An apparatus for slicing food products, including potatoes and the like, includes a plurality of perpendicularly intersecting knife blades of chevron configuration which are arranged in a substantially pyramidal formation. The apex of the pyramidal formation and apexes of the individual blades point downstream, away from the direction of flow of a fluid stream which carries the potatoes toward the knife assembly for slicing. The blades are mounted by a unitary fixture having a cylindrical bore and mounting the blades such that the farthest upstream blades are spaced farthest away from the axial center of the blade assembly, with successive downstream blades being spaced incrementally closer to such axial center. The blades are further mounted such that no parallel blades axially overlap one another.

This invention relates generally to apparatus for slicing food products into strips, especially the slicing of potatoes into strips suitable for processing as "french fries".
Heretofore, various slicing apparatus have been used to slice potatoes into elongate strips suitable for processing as french fries. One such apparatus, sometimes referred to as a "box cutter", comprises a series of perpendicularly intersecting, straight-edged blades to form a grid of box like cutters. The grid is forced mechanically through the potato, which is held stationary, thereby slicing the potato into strips of square cross section. A relatively large force is required to force the grid through the potato. Also, as the blades slice through the potato, they cause small breaks and fractures in the cut potato surfaces, making the resulting strips more fragile during subsequent handling and processing. The damage to the potato surfaces during slicing is sometimes referred to as "feathering". Examples of box cutters are shown in Babigan U.S. Pat. No. 3,391,005 (FIGS. 11-15).
Another prior potato slicing apparatus is disclosed in Lamb et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,116,772. In contrast to the box cutter just described, this patent discloses a system in which moving potatoes are forced through a stationary grid or matrix of sharpened blades. The potatoes are carried by conduit in a fast moving fluid stream and delivered individually and sequentially to the slicing apparatus which is aligned with the flow path of the potatoes. Each potato is forced through the slicing apparatus by the hydraulic flow and its own momentum, and is thereby cut into strips.
In one form FIGS. (2-6), the slicing apparatus includes a large box cutter for cutting away the outermost slabs of the potatoes and five crossed blades mounted within the box cutter downstream of its mouth. The five crossed blades are mounted in transversely spaced, axially staggered pairs, with the exception of one single, centrally located blade. As the potato is forced through the slicing apparatus, the outermost portions of the potato are progressively sliced away.
A second form of the slicing apparatus, shown in FIG. 18, is similar to the one just described, except that the blades are elongate and slotted to intersect one another and provide transverse support. As with the first form, both sets of parallel blades are axially staggered and arranged such that the outermost portions of the potato are progressively sliced away and eventually cut into strips.
Although both foregoing slicing apparatus work reasonably well, some binding of the potato occurs due to frictional engagement with the blades and "blade pinching". Blade pinching occurs when a sliced section of the potato is compressively forced between two blades. The tendency of the potato to bind is more acute with the blade assembly of FIG. 18, since it is designed to slice the potato into 1/4 inch "shoe string" potato strips and hence has more blades (than the assembly of FIGS. 2-6) slicing through the potato.
Yet another potato slicing apparatus, intended to be an improvement of the one shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,116,772, is disclosed in Hodges et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,135,002. It has a plurality of intersecting, axially staggered blades of chevron configuration, which are arranged in a nested, pyramidal formation. The apex of the pyramidal formation and apexes of the blades themselves point in the direction of the approaching potato, which is carried in a fluid stream. This arrangement is intended to reduce binding by facilitating the use of thinner blades and permitting the incised potato portions to spread out upon slicing.
However, it is believed that some binding will still occur for two reasons. First, virtually all incised potato portions are frictionally engaged on opposite sides by adjacent, transversely spaced blades slicing through each potato portion. Second, such blades will exert a compressive force on the potato portion as it travels therebetween. Although each incised potato portion is permitted to spread somewhat during slicing to reduce binding, it is believed that thickness dimension of the blades will still cause some compression of the potato portion as it travels therebetween. Further, unless the potatoes are perfectly aligned with the apex of the blade arrangement, they will have a tendency to veer to one side upon striking the leading blades, or to turn or tumble slightly, thereby detracting from the quality of the cut. Ideally, the potatoes should remain aligned with and follow the axial centerline of the slicing apparatus to optimize cutting quality and effectiveness.
Accordingly, there remains a need for an improved blade assembly for slicing potatoes and the like into strips, which will minimize binding, reduce feathering, slice through the potato with minimal resistance, minimize the tendency of the potato to turn or tumble upon striking the blade assembly, and at the same time keep the potatoes axially aligned as they are sliced.
It is therefore one object of the present invention to provide an improved blade assembly for slicing potatoes and the like which improves the quality and effectiveness of the slicing operation.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a blade assembly as aforesaid which reduces feathering, thereby making the resulting cut strips less fragile and easier to handle and process further.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a blade assembly as aforesaid which reduces binding and hence requires less force to slice the potato into strips.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a self-centering blade assembly which, during slicing, keeps the potatoes centered and reduces the tendency of the potatoes to turn or tumble.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a blade assembly having longer lasting knife blades.
Other objects of the present invention will be apparent from the drawings and following detailed description.

