a via and the ground plane. Open circuits sometimes result from a lack of solder (also referred to as solder starvation) connecting the via pads and the interconnection to other circuit elements. These reliability problems result from process parameters which are difficult to control.
Conventional soldering techniques require the fine tuning of multiple process parameters such as: solder volume, solder composition (i.e. the tin-lead (SnPb) percent composition), solder flow, bonding temperature and pressure, and circuit board flatness. Furthermore, solder joints are susceptible to failure due to fatigue from temperature cycling in an operating environment.
Excess solder volume can cause short circuits if not tightly controlled. If there is too much solder between via pads, the risk of shorting the via to ground is increased. A lack of adequate solder volume increases the risk that the area between via pads will be starved of solder causing an open circuit or poor RF transition. Solder composition controls the tensile strength and melting point of the solder. For example, a higher percentage (e.g., 90%) of lead results in more malleable solder (i.e., less brittle and less sensitive to cracking) but significantly increases the melting point (e.g., from 275 to 302xc2x0 C.). The higher melting point requires higher temperatures to be used in stripline sub-assembly fabrication. Conversely, higher percentage (e.g., 90%) tin composition results in higher tensile strength (but more brittleness) and lower melting point (e.g., 183-210xc2x0 C.). Moreover, the limited range of usable melting points restricts the number of times an assembly can be processed. Each sequential processing step must be performed at a relatively lower temperature in order to avoid re-melting solder from a previous step. This limitation restricts the number of RF circuits that can be reliably interconnected in a sub-assembly and, therefore, limits the functionality of the radar system antenna or communications system antenna.
The difficulty in controlling board flatness exacerbates soldering process problems because no two boards to be interconnected are perfectly flat. Soldering limitations require two Printed Wiring Boards (PWBs) to be flat and parallel within, e.g., 0.003xe2x80x3-0.004xe2x80x3, in order to assure the solder will bridge the gap between connections on the boards to be interconnected. Providing boards having a flatness within 0.003xe2x80x3-0.004xe2x80x3 requires relatively demanding tolerances during the design and fabrication of the PWBs. Some of the flatness limitations can be resolved by soldering the PWBs together in a press, but higher pressures result in more solder flow. This additional solder flow can cause shorting between signal pads and ground planes. Bonding temperature affects solder flow and also requires precise control of the time-temperature profile. For example, there must be a steep rate of temperature decline after the solder transitions from a solid to a liquid. Otherwise, the tin in the solder will oxidize, which weakens the solder joint.
In another conventional approach, referred to as the pin approach, pins are soldered into vias. This approach attempts to mitigate difficulties due to board flatness limitations by using pins to bridge the gap between vias to provide interconnection. Pins are soldered or bonded into vias on one PWB. Then, as the PWBs are assembled, the pins fit into matching vias on the opposite PWB to connect the RF circuits. Pin approach reliability is reduced by the same process restrictions noted above for the via pad soldering approach. In addition, the pin approach is exceptionally sensitive to process variances such as pin alignment, pin and via dimensional tolerances, and solder volume because the pin fills most of hole.
Proper pin alignment assures that the pin goes up inside the via of the mating board. Pin and via dimensional tolerances are relatively tight, because via drill size, plating and pin diameter determine whether the pin fits correctly into the via. Vent holes are sometimes required in conventional approaches in order to allow gasses to escape during the soldering process. All of the above mentioned process variances contribute to unpredictable, parasitic circuit reactance that can severely degrade the RF performance of a radar or communications antenna.
In a further conventional approach, so-called Z-axis adhesive films are used to interconnect multiple layers of Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) RF transmission line circuits. This approach requires precise cutting and placement of the adhesive film between via pads. In addition, this approach suffers from mechanically and/or environmentally induced failures due to temperature cycling, humidity, salt fog, etc.
