Concentrated beverages are supplied from corresponding collapsible bags-in-boxes to a fountain dispenser having multiple dispensing valves and through corresponding beverage supply lines each having an air operated pump. A coupler connects each supply line to a spout on the corresponding beverage bag, and each spout and coupler has a normally closed spring-biased valve. Each beverage supply line is cleaned by a cleaning solution confined within a bag-in-a-box and having a spout connected by another coupler to one end portion of a cleaning solution line having a second end portion with an adapter connected to the coupler on the beverage supply line. A manifold has an inlet connected to the first end portion of the cleaning solution line and multiple outlets with shut-off valves connected to second end portions of corresponding cleaning solution lines so that multiple beverage supply lines to a dispenser may be cleaned simultaneously.

This invention relates to the supply of various non-alcoholic beverages to fountain dispensers, for example, of the general type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,615,466, No. 4,801,048, No. 5,537,838, and No. 6,684,920, the disclosures of which are herein incorporated by reference. In such supply, it is common to have each beverage supplied in a collapsible bag within a box, such as a fiberboard box, which is located remotely from the dispenser and commonly referred to as bag-in-box (BIB) packaging as disclosed, for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,788. The various beverages include various syrups, juices, fruit drinks and teas, and usually the beverages are concentrated and mixed with water within the fountain dispenser which provides for selectively dispensing the multiple different beverages, for example, up to eight different beverages.
The beverage bags within boxes are normally provided with each bag having a spout with a normally closed valve and which is recessed within the bag during shipping and handling of the box. The spout is pulled outwardly to a projecting position after the box is located at the dispensing location or within a rack which holds multiple boxes each enclosing a collapsible bag containing a beverage. The beverage within each collapsible bag is usually supplied to the fountain dispenser through a beverage supply conduit or line including clear flexible plastic tubing, air driven pump and a coupling on the end which removably attaches to the projecting spout on the bag. The coupler has a normally closed valve, and the coupler valve and the valve within the spout are shifted to open positions when the coupler attaches to the spout, for example, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,421,146, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference. This patent discloses a quick-connect and quick-disconnect coupler or connector for connecting the beverage supply line to a bag within a box. However, the spout and coupler may have other forms, for example, a coupler having a normally closed valve and internal threads which threadably connects to a bag spout having a normally closed valve and external threads.
After a beverage has been pumped from a beverage supply bag through the beverage supply line to the fountain dispenser for a period of time or when a beverage bag has been emptied, it is desirable and sometimes necessary to clean the beverage supply line including the corresponding supply pump and dispensing valve within the fountain dispenser in order to avoid a buildup of beverage residue within the supply line and/or to supply a different beverage through the supply line. Commonly, a supply line is cleaned by mixing a liquid chlorine based solution in an open bucket at a recommended ratio. The coupler on the supply line is removed from the spout on the bag, and the coupler and the attached end portion of the supply line are dropped into the bucket. When the dispensing valve on the dispenser is manually opened, the cleaning solution is sucked out of the bucket by the pump and forced through the supply line and through the dispensing valve.
After the chlorine based solution is pumped through the beverage supply line and out the dispensing valve for a predetermined time, the coupler end of the supply line is placed in a bucket of potable water, and the water is pumped through the supply line to displace the chlorine base solution. The coupler is then attached to the spout on a new beverage bag, and the new beverage is pumped through the beverage supply line to displace the water. After all of the water is displaced, the dispensing valve on the fountain dispenser is closed. However, it has been found difficult to obtain and maintain a proper mix ratio of the cleaning solution within the bucket, especially when the solution in the bucket is used to clean multiple beverage supply lines to the dispenser. Also the open bucket is subject to picking up external contaminants.


A storm water runoff first flush sampler is provided which includes at le one container which has a top and a bottom. A water collection device is also provided which has an inlet end for collecting water and an outlet end for discharging the collected water. The inlet end of the water collection device is located above the top of the container, and the outlet end of the water collection device opens into the container for filling the container with water. A device is also provided for venting air from the container as it is filled with water and discharging the vented air at a level above the top of the water collection device. This arrangement enables automatic termination of gravity flow to the container when water reaches the level of the water collection device. Also, the water collection device is provided with an aperture that releases the kinetic pressure resulting from water falling onto the inlet end of the water collection device, thereby preventing alteration of the composition of the original sample by additionally collected water. Further, the liquid collection device has a P trap which will prevent sediment from additional runoff water from entering the container after the container is full.

The invention relates to a device and method for sampling the first flush of runoff water from a storm or simply sampling any liquid discharge where a pure sample of the discharge is required.
The first flush of storm water runoff is typically the most chemically contaminated and poses the greatest environmental risk as compared to subsequent flows. Accordingly, the need is becoming more apparent by association with the problem or by government regulation to obtain the first flush of storm water runoff so that chemical and toxicological characteristics can be made for monitoring and risk assessment purposes. Many samples may be necessary to characterize the flows contributing to a discharge stream to assess multiple discharge sites.
Measuring runoff is more difficult than measuring point source discharges due to episodic flows and flow-variant chemical concentration. Currently, equipment primarily designed for continuous point source discharges have been adapted for use in nonpoint source monitoring. Typical commercial samplers used to measure runoff are microprocessor controlled to draw a sample through an intake tube inserted in the discharge stream. The problems are numerous. The surface film is not included in the sample. For near source sampling, slow solubility kinetics result in a discharge stream that is not chemically homogeneous, and especially in the case of hydrophobic chemicals, such as nonpolar organics, most of the contaminant mass can occur as a surface film. Under very contaminated conditions, the water may not be able to dissolve the contaminant loads so that even at far downstream sites mid water column samples are biased in their representation of the true contaminant flux. Many sites must be sampled. Of course, large numbers of commercial water samplers or large work crews with "jars in hand" could be employed. Obviously, this is cost prohibitive and there is a need for a low cost and easy to use sampler for obtaining a true sample of the first pulse of storm water runoff.

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


A memory cell with an etch stop layer is provided. The memory cell comprises a bottom electrode disposed over a substrate. A switching dielectric is disposed over the bottom electrode and having a variable resistance. A top electrode is disposed over the switching dielectric. A sidewall spacer layer extends upwardly along sidewalls of the bottom electrode, the switching dielectric, and the top electrode. A lower etch stop layer is disposed over the lower dielectric layer and lining an outer sidewall of the sidewall spacer layer. The lower etch stop layer is made of a material different from the sidewall spacer layer and protects the top electrode from damaging during manufacturing processes.

Many modern day electronic devices contain non-volatile memory, which is able to store data in the absence of power. Non-volatile memory such as magnetoresistive random-access memory (MRAM) and resistive random access memory (RRAM) are promising candidates for next generation non-volatile memory technology due to relative simple structures and their compatibility with complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) logic fabrication processes.

Structure and method to expose memory cells with different sizes

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.


A composite electrode material for use in solid electrolyte devices, which comprises a mixture of a noble metal and a semiconducting metal oxide with either electronic (n-type) or hole (p-type) conductivity.

Solid electrolyte devices of interest usually consist of an oxygen ion conducting electrolyte membrane held between two electrodes. The examples of solid electrolyte materials include zirconia, both partially or fully stabilized by the addition of calcia, magnesia, yttria, scandia or one of a number of rare earth oxides, and thoria or ceria doped with calcia or yttria or a suitable rare earth oxide. The electrodes for these devices usually consist of porous coatings of metals such as Pt, Ag, Au, Pd, Ni and Co or metal oxides with good electronic conductivity. The electrodes participate in the charge transfer reaction between gaseous oxygen molecules or fuels (such as hydrogen, carbon monoxide or methane) and oxygen ions in the solid electrolyte by donating or accepting electrons. The electrode may also help to catalyze the reaction. For example Pt, the most commonly used electrode material on solid electrolyte oxygen sensors and oxygen pumps, shows high catalytic activity at temperatures above 600.degree.-700.degree. C. for the oxygen charge transfer reaction (O.sub.2 +4e.revreaction.20.sup.2-) at the electrode/electrolyte interface. The physical and chemical characteristics of the electrode play an important role in determining the speed of response and efficiency of the solid electrolyte devices.
The potentiometric or Nernst sensor consists of an oxygen ion conducting membrane of a solid electrolyte (with negligible electronic conductivity) such as fully or partially stabilized zirconia, and two electrodes reversible to O.sub.2 /O.sup.2- redox equilibria. If both electrodes of such a cell are exposed to different oxygen partial pressures, an emf is established across the cell which with respect to air, as the reference atmosphere is given by the nernst equation: EQU E(mV)=0.0496T Log (0.21/pO.sub.2)
where pO.sub.2 is the unknown oxygen partial pressure and T is the absolute temperature. The emf is measured by making electrical contacts to the electrodes.
Australian Patent No. 466,251 describes various geometrically distinct forms of a solid electrolyte oxygen sensor. The most commonly-used form is that of a tube, either open-ended or closed at one end, made entirely from the solid electrolyte. Other designs use the solid electrolyte as a disc or pellet, sealed in one end of a metal or ceramic supporting tube. In all cases, the reference environment, which is generally air, is maintained on one side of the tube (commonly on the inside) and the test environment is exposed to the other side of the tube.
In a potentiometric sensor, the current carrying capabilities of the electrodes are not important although electrodes with high charge transfer rates are required especially for low temperature (below 600.degree. C.) applications of the sensors. The solid electrolyte oxygen sensors with noble metal electrodes are generally used above 600.degree.-700.degree. C. Below these temperatures they suffer from slow response rates, high impedance, susceptibility to electrical noise pick-up, large errors and exceptionally high sensitivity to impurities in the flue gases.
Other solid state electrochemical devices such as oxygen pumps, fuel cells, steam electrolyzers and electrochemical reactors may consist of a tube of fully or partially stabilized zirconia electrolyte with electrodes coated both on the outside and inside of the tube. A number of such cells may be connected in series and/or parallel to achieve the desired characteristics. For example, in an oxygen pump a number of cells may operate in conjunction to increase the yield of oxygen. In a fuel cell arrangement a number of the small cells may be connected in series and parallel to increase the total current and voltage output as maximum theoretical voltage achievable from a single cell is around 1.0-1.5 volts. In all these systems, the current carrying capacity and hence the overall efficiency of the cell is determined by (i) the electrode/electrolyte interfacial resistance to charge transfer reaction and (ii) the electrolyte resistance. The interfacial resistance to charge transfer depends mainly on the electrochemical behavior, and physical and chemical nature of the electrode. Because of the high electrode and electrolyte resistance at low temperature, the cells need to be operated at temperatures in the vicinity of 900.degree.-1000.degree. C. For optimum efficiency and increased cell life it is essential that these cells be operated at lower temperatures. The voltage losses across the electrolyte can be reduced by the use of thin and mechanically strong electrolyte films. Since conventional metal or metal oxide only electrodes have high electrode resistance at lower temperatures, it is necessary, therefore, to devise better electrode materials in order to reduce overpotential losses across the electrode/electrolyte interface.

