Pretreatment of cellulosic material with carbon dioxide gas, preparatory to being converted chemically, as by hydrolysis, etc. Biomass material, such as branches, stalks, brush, or foliage, or cellulosic products, such as waste paper or cardboard, is reduced to finely divided dry form and is exposed to carbon dioxide in an anhydrous environment, is compressed to superatmospheric pressure and then is decompressed to subatmospheric pressure, expelling air and other gases, particulates, water, other volatiles, etc. Then the cellulosic material is returned to atmospheric pressure, and subsequently is either recycled through such compression and decompression and return, or is compressed to even high pressure. Such environment is enriched in carbon dioxide, such as comprising it in substantial or major part or consisting essentially thereof.

"Biomass" is a principal source of cellulosic material and is one of the world's most abundant resources, being renewable via recurring plant growth. Hence, many efforts have been made to use it as a chemical feedstock, as in saccharification processes, for example. However, biomass and other cellulosic materials take so many diverse forms and are inherently so intractable as to make extreme demands upon design and control of any desired process.
Accordingly, it is convenient to subdivide chemical conversion of cellulosic material into successive stages, the first of which is usually called "pretreatment." The purposes of pretreatment include modification of physical or physical-chemical structure to render the cellulosic material more readily hydrolyzed or otherwise chemically converted subsequently.
Examples of known pretreatments of cellulosic material include application of strong acid, as by Classen in several patents, such as U.S. Pat. No. 695,795; alkali, as by Cross in U.S. Pat. No. 807,250; and weak acid, as by Corti in U.S. Pat. No. 826,299. Treatment by steam had (and has) numerous proponents, such as Tomlinson in many patents, including U.S. Pat. 1,032,443. Even more exotic pretreating agents have been employed, such as chlorine gas and sodium chloride (in electrolytic vessels), as by Gerull in U.S. Pat. No. 3,489,742; oxygen and alkali, as by Jividen et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,087,386; and metal chelates, as by Tsao in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,174,976 and 4,265,675.
Cellulose pretreatments known in the prior art have the defect of either degrading its structure chemically to such an extent that the resulting increased type or variety of compositions becomes even less desirable and more difficult to control, or even introducing some additional undesirable compositions (or both). A successful pretreatment of cellulosic material ought to have the advantageous effects of modifying its composition and structure so as to improve its susceptibility to intended subsequent chemical conversion, and preferably to a range of chemical conversion processes or steps.
The present invention is designed to remedy the noted defects and to provide the suggested advantages, in a novel straightforward way without introducing additional difficulties into processing of biomass or other cellulosic materials.


An unmanned, lighter-than-air airship includes three omnidirectional thrust generating units. One unit is mounted at the fore-end of the airship to generate thrust in a plane that is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the airship. This unit controls pitch and yaw movements of the airship. The other two units are mounted on the airship equidistant from the first unit, and are located in a same midships plane that is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis. These two units generate thrust vectors that control roll movements of the airship and provide propulsion for the airship.

Control over the propulsion and maneuver of an airborne vehicle, just like control over land or sea vehicles, requires an ability to selectively generate controllable forces on the vehicle. In the simple case where a hot air balloon is being used as an airborne vehicle, only the lifting force that is necessary to overcome the weight of the balloon can be generated and controlled. Thus, hot air balloons can not be effectively maneuvered. As a practical matter, however, most airborne vehicles need to be maneuverable. To do this, it is necessary to generate forces on the vehicle that will keep it airborne (i.e. lift) and propel it through the air (i.e. thrust). Additionally, it is necessary to generate forces that will establish and maintain a desired altitude for the airborne vehicle in pitch, yaw and roll, as it is being propelled through the air.
For the specific case of a lighter-than-air airship, the lifting force that keeps the airship airborne is a lighter-than-air gas (e.g. helium). In general, the gas that is to provide lift is somehow confined within the fuselage of the airship, much like a hot air balloon. For such a vehicle, however, the maneuver forces that provide control for thrust, pitch, yaw and roll must be provided by other means. Typically, these forces are provided by various combinations of propulsion units (e.g. engine driven propellers), and control surfaces (e.g. rudder, elevator and trim planes). When used in manned airships, where some degree of operational stability is essential for crew effectiveness, typical power plants and control surfaces are quite adequate. On the other hand, if the airship is unmanned, non-traditional power plants may be more effectively employed. This will be particularly so if the airship's fuselage is to be maneuvered and maintained in variously selected orientations for extended periods of time, which might otherwise cause extreme discomfort for an aircrew member.
Examples of applications for an unmanned airship include such uses as advertising and surveillance. For instance, it is apparent that about only one-third of an airship's fuselage surface can be effectively seen by an observer on the ground. On the other hand, an airship that can be maneuvered in roll through 120°, and thereafter selectively held stationary, could effectively present a sequence of three different advertisements to the same viewing audience. In another application, an airship that can be maneuvered to be geo-stationary for a selected period of time, and then conveniently moved to another geo-stationary location, could be useful for a variety of surveillance applications. In these, and all other cases, there are control considerations that need to be addressed. Importantly, in all of these cases, control is provided by the selective application of forces on the airship.
Power plants (i.e. propulsion units) for airborne vehicles are of many types and variations. In all instances, however, they are specifically employed to generate a thrust vector that has both a direction and a magnitude. One particular type of propulsion unit that is of specific interest here, is a so-called cycloidal propulsion unit. Such a unit is disclosed in detail in U.S. application Ser. No. 10/690,284 titled "Cycloidal VTOL UAV," which is assigned to the same assignee as the present invention and which is incorporated herein, in its entirety. The particularly interesting aspect of such a cycloidal propulsion unit is the fact that it can generate a thrust vector that is located in a definable plane. In particular, a cycloidal propulsion unit can generate a thrust vector of variable magnitude, and establish a direction for the thrust vector that is variable through 360° in the plane. Simply stated, a cycloidal propulsion unit can create a thrust vector that is controllable and variable in both magnitude and direction, in a given plane.
In light of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a lighter-than-air airship that incorporates cycloidal propulsion units for producing maneuver and control forces on the airship. Another object of the present invention is to provide an airship with the ability to execute 360° of roll, and maintain a selected orientation in roll for an extended period of time. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an airship that can selectively move to, and then loiter at, a sequence of geo-stationary locations. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a lighter-than-air airship with cycloidal propulsion units that is relatively easy to manufacture, is simple to operate, and is comparatively cost effective.


A polarized antenna array is provided that includes multiple polarized antenna elements. The polarized antenna array has a polarization vector defining a co-polarization direction and a cross-polarization direction. The multiple polarized antenna elements include a first sub-set of polarized antenna elements that collectively have a first polarization vector and a second sub-set of polarized antenna elements that collectively have a second polarization vector. Application of a controlled phase difference between the first sub-set of polarized antenna elements and the second sub-set of polarized antenna elements causes constructive combination of the first polarization vector and second polarization vector in the co-polarization direction and destructive combination of the first polarization vector and the second polarization vector in the cross-polarization direction.

Beam steering of a polarized radio frequency beam is used, for example, in modern radio communication. During beam steering a beam steering vector aligned with the beam is varied. A phased array of the same polarized antenna elements, in a common plane, is often used for beam steering. The array has a polarization vector defining a co-polarization direction and a cross-polarization direction. Each polarized antenna element has a polarization vector parallel to the co-polarization direction. During beam steering, as a projection of the beam steering vector onto the plane of the array changes from being parallel to the polarization vector of the antenna array to being orthogonal to the polarization vector of the antenna array, then cross-polar discrimination for the beam decreases.
It would be desirable to improve cross-polar discrimination for a steered polarized radio frequency beam.


The present invention provides compositions and methods useful in the diagnosis and management of Gastroesophageal Reflux. Specifically, the inventions provide a device and methods of using the device for accurately, quantitatively, and non-invasively diagnosing Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in both patients at risk for GERD and patients demonstrating reflux-like symptoms. In particular, the inventions relate to detecting and analyzing upward esophageal movements in patients, such as human infants, children, and adults.