The high cost and limited reliability of many conventional phased array systems has restricted their use across platforms, applications and frequencies. Many military radar and communication systems require high functionality (e.g., multiple beams, multiple frequency bands) combined with lightweight and low-profile tile arrays. Conventional systems have complicated front-ends often incorporating semi-rigid coaxial cables and epoxies. In contrast, tile arrays offer a low cost alternative to producing highly integrated phased arrays. Tile array fabrication is based on a batch process production of multiple board layers and a correspondingly large number of vertical interconnections. In commercial applications, for example xe2x80x9csmart antenna arraysxe2x80x9d for the cellular phone market, it is often desirable to integrate RF antenna arrays and associated feed circuitry into low cost, low profile, high reliability packaging. From the L-Band through the Ka-Band, radar and commercial wireless applications are pushing higher functional integration and lower cost. Tile array based multi-layer laminates containing RF transmission lines and passive and active devices offer a compact and low-cost solution.
It would, therefore, be desirable to provide a reliable, low cost method of interconnecting stripline circuits in a multi-layer laminate assembly. It would be further desirable to provide a method enabling subsequent sub-assemblies to be repeatedly stacked without affecting critical dimensions or introducing unpredictable parasitic circuit reactance.
In accordance with the present invention, a multi-layer stripline assembly interconnection includes a first stripline sub-assembly having a first surface and a first plurality of vias disposed in the first surface adapted to receive a plurality of solid metal balls. The interconnection further includes a second stripline sub-assembly having a second plurality of vias disposed in the first surface of the second sub-assembly adapted to be aligned with the corresponding first plurality of vias. Reflowed solder is wetted to the second plurality of vias and to the corresponding first plurality of vias. With such an arrangement, a low cost multiple RF stripline circuit having improved reliability, reduced RF losses, improved signal to noise ratio (S/N), and mechanical integrity is provided.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, a method for interconnecting multilayer stripline radio frequency (RF) circuits includes providing a first stripline sub-assembly, having a plurality of vias disposed on a first surface of the first stripline sub-assembly, and a second stripline sub-assembly having a plurality of vias disposed on a first surface of the second stripline sub-assembly. The method further includes depositing each of a plurality of solid metal balls into selected ones of the plurality of vias disposed on the first surface of the first stripline sub-assembly, depositing a volume of solder into selected ones of the plurality of vias disposed on the first surface of the first stripline sub-assembly and reflowing the solder on the first stripline sub-assembly at a first temperature such that each of the plurality of solid metal balls is in fluid contact with a corresponding one of the plurality of vias disposed on a first surface of the first stripline sub-assembly. The method can further include disposing an epoxy sheet on the first surface of the second stripline sub-assembly, dispensing conductive epoxy into selected ones of the plurality of vias disposed on the first surface of the second stripline sub-assembly, and bonding the first surface of the first stripline sub-assembly to the first surface of the second stripline sub-assembly at a second temperature, such that the epoxy sheet is set. The second temperature should be lower than the first temperature.
With such a technique, a cost effective way to interconnect multiple RF stripline circuits in repeatable bonding steps is provided by combining drilling, copper plating, etching and lamination of Teflon based or ceramic laminates, and surface mounting techniques. This inventive process provides high performance, multi-layer RF circuits, minimizes the number of part types and process steps and does not require vent holes. In addition, process control tolerances (e.g., temperature, pressure, volume of solder and epoxy, solder composition, exact location of the ball, and via dimension) can be relaxed. This technique also provides for laminating a relatively large number of unit cells in multiple bonding steps by providing a method for repeatedly stacking sub-assemblies with minimal effect on certain dimensions and without introducing unpredictable parasitic circuit reactance.
In one embodiment, a conductive thermoset epoxy is used to provide the epoxy and epoxy sheet. The thermoset properties allow a procedure that can be repeated to bond a number of sub-assemblies together to realize a tile phased array architecture. The ball grid array interconnect (BGAI) arrangement enables the realization of a high performance, low cost, lightweight and low profile Tile Phased Array operating over a range including the L-Band up through the Ka-Band. The arrangement of additional multiple layers provides added functionality in the feed circuit and radiator layers and can include, for example, analog to digital (A/D) converters and more complex beam forming circuitry than can be provided with conventional interconnections. The use of thermoset materials enables the production of highly integrated, RF circuits demanded by high performance radars and communications systems.