Composite electrodes for use in solid electrolyte devices

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation


A gas generator comprising a first cup case 3 packing therein gas generant 2 to generate gas by the burning of it, a squib 5 having a second cup case E arranged in an inside of the first cup case 3 and containing an ignition charge D, a squib case 7 having a hole 20 and covering the second cup case E, and a holder 6 to hold the squib case 7 and second cut case E by crimping, wherein the holder 6 has holes 13, 14 for allowing passage of electrode pins 11, 12 of the squib 5, one for each of the electrode pins 11, 12.

The seatbelt pretensioner is known as one of the safety systems to protect a vehicle occupant from the shock in a car collision. The seatbelt pretensioner is structured to operate a cylinder by a large amount of high-temperature and high-pressure gas generated by the gas generator. The gas generator, which is used to operate the cylinder, not an airbag, is structured to generate a relatively small amount of gas and to inject the high-temperature and high-pressure gas directly to the cylinder without any intermediary of filter or coolant. Usually, this gas generator includes a squib containing an ignition charge to be ignited by an electric current through the squib, a first cup case containing gas generant, and a holder to fixedly hold the squib and the first cup case.
An example of a conventional gas generator used for the seatbelt pretensioner is shown in FIG. 3. The gas generator 108 of FIG. 3 comprises gas generant 106 that generates a large amount of gas by the ignition, a squib 104 containing an ignition charge that is ignited by the passage of electric current through the squib, a first cup case 102 containing the gas generant, a holder 101 to hold the squib 104 and the first cup case 102 concentrically and seal the gas generant 106 and the squib 104 shown in FIG. 5 in an inner space between the holder 101 and the first cup case 102, an O-ring 105 disposed in a gap between the squib 104 and the holder 101 to prevent moisture from entraining from the gap therebetween, and a shorting clip 107 to keep two electrode pins 11, 12 standing from the squib 104 in a shorted state. Also, a sealant, not shown, is applied to the gap between the first cup case 102 and the holder 101 to prevent moisture from entraining the gap therebetween.
The squib 104 comprises a second cup case E containing an ignition charge D, header B inserted and fitted in the second cup case E to seal the ignition charge D in an interior of the second cup case E, and two electrode pins 11, 12 of metal rods extending through the closing plug B, as shown in FIG. 5. The electrode pins 11, 12 project in the interior of the second cup case E and are electrically connected to each other at their front ends through an electric bridge-circuit wire F. The electric bridge-circuit wire F is covered with fuse head C contacting with the ignition charge D. The closing plug B is formed of a resin in order to provide electrical insulation between the respective electrode pins 11, 12 except the portions thereof corresponding to the electric bridge-circuit wire.
The squib 104 is held by the holder 101, with its tapered portion 109 contacting with a tapered portion 110 of the holder 101, as shown in FIG. 3. Also, the bottom thereof 111 of the closing plug B of the squib 104 is exposed to the outside (See FIG. 4(a)). Incidentally, the closing plug B formed of resin may be softened by the heat resulting from the ignition in the high-temperature state. Due to this, there is a possibility that the electrode pins 11, 12 in the closing plug B may be dropped out together with the closing plug B when softened and reduced in retention.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a gas generator with enhanced safety that can prevent a drop-out of the electrode pins standing from the squib of the gas generator when ignited in a high temperature state.


Disclosed is a holographic data storage device including holographic media for containing data, writing data to and reading data from. The storage device also includes at least one supplemental memory for containing at least a portion of a directory of the data contained in the holographic media. By locating directory information for the holographic media in a supplemental memory, areas of the holographic media that have not yet been written to can be determined prior to accessing the holographic media. In this way, activating photo-sensitive agents in unwritten areas of the holographic media can be avoided unless these areas are being written to.

Holographic media is rapidly developing as a medium for mass storage of data. Because holographic media is capable of storing relatively large amounts of data it is necessary to be able to index holographic media to be able to locate specific data stored thereon and/or determine various parameters about the data and/or storage medium.
One type of holographic storage device that includes holographic media is a cartridge that contains a spinning, circular disk having holographic media. Laser light can be projected onto the media to form holographic images in the media that contain data. When reading the holographic media, a reference laser beam illuminates the media to read out the holographic data.
Often, any particular area of holographic media in such storage devices can be read many times but written to only once. That is, the media is "write-once" holographic media. It is also the case, however, that there is typically enough media space in such holographic storage devices that that a single device can be used for many storage sessions, with additional data being written to the holographic media during each session. For such multi-session use, it is important to index, or provide a directory for, data that is written to the media during each session. Such an index or directory includes information that allows particular data written to the media to be located on the media.
For non-holographic media written to over multiple sessions, such directories are typically maintained in one of two ways. First, a session directory can be generated after each write session that indexes the data written to during that write session. Each of the session directories typically would include a pointer to the previous session directory. In order to locate information one the storage device, each session directory would be searched. A second way to index multi-session, non-holographic media is to generate a complete volume directory after each write session that includes an index of each of the sessions ever written to the disk. This can be accomplished by, after each write session, copying the previous volume directory and appending an index from the most recent write session.
Each of these methods of maintaining a volume directory requires searching the media in the volume to be sure that all of the data has been indexed (either directly or with pointers) in the most recent directory. If a volume is not fully written to, this involves reading past the end of data stored in the media, that is reading into portions of the media that have not been written to, in order to be sure that all data has been indexed.
Current storage devices can also allow the host to request reads beyond the end of data without checking the directory to see if data is present there. If there is no data or it does not pass a checksum, an error is returned.
In storage devices using non-holographic media, this is not a significant issue. When using holographic media, however, reading into a portion of the media that has not been written to can present some difficulty. In particular, holographic media includes photosensitive agents that are activated when exposed to light. If areas of the media are exposed to a reference beam before being written to, the photo-sensitive agents in the media can be activated and the media's dynamic range, and thus storage capacity, can be undesirably reduced.

Supplemental memory having media directory


The invention relates to a system and a method for automatic installation and maintenance of hardware and/or software in the system nodes (SK) of a distributed computer system, in particular in a distributed automation system, comprising a system installation and/or system maintenance tool (WZ), wherein the system installation and/or system maintenance tool (WZ) can be activated from a single arbitrary access in the distributed system. The system installation and/or system maintenance tool (WZ) selects a software package and/or a functional component, and automatically executes the maintenance steps of the selected software package and/or of the selected functional component as regards the distribution, installation and/or configuration of the software package and/or of the selected functional component in a defined sequence on the system nodes (SK) of the distributed system.