Blade assembly for slicing food products


A universal indicator cap for a dishwasher rinse agent dispenser including a reservoir with an opening positioned in door of a dishwasher for indicating a low level of rinse agent in the reservoir, the door being pivotal between an opened horizontal position and a vertical closed position. The indicator cap comprises a body including a head portion having a cavity formed therein and a neck portion, a gasket adaptor positioned about the neck portion such that the indicator cap is adaptable to different models of the rinse agent dispenser, means for vertically mounting the body into the opening in the reservoir with the neck portion extending downwardly into a bottommost area of the reservoir, a first fluid passageway extending through the neck portion from an opened terminal end thereof to the cavity of the head portion, and a visual pump for pumping rinse agent through the first fluid passageway into the cavity to visually indicate the presence of the rinse agent in the cavity. The neck portion may be retractable such that the indicator cap is adaptable to different models of the rinse agent dispenser. The indicator cap functions by allowing air to flow upwardly through the first fluid passageway when the level of rinse agent in the reservoir is below the opened terminal end of the first fluid passageway causing drainage of rinse agent in the cavity to visually indicate a low level condition.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to caps for indicating a low level of fluid in a reservoir. More particularly, this invention relates to an indicator cap for a dishwasher rinse agent dispenser to visually indicate a low level of rinse agent in the dispenser's reservoir.
2. Description of the Background Art
Household dishwashers usually employ the use of a rinse agent to reduce the surface tension on the dishes being cleaned causing water to flow off of the dishes quicker. Water spotting is therefore substantially reduced.
Typically, dishwasher rinse agent dispensers are positioned on the inside of the dishwasher door. When the dishwasher door is in its opened, horizontal position, the dispenser's reservoir is capable of being filled with the rinse agent via a screw or lug cap. Usually, the dispenser's reservoir is sized to hold approximately four ounces of rinse agent, which lasts approximately three months during normal household use.
Unfortunately, the consumer often neglects to periodically unscrew the fill cap to visually check the level of rinse agent in the reservoir. Because of such inadvertence, all of the rinse agent in the reservoir is often dispensed and water spotting on the dishes resumes. Only after repeated washing without a rinse agent is the water spotting eventually noticed by the consumer. Often, the depletion of the rinse agent still goes unnoticed, and the spotting is wrongly blamed on the dishwasher, or the dishwasher soap.
Hence, there exists a need for indicating to the consumer a low level of rinse agent in the dispenser's reservoir so that additional rinse agent can be timely purchased and the reservoir refilled prior to depletion of the rinse agent.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide an indicator cap for indicating a low level of rinse agent in a reservoir of a dishwasher rinse agent dispenser, the indicator cap comprising a body including a head portion having a cavity formed therein and a neck portion, means for vertically mounting the body into an opening in the reservoir with the neck portion extending downwardly into a bottommost area of the reservoir, a fluid passageway extending through the neck portion from an opened terminal end thereof to the cavity of the head portion, and visual pump means for pumping rinse agent through the first fluid passageway into the cavity to visually indicate the presence of the rinse agent in the cavity, whereby, air is allowed to flow upwardly through the first fluid passageway when the level of rinse agent in the reservoir is below the opened terminal end of the first fluid passageway causing drainage of rinse agent in the cavity to visually indicate a low level condition.
Another object of this invention is to provide an indicator cap as set forth hereinabove, further including a second fluid passageway extending through the neck portion from an opened terminal end thereof to the cavity of the head portion, the opened terminal end of the second fluid passageway being positioned lower than the opened terminal end of the first fluid passageway.
Another object of this invention is to provide an indicator cap as set forth hereinabove, wherein the pump means comprises a resilient diaphragm sealingly positioned over the cavity whereby, upon depressing of the diaphragm, the diaphragm flexes inwardly to force air in the cavity outwardly through the first fluid passageway and, upon release, the resiliency of the diaphragm draws rinse agent through the first fluid passageway into the cavity to be visually observed.
Another object of this invention is to provide an indicator cap as set forth hereinabove, wherein the indicator cap comprises a universal design which may be used in connection with rinse agent dispensers of different models.
Another object of this invention is to provide a universal indicator cap having a bellows neck portion which fits certain models of rinse agent dispensers and which may be bellowed inwardly to several retracted positions and locked into position to fit other models of rinse agent dispensers.
Another object of this invention is to provide a universal indicator cap having a removable gasket adaptor which fits certain models of rinse agent dispensers and which may be removed and discarded by the consumer to fit other models of rinse agent dispensers.
The foregoing has outlined some of the more pertinent objects of the invention. These objects should be construed to be merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the intended invention. Many other beneficial results can be obtained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or modifying the invention within the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention and the detailed description of the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.