Multilayer stripline radio frequency circuits and interconnection methods


When a block (MB22) of which motion vector is referred to in the direct mode contains a plurality of motion vectors, 2 motion vectors MV23 and MV24, which are used for inter picture prediction of a current picture (P23) to be coded, are determined by scaling a value obtained from averaging the plurality of motion vectors or selecting one of the plurality of the motion vectors.

Generally, information volume is compressed by reducing redundancy in temporal and spatial directions for moving picture coding. Therefore, motion deriving and motion compensation are performed on a block-to-block basis referring to a preceding or a following picture, and a coding is performed for a difference value between an obtained predictive picture and a current picture for inter picture prediction coding aimed at reducing a temporal redundancy.
In a moving picture coding method H.26L, which is currently under standardization, a picture with only intra picture prediction coding (I picture), a picture for which inter picture prediction coding is performed referring to one picture (hereinafter P picture) and a picture for which inter picture prediction coding is performed referring to two pictures preceding in display order or two pictures following in display order or each one of pictures preceding and following in display order (hereinafter B picture) are proposed.
FIG. 1 is an illustration showing an example of a reference relation between each picture according to above-mentioned moving picture coding method and reference pictures.
In picture I1 intra picture prediction coding is performed without a reference picture, and in picture P10 inter picture prediction coding is performed referring to a picture preceding in display order, P7. In a picture B6 inter picture prediction coding is performed referring to two pictures preceding in display order, in a picture B12 inter picture prediction coding is performed referring to two pictures following in display order and in a picture B18 inter picture prediction coding is performed referring to each one of pictures preceding and following in display order.
A direct mode is one of prediction mode of bi-predictions which perform inter picture prediction coding referring to each of pictures preceding and following in display order. In the direct mode, motion vectors for a block to be coded are not coded in the bit stream directly, and two motion vectors for actual motion compensation are calculated referring to a motion vector of a co-located block in a coded picture close to the picture including the block to be coded in display order, and a predictive block is generated.
FIG. 2 shows an example that a coded picture which is referred to in order to determine a motion vector in the direct mode contains a motion vector which refers to a preceding picture in display order. "P" indicated by a vertical line in FIG. 2 has nothing to do with a picture type and it shows a mere picture. In FIG. 2, for example, a picture P83, in which bi-prediction is performed referring to pictures P82 and P84, is a current picture to be coded. If it is assumed that a block with coding in the picture P83 is a block MB81, a motion vector of the block MB81 is determined using a motion vector of a co-located block MB82 in the picture P84 which is a coded backward reference picture. Since the block MB82 contains only one motion vector MV81 as a motion vector, two motion vectors MV82 and MV83 to be obtained are calculated directly by applying a scaling to a motion vector MV81 and a time interval TR81 based on Equation 1 (a) and Equation 1(b).MV82=MV81/TR81×TR82  Equation 1 (a)MV83=−MV81/TR81×TR83  Equation 1 (b)
In these equations, the time interval TR81 shows an interval between the picture P84 and the picture P82, that is, a time interval between the picture P84 and a reference picture indicated by the motion vector MV81. The time interval TR82 shows a time interval between the picture P83 and a reference picture indicated by the motion vector MV82. The time interval TR83 shows a time interval between the picture P83 and a reference picture indicated by the motion vector MV83.
The direct mode includes two methods, the temporal prediction already explained and the spatial prediction, and the spatial prediction is explained below. In the spatial prediction in the direct mode, for example, coding is performed on a macroblock of 16×16 pixels basis, and a motion vector, which is obtained referring to a picture closest from a current picture to be coded in display order, is selected from motion vectors in three macroblocks neighboring the current macroblock to be coded, and the selected motion vector is a motion vector for the current macroblock to be coded. If three motion vectors refer to a same picture, a median value is selected. If two of three motion vectors refer to a picture closest from a current picture to be coded in display order, the remainder is considered as "0" vector, and a median value of these values is selected. If only 1 motion vector refers to a picture closest from a current picture to be coded in display order, this motion vector is selected. Thus a motion vector is not coded for a current macroblock to be coded in the direct mode, and motion prediction is performed using a motion vector contained in another macroblock.