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is estimated to occur in approximately 50% of normal term infants at the age of 2 months; however approximately 1% still have reflux at one year of age. Reflux is exacerbated in preterm infants, since gastric movements, such as motility and emptying, are lower so that reflux and related symptoms are not as easy to detect. Indeed, many symptoms currently considered to be GERD-related (e.g., apnea) are likely not causally related.
The majority of current efforts to treat GERD in infants involve antacids and increasing gut motility. However, few properly designed prospective studies, at least in infants, have shown efficacy of these treatments. Indeed, antacid treatment in preterm infants may promote adverse overgrowth of bacteria and predispose them to the development of necrotizing enterocolitis.
Similarly in adults, a putative diagnosis of GERD leads to (at least initial) empirical treatment with proton pump inhibitors, which treat the acidity of the refluxate, but not with medications designed to increase gut motility or suppress reflux. Further, because non-acid reflux is difficult to detect and has few if any effective treatments, non-acid reflux is generally ignored in the therapy of adult reflux. Use of an impedance monitor to detect non-acid reflux has been proposed as a new gold standard in the diagnosis and treatment of adult reflux, but significant problems remain with this diagnostic modality (vide infra).
Lower esophageal sphincter (LES) tone is historically considered to be involved in GERD and a focus of treatment. However, resting LES tone is not maturity related since resting LES at all ages exceeds intragastric pressure. Further, LES pressure does not correlate with GERD symptoms additionally making LES related treatments less than optimal.
Currently, the pH probe is the "gold standard" for the detection of reflux symptoms and diagnosis of acid reflux. However, in addition to being an invasive device, where the probe must be internalized in order to contact acid gastric materials, reflux has both acidic and non-acid occurrences, especially in preterm infants. Thus because a pH probe does not accurately measure non-acidic reflux this "gold standard" fails to detect non-acidic reflux. Therefore there is a lack of capability of detecting reflux in a non-invasive manner as well as a greater lack of capability for measuring non-acid reflux. Detection of non-acid reflux is especially important in preterm infants whose stomach acidity is less than in older children and adults.
In conclusion there is a lack of a diagnostic tool for detecting both acidic and non-acidic reflux symptoms for use in detecting reflux and for diagnosing GERD in order to begin providing effective reflux treatments for patients of any age.

Non-invasive device for diagnosing gastroesophageal reflux

Board of Trustees of Michigan State University


A data packet generator periodically generates a data packet including a passcode comprising a plurality of characters. The data packet is sent to a server or a computing device for validation. If validated, the data packet is used, for example, to identify the location of a user or device. Additional systems and methods involving such a data packet generator are also disclosed.

The two greatest expenses for most companies are human resources and real estate. Human resources involves the employment of a skilled workforce and includes related expenses such as salaries, retirement contributions, health care contributions, and the like. Real estate involves the buildings and other facilities in which those employees work, and includes expenses such as rent, utilities, and property taxes. In addition to these aspects of a company, information technology is a third aspect that is becoming more critical to most companies. Information technology includes the management of technology resources such as computers, telephones, and other electronic devices. In today's world, information technology is crucial to most businesses.
Traditionally, each of these aspects of a company has been able to work somewhat autonomously. Human resources and real estate needs did not change rapidly, and as needs changed, there was adequate time to consider the options and make decisions. Information technology was traditionally not a crucial part of most business.
Today's business environment is changing. Rapid changes are becoming the norm. Employees are increasingly mobile, with current technology allowing them to perform their work anywhere. The office is becoming a thing of the past as employees are increasingly working from temporary work stations, their homes, their cars, or out in the field. Enormous effort is required for the real estate department or other decision makers to understand the company's needs at any given time. Similarly, as employees move, the information technology department is challenged to allocate and distribute technology resources where they are needed. If the technology is not available when needed, employee productivity and efficiency suffers. Needs change from one day to another; but companies lack adequate tools to help them track, understand, and respond to these ever changing needs.

Data packet generator for generating passcodes


A method for dehydrating an aqueous composition comprising lithium bis(pentafluoroethanesulfonyl)imide and at least one organic solvent, wherein a part of solvent is distilled off by distillation.

The electrolytic solution for lithium batteries is extremely incompatible with water. Even a trace amount of water causes the problems such as inactivating the surface of a lithium negative electrode by reacting therewith to form an oxide film, and raising the internal impedance of a battery by forming air bubbles. For this reason, it is important to sufficiently perform a refining dehydration of an electrolytic solution for the improvement of battery quality.
The method for dehydrating a composition comprising lithium bis(pentafluoroethanesulfonyl)imide as an electrolyte is not well known heretofore. JP6-23209A discloses a method where a bis-sulfonimide salt having a C1-C4 perfluoroalkyl group of atoms is mixed with an inert fluorochemical to volatilize water and the inert chemical. In order to apply this method to lithium bis(pentafluoroethanesulfonyl)imide, we attempted the dehydration using perfluorohexane as an inert fluorochemical. However, the water obtained from the salt was at a level of 1000 ppm and the satisfactory result was not achieved. Moreover, this method is not economically excellent due to the use of an expensive inert fluorochemical.
Disclosed in JP10-338653A is a method for dehydrating a solution of lithium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, which is an analogous compound of lithium bis(pentafluoroethanesulfonyl)imide, wherein a dry inert gas is brought into contact therewith to evaporate water. The method needs circulation of the generated aqueous inert gas for dry through a dehydration system. In order to dehydrate the gas sufficiently by cooling it is necessary to operate a compressor and a refrigerator over a long time, which is not exactly economical.
As a method for producing a nonaqueous electrolytic solution for batteries, JP58-28174A discloses a method where a solvent and a solute are dissolved before water is removed as a part of the solvent being removed by distillation under a reduced pressure.
The publication indicates as an example the dehydration method by dissolving lithium perchlorate in propylene carbonate and removing propylene carbonate by distillation. However, the water contents per perchlorate when evaporating 10% and 20% amount of solvent are both remained at 100 ppm, which shows the limit of this method. Moreover, what should be done for the more effective dehydration is not suggested concretely.
The object of the present invention is to completely dehydrate a composition by a simple method, wherein said composition comprises lithium bis(pentafluoroethanesulfonyl)imide whose water content is difficult to be reduced due to its high deliquescence.

Method for dehydrating composition comprising lithium bis(pentafluoroethanesulfonyl)imide


A leader host obtains individual distributions of data sets ingested by individual hosts of a fleet of hosts over a domain. The leader host compiles the individual distributions over the domain to generate a compiled distribution. The leader host then partitions the domain based at least in part on the generated compiled distribution. These partitions of the partitioned domain are distributed to individual hosts of the fleet of hosts, which causes the individual hosts to process a portion of the distributed date set according to their respective partitions.

In a distributed network system environment, various physical hosts receive data from a variety of different data sources over time. This data may be received out of order across a horizontally scaled ingestion fleet of physical devices, such that the data has to be sorted and merged in order to support customer requests for this data. For instance, the horizontally scaled ingestion fleet of physical devices often collocate the obtained data to a vertically scaled physical host, which can perform the sort and merging of data to support customer requests for the data. However, sorting this data across the horizontally scaled ingestion fleet of physical devices can be difficult, particularly when the data is arriving out of order across the fleet.


An input interface is configured to receive at least one sensor signal corresponding to information of the exterior of the vehicle sensed by at least one sensor. A processor is configured to, based on the sensor signal, generate: a first data corresponding to first information sensed in a first area; and a second data corresponding to second information sensed in a second area located outside the first area. An output interface is configured to output the first data and the second data independently from one another.

Patent Document 1 discloses a camera adapted to be mounted on a vehicle. The camera serves as an example of a sensor. An image of the exterior of the vehicle acquired by the camera is used for driving assistance technology.
In the configuration described in Patent Document 1, a part of an image acquired by the camera is extracted and is used to be displayed on a display device installed in a compartment of the vehicle.


PROBLEM: To provide a large device and a method which is advantageous for forming a large-area amorphous film.

A device disclosed in Patent Literature 1 below is one of means for forming an amorphous film on the surface of a substrate by thermal spraying. The device is outlined in FIG. 11, wherein:
A flame including a particulate (powdery) material is sprayed by a thermal spraying gun toward the substrate, while the flame melting the particulate material, and then the particulate material and the flame are cooled by a cooling gas before reaching the substrate.
A skirt for separating the flame from air is provided at a region in a path of the flame sprayed by the thermal spraying gun, where the particulate material melts (roughly, the early half of the flame), and a channel for the cooling gas is integrally structured with and along the skirt.
The thermal spraying gun is the same type as one used for powder flame thermal spraying and the cooling gas is one selected from nitrogen, inert gas, air, liquid-mist mixed gas and other gases.
The conventional device for forming an amorphous film, shown in FIG. 11, has following actions and effects:
The flame is cooled by the cooling gas before reaching the substrate, therefore, it is easy to make the particulate material amorphous, and it is possible to form an amorphous film on the substrate even with a metal having a high melting point and a narrow temperature range of supercooling.
As a high speed flame spraying process is not adopted, the particulate material stays in the flame for a longer time. As a result, it becomes easy to completely melt the particulate material. Also from this point of view, the device enables to form a film even with amorphous alloys, except metallic glass, which have a high melting point and a narrow temperature range of supercooling.
With a compact structure, the device is easy-to-handle and can achieve smooth on-site amorphous film formation.

Device for forming amorphous film and method for forming same

Abstract: SOLUTION: A device of the invention sprays a flame including a particulate material with a spraying machine toward a substrate, melts the material with the flame, and cools the material and flame by cooling gas before they reach the substrate to form an amorphous film. The spraying machine has particulate material spraying ports and flame spraying ports such that the flame including the material has an oblong cross section. Inert gas spraying ports are successively placed on both sides across the ports of the material and flame. Mist spraying ports are successively placed on both sides across the ports for the material, flame and inert gas. A skirt is attached/detached depending on a combustion gas or a film width to restrain film width narrowing and increase of film thickness deviation.