Distributed computer systems, in particular process control systems, are composed of a multiplicity of distributed components that are interrelated, for example in client-server relationships. The components of the distributed system, each of which provide one or more functionalities, are distributed over a plurality of computers or data processing devices, also referred to below as system nodes. Examples of system nodes used in the automation system are operator stations, engineering stations, archiving stations, control equipment comprising processing stations, and input and output units. The system nodes are connected together via one or more physical networks.
Operating systems, user software, control programs and various functional components of the process control system are installed on the system nodes, with the individual system nodes, including their various functional components, being dependent on each other in a variety of ways.
There are a range of software tools for installing and maintaining hardware and/or software in a distributed automation system, some of which assist in the maintenance tasks to be carried out and which, for example, install new systems, system updates, system upgrades to a higher version and system expansions incorporating additional functionalities, or which perform system analyses. These processes, however, do not include functionalities distributed over a plurality of system nodes. The aforementioned separate software tools are, by way of example, tools for backing up and restoring application data, tools for the system analysis or tools for upgrading the firmware in controllers, the tools being addressed and started in different ways. This means that the tools are nonuniform in their operator control and are not necessarily in tune with one another. The use of the tools for the relevant maintenance tasks, particularly as regards their order and the time of their use within the manual maintenance process, is usually described in documentation which the user needs to read beforehand, resulting in increased risk of error.
The current approach to software installation and maintenance assumes that computers are functionally self-contained. For installation and maintenance tasks on distributed systems, such as, for example, system updates, system upgrades, system expansions or system analyses, it is usually necessary to execute different installation and configuration steps separately in a specific, predefined sequence on every system node. At present, there is no tool that manages such installation and maintenance tasks on a system-wide basis from a single computer.
In addition, existing procedures only handle individual computers in a distributed system independently of each other.
Further disadvantages of today's system installation procedures and system maintenance procedures relate to the fact that in order to install and maintain the new software, the user must interact with every desktop, and must often cover large distances between the individual computers, for example by means of a remote maintenance console.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System and method for automatic installation and maintenance of hardware and software in a distributed computer system


A method and system for using power and timing estimates to acquire frame acquisition of a reverse CDMA carrier signal. The method includes providing at least one remote transceiver device acquiring a forward CDMA carrier signal, and the one remote transceiver device transmitting a reverse CDMA carrier signal modified to include a frequency associated with the forward CDMA carrier signal. A transceiver base station, in response to determining if the reverse CDMA carrier signal exceeds a reverse CDMA carrier signal threshold (RCCST), uses the frequency embedded in the modified reverse CDMA carrier signal to acquire phase of the reverse CDMA carrier signal. Achieving acquisition the transceiver base station signals a mode change to the remote transceiver. Otherwise, the transceiver base station signals the remote transceiver device to slip the reverse CDMA carrier signal a predetermined number of chips; and/or transmit the reverse CDMA carrier signal at a second power level.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to spread spectrum communication systems using PN coding techniques and, more particularly, to acquiring a phase of the PN code.
2. Prior Art
Spread spectrum (SS) systems, which may be CDMA systems, are well known in the art. SS systems can employ a transmission technique in which a pseudo-noise (PN) PN-code is used as a modulating waveform to spread the signal energy over a bandwidth much greater than the signal information bandwidth. At the receiver the signal is de-spread using a synchronized replica of the PN-code.
There are, in general, two basic types of SS systems: direct sequence spread spectrum systems (DSSS) and frequency hop spread spectrum systems (FHSS).
The DSSS systems spread the signal over a bandwidth fRF±Rc, where fRF represents the center bandpass carrier frequency and Rc represents the PN-code maximum chip rate, which in turn is an integer multiple of the symbol rate Rs. Multiple access systems employ DSSS techniques when transmitting multiple channels over the same frequency bandwidth to multiple receivers, each receiver having its own designated PN-code. Although each receiver receives the entire frequency bandwidth only the signal with the receiver's matching PN-code will appear intelligible, the rest appears as noise that is easily filtered. These systems are well known in the art and need not be discussed further.
As noted, the DSSS system PN-code sequence spreads the data signal over the available bandwidth such that the carrier appears to be noise-like and random to a receiver not using the same PN-code.
In communication systems having multiple central base stations or network access points (APs) and multiple remote transceiver devices or consumer premise equipment (CPE), e.g., fixed or mobile units. The CPE may receive and decode signals transmitted by each of the APs. It will be appreciated that in burst communication systems it is desirable to provide a method and system for an AP to quickly reverse synchronize with multiple transmitting CPEs operating at the lowest individual CPE power.

Acquisition of a synchronous CDMA TDD QPSK waveform using power and timing estimates


A method for preparing polycrystalline lithium metal oxide fibers of the formula Li.sub.x M.sub.y O.sub.z by filling micromold fibers of a desired inner diameter and length with a mixture composed of the desired metal salts or solutions of salts or alkoxides, solvents, binders, plasticizers, and deflocculants, firing the filled micromold fibers at elevated temperatures but below temperatures of lithium oxide volatilization in air for at least one hour to simultaneously burn-out the micromold and yield the polycrystalline lithium metal oxide fiber.

Ceramic fibers are recognized as having utility in a variety of industrial composites. Composite materials are desired combinations of two or more constituent materials to form a bonded structure that has mechanical, physical and chemical advantages over each individual constituent. In particular, ceramic matrix composites contain a matrix component that may be a ceramic oxide and a reinforcing material like a ceramic fiber. Some of the various applications of these composites are cutting tools, armor, engine parts, electronic devices, catalysts, and medical implants.
Electrolyte tiles in molten carbonate fuel cell prepared from gamma lithium aluminate powder and lithium carbonate/potassium carbonate electrolyte could be improved by incorporating suitable reinforcing fibers in the tiles. A typical tile is about 1 m.sup.2 in area and from 0.5-2 mm in thickness. Reduction in tile thickness is desirable in order to reduce electrical resistance. This can be achieved by the addition of reinforcement fibers to increase the strength and durability of the tile structure and the overall lifetime of the cell. Such reinforcing fibers must not only have high strength but the fibers must also be compatible with the matrix material, and be thermally stable at temperatures up to at least 650.degree. C. under the molten carbonate fuel cell environment. Alumina fibers have been tested but formation of lithium aluminate occurred. Ideally, lithium aluminate fibers are the best choice for the molten carbonate fuel cell electrolyte tile. Other applications may potentially require other lithium aluminum oxide fibers such as lithium pentaaluminate, lithium dialuminate, or other lithium metal oxide fibers.
Methods developed for the production of ceramic fibers include spinning, colloidal evaporation, vapor deposition, and drawing from a melt. Non-oxide fibers like silicon carbide fibers have been prepared by these processes but limitations have been observed when applied to compositions containing glass-forming oxides. An example is the production of ceramic refractory fibers like alumina-silica, alumina, and zirconia by a blowing method wherein a stream of the molten material is subjected to a jet of air or steam. The disadvantages of this method are the requirement for a huge capital investment in specialized plant machinery and the phase separation that may occur from rapidly cooling the drawn fiber to prevent devitrification or crystallization. In the solution spinning process currently used for the production of alumina fibers, control over the form of the fibers, such as fiber diameter, is done by spinning the alumina fibers at low temperature from a melt of pure raw materials containing not more than 60-65% alumina followed by heat treatment above 1000.degree. C.
The synthesis of polycrystalline lithium metal oxide fibers such as lithium aluminate fibers has been investigated but only a few successful processes have been reported. One of the major difficulties in the preparation of lithium aluminate fibers by drawing from a melt is the loss of lithium oxide due to evolution at elevated temperatures. Therefore, a lower temperature or shorter time would be more desirable for the synthesis of lithium aluminate fibers, conditions which do not generally lead to proper densification or proper phase of the lithium aluminate.
Watanabe and his co-workers disclosed in Japanese patent application 63-260812 a method for the preparation of long, rod-shaped .beta.-LiAlO.sub.2 crystals in the Journal of the American Ceramic Society, Vol. 70:10, C-268-269 (1987). Raw materials were LiOH.H.sub.2 O:.gamma.-Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 :NaOH in mole ratios of 4:1:4. Columnar test pieces were shaped from these mixed powders under 9.8 MPa pressure, fired at 600.degree. C. for three hours, cooled, and dipped into water for 24 hours to yield rod-shaped .beta.-LiAlO.sub.2 crystals that were 1.5 .mu.m in diameter and 10 to 15 .mu.m long. Examples cited showed the fiber properties of these crystals obtainable under various powder compositions and calcination conditions. The problems with this approach include the potential conversion of .beta.-LiAlO.sub.2 to other phases in the fuel cell. The small size of the crystal also limits its value as a reinforcement.
In International Patent Application WO 90/04859, Smith and Kucera disclosed a method of preparing ceramic oxide fibers by spraying a slurry of the ceramic material perpendicularly into an ambient stream of air or other gas and then heating the resultant green fibers to remove the binders. Examples cited were lithium ferrite and lithium manganite fibers which are potential electrode materials in molten carbonate fuel cells. Application of this technology to the production of lithium aluminate fibers and subsequent benefits were demonstrated by P. M. Brown in the "Physical Property Optimization of Lithium Aluminates for Fabrication of Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell Matrices" which was presented at the 1990 Fuel Cell Seminar. The resultant molten carbonate fuel cell electrolyte tiles produced with inclusion of the fibers increased the tile strength. The need exists for improved fibers to yield further improvements in the electrolyte tile strength or in other applications.
Charles C. Fain in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,798,815 and 4,820,664 disclosed the piggyback method of making ceramic fibers by wetting special carbon fiber micromolds, which are non-ceramic fibers having elongated cavities, with a wet chemical precursor and subsequently heating the wetted micromolds to produce ceramic fibers of various compositions. Although the `piggyback` method of producing polycrystalline oxide fibers is generally useful for producing otherwise difficult to produce fibers, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,798,815 and 4,820,664 do not disclose the processing times, temperatures, procedures, or carrier media necessary for preparation of high quality dense lithium metal oxide fibers without loss of lithium through lithium oxide evolution which occurs at temperatures higher than 1000.degree. C.