FIG. 3A is an illustration showing an example of a motion vector predicting method in the case that a picture preceding in a B picture in display order is referred to using a conventional spatial predicting method in the direct mode. In this FIG. 3A, P indicates a P picture, B indicates a B picture and numbers assigned to picture types in right four pictures indicate an order in which each picture is coded. It should be assumed that a macroblock diagonally shaded in a picture B4 is a current macroblock to be coded. When a motion vector of a current macroblock to be coded is calculated using a spatial predicting method in the direct mode, first, three coded macroblocks (area shaded with broken lines) are selected from macroblocks neighboring the current macroblock to be coded. Explanation of a method for selecting three neighboring macroblocks is omitted here. Motion vectors in coded three macroblocks have been calculated and stored already. There is a case that the motion vector is obtained referring to different pictures for each macroblock even if macroblocks are in a same picture. Reference indices in reference pictures used for coding each macroblock can show which picture is referred to by the three neighboring macroblocks respectively from. Detail of reference indices will be explained later.
Now, for example, it is assumed that three neighboring macroblocks are selected for a current macroblock to be coded shown in FIG. 3A, and motion vectors in each coded macroblock are a motion vector a, b and c respectively. Here, it is assumed that the motion vector and the motion vector b are obtained referring to a P picture with a picture number 11 of "11", and the motion vector c is obtained referring to a P picture with the picture number 11 of "8". In this case, among these motion vectors, a, b, and c, the motion vectors a and b which refer to a picture closest to a current picture to be coded in order or display time are candidates for a motion vector of a current macroblock to be coded. In this case, the motion vector c is considered as "0", and a median value of these three motion vectors a, b and c is selected and determined as a motion vector of the current macroblock to be coded.
However, a coding method such as MPEG-4 can perform coding for each macroblock in a picture using a field structure and a frame structure. Therefore, in a coding method such as MPEG-4, there is a case that a macroblock coded in the field structure and a macroblock coded in the frame structure are mixed in one frame of reference frame. Even in such a case, if three macroblocks neighboring a current macroblock to be coded are coded in the same structure as the current macroblock to be coded, it is possible to derive a motion vector of the current macroblock to be coded using the above-mentioned spatial predicting method in the direct mode without any problems. That is, a case that three neighboring macroblocks are coded in the frame structure for a current macroblock to be coded in the frame structure, or a case that three neighboring macroblocks are coded in the field structure for a current macroblock to be coded in the field structure. The former case is as already explained. In the latter case, by using three motion vectors corresponding to top fields of three neighboring macroblocks for a top field of a current macroblock to be coded, and by using three motion vectors corresponding to bottom fields of three neighboring macroblocks for a bottom field of the current macroblock to be coded, a motion vector of the current macroblock to be coded can be derived for the top field and the bottom field respectively using the above-mentioned method.
However, in the temporal prediction method in the direct mode, since the above-mentioned block contains plural motion vectors for temporal prediction in the direct mode when in a block with intra picture prediction coding, motion compensation in the direct mode is performed, if a block of which motion vector is referred to belongs to a B picture such as B6 shown in FIG. 1, a problem occurs because a calculation of motion vector by a scaling based on Equation 1 can not be applied directly. Furthermore, there is a case that precision of motion vector value (half pixel precision and quarter pixel precision, for example) does not meet predetermined precision since dividing operation is performed after the calculation of motion vector.
When a current macroblock to be coded and one of neighboring macroblocks are coded in a different structure for a spatial prediction, it is not specified which one of a field structure or a frame structure is used for coding the current macroblock to be coded, and a method for selecting a motion vector of the current macroblock to be coded from motion vectors of neighboring macroblocks coded in both the field structure and the frame structure is not specified.
The first object of the present invention is to offer a motion vector prediction method in temporal direction with high precision in the direct mode even if a block of which motion vector is referred to belongs to a B picture.
The second object of the present invention is to offer a motion vector prediction method in spatial direction with high precision in the direct mode even if a block of which motion vector is referred to belongs to a B picture.