According to an embodiment of the present invention, an optical parametric oscillator (OPO) (e.g., for a laser transmitting device) includes non-linear optical media, optical beam manipulating elements, and a narrow linewidth filter in the form of a rotatable grating. The grating enables rapid tuning of the oscillator to provide an output beam with a desired wavelength. A pump laser provides a pump laser beam, and the non-linear optical media convert the pump beam into light beams with a signal wavelength and an idler wavelength. The angular positions or orientations of the non-linear optical media relative to a longitudinal propagation axis of the optical parametric oscillator (OPO) are adjustable to effectively tune the resulting signal and idler wavelengths. An output coupler receives the resulting beams from the non-linear optical media, and emits beams with the desired wavelength (signal and/or idler wavelengths).

1. Technical Field
The present invention embodiments pertain to devices producing optical signals. In particular, present invention embodiments pertain to an optical parametric oscillator (OPO) providing a narrow linewidth (e.g., optical spectrum width or band) over a tunable wavelength range and enhanced power output. The optical parametric oscillator (OPO) may be employed for detection of chemicals (e.g., narrow-line and broad feature (or wider-line)) and/or biological aerosols.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Optical parametric oscillators (OPO) are well-known, non-linear optical devices capable of producing coherent radiation at a desired frequency via parametric amplification. In a conventional optical parametric oscillator (OPO), a pump source supplies a beam of laser light at a pump wavelength to an optical cavity bounded by end mirrors and containing a non-linear optical medium (typically a non-linear optical crystal). As the pump beam propagates through the non-linear optical medium within the optical cavity, photons at the pump wavelength are converted into photon pairs at two longer wavelengths, thereby resulting in two lower-energy beams with these two longer wavelengths (conventionally referred to as the signal wavelength and the idler wavelength). The sum of the frequencies of the signal and idler beams (having the respective signal and idler wavelengths) equals the frequency of the pump beam. The particular wavelengths of the signal and idler beams are determined by a number of factors, including: the pump wavelength, the type and cut of the non-linear optical crystal, and the design of the optical cavity. In addition, tuning of the signal and idler beams can be achieved by adjusting the angle of the non-linear optical crystal.
Since typical operating conditions cause only a small fraction of the pump beam to be converted to the signal and idler beams in the initial pass through the non-linear optical crystal, the optical cavity of the optical parametric oscillator (OPO) is generally designed to oscillate one or both of the parametrically generated beams such that the signal and/or idler beam is amplified in successive passes through the non-linear optical crystal. The optical parametric oscillator (OPO) is considered a doubly resonant oscillator when both of the generated optical beams are resonated, and is considered a singly resonant oscillator when only one of the generated optical beams is resonated. Specifically, the optical cavity can be designed with end mirrors that reflect only one of the signal and idler frequencies (singly resonant), or with end mirrors that reflect both the signal and idler frequencies (doubly resonant).
An application of an optical parametric oscillator (OPO) is a light source for detection and/or identification of chemical/biological entities. With respect to remote sensing in the mid-wavelength infrared (MWIR) region, a wide variety of chemicals of interest have unique absorption features. One approach to sensing capitalizes on this characteristic by using a widely tunable (i.e., 3.1-3.6 microns) light source for both Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) and Differential Scattering (DISC) applications. However, the large tuning range of the light source prevents the optical parametric oscillator (OPO) from achieving linewidths (e.g., optical spectrum width or band) significantly lower than 300 picometers (pm), which is similar to the width of many narrow-line chemicals of interest (e.g., Hydrogen Chloride (HCl), etc.). Further, these narrow linewidths are not conducive for optimum measurements since an extremely tight tolerance is mandated on the central wavelength.
The above described oscillator functions adequately for chemicals with broad features requiring a broader linewidth (e.g., optical spectrum width or band) (e.g., dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP), triethyl phosphate (TEP), etc.). In order to provide the wide tuning range and the capability of measuring chemicals with either broad or narrow absorption features, a common solution employs a dual leg system. A first leg of the system contains an optical parametric oscillator (OPO) to perform measurements of chemicals with broad features, while the second leg of the system contains a narrow linewidth optical parametric amplifier (OPA) to measure the narrow-line chemicals. However, this system is impractical for the measurement of arbitrary chemicals. In particular, the optical parametric amplifier (OPA) requires seed lasers to generate the narrow linewidth, where the seed laser wavelengths are different for each chemical. Since a system to accommodate several chemicals requires a large number of these seed lasers, this type of system is extremely difficult to construct and expensive.

Grating based optical parametric oscillator and method of dynamically tuning the oscillator for generating desired optical signals


During recovery of a master system, a mismatch between data in the master system and that in a backup system is obviated quickly to shorten time consumed before resumption of operation of the master system. The backup system controls, as second difference information, update data generated over a substitute operation period between occurrence of a disabled state of the master system and recovery thereof and when the master system is enabled to operate, a range of addition of first difference information inside the master system and the second difference information or only a range of the second difference information is copied to the master system to eliminate the data mismatch.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to data duplicating techniques and more particularly, to a technique effectively applicable to a technique of holding data between a plurality of mutually independent information processing systems in duplicate by using an asynchronous or synchronous data copy technique.
2. Description of the Related Art
For example, in users such as banking organs and insurance companies in which a large capacity of data is held and the loss of data seriously affects the execution of business affairs and social life, taking a backup of the data has hitherto been practiced and besides, in recent years, it has been desired by learning a good lesson from natural calamities and accidents that the data be saved in a backup system laid at a remote location.
More particularly, in order to realize preservation of data and guarantee of operation continuity, update data on a master system is copied to a backup system laid at a remote location and in the event that the master system stops operating owing to a disaster or a fault, the operation is switched to the backup system to ensure continuity of operation.
As regards data preservation based on data duplication between remote locations, a technique disclosed in, for example, JP-A-8-509565 is available. According to the disclosed method, data in a master system is reflected, as it is, on a backup system to maintain a "mirror state" and when operation of the master system is disabled, the operation is switched over to the backup system to thereby make resumption of the system operation easier. The method for backup copy to the master system can be classified principally into two kinds of "synchronous type" and "asynchronous type" from the standpoint of the chance to update the data between the master system and the backup system.
In a technique of the synchronous type, when a request for data update is made by a host of the master system, update data is first written to a storage device of the master system and write of the update data to a storage device of the backup system is then carried out; and when receiving a write end notice from the backup system, the storage device of the master system submits a final write end report to the host of the master system, so that synchronization of the data update between the master system and the backup system can always be maintained.
Contrarily, in a technique of the asynchronous type, when a request for data update is made by the host of the master system, a write end report is submitted to the host of the master system at the time that write of update data to the storage device of the master system is completed but for this data update, execution of data update applied to the backup system is delayed, that is, done asynchronously.
In the case of the asynchronous copy type, a temporary difference in data takes place before the data updated in the master system is reflected on the backup system. Accordingly, a state of the data unreflected on the backup system must be managed or controlled. For example, in a method disclosed in JP-A-10-198607, a difference control table indicating the presence or absence of a difference every logical track is provided and update data is copied to the backup system on the basis of the difference.
In the event that the master system is disabled temporarily owing to, for example, a serious disaster while the "mirror state" being maintained normally, the "mirror state" is sustained by virtue of the synchronousness of data update in the "synchronous type". In this case, part of data concerning the final update is not reflected possibly on the remote system depending on the timing but matching does not matter. In the "asynchronous type", however, the update data is reflected asynchronously on the backup system and as a result, a mismatch occurs between the master system and the backup system. In order to recover from the mismatched condition, all of the data in the backup system must be copied to the master system when the master system recovers from the stop state due to a disaster or fault and much time is required for copying a large capacity of data, thus eventually delaying time for the master system to recover.
A method for recovering from the mismatched state is disclosed in, for example, JP-A-6-290125. In the disclosed method, update data is subjected to wait queuing so as to be copied to the backup system in sequence of update, thus maintaining matching. When recovering from a fault, recovery from the mismatched state is made on the basis of a pending write wait queue inside the backup system.
Further, a technique is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,857,208, according to which in a system for duplicating data between a local system and a remote system, a backup unit such as a magnetic tape device is connected to the remote system, difference data between the local system and the remote system, which difference data is generated when data copy from the local system to the remote system is stopped to copy data to the backup unit at a specified time point, is managed or controlled by a track status provided on the local system side, and after completion of backup by the remote system, the difference data is copied from the local system to the remote system to permit recovery of matching.

Method and system for storing duplicate data


A shelf, a dispatching method, a dispatching device, and an operation dispatching system relating to the field of intelligent warehousing technology, the shelf including: a storage device for placing an article; a motion device for moving the shelf; a power device for providing energy to the motion device; a communication device configured to communicate with a control center; and a controller that controls communication of the communication device with the control center and controls motion of the motion device.