Polycrystalline .gamma.-lithium aluminate fibers and process of manufacture


A tool for handling a modular information handling resource may include a drive portion, a first finger mechanically coupled to the drive portion, the first finger configured to apply a first force to a first side edge of the information handling resource when the information handling resource is engaged with the tool, and a second finger mechanically coupled to the drive portion, the second finger configured to apply a second force to a second side edge of the information handling resource opposite from the first side edge when the information handling resource is engaged with the tool. When the information handling resource is coupled to a connector via a bottom edge of the information handling resource adjacent and perpendicular to the side edges, a retention force applied by the connector to the information handling resource overcomes the first and second forces such that the tool releases the information handling resource.

As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
An information handling system may comprise a variety of different information handling resources for performing the functionality of the information handling system, such as memories, storage resources, networking interfaces, user interface devices, etc. In many instances, some of such information handling resources may be modular, in the sense they may be embodied in pluggable and removable modules which couple to the information handling resource via an appropriate connector. For example, a memory module or other modular information handling resource may comprise a circuit board with an edge connector having a plurality of traces. Such edge connector may be configured to be inserted into a corresponding slot connector coupled to a motherboard or similar information handing resource, such that the slot connector mechanically and electrically couples the memory module or other modular information handling resource to the motherboard.
In many instances, it is desirable that a modular information handling resource be inserted and removed in a particular manner, in order to avoid damage to the modular information handling resource or its corresponding slot connector. For example, to be compliant with the Joint Electron Device Engineering Council (JEDEC) specifications for handling dual-inline memory modules (DIMMs), a person handling a DIMM is to avoid touching the DIMM (except on edges of the module circuit board which do not include an edge connector) and is to insert the DIMM into its corresponding slot connector in a single, parallel stroke, as a "rocking" or non-simultaneous end-to-end installation may result in damage to traces of the edge connector and/or to corresponding electrical contacts of the slot connector. However, the force required to install such a DIMM module may be high enough such that it may cause an individual pain or discomfort to install DIMMs in a JEDEC standard-compliant manner, which may lead such an individual to install a DIMM in a non-compliant manner, leading to risk of damage.

Handling of a modular information handling resource


An amplifier circuit for a parametric transducer, comprising: a signal processor for processing an input signal into first and second signals; and at least a pair of output stages arranged to respectively receive the first and second signals for generating amplified first and second signals respectively, which are provided to operate the parametric transducer. The input, first and second signals are arranged with a substantially similar frequency to cause a switching frequency of the amplifier circuit to be matched to a carrier frequency of the parametric transducer. A related audio device is also disclosed.

With the use of personal smart devices as personal communication and entertainment devices becoming ubiquitous, audio privacy is increasingly also becoming a serious concern. In most instances where audio sound is openly played through loudspeakers of smart devices (e.g. via a "speakerphone", where a smartphone is typically placed at a distance of about 20 cm away from a user's mouth), a drawback is that there is little audio privacy, and also often creates "noise pollution" to bystanders. Put simply, the audio sound played through the smart devices may be heard desirably by an intended listener, and also undesirably by the bystanders, since they may have no interest to listen in.
One way to address the above issue is to use parametric loudspeakers. Compared to conventional loudspeakers (which are typically installed in modern smart devices), parametric loudspeakers feature significantly improved audio privacy, since audio sound generated by the parametric loudspeakers is highly directional and so, a private audio zone may accordingly be created. However, at this juncture, parametric loudspeakers are typically employed only in outdoor applications, but not for portable smart devices. Reasons why that is so include due to high power dissipation, subdued low frequency response, and poor directivity of parametric loudspeakers (if a size of the associated transducer is reduced, e.g. to less than 10 cm2). On the high power dissipation issue, it has been determined that more than 5 W of power is needed to operate parametric loudspeakers to generate about 63 dB Sound Pressure Level (SPL) at a distance of 50 cm at 1 kHz, whereas to generate audio sound of comparable loudness using traditional audio loudspeakers, only a power of less than 1 W is required. On the directivity issue, in order to ensure a reasonable directivity, a size of the transducer for the parametric loudspeakers needs to typically be greater than 25 cm2.
The operation principle of parametric loudspeakers is described below. A parametric loudspeaker is configured to emit a beam of amplitude-modulated ultrasonic signal, which is then demodulated in the air, thereby generating a desired audible audio signal. As the frequency of the ultrasonic signal is high (i.e. typically greater than 40 kHz), the ultrasonic signal is thus highly directional and consequently the demodulated audio signal is also highly directional, resulting in creation of the private audio zone.
More specifically, FIG. 1 shows schematics of a parametric loudspeaker system 100, which includes a signal processor 102, a carrier generator 104, a (Class D) power amplifier 106, and a parametric emitter 108 (or otherwise known as a parametric loudspeaker). The signal processor 102 first processes an audio input signal 110 and generates a desired envelop signal of the audio input signal 110. The envelop signal modulates an ultrasonic frequency carrier signal provided by the carrier generator 104, and an amplitude modulated ultrasonic signal is then generated. Depending on the type of ultrasonic emitter used in, and a design of the parametric emitter 108, a carrier frequency of the generated ultrasonic signal may range from 30 kHz to 200 kHz. The power amplifier 106 serves to amplify the ultrasonic signal and provide sufficient current to drive the parametric emitter 108. By means of transduction, the parametric emitter 108 generates the acoustically modulated ultrasonic signal. The ultrasonic signal is demodulated in the air, and the desired audible audio signal is obtained. The parametric emitter 108 may be realized using a bimorph transducer (not shown) or an array 200 of ultrasonic transducers 202 (i.e. refer to FIGS. 2a and 2b). For the latter configuration, the ultrasonic transducers 202 are positioned in a honeycomb-like arrangement and connected in parallel. The purpose of having multiple ultrasonic transducers 202 is to increase a sound pressure level of the generated ultrasonic signal (i.e. which is outwardly emitted in a direction from a transmission plane of each ultrasonic transducer 202), hence increasing an acoustical loudness of the demodulated audio signal.
However, it is to be appreciated that conventional parametric loudspeakers nonetheless suffer from some drawbacks which include:
High Power Dissipation
Reasons for the high power dissipation include: (i) requiring generation of high ultrasonic Sound Pressure Level (SPL) for obtaining an audio signal with sufficient loudness, and (ii) suffering from low power-efficiency by the power amplifier 106. The former reason is due to the highly inefficient demodulation process in the air. For instance, to generate a 66 dB audio signal, a 130 dB ultrasonic signal is needed, meaning that the attenuation losses in reality are fairly high (i.e. 130 dB—66 dB=44 dB). When translated to power terms, this means that approximately 5 W of ultrasound power is needed to obtain an equivalent of 1 W of audio power. On the other hand, reason (ii) is mainly due to the high-switching frequency of the conventional power amplifier 106. It is highlighted that amongst the various components of the parametric loudspeaker system 100 depicted in FIG. 1, the power amplifier 106 is the most power dissipative component, and dissipates about 90% of the total power used by the system 100. So, to reduce the overall power dissipation of the system 100, it is important that the amplifiers used therein have high power-efficiencies. In this respect, Class D amplifiers are usually employed for their significantly higher power-efficiency compared to their linear counterparts. But, unlike Class D amplifiers used in traditional audio loudspeakers whose power-efficiency is usually very high (i.e. greater than 95%), the power-efficiency of conventional Class D amplifiers deployed for parametric loudspeakers tends to be relatively low, typically less than 80%. The low power-efficiency is due to a high supply voltage used (i.e. greater than 20 V) and high switching frequencies (i.e. greater than 400 kHz) of the Class D amplifiers, which may also generate undesirable electromagnetic interferences (EMI).
More specifically, conventional Class D amplifiers tend to be configured with a high switching frequency—typically about 10 times higher than the bandwidth of the amplifiers. The high switching frequency consequently results in high power dissipation in the Class D amplifiers. This is especially so for parametric-loudspeaker applications because of the wide bandwidth (i.e. which is greater than a carrier frequency of the parametric loudspeaker, for example greater than 40 kHz) and the high supply voltage used for the Class D amplifiers. A conventional Class D amplifier 300, coupled to a parametric emitter 301, is depicted in FIG. 3 for reference sake. The conventional Class D amplifier 300 comprises an integrator 302, a triangular wave generator 304, a pair of comparators 306a, 306b, and two Class D output stages 308a, 308b. The integrator 302 amplifies an input (Vin) and feedback signals, and provides a high loop gain in the feedback branches. The triangular wave generator 304 generates a triangular waveform, and the pair of comparators 306a, 306b then compares the triangular waveform with respective outputs (Vint1, Vint2) from the integrator 302 to generate corresponding Pulse-Width-Modulated (PWM) switching signals. A switching frequency of the switching signals (or a frequency of the triangular waveform) is typically 10 times higher than the input signal (Vin). In the case of parametric-loudspeaker applications, the switching frequency is typically about 400 kHz. As aforementioned, power amplifiers typically dissipate the most power, and the power loss incurred is largely proportional to a switching frequency of the power amplifiers. So, to improve the power-efficiency of the Class D amplifier 300, it is important that the switching frequency of the Class D amplifier 300 is sufficiently low. For completeness, it is to be appreciated that an inductor 310 (Ls) and a resistor 312 (Rs), coupled to respective outputs of the two Class D output stages 308a, 308b, are configured to filter any switching components of the Class D amplifier 300, but may optionally be omitted depending on a design of the Class D amplifier 300 and technical characteristics of the parametric emitter 301.
Limited Directivity
Limited directivity happens when a size of a parametric emitter is arranged to be dimensionally small. Particularly, the directivity of an audio beam generated by a parametric emitter largely depends on a transducing area, and a specific carrier frequency of said parametric emitter. A higher carrier frequency results in better directivity, but however incurs higher power dissipation by the parametric emitter. It has been shown that having a carrier frequency of about 40 kHz presents a rather good trade-off between the power dissipation and directivity issues. Also to ensure a good directivity, a size of the transducing area of a parametric emitter preferably should be greater than 25 cm.
One object of the present invention is therefore to address at least one of the problems of the prior art and/or to provide a choice that is useful in the art.