A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes: forming a protective film including an opening on a wiring board having an interconnect pattern so that the protective film has an uneven surface and a part of the interconnect pattern is exposed in the opening; and mounting a semiconductor chip including an electrode on the wiring board so that the part of the interconnect pattern exposed in the opening faces and is electrically connected with the electrode. The protective film is formed so that a recess of the uneven surface does not pierce the protective film.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a method of manufacturing the same, a circuit board, and an electronic instrument.
It is known in the art that a protective film is formed on a wiring board including an interconnect pattern in order to protect the interconnect pattern. The amount of water which evaporates from the surface of the protective film can be increased by increasing the surface area of the protective film, whereby reliability of the semiconductor device can be increased.

Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing the same, circuit board, and electronic instrument


A mobile communication terminal comprises a projection module for projecting images on a projection surface external to the mobile communication terminal; a display screen on which a first image and a second image are rendered; a user interface to allow a user interact with the mobile communication terminal; and a controller to process information, in response to user interaction with the user interface to generate an output via the projection module; wherein the user interacts with the user interface to cause at least the first image to be projected on the projection surface by the projection module, while both the first image and the second image are displayed on the display screen.

Communication terminals can be classified as mobile terminals or stationary terminals. Mobile terminals can be either handheld or vehicle mounted. Certain mobile communication terminals (hereafter "terminals") include multimedia player functionality, and allow for photographing of still images or moving pictures. Mobile terminals may be also utilized for playback of music or moving picture files, game play, broadcast reception and the like.
A projector function may be implemented in a mobile terminal so that an image displayed on a display screen of the mobile terminal can be projected onto an external surface. Unfortunately, currently developed projection features only allow for the exact image that is displayed on the mobile terminal to be projected. That is, the projection function is limited to the exact image that is displayed on the mobile terminal's display screen. Systems and methods are needed that can improve upon the current state of the art.

Mobile communication terminal having a projection module for projecting images on a projection surface external to the mobile communication terminal