With the development of artificial intelligence technology, unmanned warehousing technology has become a general trend. It is desirable that the delivery and distribution of article can be implemented in an unmanned intervention manner to reduce the labor cost, improve the efficiency, and at the same time reduce problems such as false delivery due to manual mistake.

Shelf, dispatching method, dispatching device and operation dispatching system

BEIJING JINGDONG ZHENSHI INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


A sabot-projectile arrangement adapted for being ejected from a gun barrel for the purpose of combatting actively and passively reacting armor. The arrangement comprises first and second projectiles, each having a different coefficient of air resistance (c.sub.w). A discarding sabot is comprised of segments which define a receptacle for accommodating the first and second projectiles with their longitudinal axes flush behind one another in order to follow one another in a spaced relationship on a common trajectory when the sabot-projectile arrangement is fired from a gun. Form locking means defines a form locking connection between the receptacle and each of the projectiles. The form locking connection existing between the leading first projectile disposed in the receptacle and the segments of the sabot are released earlier than when the segments are separated from the second projectile after the sabot-projectile arrangement leaves the gun barrel. Delay means cause the second projectile to be delayed with respect to the first projectile when the segments are separated for creating a desired distance between the projectiles within narrow distancing limits within which there exists axial aerodynamic coupling between the projectiles. An actuatable device is provided for varying the c.sub.w coefficient of at least one of the projectiles during flight so that the aerodynamic coupling between the projectiles is maintained within the distancing limits.

The present invention concerns a sabot-projectile arrangement which is ejected from a gun barrel for the purpose of combatting actively and passively reacting armor, and more particularly to a projectile which includes a first and a second projectile, each having a different coefficient of air resistance (c.sub.w), a discarding sabot composed of segments which are discarded after the projectile leaves a gun barrel, such segments defining a receptacle for accommodating the first and the second projectile with their longitudinal axes flush behind one another in order to follow one another in a spaced relationship on a common trajectory; and form locking means defining a form locking connection between the receptacle and each of the two projectiles, wherein the form locking connection existing between the leading first projectile disposed in the receptacle and the segments of the sabot is released earlier than when the segments are separated from the trailing second projectile after the sabot-projectile arrangement leaves a gun barrel.
An arrangement of this type is disclosed in German Offenlegungsschrift No. 3,207,220, corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 4,516,502. This publication also describes means for assuring that the kinetic energy projectile disposed in the front, when seen in the direction of flight, remains in front even during free flight of the kinetic energy projectiles. For this purpose, the two types of projectiles differ in their respective coefficient of air resistance (c.sub.w). The leading projectile is intended to initiate the active or passive reaction in a target area and thus assure that the second projectile can become effective at the target substantially without interference.
This known arrangement has the drawback that the axial spacing between the two projectiles increases over the entire trajectory. Interference impressed on the one and/or the other of the two projectiles strongly influences whether the projectile flying in second position will indeed hit the target area in which the preceding projectile has done its preparatory work.
German Offenlegungsschrift No. 3,127,002 corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 4,524,000 discloses a sabot-projectile arrangement projectiles in which fly one behind the other and whose c.sub.w coefficients can be adapted to one another along the trajectory, with the projectiles being connected together by means of a cable. This arrangement requires considerable manufacturing expenses and is subject to malfunction.

Projectile for combatting actively and passively recting armor


A body structure of a stringed instrument is designed to reduce weight and to improve sound quality with respect to a solid body, which is constituted by a core material and a pair of decorative boards, wherein the core material is composed of a single material having a relatively low specific gravity (e.g., 0.4 or less) such as falcata, bass wood, and balsa, while the decorative boards each have hardness greater than that of the core material. The core material has curved flatness (or curvature) in which both sides lying in the width thereof are reduced in thickness compared with the center portion thereof. The core material having a relatively low specific gravity is sandwiched between the hard decorative boards; hence, it is possible to reduce the overall weight while securing satisfactory strength.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to body structures of stringed instruments, and in particular to body structures of electric stringed instruments such as electric guitars having solid bodies.
This application claims priority on Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-267756, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is well known that electric stringed instruments such as electric guitars have solid bodies in which a plurality of wooden sheets are adhered together to form prescribed planar shapes. However, solid bodies of electric guitars have relatively heavy weight compared with hollow bodies of acoustic guitars; hence, they may cause physically heavy burden for players who play guitars.
In order to reduce the weight of a guitar body, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. S63-170696 discloses an example of a body structure of an electric stringed instrument that uses light wooden members for prescribed parts. This body structure is designed such that plural types of wooden materials are adhered together in the same plane so as to form a single body block, which is then subjected to cutting at the outer periphery thereof and is thus transformed into a prescribed shape. In the body block, mahogany is used in the center portion in which strings are stretched under tension, while balsa and mahogany are used in the peripheral portion. This may achieve satisfactory strength in prescribed parts of the body while reducing the overall weight of the body to some extent.
The aforementioned body structure uses body blocks, in which plural types of wooden materials are adhered together, as constituent materials of a body of an electric stringed instrument. This requires a primary step for forming wooden materials into a prescribed shape, and a secondary step for adhering blocks together. For this reason, the aforementioned body structure merely results in complication of manufacturing.
In the aforementioned body structure, mahogany (i.e., hard wooden material) is used in the center portion for arranging pickups and the peripheral portion of a body. That is, relatively heavy wooden material such as mahogany is used in the center portion and peripheral portion of a body; hence, it is difficult to reduce the overall weight of the body.
Manufacturers may generally consider that overall weight of wooden manufactured products can be reduced by using wooden materials having low specific gravity or low weight. However, this may lead to another problem in that wooden materials having low specific gravity or low weight are reduced in strength or hardness. In other words, the demand for reducing weight conflicts with the demand for securing satisfactory strength through hardening. Therefore, it is strongly demanded for manufacturer to develop a body structure of a stringed instrument that satisfies both of the aforementioned demands.


The production of a biaxially oriented tube from thermoplastic material, wherein a tube in preform condition is extruded from thermoplastic material using an extruder having an extruder die head with an inner die member that forms a lumen in the tube in preform condition. The tube in preform condition is subjected to a temperature conditioning. Use is made of a expansion device comprising a non-deformable expansion part having a gradually increasing diameter to a maximum diameter, which expansion part is contacted by the tube and exerts an expanding force so as to bring about expansion of the tempered tube in circumferential direction. The method comprises drawing the tempered tube over the expansion device using a drawing device, in such a manner that said tube is transformed from a tube in preform condition into a biaxially oriented tube with thermoplastic material which is oriented in axial direction and in circumferential direction of the tube.

When producing biaxially oriented tubing of thermoplastic material, e.g. pipes of polyvinylchloride, it has proven to be difficult to produce tubing with uniform final dimensions. Such uniformity is desirable, e.g. as biaxially oriented tubing elements, e.g. pressure pipes, e.g. for transportation of water, are interconnected end-to-end, e.g. via socket connections.
The first aspect of the invention relates to a method for producing a biaxially oriented tube from thermoplastic material, wherein a tube in preform condition is extruded from thermoplastic material using an extruder which is provided with an extruder die head having an inner die member, the inner die member forming a lumen in the tube in preform condition, wherein the tube in preform condition is subjected to a temperature conditioning, so that a tempered tube in preform condition is obtained having an orientation temperature which is suitable for the thermoplastic material, and wherein use is made of an expansion device, said expansion device comprising:                a non-deformable expansion part having a gradually increasing diameter to a maximum diameter at a downstream end thereof, which expansion part is contacted by the tube and exerts an expanding force on the tube so as to bring about an expansion of the tempered tube in preform condition in circumferential direction,        a run-on part which is located upstream of the expansion part, said run-on part having an upstream nose end.
The method comprises drawing the tempered tube over the expansion device using a drawing device which is arranged downstream of the expansion device and acts on the tube, in such a manner that said tube is transformed from a tube in preform condition into a biaxially oriented tube with thermoplastic material which is oriented in axial direction and in circumferential direction of the tube. The biaxially oriented tube is cooled.
In this method of the first aspect of the invention use is made of an expansion device having one or more fluid supply ducts. The one or more fluid supply ducts have a port in the outer surface of the run-on part and/or the expansion part of the expansion device, and a fluid is introduced between the expansion device and the tube.
First some prior art approaches will be discussed here.
In EP 823 873 a method is disclosed for the production of biaxially oriented tubing. Use is made of a rigid mandrel having an expansion part as well as a run-on part upstream of and integral with the expansion part. Spaced upstream from the nose end of the run-on part a closure member is held on the anchoring rod, so as to define a chamber in the lumen of the tube in preform condition. A liquid, e.g. heated water, is fed under pressure between the tube and the mandrel device via one or more ducts that are formed in the mandrel and have a port in the outer surface of the mandrel. This liquid then flows counter to the direction of movement of the tube towards the chamber upstream of the nose end of the expansion device and is then discharged via one or more discharge ducts in the anchoring rod.
In EP 823 873 it is also proposed to provide the mandrel with a run-off part downstream of the expansion part. A film of cold liquid is created between the tube and this run-off part, as one or more feed and discharge ducts for said cold liquid are formed in the mandrel. In particular it is proposed to cause the cold liquid in said film to flow opposite to the motion of the tube, so from a downstream feed opening in the outer surface of the run-off part towards an upstream discharge opening in the outer surface of the run-off part.
In EP 823 873 the tube is made to sealingly engage the mandrel at or near the transition between the expansion part and the run-off part in order to avoid that the cold liquid reaches the expansion part.
In EP 1 159 122 a method is disclosed for the production of biaxially oriented tubing. Use is made of a rigid mandrel having an expansion part as well as a run-on part upstream of and integral with the expansion part. The run-on part has a uniform diameter over its length. A film of liquid is formed between the expansion part and the tube. The liquid is supplied at the downstream end of the expansion part and flows counter to the motion of the tube to one or more outlets arranged in the run-on part of the expansion device. The tube in preform condition is shown to sealingly engage on the nose end of the run-on part as the inner diameter of the preform is less than the diameter of the run-on part.
The first aspect of the invention aims to provide measures that allow for improvements over the prior art or at least provide for a useful alternative.
It is a further object of the first aspect of the invention to provide for measures that allow for a suitable internal tempering of the tube in preform condition, possibly using liquid circulated within the lumen, e.g. in combination with heating and/or cooling on the outside of the tube in preform condition.
It is a further object of the first aspect of the invention to provide measures that allow for a suitable internal tempering of the tube in preform condition, possibly using liquid circulated within the lumen, as well as introducing a fluid, e.g. a liquid or a gas, between the expansion device, e.g. the expansion part thereof, and the tube, the introduction of fluid and the internal tempering being independent from one another.