Amplifier circuit for a parametric transducer and a related audio device


A self propelled, endoscopic apparatus formed of a flexible, fluid-filled toroid and a motorized or powerable frame. The apparatus may be used to advance a variety of accessory devices into generally tubular spaces and environments for medical and non-medical applications. The apparatus when inserted into a tubular space or environment, such as the colon of a patient undergoing a colonoscopy, is advanced by the motion of the toroid. The toroid's surface circulates around itself in a continuous motion from inside its central cavity along its central axis to the outside where its surface travels in the opposite direction until it again rotates into its central cavity. As the device advances within the varying sizes, shapes and contours of body lumens, the toroid compresses and expands to accommodate and navigate the environment. The motion of the toroid can be powered or unpowered and the direction and speed may be controlled. The apparatus may be used to transport a variety of accessory devices to desired locations within tubular spaces and environments where medical and non-medical procedures may be performed.

An endoscope is any instrument used to obtain a view of the interior of a patient's body using a variety of means to capture and transmit the view to an observer. Endoscopes can also be used to perform a variety of diagnostic and interventional procedures such as biopsies and other small surgical procedures. Examples of endoscopes include: a colonoscope used within the colon, a gastroscope used inside the stomach, and a bronchoscope used within the trachea and bronchi. Endoscopes are often inserted into body cavities or lumens via natural orifices but can also be inserted into incisions to gain access to areas of the body where no natural entrance exists.
Traditional endoscopes consist of a rigid or flexible rod or shaft with a means of collecting and transmitting an image from inside the patient's body. The rod or shaft is inserted and pushed to the location of interest. The rod or shaft typically surrounds a number of pathways used to house fiber optic cables and route instruments, catheters, devices, gasses, liquids and other substances in and out of the area of interest.
Traditional endoscopes require a minimal rigidity for successful insertion and work well when the body cavity or canal, or other lumens having curves and turns. However, when it is constricted, convoluted and consists of many curves, as is the case with the colon, it can be difficult or impossible to push the endoscope to its desired location. Steerable articulating endoscopes are often used to make navigation of turns easier; however, the increased friction associated with each additional turn limits the number of turns that can be navigated successfully and ultimately limits the distance an endoscope can be introduced into the patient's body. In addition, the increased force required to complete more turns and corners raises the risk of complications such as bowel perforation as well as the discomfort and pain experienced by the patient. It would be useful to have an apparatus for endoscopic medical procedures that can navigate in such environments and can overcome the physical and procedural limitation of traditional endoscopes. It would further be useful if such an apparatus were self-propelled.
Endoscopic devices may also be utilized in non-medical or commercial and industrial applications to obtain views from or introduce instruments or devices into generally tubular spaces or environments such as lumens, sections of pipe or other structures, which may have a number of curves and turns. Such tubular spaces or environments may be partially occluded or have buildup on their interior surfaces and thus present a irregular internal shape or diameter. To navigate through such spaces and environments, it would be useful to have a device or apparatus that can adapt to the internal shape or diameter of the space or environment into which it is introduced and of further use if the apparatus were self-propelled.


A tappet assembly includes a first follower engaging a cam lobe profile, and a second follower engaging an engine poppet valve. A latch member is operable to fix the first follower in an extended position, to provide a high lift condition. The first and second followers define first and second stop surfaces, respectively, such that when the latch member is retracted, the lift portion engages the first follower and moves it toward the poppet valve until the stop surfaces engage, and thereafter, further downward movement of the first follower moves the second follower to provide a low lift. One benefit of this feature is to prevent accumulation of unburned fuel in a port fuel injection type of gasoline engine.

The present invention relates to tappets for use in internal combustion engines, to transmit motion directly from a cam lobe profile of an engine cam shaft to an engine poppet valve. Thus, the present invention relates to engine valvetrain of the "direct acting" type.
Although the improved tappet of the present invention could be utilized in various types of engines, in terms of the type of fuel utilized by the engine, the present invention is especially advantageous when used in a gasoline engine with Port Fuel Injection of the type utilizing intake valve deactivation for one of a pair of intake poppet valves. The invention is even more advantageous in an engine valve control system of the type described above which is utilized for "swirl" control, as that term is now well understood by those skilled in the engine art.
In terms of the type of lift imparted to the engine poppet valve in a direct acting valve train, there are two general categories of such tappets. The first is the conventional mechanical or hydraulic tappet ("bucket tappet") which receives its input from a single cam lobe profile and therefore, imparts only a single "valve event" to the engine poppet valve. The second category comprises "dual lift" tappets of the general type illustrated and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,193,496. In dual lift tappets of the type taught in the '496 patent, the tappet includes a central portion and an outer portion with the central portion engaging a low lift cam, to produce a low lift valve event, and the outer portion of the tappet engaging a pair of high lift cam lobe profiles to provide a high lift valve event. Thus, the known, prior art dual lift direct acting tappet typically has associated therewith three separate cam lobe profiles (one low lift, and two high lift), making such an arrangement extremely expensive to manufacture and difficult to package.
The improved tappet, and improved valve control system of the present invention was developed in connection with an effort to improve what is referred to as the "charge motion" (i.e., the flow pattern of the air-fuel mixture after it flows past the intake poppet valve). Specifically, the effort was to increase the charge motion at low to medium engine speeds, on gasoline engines utilizing port fuel injection. It was believed that a dual lift tappet arrangement was needed for this particular application, although for the reasons discussed previously, it was clearly not acceptable to require three, or even two, separate cam lobe profiles for each intake poppet valve, merely to achieve the desired dual lift valve event for each intake poppet valve.
It was also determined during the course of development of the present invention that for this particular type of engine application, utilizing port fuel injection, it would not be acceptable for the dual lift tappet to provide, selectively, either a normal lift ("high lift") valve event, or a deactivated valve event. During the low speed operation of the engine, with one of the two intake poppet valves deactivated, it was observed that because of the fuel being injected directly into the intake port, a quantity of fuel would accumulate behind the deactivated valve, over a period of time. Then, once that particular intake poppet valve would again be operated in the normal lift mode, the quantity of fuel which had accumulated would be drawn into the combustion chamber, and could result in an uncontrolled combustion condition. Such an uncontrolled combustion condition could lead to various operating problems of the engine, such as extra, undesirable emissions and NVH ("noise-vibration-harshness") type conditions.

Dual valve lift blip with single cam lobe for gasoline engines


A power failure prevention system and method with a power management mechanism are provided. A switch circuit is connected to a first terminal of an inductor. An energy storage circuit is connected to the switch circuit. A pre-charged circuit is connected to an input power source and a second terminal of the inductor. A pre-charging control circuit is connected to the pre-charged circuit and configured to obtain a voltage of a node between the pre-charged circuit and the second terminal of the inductor, a voltage of the switch circuit or a voltage of the energy storage circuit as a pre-charged voltage. The input power source pre-charges the pre-charged circuit. When the pre-charging control circuit determines that the pre-charged voltage is higher than or equal to a reference voltage, the pre-charging control circuit controls the pre-charged circuit, allowing the input power source to charge the energy storage circuit.

With the development of power application technologies, more and more electronic devices that require electric power for operation have been developed, so that more and more electric power is in demand. However, whenever the power is abnormally powered down, people's lives are subjected to shock and inconvenience. When a power supply in a factory production line or other applications is interrupted, significant financial losses may be suffered by a manufacturer or a user. Therefore, the power failure prevention system is widely used. However, an inrush current often exists in a power supply circuit. The inrush current is an excessive transient current and usually generated at a moment when the power supply circuit is turned on, which may cause the power supply circuit to generate noise and damage load and circuit components of the power failure prevention system.