An abutted-pin hierarchical physical design process is described. The abutted-pin hierarchical physical design provides solutions to the problems of the traditional hierarchical physical design and provides additional advantages and benefits. In particular, the abutted-pin hierarchical physical design does not have channels. Moreover, in the abutted-pin hierarchical physical design, components of the top-level are merged into the block-level so that the top-level netlist is reduced significantly.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the field of integrated circuit design. More particularly, the present invention relates to the field of software tools for hierarchical physical design.
2. Related Art
The tremendous advances in technology have been fueled by improvements in integrated circuit design. In particular, integrated circuits have become smaller and more complex. Integrated circuit design engineers depend on electronic design automation (EDA) software tools to facilitate the design of integrated circuits.
Typically, the integrated circuit design process begins with a specification which describes the functionality of the integrated circuit and may include a variety of constraints. Then, during a logic design phase, the logical implementation of the integrated circuit is determined. Several operations are performed to obtain a logical representation of the integrated circuit. Generally, EDA software tools use register transfer logic (RTL) to represent the integrated circuit. However, additional EDA software tools may be used.
After completing the logic design phase, the integrated circuit undergoes a physical design phase. Typically, the output of the logic design phase is a netlist, which is then used in the physical design phase. Here, EDA software tools layout the integrated circuit to obtain a representation of the physical components in the integrated circuit, whereas the representation indicates the manner in which the integrated circuit will be implemented on a semiconductor chip. A variety of operations are performed on the layout of the integrated circuit.
At the end of the physical design phase, the representation of the semiconductor chip (in which the integrated circuit is implemented) is sent to a semiconductor manufacturing plant.
Typically, in the physical design phase, EDA software tools implement a flat physical design. For example, the components (standard cells, macrocells, etc.) of the integrated circuit are placed during a placement operation and are routed during a routing operation. However, as the integrated circuit becomes more complex, the EDA software tools struggle to perform the placement operation and the routing operation. In particular, the performance of the EDA software tools degrades since the EDA software tools have to manipulate very large files during the placement operation and the routing operation. Moreover, as the complexity of the integrated circuit increases, the time necessary to complete the physical design phase increases significantly.
Traditional hierarchical physical design has emerged as an alternative to the flat physical design. FIG. 1 illustrates the traditional hierarchical physical design 100. Here, the components of the integrated circuit are partitioned into a plurality of blocks 10-30. Each block 10-30 includes a plurality of pins 50, whereas each pin 50 represents a location where a signal can enter the block 10-30 or a location where a signal can exit the block 10-30. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the traditional hierarchical physical design 100 includes a channel 40. The channel 40 provides space in order to connect the pins 50 of the blocks 10-30 to one another via metal (not shown) or any other wiring material. The traditional hierarchical physical design 100 enables the placement operation and the routing operation (as well as other operations) for the blocks 10-30 to be performed in parallel with EDA software tools, reducing the time period of the physical design phase. Moreover, the performance of the EDA software tools is improved because the file for each block 10-30 is much smaller than the file for the entire integrated circuit of the flat physical design. More importantly, the EDA software tools are better suited to optimize each block 10-30 than to optimize the entire integrated circuit of the flat physical design. However, the traditional hierarchical physical design 100 generates wasted space in the channel 40 and generates wiring problems in the channel 40, such as congestion and crosstalk. Moreover, the traditional hierarchical physical design 100 places and routes components at a top-level (shown in FIG. 1) and a block-level (within each block 10-30), causing inefficiencies and causing problems with EDA software tools which are configured to operate with flat physical designs.
An abutted-pin hierarchical physical design process is described. The abutted-pin hierarchical physical design provides solutions to the problems of the traditional hierarchical physical design and provides additional advantages and benefits. In particular, the abutted-pin hierarchical physical design does not have channels. Moreover, in the abutted-pin hierarchical physical design, components of the top-level are merged into the block-level so that the top-level netlist is reduced significantly.
In the integrated circuit design flow according to an embodiment of the present invention, the physical design phase receives the netlist from the logic design phase. In addition, the physical design phase receives physical design information, whereas the physical design information can be any information about a prior integrated circuit that has undergone the physical design phase. In an embodiment, the physical design information is stored in a database.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the integrated circuit design flow of the present invention is utilized to optimize pin assignment. In an embodiment of the present invention, excess pins formed along a boundary between two blocks are removed.
In an embodiment of the present invention, a software tool that performs a xe2x80x9cpressxe2x80x9d operation preserves the properties associated with a segment of a top-level shape despite the shape operation (e.g., AND) being performed with the block and the top-level shape to obtain the segment.
If the top-level object has the press property, the top-level object retains its location when the top-level object is xe2x80x9cpressedxe2x80x9d into a block. If the top-level object does not have the press property, the top-level object generally does not retain its location when the top-level object is xe2x80x9cpressedxe2x80x9d into the block.
If in the top-level netlist, the instantiation of a block includes a port that is unused, (thus, not needed for the top-level routing for pin assignment), a software tool removes the port from the top-level netlist, but the block-level netlist of the block remains unchanged.
Some software tools are not able to represent the relationship that more than one port is coupled to a pin. Hence, a software tool removes one of the ports from the netlist based on some criteria, such as whether a port is an input port or an output port.
If in the top-level netlist, the instantiation of the block includes a port that is tied to either the power line (1) or the ground line (0) rather to a port of another block, a software tool removes the port from the top-level netlist to avoid routing the port at the top-level. Moreover, the software tool ties the port to either the power line (1) or the ground line (0) in the block-level netlist of the block.
In an embodiment, a software tool performs an unwinding operation which adds to the block-level netlistxe2x80x94of bonding pad blocksxe2x80x94the ports (which were removed earlier by the software tool) that couple to the top-level inputs and to the top-level outputs. Thus, the netlist modified by the physical design phase (e.g., repeater and buffers are added to the netlist) can be compared with the netlist originally received from the logic design phase. In particular, formal verification, layout versus schematic (LVS) verification, and design rules check (DRC) verification can be performed by software tools.
In an embodiment, each block-level netlist is partitioned into a first netlist and a second netlist. The second netlist and its associated extraction file of each block and the top-level netlist and its associated extraction file are utilized by software tools to perform the timing analysis. This timing analysis can be performed significantly faster than the case where the block-level netlist is not partitioned into the first netlist and the second netlist. In an embodiment, the timing graph resulting from the timing analysis can be analyzed to extract timing constraints (relating to the delay that can be generated by a block) for each block. Hence, if a block is optimized to meet its extracted timing constrains, the block is more likely to meet its timing parameter when the block interacts with the other blocks in the integrated circuit.
These and advantages of the present invention wit no doubt become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art after having read the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments which are illustrated in the drawing figures.