Methods and devices for manufacturing biaxially oriented tubing


In one embodiment, a method in a wireless device for radio resource control (“RRC”) connectivity includes transmitting a RRC connection request message to a network node, wherein the RRC connection request message is part of a first RRC connection protocol. The method may also include receiving a responsive message from the network node, wherein the response message is part of the first RRC connection protocol. The method may further include receiving an indication that the wireless device should suppress a RRC connection complete message that is part of the first RRC connection protocol. The method may further include determining that the RRC connection complete message should not be transmitted to the network node and suppressing the transmittal of the RRC connection complete message to the network node.

In LTE-Rel-13 and LTE-Rel-14, security aspects of radio resource control ("RRC") connectivity are discussed and standardized in 3GPP. RRC messaging may be used to perform a number of connectivity functions including RRC establishment, re-establishment, resume, and reconfiguration between a UE and an eNB. In LTE, certain security features such as integrity protection and ciphering are performed by PDCP. In UMTS, integrity protection of the Control Plane (CP) is performed by RRC itself, whereas ciphering is performed by the RLC layer. The assumption in LTE for RRC messages is that the RRC messages would be both integrity protected and ciphered unless an exception was required and acceptable.
The transmission of RRC messages may be communicated using signaling radio bearers (SRBs). There are several types of SRBs, including SRB0, SRB1, and SRB2. SRB0 is used for RRC messages using the common control channel ("CCCH"), while SRB1 and SRB2 use the dedicated control channel ("DCCH"). SRB0 typically does not include integrity protection or ciphering, while signaling messages over SRB1 typically include both integrity protection and ciphering. Moreover, SRB2 is typically configured after security activation has occurred. RRC connectivity also addresses the availability of data radio bearers ("DRBs"). While SRBs are used to transfer RRC signaling messages, DRBs carry User Plane content over the air interface. Depending on the services used by a UE, a number of DRBs can be established.
The security procedures for RRC messaging may depend on the type of RRC messaging being used between the UE and eNB. For example, narrow band internet of things ("NB-IoT") is a Rel-13 feature supporting two alternative ways of transporting data. NB-IoT is optimized for small infrequent data from a very large number of devices. When data is transported over the U-plane, the RRC connection can be suspended to be resumed at a later time to reduce signaling due to state transitions. As another example, if a radio link failure or handover failure occurs between the UE and eNB, the UE may initiate a RRC connection re-establishment procedure to re-establish the SRB1 operation and reactivate the security algorithms used by the UE and eNB.
A number of technical issues arise when a UE and eNB exchange RRC messaging.

Methods, apparatuses and computer readable media for optimizing radio resource control RRC connectivity


A remote control, such as a 3D air mouse, includes motion sensors used to measure position/orientation in space to alternatively control a cursor on a display, recognize gestures by the user so that data/commands can be entered into an electronic system being controlled or the like. Timed sequences of pressing a single trigger button and the quantity of motion during said sequences are both timed in relation to thresholds to switch between modes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention deals with a motion based remote control of a base station having a display. More specifically, it allows switching between a number of different control modes using a single trigger button located on said remote control.
2. Description of the Related Art
3D pointing devices (often also referred to as held "in the air") which allow control of virtual zones on a display are known in the art. Such pointing devices normally include a number of sensors (for example, optical sensors, accelerometers, gyrometers, or magnetometers) capable of measuring the motion of the device in space and to convert the movement the user imparts to the pointing device into displacements of a cursor on the display. Pointing devices of this type have been disclosed, for instance, by U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/147,811 assigned to the same assignee as the present application. The pointing devices disclosed in this patent application include accelerometers and gyrometers, but other sensors are known in the art to perform the same functions.
Some of these devices also allow the user to enter commands by making gestures in the air with the remote control (like a number, a letter or a more complex input). Devices with this type of gesture recognition have been disclosed for instance in the U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/499,175 assigned to co-assignees, one of which is the assignee of the present application. The devices disclosed in this patent application use dynamic time warping algorithms to recognize the user's gestures, but other algorithms are also known in the art, like hidden Markov models.
Pointing devices may include a number of buttons or triggers to control functions of the base station or to switch between a pointing mode and a gesture recognition mode. It is for instance the case of the ones disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,598,187. However, in this disclosure, the users have to use a number of different buttons whereas they have a need to use simple commands to switch, for example, between the pointing mode and the gesture recognition mode. The devices of the prior art have not solved this problem of intuitive and easy switching between different modes of the remote control, without using multiple buttons.

Remote control with 3D pointing and gesture recognition capabilities


A closure comprises a hub with a central opening and a head pivotally connected to the hub, the head sealing the central opening when in a closed position. A lip seal relief is defined by a stepped surface between the head and the hub so that when the head is closed, the relief or clearance is provided between the head and hub inhibiting damage to a seal.

1. Field of the Invention
Present embodiments relate generally to a closure for a pressure vessel or pipe. More specifically, but not by way of limitation, present embodiments relate to a relief structure for a lip seal utilized with a closure mechanism for a pressure vessel or pipe.
2. Description of the Related Art
Closures for pressure vessels and pipes typically utilize a round door or head adapted to fit in the aperture of a body or hub. The hub is connected to a vessel or pipe system or other structure which is typically pressurized. The door or head is lockingly engaged to the hub when in the closed position so that the system or vessel may be pressurized without unknowingly allowing for opening of the head from the hub.
A bore or aperture of the hub has an inner circumferential groove for supporting a portion of a locking member. The door has a locking ring proximate a circumferential portion of an outer surface of the door wherein the locking ring is engaged to cooperate with the groove about the aperture after the door is closed and seated in the aperture. The locking ring is typically biased by a band, ring or segment which is caused to expand or contract, causing the same expansion or contraction of the locking ring to lock or unlock the head from the hub. The locking ring may be formed of one or more segments or may be a unitary structure.
Some closure mechanisms for pressure vessels utilize a seal between the head and the hub in order to inhibit leakage of pressurized fluid from the inside of the closure to the outside. Additional to this point, some seals are designed to be oversized so as to provide and improve the seal between the head and the hub. In certain embodiments, the closure is oriented for use on a vertical pipe such that the head is in a horizontal plane and the weight of the head aids to retain the head against or within the hub. In these embodiments, where a seal is used, it is common for seals to incur damage due to the continuous weight of the head pressing the seal against the hub. In alternate embodiments where the head is in a vertical plane, the head may be so tightly locked in the hub so as to damage the seal. When the seal is oversized, it is possible that the seal may carry much of the load of the head. Over time, this causes damage to the seal and therefore, may result in leakage at the closure.
It would be desirable to overcome these and other deficiencies and provide structure which compensates for the problems associated with overloading of a lip seal.