Power failure prevention system with power management mechanism and power failure prevention method with power management mechanism


Provided is an audio reproduction device that includes first and second speaker supports that have a lid shape and are provided on a case in an openable and closable manner, a sensor that detects a first state and a second state, the first and second speaker supports being closed in the first state, the first and second speaker supports being opened and held almost horizontally in the second state, first and second speakers respectively attached on front surfaces of the first and second speaker supports such that a distance in the second state is larger than a distance in the first state, and a reproduction characteristic control unit that switches reproduction characteristics of the first and second speakers in the first state and the second state on the basis of a detection signal from the sensor.

In order to perform audio reproduction, audio reproduction devices, in which a plurality of speakers is integrated for convenience of carriage, are used to enjoy music outdoors. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses configuration in which an operation unit and a display unit are provided on the front surface portion of a box-shaped acoustic device body, a speaker is arranged on the side of the upper surface portion thereof, and an opening/closing lid is provided. The operation unit and the display unit are used to select an operation mode of the acoustic device. The opening/closing lid closes the speaker. Furthermore, a detection element that turns on and off in response to the opening/closing of the above-described opening/closing lid is provided on the acoustic device body. The lid opened state of the above-described opening/closing lid is controlled on the basis of output from a main control unit provided on the above-described acoustic device body. The opening/closing lid has a function as a dustproof acoustic reflection plate.
In the case described in Patent Document 1, a speaker is not attached on a lid. In the lid closed state, a lid completely covers the front surface of the speaker. Thus, good audio reproduction is difficult to be performed.
Furthermore, Patent Document 2 discloses a sound control device including an angle detection unit and a correction unit. The angle detection unit detects an opening angle of a horn unit capable of adjusting a sound directivity angle. The correction unit corrects a sound volume and frequency characteristics in response to changes of the opening angle detected by the angle detection unit.


On a data recording region, an aluminum reflective film is formed together with a reflective film forming a pattern on an outer circumferential side of the data recording region. Although aluminum identical to the material of the reflective film on the data recording region can be employed for the reflective film on the outer circumferential region, gold, titanium and the like can also be used. Therefore, an optical disk that has a unique pattern formed at an outer circumferential region that was not conventionally used can be fabricated at a low cost.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical disk and a fabrication method thereof, and more particularly to an optical disk that has a pattern at the outer periphery of a data recording region and a method of fabricating such an optical disk.
2. Description of the Background Art
Various types of optical disks are now provided such as a CD (Compact Disk), a DVD (Digital Video Disk), an MO (Magneto Optical) disk, and an LD (Laser Disk). CDs are standardized into those having a diameter of 12 cm and a diameter of 8 cm.
FIG. 1 is a plan view of a conventional CD 1 of 12 cm in diameter. Referring to FIG. 1, a center hole 2 is formed at the center of CD 1 for attachment to a drive device. A data recording region 3 of 8 cm in diameter is provided at the inner circumference of CD 1. A plurality of pits are formed at data recording region 3 according to data. Data recording region 3 is covered with a reflective film. An outer circumferential region 4 of optical disk 1 is generally colorless and transparent. Optical disk 1 is completed as a product by having a label attached on the plane opposite to the light irradiation plane.
Since a conventional optical disk 1 has an outer circumferential region 4 that is colorless and transparent as described above, it has no impact on the general consumer and is not attractive as a commercial product.
An object of the present invention is to provide an economic optical disk with a pattern and a fabrication method thereof.
According to an aspect of the present invention, an optical disk includes a transparent substrate and a reflective film. The transparent substrate has a data recording region on which data is recorded at the inner circumference. The reflective film has a first region formed on the data recording region of the transparent substrate, and a second region forming a pattern on a region at the outer circumferential side of the data recording region of the transparent substrate.
An optical disk having a pattern formed at the outer circumferential region utilizing the reflective film formed on the data recording region can be fabricated at a low cost.
According to another aspect of the present invention, an optical disk includes a transparent substrate, a first reflective film, and a second reflective film. The transparent substrate has a data recording region on which data is recorded at the inner circumference thereof. The first reflective film is formed on the data recording region of the transparent substrate. The second reflective film is formed on a region at the outer circumferential side of the data recording region of the transparent substrate, and forms a pattern. Preferably, the second reflective film has a color differing from the color of the first reflective film.
In the present aspect, an optical disk with a pattern at a transparent outer circumferential region can be fabricated at a low cost.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, a method of fabricating an optical disk including a transparent substrate having a data recording region on which data is recorded at the inner circumference thereof includes the steps of: attaching a mask on a region other than the data recording region of the transparent substrate and the region located at the outer circumferential side of the data recording region and that forms a pattern; forming a reflective film on the transparent substrate where the mask is attached; and removing the mask from the transparent substrate.
According to the above fabrication method, a reflective film that forms a pattern is provided at the outer circumferential side of the data recording region in the step of forming a reflective film on the data recording film. Therefore, an optical disk with a pattern can be fabricated at a low cost without increasing the number of fabrication steps.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, a method of fabricating an optical disk including a transparent substrate having a data recording region in which data is recorded at the inner circumference thereof includes the steps of: attaching a first mask on a region other than the data recording region of the transparent substrate; forming a first reflective film on the transparent substrate where the first mask is attached; removing the first mask from the transparent substrate, attaching a second mask on a region located at the outer circumferential side of the data recording region of the transparent substrate and excluding the region that forms a pattern; forming a second reflective film on the transparent substrate where the second mask is attached; and removing the second mask from the transparent substrate. Preferably, the second reflective film has a color differing from the color of the first reflective film.
In the above fabrication method, a reflective film forming a pattern is provided at the outer circumferential side of the data recording region in the same step of forming a reflective film on the data recording region. Therefore, an optical disk with a pattern can be fabricated at a low cost. Since the color of the reflective film forming a pattern differs from the color of the reflective film at the data recording region, a more colorful optical disk can be fabricated at a low cost.
The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Optical disk with pattern and fabrication method thereof


A substrate bonding apparatus includes a bonding chamber, lower and upper stages positioned at lower and upper spaces at an interior of the bonding chamber, respectively, the lower stage including a first receiving part, a first lifting system having a first support part for supporting a first substrate, the first receiving part receiving the first support part within the lower stage, and a blowing system formed in the first support part to blow air through the first support part.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bonding apparatus, and more particularly, to a substrate bonding apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device and a method for driving the substrate bonding apparatus.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In response to an increasing demand for various types of displays devices, flat panel type displays such as liquid crystal display (LCD), plasma display panel (PDP), electro-luminescent display (ELD), and vacuum fluorescent display (VFD) have been developed. In particular, LCD devices have been commonly used because of their high resolution, light weight, thin profile, and low power consumption. In addition, LCD devices have been implemented in mobile devices, such as monitors for notebook computers, and for monitors of computers and televisions. Accordingly, efforts to improve image quality of LCD devices contrast with benefits of their high resolution, light weight, thin profile, and low power consumption. In order to incorporate LCD devices as a general image display, image qualities such as fineness, brightness, large-sized area, for example, must be maintained.
Processes for manufacturing LCD devices according to the related art may be divided into two different categories: liquid crystal injection and liquid crystal dropping. The liquid crystal injection method includes steps of forming a sealant pattern on one of the first and second substrates to form an injection inlet, bonding the first and second substrates to each other within a vacuum processing chamber, and injecting liquid crystal material through the injection inlet. The liquid crystal dropping method, which is disclosed in Japanese Patent. Application No. 11-089612 and 11-172903, includes steps of dropping liquid crystal material on a first substrate, arranging a second substrate over the first substrate, and moving the first and second substrates to join to each other, thereby bonding the first and second substrates to each other.
Compared to the liquid crystal injection method, the liquid crystal dropping method is advantageous in that various process steps, such as forming a liquid crystal material injection inlet, injecting the liquid crystal material, and sealing the injection inlet are unnecessary since the liquid crystal material is predisposed on the first substrate.
FIG. 1 is a cross sectional view of a substrate bonding device prior to a deposition process according to the related art. In FIG. 1, the substrate assembly device includes a frame 10, an upper stage 21, a lower stage 22, a sealant dispenser (not shown), a liquid crystal material dispenser 30, a processing chamber including an upper chamber unit 31 and a lower chamber unit 32, a chamber moving system 40, and a stage moving system 50. The chamber moving system 40 includes a driving motor driven to selectively move the lower chamber unit 32 to a first location where outflow of sealant and dropping of liquid crystal material occur, and a second location where the bonding process is performed. The stage moving system 50 includes another driving motor driven to selectively move the upper stage 21 along a vertical direction perpendicular to the upper and lower stages 21 and 22.
FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view of the substrate bonding device prior to a bonding process according to the related art. In FIG. 2, a process of manufacturing a liquid crystal display device using the substrate assembly device according to the related art includes loading a second substrate 52 onto the upper stage 21 and loading a first substrate 51 onto the lower stage 22, as shown in FIG. 1. Then, the lower chamber unit 32 having the lower stage 22 is moved to a first processing location by the chamber moving system 40 for sealant and liquid crystal material dispensing. Subsequently, the lower chamber unit 32 is moved to a second processing location for substrate bonding by the chamber moving system 40. Thereafter, the upper and lower chamber units 31 and 32 are assembled together by the chamber moving system 40 to form a vacuum tight seal, and a pressure in the chamber is reduced by a vacuum generating system (not shown), as shown in FIG. 2.
Then, the upper stage 21 is moved downward by the stage moving system 50 at the vacuum state to closely fasten the second substrate 52 fixed to the upper stage 21 to the first substrate 51 fixed to the lower stage 22. Furthermore, the process for bonding the respective substrates to each other is carried out through a continuous pressurization, thereby completing the manufacture of the LCD device. Thus, after the bonding of the substrates is completed, the upper and lower chamber units 31 and 32 are separated from each other, and the lower chamber unit 32 is moved to an unloading position by the chamber moving system 40, and the bonded substrates are unloaded.
However, the substrate assembly device according to the related art is problematic. First, the substrate assembly device according the related art fails to provide a subsidiary system for stable loading of the substrates onto the upper and lower stages, or unloading the bonded substrates from the lower stage, thereby increasing the probability that the substrates may be damaged during the loading/unloading process. Specifically, the bonded substrates may partially adhere to an upper surface of the lower stage during the bonding process. Then, the substrate assembly device according the related art unloads the bonded substrates without considering whether the substrates have adhered to the lower stage, thereby creating a high probability that damage to the substrates may occur.
Second, the bonded substrates must be unloaded without droop within a central or circumferential portions of the bonded substrates. However, since the substrate assembly device according to the related art does not consider such the droop, an increase in probability that failure due to warpage of the bonded substrates may occur. Specifically, considering that the size of LCD devices are increasing to meet demand, preventing droop during unloading of the bonded substrates is extremely important and necessary.
Third, direct contact between the substrate and the stage causes static electricity to be generated, which may breakdown inner circuits formed on the substrate. In addition, direct contact between the substrates and the stages lowers production yield.
Fourth, in the substrate assembly device according to the related art, the second substrate is loaded on the lower stage of the lower chamber unit, is transferred into a position of the upper stage by the chamber moving system to be loaded on the upper stage, and the lower chamber unit is again moved to load the first substrate on the lower stage. Accordingly, a high possibility that the substrates may be loaded at incorrect locations exists and thus misalignment may occur during loading thereof, thereby increasing the probability that the substrates may be broken.