A method for CMP includes following operations. A dielectric structure is received. The dielectric structure includes a metal layer stack formed therein. The metal layer stack includes at least a first metal layer and a second metal layer, and the first metal layer and the second metal layer are exposed through a surface of the dielectric structure. A first composition is provided to remove a portion of the first metal layer from the surface of the dielectric structure. A second composition is provided to form a protecting layer over the second metal layer. The protecting layer is removed from the second metal layer. A CMP operation is performed to remove a portion of the second metal layer. In some embodiments, the protecting layer protects the second metal layer during the removal of the portion of the first metal layer.

Chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) is widely used in the fabrication of integrated circuits. As an integrated circuit is built layer by layer on a surface of a semiconductor wafer, CMP is used to planarize the topmost layer or layers to provide a level surface for subsequent fabrication operations. CMP is carried out by placing the semiconductor wafer in a wafer carrier that presses the wafer surface to be polished against a polishing pad attached to a platen. The platen and the wafer carrier are counter-rotated while an abrasive slurry containing both abrasive particles and reactive chemicals is applied to the polishing pad. The slurry is transported to the wafer surface via the rotation of the polishing pad. The relative movement of the polishing pad and the wafer surface coupled with the reactive chemicals in the abrasive slurry allows CMP to level the wafer surface by means of both physical and chemical actions.
CMP can be used at a number of points during the fabrication of an integrated circuit. For example, CMP can be used to planarize the inter-level dielectric layers that separate the various circuit layers in an integrated circuit. CMP can also be commonly used in the formation of the metal lines that interconnect components of an integrated circuit.

Methods for chemical mechanical polishing and forming interconnect structure

TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY LTD.


Methods and structures associated with a towed, autonomous, or remotely controlled airborne mobile system including a plurality of reflection structure sections and shapes adapted for attracting attention of search systems configured for sensing pattern recognition based electromagnetic or visual reflections from the structures and shapes and related methods.