A method and apparatus for optical recording addresses a problem of edge shift which occurs during the recording. The apparatus includes a rotating mechanism for rotating an optical medium, and an optical head having a light source for recording information on the optical medium. A moving mechanism moves the optical head to a predetermined position on the optical medium, and a recording controlling device controls light source of the optical head in accordance with a recording pulse. The recording controlling device includes a pulse width measuring device for measuring the pulse width of a recording pulse, and fall controlling device effects a recording compensation by advancing a fall of the recording pulse with a lead, such that the lead increases with the measured pulse width. A pulse interval measuring device is provided for measuring a pulse interval preceding the recording pulse, and a rise controlling device effects a recording compensation by delaying a rise of the recording pulse with a delay, such that the delay decreases with the measured pulse interval.

The present invention relates to an optical medium recording apparatus and an optical medium recording method, and more particularly to an apparatus and a method in which an information signal is recorded on an optical medium using a mark length recording method.
An optical disk apparatus, in which an optical disk is used as an optical medium because of its large storage capacity and medium interchangeability, is used in a filing system for storing image data or as an external storage device of a computer capable of code data recording/reproducing, The optical disk is being used in rapidly increasing number of different fields nowadays as a medium of supplying software or as a back-up device because it is mass-reproducible from a master disk, such as a compact disk.
Variations of such an optical disk used in recording/reproducing in an optical disk apparatus area: a read-only medium, a typical example of which is a CD-ROM; a write-once medium capable of recording only once and used mainly in a filing apparatus handling image information; and a rewritable medium capable of handling coded information and of recording and erasing information as many times as desired.
As an example of the rewritable medium above, a 5-inch magneto-optic disk, whose medium format is standardized by ISO, an international standardizing organization, is already available as a commercial product. After the 5-inch medium format was standardized, the 3.5-inch medium format was standardized by ISO, and several types of 3.5-inch optical disks are already available as a product.
In order for the 5-inch and 3.5-inch optical disks to become widely used in the future, it is essential that such disks have an even greater performance ability and larger storage capacity, as well being less expensive. In this respect, a recording method and a recording apparatus, capable of recording desired information accurately utilizing a high-density recording method, is necessary.
FIG. 1 illustrates the configuration of an example of an optical head in the conventional optical disk apparatus. In an optical head 11 of FIG. 1, a light beam emitted from a semiconductor laser 12 provided as a light source is turned into parallel light by a collimating lens 13, allowed to pass through a first beam splitter 14, reflected by a reflecting mirror 15, and caused to be incident on an objective lens 16.
The objective lens 16 converges the incident light beam and forms, by focusing the beam, a light spot on the medium surface of an optical disk 17 that rotates on a spindle, which is a rotating mechanism. The objective lens 16 itself is positionally controlled by means of a signal obtained by allowing an output control signal from an amplifier 22 described later to undergo signal processing, so that a minute spot narrowed to a diffraction limit is impinged accurately on a specified track while keeping track of radial runout and axial deflection of the magneto-optic disk 17. The optical head 11 is moved in a radial direction of the magneto-optic disk 17 by a moving mechanism 10.
When recording or erasing information on a medium, only the part thereof where a laser spot is impinged undergoes temperature rise beyond the Curie temperature, due to the irradiating laser power being magnified; and an external magnetic field applied by a bias coil 18 to the magneto-optic disk 17 causes the medium to be magnetized in the same direction as the externally applied magnetic field.
When reproducing information, signals on the recording medium are detected by utilizing a reflection of light from the magneto-optic disk 17. Light reflected by the magneto-optic disk 17 and converged by the objective lens 16 is allowed to travel on the same optical path that it travels on when it is incident on the disk, is then reflected by the first beam splitter 14 that the light passed through on its way to the disk, and caused to digress from the incident light path. The reflected laser light separated off by the first beam splitter 14 is split into a transmitted light and a reflected light by a second beam splitter 19. The reflected light is applied to a photodetector 21 and the amplifier 22 so as to generate an error signal for focus control and track control needed for the objective lens 16 to maintain accurate tracking.
The transmitted light from the second beam splitter 19 is split by a polarizing beam splitter 24 after passing through a wavelength plate 23, the split light beams being caused to be incident on photodetectors 27, 28 via converging lenses 25, 26, respectively. The output electric signals from the photodetectors 27, 28 are fed to the inputs of a differential amplifier 29 and an additional amplifier 30, respectively. The differential amplifier 29 generates a magneto-optic signal (MO signal); and the additional amplifier 30 generates an ID signal. The ID signal is a signal recorded as heights and depressions on a track, and includes a track number and a sector number. This ID signal is detected as a change in light amount accompanying diffraction of light by the heights and depressions on the recording medium. The magneto-optic signal is detected as a change in light polarization which depends upon the direction of magnetization.
FIG. 2 illustrates the construction of the magneto-optic disk medium. The magneto-optic disk 17 is constructed such that a recording layer 32 is formed on a substrate 31, and pre-grooves 33, used as grooves for guiding the light Spot so that it hits a specified track, are formed on the entire radial extent at a track pitch of 1.6 .mu.m. The depth of these pre-grooves 33 is preset to be about 1/4 of a wavelength .lambda. of a light beam so that the sensitivity of a track error signal is at a maximum.
Land portions 34 are formed between the adjacent pre-grooves 33. A minute spot obtained by converging the beam by means of the objective lens is impinged on this land portion 34. Pits or marks for the ID signal containing the track number and sector number are built in the form indicated by a numeral 35 in FIG. 2, the marks or pits being provided, in the form of heights and depressions, on the disk at the time of fabrication thereof. The depth of this recorded pit 35 for an ID signal is preset to be .lambda./4 or in the neighborhood thereof so that the pre-grooves 33 may not affect the track error signal.
Recorded information (user data) is recorded in the form indicated by a numeral 36 by means of a light beam incident on the recording layer 32 on the land portion 34 that borders on the recorded pit 35 for the ID signal, not as heights and depressions but as direction of magnetization of a magnetic film, the recording being done by using a mark length recording method (described later). Both in recording and reproducing, the light beam is incident from behind the substrate 31 and converged so as to be focused on the recording layer 32.
FIG. 3 shows how the magneto-optic signal is detected; and FIG. 4 shows a vector diagram of the components of the light reflected by the magneto-optic disk. As shown in FIG. 3, the plane of polarization of the light reflected by the magneto-optic disk 17 after the light is incident thereon is such that a reflected light A reflected from a part of the disk which is magnetized top to bottom rotates, due to the magnetic Kerr effect, in a positive direction, whereas the reflected light B reflected from a part of the disk which is magnetized bottom to top rotates in a negative direction, each rotation equaling .theta..sub.k degrees. .theta..sub.k denotes the Kerr rotation angle which has an extremely small value of about 1.degree..
The reflected lights A and B have an S polarized component and a P polarized component and, as shown in FIG. 4, may be represented by mutually different vectors. Therefore, in a readout system, the reflected lights are split with respect to the plane of polarization, i.e., are split into a P-polarized component parallel to the plane of incidence on the polarizing beam splitter 24 and an S-polarized component perpendicular thereto. Detection of the Kerr rotation angle .theta..sub.k is possible because the polarizing beam splitter 24 lets the P-polarized component pass through it and reflects the S-polarized component.
Since a 45.degree. offset is applied to the detected P-polarized component, by means of the wavelength plate 23, the detected P-polarized component is given by ##EQU1##
A description will now be given of how information is recorded on the magneto-optic disk 17. In an initial state, magnetization on the magneto-optic disk 17 is unidirectional, i.e., the disk is magnetized in a "erase" direction. In order to write a recorded data consisting of "0's" and "1's" arranged in a selected order on the disk, the disk is heated until the Curie point is reached (in the case of the magneto-optic disk, this means the Curie temperature, which is on the order of 100.degree.-200.degree. ; and, in the case of a phase transition disk, this means a phase transition temperature on the order of several hundred degrees) by means of a recording laser beam that is turned on and off in accordance with the recorded data. An external magnetic field is then applied to the heated portion of the disk, so that a series of marks, each having a generally elliptical shape, is formed, the magnetization direction of the masks being opposite to the "erase" direction.
Conventional methods of recording information on the magneto-optic disk include a mark position recording method (also known as a mark interval recording method), which is used in a rewritable optical disk, and a mark edge recording method (also known as a mark length recording method), which is used in a compact disk. Descriptions will now be given of the mark interval recording method and the mark length recording method with reference to FIG. 5.
Supposing that a recorded data sequence "0100100000001000" shown in FIG. 5(A) (the encoding of which data sequence is done in accordance with a (2,7) RLL (run length limited) formation suitable for recording information on the magneto-optic disk) is input when the mark interval recording method is implemented, recording marks (domains) P.sub.1, P.sub.2 and P.sub.3 are recorded on the disk positions corresponding to the data "1", as indicated by a shaded portion of FIG. 5(B), while no recording marks are recorded on disk positions corresponding to the data "0". That is, the mark interval recording method is a method in which the presence and absence of the recording marks is made to correspond to the recorded data "1" and "0" respectively. When data is retrieved from the optical disk in which the information is recorded in accordance with the mark interval recording method, data detection is effected by detecting the peak points in the reproduced waveform shown in FIG. 5(C).