Facilitating verification in abutted-pin hierarchical physical design


The present invention relates to an adhesive label intended to be secured to a blood bag made of Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), styrenic block copolymer, polypropylene or the like, wherein the adhesive label comprises a flexible support and a layer of pressure-sensitive adhesive deposited on a surface of the support; wherein the label is noteworthy in that the support has a mineral filler rate of silica and/or calcium carbonate (CaCO3) and/or the like, of less than 50%, and wherein at 115° C., the support has an elongation greater than or equal to 2% when a test piece 1.5 cm wide of the support is suspended under tension by a weight of 375 g for ↓minutes, and wherein the blood bag at 115° C. has an elongation of at least 100% when a 1.5 cm wide test piece of a blood bag is suspended under tension by a weight of 375 g for 75 minutes.

The present invention relates to a blood bag label and a blood bag provided with such a label. The invention relates more particularly to a blood bag label avoiding the appearance of defects such as edging, folds, orange peel and "tunneling" when the blood bag is sterilized.
In the field of blood treatment, it is well known to store blood components in flexible plastic containers commonly known as blood bags. The blood bags are usually made of a flexible polyvinyl chloride (PVC) film comprising a plasticizer, generally di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate commonly known as DEHP (diethylhexyl phthalate).
In order to enable identification of certain information on the blood bag such as blood component, collection date, product code and batch number, etc., it is well known to provide labels for blood bags wherein the information is, in particular, represented by a bar code or the like.
Initially, the labels were made of paper. However, these paper labels had the disadvantage of not being strong enough and did not allow the transmission of gas.
In fact, it is known to treat the blood components stored in the blood bags by centrifuging them. Prior to use, the blood bags are sterilized, for example, using an autoclave sterilization process which is the most commonly used sterilization process. In particular, during these processes, the labels may be wetted and subjected to extreme temperatures of more than 100° C. in particular during sterilization. The paper labels may then crack or wrinkle during these processes. Cracking or wrinkling of a label may render the bar code of the label unreadable by a bar code reader, forcing an operator to manually enter data into a computer, or may even make it completely unreadable, which increases the risk of errors. Labels may also come off completely or partially during sterilization, resulting in a risk of data loss.
In addition, the blood bags must allow the transmission of gas through the pocket to maintain the viability of blood cells stored therein. In this respect, it is necessary that the bag should allow the carbon dioxide to escape from the blood bag and allow the passage of oxygen into the bag.
In order to overcome the disadvantages of paper labels for blood bags, synthetic labels have already been devised which are easy to print, resistant to sterilization conditions and allow gaseous exchanges with the contents of the blood bags. This is the case with U.S. Pat. No. 5,314,421 and European patent application EP 2,806,004, in particular.
Document U.S. Pat. No. 5,314,421 discloses a blood bag label comprising a microporous plastic film comprising a matrix of interconnected pores to allow gas to enter and to exit the blood bag through a labeled area. The label includes a pressure-sensitive adhesive on a surface to enable writing on the label. Furthermore, the pores allow ink to be absorbed at least on an outer surface of the label to allow writing on the label, in particular writing a barcode. More particularly, the microporous plastic film consists of a microporous polyolefin film marketed under the Teslin brand by the company PPG Industries.
EP 2 806 004 also discloses a blood bag label comprising a flexible support and a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer deposited on one of the surfaces of the support. The support consists of a polypropylene film with a thickness of 80 μm, while the adhesive is obtained from a polyester-based resin comprising an amorphous polyester which has a glass transition temperature of between −30° C. and 7° C. and a crosslinking agent.
The latter blood bag labels, although more resistant than paper labels, have the disadvantage of providing surface defects such as edging, folds, orange peel and "tunneling" when the blood bag is sterilized, making the labels unreadable for a barcode reader. "Tunneling" is understood to mean a significant fold of the label which then forms a kind of tunnel.
Document US2016/0319164 also discloses a label polypropylene for a blood bag wherein the label is obtained in a microporous polypropylene film with a porosity of between 2500 and 4771 Gurley seconds, and wherein the polypropylene film exhibited a shrinkage of less than 2% in the machine direction and 4 to 6% in the transverse direction after exposure to a temperature of 121° C. for 30 minutes. When exposed to sterilization conditions, the label has withdrawal characteristics that closely match the withdrawal characteristics of the blood bag.
However, these labels do not make it possible to sufficiently reduce the surface defects of the edging, folds, orange peel and tunneling type when the blood bag is sterilized.