The present invention relates to systems and methods for attracting attention, altering decision(s), or altering operation(s) of a sensing object(s) or entity/entities operating based on sensing capacities including an inflatable sensor attractive system (ISAS). In particular, exemplary embodiments can be operable for altering movement of an entity performing or associated with sensing such as a fixed structure, a mobile structure or a flying platform. Some embodiments can include a towed system that can be autonomously or remotely controlled. Embodiments can also include an airborne mobile system variant including a plurality of reflection structure sections and shapes adapted for attracting attention of sensor or search systems configured for sensing patterns including pattern recognition based electromagnetic or visual reflections from the structures and shapes. Some applications can include attracting attention of rescue forces or providing navigation objects useable with mobile structures such as aircraft, naval vessels (e.g., surface or submerged), space craft, or ground vehicles. Another embodiment can include radar reflective structures (selective or otherwise), inflatable mobile objects with a tracking system(s), guidance system(s), and various payloads associated with aspects of attractive, operations, or movement altering system(s).
At least some embodiments of the invention can increase effectiveness of acting as ISAS to more advanced guidance or pattern recognition sensor systems, including mobile object with guidance, propulsion, payload, and sensor system that can detect multiple radio frequencies (RF) and distinguish among varying infrared (IR) signatures. Embodiments of the invention can increase the likelihood that a mobile object with guidance, propulsion, payload, and sensor system targets the ISAS by detecting and transmitting a variety of mobile object-specific RFs or other electromagnetic spectrum sensor outputs. Additionally, embodiments of the invention, once inflated, may retain a specific shape and contain certain structures along the ISAS that mimic an IR signature of an object of interest, (e.g. a ship), causing such a mobile object with guidance, propulsion, payload, and sensor system that can distinguish between IR signatures to lock on to the ISAS instead of the mobile object's intended objective or track a particular object such as the ISAS that is deployed for reasons such as requesting rescue.
According to an illustrative embodiment of the present disclosure, an ISAS including radar reflective structures can be tethered to a stern of a ship. Upon detecting a mobile object with guidance, propulsion, payload, and sensor system, the ISAS can be rapidly inflated in a direction away from the ship. Once extended, the radar reflective material takes a shape in which the IR signature mimics that of a ship. The IR signature, in addition to RF emissions from the ISAS, causes the incoming mobile object with guidance, propulsion, payload, and sensor system to target the ISAS and not the ship or structure of interest.
According to a further illustrative embodiment of the present disclosure, the ISAS associated with mobile objects with guidance, propulsion, payload, and sensor system can be tethered to one or more Unmanned Ariel Vehicles (UAVs). This exemplary ISAS may act or operate in the same way as described above; however, in this embodiment, the UAV(s) can maneuver the ISAS a greater distance from the ship or move the ISAS with respect to a specific identified sensing entity such as another particular ship, another UAV, another airborne object, a space object etc. to alter attraction functions or sensor signatures of the ISAS.
In some embodiments, an exemplary ISAS can be detached to provide attractive or remote alternation of movement/operation at a distance from a platform such as a ship. This capacity can provide desired functionality and capability remotely with remote control, independent power, communication, sensor, guidance, and propulsion/movement systems.
Advantages of various embodiments of the invention include providing a capability for ships to attract attention or alter operation of entities sensing the ISAS in various situations. For example, a small boat or a ship in distress that is in a busy shipping lane at night can deploy an exemplary ISAS system which then generates an electronic signature or improved radar cross section (as well as other wavelengths used by sensor systems such as infrared or night vision systems) which then draw large ship attention to avoid a collision or navigation hazard. Various embodiments can be used on fixed sites similar to a mobile lighthouse as well as other types of mobile objects such as ground vehicles or stranded parties on land. It can also be used as a distress communication system that can advise ships that normal navigational protocols, like the rules on smaller ships being required to maneuver to avoid collision or cross the path of much larger ships like supertankers, do not apply. Embodiments of the invention can also be used for other mobile applications such as trucks or land based sites as well as space based applications.
Additional features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of the illustrative embodiment exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the invention as presently perceived.

Towed, autonomous, or remotely controlled airborne mobile system including a plurality of reflection structure sections and shapes adapted for attracting attention of search systems configured for sensing pattern recognition based electromagnetic or visual reflections from the structures and shapes and related methods

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


It is an object of the invention to simplify the power stabilization of laser diodes. For this purpose, a laser device comprising a die and thereon a first laser diode and a second laser diode is provided. The second laser diode has a structure or element that avoids lasing if a supply voltage is applied that is sufficient for the first semiconductor laser cavity to emit laser light.