Substrate bonding apparatus for liquid crystal display device and method for fabricating the same


A new Pelargonium plant particularly distinguished by purple-pink flower color with a dark red spot and light pink center, is disclosed.

The present invention comprises a new and distinct variety of Pelargonium, botanically known as Pelargonium zonale (L.) L'Her. ex Aiton and hereinafter referred to by the variety name 'KLEPZ21596'. 'KLEPZ21596' originated from a hand-pollination in July 2015 in Nairobi, Kenya between the female Pelargonium variety Endisch Hot Spot Kiss (patent status unknown) and the male Pelargonium variety 'KLEPZ07202' (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 19,960).
Seeds from the hand-pollination were obtained. The seeds were sown and plants were grown for evaluation. A single plant was selected in June 2017 and subsequently named 'KLEPZ21596'. In July 2017 'KLEPZ21596' was first vegetatively propagated by vegetative stem cuttings in Stuttgart, Germany. 'KLEPZ21596' was found to reproduce true to type in successive generations of asexual propagation via vegetative cuttings in Stuttgart, Germany.


A deadbolt cushioning system includes: a deadbolt cushioning structure attached to a door frame so that when a door with a fully extended deadbolt closes from a wide open position toward a closed position the extended deadbolt impacts the deadbolt cushioning structure. The deadbolt cushioning structure for preventing the extended deadbolt from impacting the door frame and for preventing the extended deadbolt from impacting a strike plate attached to the door frame. The deadbolt cushioning structure may include at least first and second telescoping housings with a biasing structure (e.g., foam and/or spring) provided therebetween. When the deadbolt impacts the deadbolt cushioning structure the biasing structure compresses and the second housing slides relative to the first structure and moves toward the face of the door frame to which the first housing is affixed.

A door frame has a mortise or recess that accepts a strike plate, that is typically made of metal, in the rabbet of the frame. When a door closes, the strike plate accepts or receives, and retains, the latch and the deadbolt from the lockset that is mortised into the door. Either or both can secure the door in place for the purpose of, for example, protection from smoke/fire and/or security.
As a door closes into the locked or latched position, the latch on the edge of the door meets what is often a curved lip on the strike plate. However, some strike plates have no curved lip, and that have a lip that is simply straight with no curve. The lip of the strike plate often extends above the face of the frame. The lip allows the latch to begin to retract and facilitates or eases the engagement of the door in to the frame. This point of engagement, or contact, can produce a noticeable metal sound. It can be dramatically accentuated if the frame is metal and/or if a metal frame is hollow inside and does not have a solid material such as mortar filling the cavity.
Moreover, improper or inconsistent installation of frames and doors can adversely affect the security of the intended closing and latching. The frames may be set too tightly or too loosely. Any of the three sides of a frame can possibly be twisted, which further hinders the ease of the closing and latching of the door. This can affect the security and/or the safety of the door opening if the door does not close easily and completely. Any condition that inhibits the ease of closing and latching usually results in a field fix of making adjustments on the spring hinges or door closers that make them close faster and slam shut. This increases the undesirable noise of a metal latch hitting a frame that can also be metal.
Manufacturers of locksets sometimes provide the strike plate which is to be installed in the rabbet of the door frame. Lips of the strike plate, which lips are oriented so as to face the closing door, can have different heights and different profiles such as different profiles of curved lips. Manufacturers of locksets also have latches extending out of the lockset, on the edge of the door, that have different angles.
For example, it may be desirable for the guest entry door in a hotel to be self-closing and self-latching to meet fire code. These doors may also self-lock and some may have automatic deadbolts that engage when the door enters a latched position. Moreover, some deadbolts are manually engaged (e.g., extended) from the inside of a door by a user turning a thumb turn on the inside face of the trim plates or face of the door. When a deadbolt is extended before a door is closed, and then the door is closed, it can cause an extremely loud banging noise when the deadbolt hits the lip of the strike plate and/or the frame. It is also noted that for some locks that have automatic extension of a deadbolt, one can activate the deadbolt before the door closes by depressing a secondary latch in the bottom of the edge of the lock. People often like to extend the deadbolt (sometimes known as "throwing the deadbolt") so that they can prop the door open to perhaps get ice or sometimes to simply leave it open in case they want to go back into a room at some point. Maids in hotels also tend to throw the deadbolt to hold doors open when a hotel room is being cleaned.
A problem is that the deadbolt can slam against the face of the frame and/or against the lip of a strike plate, and make a loud sound and possibly damage structure. The lip of the strike plate is often located beyond/above the frame. This can cause guest noise complaints in hotels concerning slamming doors. It can also damage the core of a door because it puts increased torque on the screws holding the lock inside the edge mortise of the door. If the door and/or frame is wood, it can also split the edge of the door and/or damage a wood frame. If the door is metal it can bend the tap plates that secure the lock body in the mortise. It can also damage the electronics of locksets.
It will be appreciated from the above that there exists a need in the art for addressing noise and/or damage issue when doors with extended deadbolts are shut, closed, or the like. It may be desirable to quiet the sound of an extended deadbolt when it is closed on a door frame and/or strike plate. It may be also desirable to quiet the sound of the engagement of a metal latch when it hits the metal strike plate. It may also be desirable to address variations in strike plates with respect to variations in strike lip profiles and/or variations of angles of lock latches.
Accordingly to example embodiments of this invention, a structure may be provided for cushioning an extended deadbolt of a door when the door with the extended deadbolt is moved from an open position to a closed position. The inside of the cushioning structure may have springs and/or a soft cushioning material such a foam. It could be one, two or more springs in certain example embodiments, and/or one or more pieces of foam. An example design of a spring may be conical in shape so that it may recess in to itself when fully or substantially fully compressed. A conical spring could also be set inside of a coiled spring that is a fraction (e.g., about half) the height of the conical spring. This may allow the extended deadbolt to bottom out for doors that hit the strike plate and/or frame with a greater speed and force. One could increase the tension on one or more springs. As discussed herein, foam may also be used for force absorbing material in cushioning structures in various embodiments of this invention. The cushioning structure may be telescoping in nature in example embodiments of this invention.
In certain example embodiments of this invention, there is provided a deadbolt cushioning system comprising: a deadbolt cushioning structure attached to a door frame, so that when a door with a fully extended deadbolt closes from a wide open position toward a closed position the extended deadbolt impacts the deadbolt cushioning structure, the deadbolt cushioning structure for preventing the extended deadbolt from impacting the door frame and for preventing the extended deadbolt from impacting a strike plate attached to the door frame; wherein the deadbolt cushioning structure includes a first housing and second housing with a biasing structure provided therebetween, the biasing structure comprising foam and/or a spring; wherein the first housing is affixed to a face of the door frame, wherein the second housing is slidable relative to the first housing, so that when the deadbolt impacts the deadbolt cushioning structure the biasing structure compresses and the second housing slides relative to the first structure and moves toward the face of the door frame to which the first housing is affixed.