In the mark length recording method, the edges of recording marks (domains) P.sub.10 and P.sub.11 are located on the disk positions corresponding to the data "1", as indicated by a shaded portion of FIG. 5(D), by reversing, at every position corresponding to the "1" bit in the above input data sequence, the recording light intensity.
When data is retrieved from the optical disk in which the information is recorded in accordance with the mark length recording method, data detection is made possible by binarizing the reproduced waveform shown in FIG. 5(E) with reference to a reference level (slice level). As can be seen in FIG. 5, the mark length recording enables higher recording density than does the mark interval recording. Given that the minimum mark length is the same, the mark length recording can achieve a recording density twice that of the mark interval recording.
Accordingly, it is found that the mark length recording method, in which the recorded data value "1" is made to correspond to the edge of the recording marks, is suitable for the purpose of improving the recording density of the optical disk. It is important, in the mark length recording method, to detect, at the time of reproduction, the position where the edge of the recording marks is recorded. Because the recording process of the optical disk is characterized as a heat mode recording, in which the laser light emitted from a semiconductor laser is used as a heat source in recording the recording marks, it becomes necessary to remove thermal shift and-pattern shift that occur during the recording process.
FIG. 6 shows thermal shift; and FIG. 7 shows thermal shift characteristics. A case is considered here in which the recorded data sequence shown in FIG. 6(A) is converted, in accordance with the mark length recording method, into the recorded pulse shown in FIG. 6(B), and the corresponding beam is impinged upon the optical disk, the high-level period of the recorded pulse being set to be substantially long, and the light intensity being set at a substantially high level. When the recording is effectuated such that the temperature at the position of impingement of the beam on the disk is raised so that reversal in magnetization direction therein occurs, the front edge of a mark P.sub.22, which, of the two adjacent recording marks P.sub.21 and P.sub.22, is the one recorded later, is recorded in a position removed, toward the preceding mark P.sub.21, by P.sub.t from where the front edge should otherwise have been recorded, due to thermal influence from the preceding mark P.sub.21.
This is how thermal shift occurs, and the shorter the interval between the preceding mark and the mark about to be recorded, in other words, the shorter the pulse interval (the low-level period of FIG. 6(B)) of the recording pulse, the greater the thermal shift amount .DELTA.P.sub.t, as shown in FIG. 6(D).
FIG. 7 shows the mark front edge shift occurring when the marks are recorded using a laser light at four write power levels ranging from 5.5 mW to 8.5 mW. In the case of 6.5 mW write power indicated by .quadrature., it is found that the shorter the interval between the marks, in other words, as the interval (in .mu.m) between the recording pulses for causing the LD to emit light becomes shorter starting from 2.5 .mu.m, 2.0 .mu.m till it is 1.0 .mu.m, the greater the mark front edge shift amount (in .mu.m) becomes. The same is true of the other write power levels.
FIG. 8 shows a pattern shift; and FIG. 9 shows pattern shift characteristic. A case is considered here in which the recorded data sequence shown in FIG. 8(A) is converted, in accordance with the mark length recording method, into the recording pulse shown in FIG. 8(B), the high-level period of the recording pulse being set to be substantially long, and the light intensity being set at a substantially high level, so that the heat mode recording like the one described above is effected and two adjacent marks P.sub.31 and P.sub.32 are formed on the optical disk, as shown in FIG. 8(C). Since the medium temperature is gradually raised when the marks P.sub.31 and P.sub.32 are being recorded, the positions at which the back ends of the marks P.sub.31 and P.sub.32 are recorded are shifted, further down the track, .DELTA.P.sub.c, .DELTA.P.sub.c +.DELTA.P.sub.p, respectively from positions where the marks should otherwise have been recorded.
This is how the aforementioned pattern shift occurs, and the longer the recording marks, in other words, the longer the pulse width (the high-level period of FIG. 8(B)) of the recording pulse, the greater the amount of pattern shift .DELTA.P.sub.p, as shown in FIG. 8(D).
FIG. 9 shows back edge shift occurring when the marks are recorded using a laser light at four write power levels, namely 5.5 mW, 6.5 mW, 7.5 mW and 8.5 mW.
In the case of 6.5 mW write power indicated by .quadrature., it is found that the longer the mark, in other words, as the duration (in .mu.m) of the pulse for causing the LD to emit light becomes longer starting from 1.0 .mu.m, 1.5 .mu.m till it is 2.5 .mu.m, the greater the amount of back edge shift (in .mu.m). The same thing is true of the other write power levels.
The above-mentioned .DELTA.P is a difference between: the length of the recording mark P.sub.31 manifested when the maximum pulse interval is followed by the pulse having the minimum pulse width; and the length of the same mark unaffected by pattern shift. .DELTA.P.sub.c is referred to as constant shift. This constant shift is characterized as a phenomenon in which the edge position varies in accordance with the variation of write power of the laser light. The variation of write power may be regarded as being equivalent to the variation of ambient temperature or the variation of sensitivity of the magneto-optic disk acting as a medium.
In order to successfully implement the mark length recording method, it is essential to remove, in a recording process, thermal shift .DELTA.P.sub.t and pattern shift .DELTA.P.sub.p, from among the above-mentioned three kinds of shift, i.e., thermal shift .DELTA.P.sub.t, pattern shift .DELTA.P.sub.p and constant shift .DELTA.P.sub.c. This is because, while constant shift .DELTA.P.sub.c is a component subject to variation due to medium sensitivity or ambient temperature and may be compensated for, because of a prevalent low-frequency component, in a signal processing system, the other two kinds of shift .DELTA.P.sub.t and .DELTA.P.sub.p may be expected to contain much the same frequency component as the recording signal, and are difficult to eliminate at the time of reproduction. Accordingly, the above edge shifts are dealt with by affecting recording compensation such that the timing at which the LD is turned on and off is varied in accordance with the recorded data pattern so that the accurate reproduction may be achieved. Specifically, it was reported by the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers that compensation for the timing of turning the LD on is required to eliminate thermal shift; and compensation for the timing of turning the LD off is required to eliminate pattern shift.
It is proposed that the variation of medium sensitivity be dealt with by performing trial recordings for a plurality of test regions along the radius of the disk, wherein the write power level used at the time of erasing, recording and reproducing is varied as a parameter, and that a combination of write power levels causing the fewest errors when the data is being reproduced be used thereafter in performing recording and reproducing.
Conventional proposals for executing recording compensation with respect to edge shift include the methods as described in the Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 63-53722, No. 63-281229 and No. 62-12463, in which the densest data pattern or a predetermined data pattern is detected so that the recording pulse width is controlled at the time of recording.
These methods described in the Japanese Laid-open Patent Publications are based on the controlling of the pulse width in accordance with the data pattern. A simplified description of these methods will be given by describing an example of the Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 63-53722, with reference to the circuit diagrams of FIG. 10 and 11.
In FIG. 10, a D flip-flop 41 forms a mark edge recording data pattern (NRZ code) on the basis of a given code, and a delay is applied to the NRZ code by means of a delay element 42. Meanwhile, a correction amount is determined by a recording corrector 43 on the basis of control information; and, on the basis of this amount, a delay amount applied by the delay element 42 is selected by a selector 44. Specifically, a signal from one of a plurality of output taps of the delay element 42 is selected. An AND gate 45 generates a data pulse for which the pulse width is corrected on the basis of a delayed data pulse and a non-delayed data pulse. The generated data pulse drives a semiconductor laser driving system 46. Further, laser power is controlled such that a correction amount is transmitted from the recording corrector 43 to a D/A converter 48 of a power setting unit 47 so that the driving of the semiconductor laser is controlled in accordance with the data pattern.
FIG. 11 is a diagram of a circuit for generating control information of FIG. 10. In FIG. 11, a counter 49, an AND gate 50 and a D flip-flop 51 detect a pulse (HIGH PW-P) having a predetermined pattern, on the basis of a data pulse (DATA-P) and a clock pulse (CK-P), so that a power control signal is introduced in the circuit. Further pattern detection is executed by a counter 52, which is fed an output signal from the D flip-flop 51, and an AND gate 53. A delayed data pulse (DELAY DATA-P) is created by delaying the data pulse (DATA-P) by means of a shift register 54. The pulse (HIGHPW-P) and the delayed data pulse (DELAY DATA -P) are sent to the recording corrector 43 of FIG. 10 as the control information.
The present inventors would like to emphasize, with reference to FIGS. 7 and 9, the fact that pattern shift is determined solely by the recording mark length, and thermal shift is determined solely by the preceding pulse interval.
Accordingly, the method of detecting the pulse width and controlling laser power as used in the above-described apparatus functions such that the control amount at the rise and that at the fall of the recording pulse are the same. Such a method has a disadvantage in that edge shift is not completely corrected upon the introduction of only one control amount, because pattern shift and thermal shift are mutually independent and asymmetric, as described above.
As shown in FIG. 10 and 11, the method, in which the recording data pattern is detected and a amount delay amount is determined therefrom, has a disadvantage in that the circuit configuration becomes complex and the circuit becomes too large, and in that the timing for controlling becomes complicated, as the number of patterns to be detected increases. Moreover, the above method has a disadvantage in that implementing real-time control of a semiconductor laser power in accordance with the data pattern results in an increase of control parameters as well as an excessively complex circuit configuration.
The aforementioned method of performing trial recordings to deal with the variation of medium sensitivity from one medium to another has a disadvantage in that determination of a recording compensation amount with respect to edge shift characteristics is not taken into consideration in such trial recordings, in spite of the fact that not only the variation of medium sensitivity from one medium to another but also the variation of edge shift characteristics and compatibility with mediums having different edge shift characteristics need to be considered, and in that, consequently, proper recording is not executed.