Usually, the output power of VCSELs is strongly dependent on temperature and ageing condition. In order to avoid output power variations, some applications require sophisticated control or feedback mechanism like the usage of monitor photodiodes, for example.
Since the laser voltage depends on a lot of parameters and not only on the output power, the laser voltage usually is not a good indicator for output power.
It is known from Liu et al., Journal of Zhejiang University SCIENCE A, ISSN 1009-3095 that the laser voltage of VCSELs can empirically be described asV=(I*R0)/(T−T1)+Vt*ln(1+(I/(I0*(T−T1))))   (equation 1),
where I denotes the laser current, V the laser voltage and T the internal laser temperature i.e the temperature inside of the cavity. R0,T1,Vt and I0 are VCSEL characteristic parameters. In particular, these parameters are depending on production parameters such as the doping profile, active diameter, etc, and can be controlled only with low lot-to-lot precision.
The correlation between the internal laser temperature and the temperature
Ths of the heat sink is given byT=Ths+(V*I−Popt)*Rt   (equation 2).
In this equation, Popt denotes the laser output power and Rt the thermal resistance.
The term−Popt*Rt
is known as photon-cooling effect, because the power of the emitted photons will not contribute to the heating of the laser. The power-dependency of the laser voltage V is then derived by combining equations 1 and 2.
Usually, the laser voltage cannot be used as a reliable indication for the output power of the VCSEL because the parameter R0, T1, Vt and I0 are generally not known.
For this reason, often monitor photodiodes are employed to monitor and stabilize the laser output power. However, the efficiency of monitor photodiodes is slightly temperature dependent and may deteriorate upon operation. Thus, the measured input parameter is dependent on the laser power, aging and ambient conditions and can distort the characteristics of the stabilization circuitry. To avoid this, stabilization circuitry often employs additional temperature measurement means thus complicating the design. A stabilization circuitry of this type is known for example from EP 1 085 624 A1.

Output power stabilization for laser diodes using the photon-cooling dependent laser voltage


The disclosure presents an apparatus, system, and method for file access for difficult domains, such as data broadcast, where the time to access a file can be considerable. The invention interposes a file access object between the client and the platform that is both scalable and interoperable. The invention decomposes file access into four (application visible) interfaces that scale between a most basic access (such as, for example, a simple load function) to the most expressive access (such as, a retrieve function).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to computing systems. More particularly, the present invention provides methods and apparatus for efficiently accessing data in those systems where the data is sequential data such as in, for xample, any mass media (such as TV or radio) broadcasting medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
In systems where data is only available in a sequential manner, such as in a conventional mass media broadcasting system as TV, radio, etc., a broadcaster sequentially transmits data in the form of audio, video, data, etc. over a medium such as air, cable, phone line (DSL, for example) that can be received by any number of receivers. For example, transmitted radio waves can be received with a radio receiver tuned to a particular transmission channel. Conventional broadcast communication is typically a sequential type communication medium since the receiver does not having control over the content of or the arrival time of broadcast data files.
To facilitate discussion, FIG. 1 illustrates a T.V broadcast system 100 that includes a T.V broadcaster 102 and a T.V receiver 104. The T.V receiver 104 can be an analog or a digital T.V receiver suitable for reception of voice, video, and data transmitted by the T.V broadcaster 102. In a broadcast system, data can be transmitted in a cyclical manner conceptualized in the art as a xe2x80x9cdata carouselxe2x80x9d 106. As used herein, a data carousel refers to a mechanism for cyclic transmission of data modules, for example, as defined by MPEG-2 Digital Storage Medium Command and control (DSM-CC of ISO/IEC 138118-6) User-to-Network Download Protocol. To elaborate, the carrousel 106 illustrates cyclical transmission of data in the broadcast system 100. Data on the carrousel 106 can include data segments A, B, C, and D. Each data segment, such as data segment A, can consist of individual data files X1 through X4. In this manner data portions A, B, C, and D are sequentially transmitted as the carrousel 106 rotates clockwise in such a manner that a particular data file is re-transmitted when carrousel 106 completes its rotation with respect to an associated point of transmission. For example, the data file X1, will be re-transmitted every time the associated reference point 108 undergoes a full rotation. In this way, each of the data files on the carrousel 106 is cyclically re-transmitted every T seconds, where T is the time it takes for carrousel 106 to make a complete rotation with respect to the point of transmission 108, also referred to as the carousel""s period.
Unfortunately, however, due to the cyclical nature of the carrousel type broadcasting system, the T.V broadcast system 100 has an inherent delay associated with the re-transmission of data. To elaborate, at a time t1 when a vertical bar 110 is aligned with the point of transmission 108, the T.V broadcaster 102 will start transmitting the data file X1. The transmission of data file X1 will complete at a subsequent time t2 when transmission of data file X2 is initiated. If the T.V receiver 104 requires data file X1 some time after transmission of data file X1, the T.V receiver 104 must wait until file X1 is re-transmitted which could be at most at a time T later. For example, it data file X1 is required by the receiver 104 at a time t2 (which for this example happens to be shortly after transmission of file X1 has completed) a potentially long delay will be encountered before file X1 is re-transmitted. This delay can be almost as long as the time T required to complete a full transmission cycle which can be on the orders of seconds or even minutes.
Thus, cyclical retransmission of data can result in long delays between the time data is requested (or needed) and the time data is received and accessed. With carrousels typically having hundreds of megabytes of data, the periodic nature of the data carrousel arrangement could potentially result in delays of up to several seconds in accessing required data. This potential delay is exacerbated in those situations where the broadcast medium includes low bandwidth links, such as the Internet. Even though this delay may not be very significant in non-interactive situations, it can be especially problematic for interactive applications such as interactive T.V, such as WEB TV(trademark), where it is highly desirable to provide a user with requested information on demand.
In view of foregoing, there is a need for a consistent, interoperable collection of object interfaces that also scale across diverse clients and platforms.
Broadly speaking, the invention relates to an improved methods and apparatus for efficiently accessing sequentially broadcast data in a multi-platform environment. The invention can be implemented in numerous ways, including as a method, a computer system, and an apparatus. Several embodiments of the invention are discussed below.
In one embodiment, a method of efficiently accessing a sequentially broadcast data file is disclosed. A client class is constructed and if the data file is loaded, then execution is blocked by the client which then requests the data file. If the data file is not in a cache memory, then a file request is issued to a carousel system and if the data file is available to the carousel system, then the requested data file is returned to the requesting client.
In other embodiments, an apparatus and computer program product for efficiently accessing a sequentially broadcast data file are disclosed.