Structuring for cushioning deadbolt and/or latch at door frame


A modular fuel assembly has a plurality of axially stacked subassemblies. The stacked subassemblies includes upper and lower subassemblies which incorporate top and bottom nozzles, and a plurality of intermediate subassemblies disposed between the upper and lower subassemblies. Each subassembly includes a plurality of elongated guide thimble segments, a plurality of fuel rod segments and a pair of support grids mounted to the guide thimble segments and supporting the fuel rod segments. The guide thimble segments of the upper and lower subassemblies are releasably mounted to the respective top and bottom nozzles thereof. The guide thimble segments are interlocked together to form a plurality of elongated guide thimbles extending between and together with the top and bottom nozzles defining a structural skeleton of the modular fuel assembly with the support grids of the respective subassemblies disposed in axially spaced relation relative to one another along the guide thimbles and the fuel rod segments of the respective adjacent subassemblies disposed in axially aligned end-to-end interfitted relation with each other to form a plurality of elongated fuel rods of the modular fuel assembly.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to nuclear fuel assemblies and, more particularly, is concerned with an axially modular fuel assembly and rod for more optimal fuel utilization.
2. Description of the Prior Art
One typical prior art nuclear fuel assembly is formed from a plurality of fuel rods supported in a skeletal assembly composed of top and bottom nozzles, a plurality of guide thimbles and an instrumentation tube extending longitudinally between and connected at their opposite ends to the top and bottom nozzles. A plurality of grids are axially spaced along and mounted to the guide thimbles and instrumentation tube for laterally supporting the fuel rods.
Each fuel rod typically includes an elongated hollow cladding tube and a plurality of uranium dioxide fuel pellets contained in a stack within the tube with the tube sealed at its opposite ends by end plugs Each fuel rod is supported at each grid by a combination of support dimples and springs on the grid. The grids are axially spaced along the guide thimbles and are captured by bulge joints formed in the guide thimbles at the grid locations in order to create an integrated skeletal structure in which the fuel rods can be inserted. The bottom nozzle serves as a lower support structural element for the fuel assembly and directs coolant flow distribution to and through the fuel assembly. The top nozzle functions as the upper structural element of the fuel assembly. The guide thimbles are structural members which also provide channels for guidance of control rods into some of the fuel assemblies.
A conventional nuclear reactor core includes a plurality of the prior art fuel assemblies disposed in a side-by-side array. In such reactor core, the benefits of an extended core life are not fully attained because of incomplete fuel consumption in the axial and radial directions during the life of the core. The incomplete consumption of fuel is most prevalent at the top and the bottom of the core. One approach to alleviation of poor fuel utilization is to employ natural uranium or, seed blankets, at the top and bottom of the core. U.S. Pat. No. 4,493,814 to Beard, Jr. et al and U.S. Pat. No. 4,631,166 to Camden, Jr., both assigned to the assignee of the present invention, relate to this approach.
Another approach is to provide a radially modular fuel assembly composed of a plurality of subassembly fuel modules. U.S. Pat. No. 4,716,015 to Carlson, assigned to the assignee of the present invention, relates to this approach. Each subassembly fuel module includes bottom and top nozzle module sections and grid sections with guide tube thimbles and fuel rods extending between the top and bottom nozzle module sections. Fuel assemblies can be reconstituted using subassembly fuel modules from different fuel assemblies or using one or more new subassembly fuel modules
Each of the above-mentioned approaches fosters some improvement in fuel utilization. However, it is perceived by the inventors herein that optimal fuel utilization has not yet been attained.

Axially modular fuel assembly and rod for optimal fuel utilization


A start-up control apparatus r includes a control chip, an advanced configuration and power management interface (ACPI) controller, and a firmware. The ACPI controller is used for receiving a trigger signal and sending a start-up signal corresponding to the trigger signal to the control chip if a computer system is powered off. The firmware is used for sending a status signal to the control chip after the firmware finishes initialization. Wherein the control chip is used for sending the start-up signal to a power supply to provide power for powering on the computer system after receiving the status signal.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to start-up control apparatuses and methods.
2. Description of Related Art
A server generally includes a variety of firmware, for example, a baseboard management controller (BMC). The firmware is initialized when the server is started up. However, initialization may take a lot of time. Different firmware may have different initialization times. On start-up, the power supply provides power for powering on the server after a reference time defined by the server. If the reference time exceeds the initialization time of some firmware, the server may have problems because some firmware has not finished initialization.

Hong Fu Jin Precision Industry (ShenZhen) Co., Ltd.


A disclosure and claims to systems and methods for allowing rapid detection and display of an emergency condition using a plurality of specially-constructed multifunction sensors and display units, which allow building evacuation plans to be evaluated, modified, and transmitted to building occupants.

Currently, building fire detection systems allow building managers to detect an emergency condition using installed smoke alarms and pull stations which allow both manual and automatic detection of a fire condition. Once a fire or emergency condition is detected, fire alarms or other alerts signal building occupants to either evacuate or shelter in place. However, current building evacuation systems have static evacuation plans that cannot be changed to reflect the realities of an emergency situation. These plans usually involve the building occupants proceeding directly to the nearest building exit, or in multi-story buildings, stairwells leading to the nearest building exit. One major problem with this is that a fire can in theory occur anywhere, including on an evacuation route. In this case, a pre -rehearsed evacuation route can actually put evacuees in greater danger. Another issue is that the location of building occupants may not be accurately known. Yet another issue is that the precise location and nature of an emergency condition may not be immediately known. For example, fire alarms can be activated manually, and the location of the fire alarm, i.e. pull station that was activated gives an indication that the emergency condition is occurring in the vicinity of that particular alarm, but does not localize the source with any accuracy, nor does it indicate the exact nature of the emergency condition. Similarly, detectors that automatically alert in the presence of smoke are strong indicators that a fire is present, but do not permit the location of the fire to be determined precisely, since smoke can travel for some distance in a building before being detected.

Systems and methods for dynamic building evacuation


A method, a system, and a computer program product may be provided for generating at least one route speed funnel for roadwork zone identification. The method may include generating a plurality of learned road signs from a plurality of road sign observations captured by a plurality of vehicles, determining a plurality of primary speed funnels, and generating at least one route speed funnel from the plurality of primary speed funnels based on a route validity condition. Each of the plurality of primary speed funnels comprises a different pair of learned road signs selected from the generated plurality of learned road signs. The method may further include determining a plurality of candidate speed funnels and temporally validating the plurality of candidate speed funnels to obtain the plurality of primary speed funnels.

Road works or roadwork zones are typically found on a section of a road or an entire road that is occupied for the purpose of, for example, road surface repairs, work on power lines, water works, etc. Roadwork zones may also be found when a major accident occurs and road debris from the accident needs to be cleared. Such roadwork zones are indicated to users of vehicles or autonomous vehicles using road signs, such as, "men at work" sign, "roadwork ahead" sign etc., or temporary signs such as traffic cones, barrier boards, etc. In some countries, the roadwork zones are indicated to the users of vehicles or autonomous vehicles using lane markings from a distance of the roadwork zone and speed limit signs from a distance of the roadwork zone. A user of the vehicle may identify the roadwork zones using such road signs at low speeds but it might not be possible to identify those signs at higher speeds. Moreover, for autonomous vehicles identifying such signs well in advance is of utmost importance to avoid collisions and undue mishaps.

Methods and systems for roadwork zone identification


A two-stroke engine has an intake arrangement including a carburetor. An intake channel divides into a mixture channel and an air channel. An intermediate flange is mounted between the carburetor and the cylinder. This flange has a carburetor connecting surface, which faces toward the carburetor, and a cylinder connecting surface which faces toward the cylinder. Referred to the flow direction in the intake channel, the air channel divides upstream of the cylinder connecting surface into two branches. The first branch has a first longitudinal center axis and the second branch has a second longitudinal center axis. The intersect points of the center axes with the connecting surfaces are mutually connected via an imaginary connecting line in the carburetor connecting surface or the cylinder connecting surface. The two connecting lines conjointly define an angle β in the carburetor connecting surface with this angle being greater than 0°.

From German patent publication 10 2006 014 991 A1, a two-stroke engine which draws in fuel and combustion air via a carburetor is known. Downstream of the carburetor, an air channel branches off from the intake channel and this air channel divides into two branches. These branches of the air channel run symmetrically to the center axis of the cylinder.
Two-stroke engines which operate with pre-stored scavenging are engines wherein substantially fuel-free air is pre-stored in the transfer channels and this pre-stored air pushes the exhaust gas out of the combustion chamber. In these two-stroke engines, a symmetrical arrangement is sought in order to achieve a symmetrical scavenging of the combustion chamber.
Two-stroke engines are, for example, used in hand guided work apparatus such as motor-driven chain saws, cut-off machines, brushcutters or the like. With the use of work apparatus of this kind, only limited structural space is available for the two-stroke engine.

Two-stroke engine having an intake arrangement