Optical medium recording method and apparatus employing pulse width delay and/or advancement


A semiconductor device having a tensile and/or compressive strain applied thereto and methods of manufacturing the semiconductor devices and design structure to enhance channel strain. The gate structures for an NFET and a PFET have identically formed sidewalls, and stress materials are provided in recesses in source and drain regions of the NFET and the PFET.

Mechanical strains within a semiconductor device substrate can modulate device performance by, for example, increasing the mobility of the carriers in the semiconductor device. That is, strains within a semiconductor device are known to enhance semiconductor device characteristics. Thus, to improve the characteristics of a semiconductor device, tensile and/or compressive strains are created in the channel of the n-type devices (e.g., NFETs) and/or p-type devices (e.g., PFETs), respectively. However, the same strain component, for example tensile strain or compressive strain, improves the device characteristics of one type of device (i.e., n-type device or p-type device) while discriminatively affecting the characteristics of the other type device.
Accordingly, in order to maximize the performance of both NFETs and PFETs within integrated circuit (IC) devices, the strain components should be engineered and applied differently for NFETs and PFETs. That is, because the type of strain which is beneficial for the performance of an NFET is generally disadvantageous for the performance of the PFET. More particularly, when a device is in tension (in the direction of current flow in a planar device), the performance characteristics of the NFET are enhanced while the performance characteristics of the PFET are diminished.
To increase the strain levels in a device, a SiGe layer has been used in combination with a silicon layer. When epitaxially grown on silicon, an unrelaxed SiGe layer will have a lattice constant that conforms to that of the silicon substrate. Upon relaxation (through a high temperature process for example), the SiGe lattice constant approaches that of its intrinsic lattice constant which is larger than that of silicon. Accordingly, when a silicon layer is epitaxially grown on the SiGe, the silicon layer conforms to the larger lattice constant of the relaxed SiGe layer that results in a physical biaxial strain (e.g., expansion) to the silicon layer. This physical strain applied to the silicon layer is beneficial to the devices. While methods using SiGe provide improved device performance, additional and complex processing is required to form the gate structures, liners, spacers, etc. thus resulting in higher cost.
Alternatively, to selectively create tensile strain in an NFET and compressive strain in a PFET, distinctive processes and different combinations of materials can be used such as, for example, liners on gate sidewalls. The liners selectively induce the appropriate strain in the channels of the FET devices. While this provides tensile strain to the NFET device and compressive strain along the longitudinal direction of the PFET device, they still require additional materials and/or more complex processing, and thus, result in higher cost. For example, additional processing steps are needed to form the gate structures for both the NFET and PFET type devices.
Thus, it is desired to provide more cost-effective and simplified methods for creating tensile and compressive strains in the channels of the NFETs and PFETs, respectively. Accordingly, there exists a need in the art to overcome the deficiencies and limitations described hereinabove.

Semiconductor devices having tensile and/or compressive strain and methods of manufacturing and design structure

International Business Machines Corporation


Process for layer-wise production of a three dimensional body (generative rapid prototyping), in particular by 3D binder printer, including a multiple succession of the steps of depositing a powder particle layer, activating in defined areas an adhesive present on the powder particles and/or in the powder particle coating, as well as adhering the powder particles to each other and to the layer thereunder, wherein the powder particle layer is electrically discharged by ionized particles and brushed flat by means of an electrically insulated blade prior to activation of the adhesive material, and the invention further concerns a device adapted for application of thin powder particle layers, including at least one ionizing device.

1. Field of Invention
The invention concerns the production of three-dimensional bodies (3D-bodies) using layer build-up processes (powder based generative rapid prototyping processes), and in particular the production of suitable powder layers, as well as the production of 3D-bodies from these powder layers, wherein in particular layered powder material is employed.
3D binder printing is among the newer and particularly interesting powder based generative rapid prototyping processes.
2. Related Art of the Invention
In a first variation of 3D binder printing a layer of powder material or granulates is applied upon a substrate, after which predetermined areas, which respectively correspond to a layer of an object to be produced, are moistened with a liquid binder. The powder particles are cross-linked or adhered in the moistened areas by the liquid binder. Upon the subsequent evaporation of the solvent in the liquid binder, the powder particles adhere directly to each other, wherein they are coalesced with each other at least in their edge areas. 3D-binder printing processes, which are particularly directed to this type, are know for example from European Patents EP 0644 809 B1, EP 0686 067 B1 and European Patent Application EP 1 099 534 A2.
From EP 0 925 169 B1 a further variant of the 3D binder printing process is known, in which mixtures of powders, fillers and adhesives are employed. The binder liquid basically comprises essentially only a solvent for the adhesive contained in the mixture. In this embodiment, the adhesive can also be present in the form of a surface coating of the powder particles. Therein, it is known to use water soluble polymers as the powder particle surface coating, and aqueous binder liquids. Water soluble systems have however the disadvantage, that they tend to agglomerate or adhere upon exposure to ambient humidity.
DE 198 13 742 C1 discloses a process for production of three dimensional objects by sequential layer buildup involving hardening with electromagnetic radiation powder particles solidifiable by exposure to electromagnetic radiation. A device is proposed for reducing charge differences of the layer-forming powder particles in the dispensing device, in order to prevent the powder particles from plugging up the outlet aperture.
The known processes have the disadvantage, that the powder particles frequently agglomerate during dispensing from the dispensing device and during layering on the substrate. In general, there is found on the layer, besides the primary powder particles, also more or less large agglomerates, which lead to uneven powder layers and defects in the bodies formed therefrom. Agglomerates in particular interfere when using a smoothing device for the applied powder layer.
For the production of homogenous bodies with consistent quality the powder must be agglomerate-free, essentially from the time of leaving the dispensing device. Also, the electrostatic charging of the powder particles by rubbing against each other while leaving the dispensing device must be avoided.

Process and device for producing solid bodies by sequential layer buildup


The present invention provides a method of making modular floor tiles. The method includes adding a protective layer to a modular floor tile, which may provide surface protection, a high gloss finish, or other advantageous features. The protective layer may comprise a polymer sheet that is melded to a top surface of the modular floor tile.

Floor tiles have traditionally been used for many different purposes, including both aesthetic and utilitarian purposes. For example, floor tiles of a particular color may be used to accentuate an object displayed on top of the tiles. Alternatively, floor tiles may be used to simply protect the surface beneath the tiles from various forms of damage. Floor tiles typically comprise individual panels that are placed on the ground either permanently or temporarily depending on the application. A permanent application may involve adhering the tiles to the floor in some way, whereas a temporary application would simply involve setting the tiles on the floor. Some floor tiles can be interconnected to one another to cover large floor areas such as a garage, an office, or a show floor.
Various interconnection systems have been utilized to connect floor tiles horizontally with one another to maintain structural integrity and provide a desirable, unified appearance. In addition, floor tiles can be manufactured in many shapes, colors, and patterns. Some floor tiles contain holes such that fluid and small debris is able to pass through the floor tiles and onto a surface below. Tiles can also be equipped with special surface patterns or structures to provide various superficial or useful characteristics. For example, a diamond steel pattern may be used to provide increased surface traction on the tiles and to provide a desirable aesthetic appearance.
One method of making plastic floor tiles utilizes an injection molding process. Injection molding involves injecting heated liquid plastic into a mold. The mold is shaped to provide an enclosed space to form the desired shaped floor tile. The liquid plastic is allowed to cool and solidify, and the plastic floor tile is removed from the mold.
A top surface of typical modular tile floors generally comprises the same material as the rest of the tile. However, the top surface is often scuffed, scratched, or otherwise damaged and dulled as the modular floor is used. Some have added paint coatings to modular tile floors in the past, but the paint coatings are not durable. Paint coatings are easily scratched and damaged. There is a need for a protective layer that better protects modular flooring systems.
The present invention is directed to overcoming, or at least reducing the effect of, one or more of the problems presented above.

Method of making a modular floor tile system with transition edge