Methods and apparatus for efficiently accessing sequentially broadcast data


A conductive composition comprising conductive particles made of a mechanical composite powder of copper or nickel covered with silver and a binder mainly containing bis-phenol A type epoxy resin (diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A) having 1600 to 5500 of molecular weight method for manufacturing a printed circuit substrate comprising the steps of printing the conductive composition on an insulating substrate and partially curing it in a range of 20 to 70% of completion as determined from DTA reactivity data. Thus, the conductive composition can manufacture an inexpensive circuit in simple steps as a whole with good solderability using low melting point solder and having high bonding strength. The method can manufacture the circuit by using the same conductive composition.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a conductive composition for use in the formation of a printed circuit and a method for manufacturing a circuit using the conductive composition, more particularly, this invention relates to a conductive composition and a method for manufacturing a printed circuit substrate using the conductive composition which is therefore solderable.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heretofore, a circuit substrate which can be directly soldered is obtained by etching a copper foil bonded to an insulating substrate or by printing and sintering paste which contains conductive particles of silver, platinum or palladium and fritted glass on an insulating substrate.
However, soldering a copper foil has disadvantages which tend to complicate the process steps, because etching is required and the copper foil is wasted by the etching process. Soldering a sintered paste of silver, platinum or palladium on an insulating substrate has drawbacks because the insulating substrate on which the circuit is formed is an expensive ceramic which can withstand the high sintering temperatures of 600.degree.-900.degree. C. Moreover, the ceramic substrates are mechanically easily damaged during the sintering process. Furthermore, the sintering equipment is sizeable and expensive.
The conventional technology has produced a conductive composition to form a circuit which can be soldered with less expensive material and in simpler steps. Since paste-like conductive composition that contain synthetic resin which can be cured at relatively low temperature is heretofore used as a binder to form a printed circuit, the production of a composition which can be soldered has been attempted on the basis of the conductive composition. As an example, conductive paste in which silver powder is dispersed in epoxy resin or conductive paste in which copper powder is dispersed in phenol resin is printed and baked on a synthetic resin laminated board has been conventionally used.
However, since the above-described conventional conductive composition is covered on the surface of a coating film with the resin so that the ratio of conductive particles to be exposed on the surface is small and the area to be contacted with the solder is small, the conventional conductive composition has a drawback that the bonding strength of the coating film to the solder is weak. Further, the quantity of the conductive particles is increased to increase the bonding strength to the solder, but since the quantity of the resin is decreased, there arises new drawback that the bonding strength between the insulating substrate and the coating film is deteriorated. Moreover, a low melting point solder exhibits worse solderability and is not practical. When silver powder is used as conductive particles, the silver powder is diffused in the solder, decreasing bondability of the soldered silver to the substrate (so-called "silver diffusion" occurrs). Since the silver is expensive, the material costs are increased also. When copper powder is used as the conductive particles, the surfaces of the copper powder particles are oxidized thereby decreasing solderability.