Blood bag and blood bag label with such a label


A sexual stimulation device includes an elongated dildo housing sized to be received within an orifice of a human body, the housing defining an internal cavity extending along a longitudinal axis of the housing, a mass laterally constrained within the cavity and movable linearly along the cavity, and an electrically driven actuator disposed within the housing and operably coupled to the mass. The actuator is operable to accelerate the mass along the cavity and to thereby induce a longitudinal reactive acceleration of the housing.

Vendors today manufacture vibrators with a small mass (typically under 5 grams), with high frequency (typically 200 to 1000 RPM) and with the mass located off-center on a rotary motor. These devices are characterized by providing non-motile vibration. While popular, one of the known limitations of these products is that high frequency vibration can desensitize the sexual response, thereby making non-vibratory sexual relations more difficult. There are also phallus-shaped devices that provide very low frequency, high amplitude thrusting motions designed to mimic the sexual act without necessitating motion of the base. Such devices can be "stand-alone" (i.e., with one end immovably constrained) or hand held. Both seek to mimic the thrusting motions of intercourse.


A slim line mechanism is provided and includes a first body having a stationary track coupled thereto, a first mechanism, which is supportable between the stationary track and the first body and configured to be driven in a first direction, a second mechanism, which is configured to be driven by the first mechanism in a second direction transverse with respect to the first direction, a system by which the first and second mechanisms are coupled to one another and connectors by which the first body is supportively connectable with the first and second mechanisms such that movements thereof in the first and second directions, respectively, are permitted.

The present invention relates to a slim line mechanism for actuating blind mate cards.
In various computing applications, it is necessary to install memory or processor cards into docking stations of servers, personal computing devices, etc. Often, the cards include a chassis, an actuating mechanism, a printed circuit board (PCB) and a connector. The chassis supports the various components within an outer wall and is installed within a slot of the docking station, the PCB includes a plurality of electrical components for carrying out various application specific processes, the connector electrically couples the electrical components to a connector of the docking station within the slot and the actuating mechanism places the PCB and the connector in their correct positions once the chassis is installed within the slot.
Since docking station slots are often relatively thin as compared to the thickness of the PCB, the actuating mechanism must also be relatively thin as well to permit the chassis to fit within the slots. This required thickness has previously led to the actuating mechanism being prone to failures, such as separation of the actuating mechanism component parts.