Conductive composition and method for manufacturing printed circuit substrate


A print management system may include at least one client device for generating print jobs, and a plurality of print servers for storing print job information based upon the generated print jobs. The print servers may cooperate to share the print job information therebetween. At least one printing station may retrieve the shared print job information, and selectively print print jobs based thereon.

Printing in a network environment typically involves selecting a network printer from a network computer and directing the printing of a document to the selected printer. The document is sent to the selected printer, where it may wait in a queue behind other documents awaiting printing.
In a variation on this theme, U.S. Pat. No. 6,859,832 describes a system in which documents rendered for printing are maintained on a print spooler. A print polling device may remotely access the print spooler. Under certain circumstances, the print polling device can receive documents from the spooler for printing on a printer connected with the polling device.
Many modern networks feature combinations of local area networks (LANs) connected by one or more wide area networks (WANs). Such networks often feature multiple print servers, each of which may be associated with multiple printers, computer, workstations and the like. In such a network environment, systems such as the one described above may not provide desired capabilities or operational flexibility.

Print management system for retaining documents with multiple users identifications


The systems and methods discussed herein provide for faster access to frequently utilized resources through intelligent bandwidth usage-based content pre-fetching. An intelligent acceleration and caching device may monitor bandwidth utilization over a time period and create a regression-based model to predict bandwidth utilization in subsequent time periods. When predicted utilization is below a threshold, the device may pre-fetch frequently accessed content, providing low-latency access and faster performance, without exceeding connection allocation limits.

Many Internet access plans include data caps or limits over a predetermined time period, such as a predetermined amount of data per month. Typically, if these limits are exceeded, further data may be delivered, but at drastically increased prices or at significantly reduced speeds.
Additionally, network access to frequently utilized resources may be accelerated and latency reduced by pre-fetching the resources and caching them at a local device (e.g. in a cache of a router or gateway or client device).
Thus, pre-fetching data may increase access speed and improve performance of the devices and network. However, pre-fetching data may quickly consume allocated connection limits. Even if pre-fetching is stopped upon reaching or approaching the connection limit, normal network usage for the remainder of the time period may result in the limit being exceeded, resulting in increased costs, reduced access speeds, and other limitations. Accordingly, pre-fetching-based acceleration may ironically result in slower access.

Method to compute the tradeoff between user experience from prefetching versus the bandwidth constraints/cost at the cloud service


The disclosure describes methods of managing the power consumption of a GNSS receiver by identifying when to activate and deactivate the GNSS receiver, and by managing storage of GNSS location data points. In one embodiment, the GNSS receiver is activated if there is a change in wireless transmissions from stationary sources. In another embodiment, the GNSS receiver is deactivated when the GNSS signal quality is sufficient to calculate a GNSS location. In another embodiment, the GNSS receiver is deactivated for a time period in correlation with a GNSS speed. In yet another embodiment, redundant GNSS location data points are identified and only non-redundant data points are stored. In yet another embodiment, a GNSS device comprises a processor and a GNSS receiver configured to track GNSS signals and calculate a GNSS location. The GNSS receiver deactivates when the average signal quality value meets or exceeds the baseline signal value.

GNSS devices are configured to determine their physical location by using GNSS signals from satellites. There are currently several types of operational and planned GNSS'es, including, without limitation, the American Global Positioning System (GPS), the Russian Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), the Chinese BeiDou Satellite Navigation Experimental System (BeiDou), the European Galileo system, and the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS).
A GNSS device includes a GNSS receiver, which receives and decodes the GNSS signals. The signals provide an indication of the physical location of the device. The GNSS device may also include a communication subsystem to transmit the physical location information to another device, such as a server, a third party device, or a user device. Accordingly, GNSS devices are commonly used to track the physical location of vehicles, shipments, or other movable assets. By providing the tracking data, the GNSS devices enable asset managers to utilize their assets more efficiently. Additionally, the GNSS devices deter theft of assets and permit asset recovery.
In other use cases, the GNSS devices are used to track the physical location of individuals, including the elderly, teenagers, children, and handicapped persons. The tracking data provides peace of mind and enables loved ones to track down missing persons.
However, to be of any use, such GNSS device must remain powered on, either through battery power or through auxiliary power. Accordingly, a GNSS device that is configured to manage the power consumption of the device is desirable.

Systems and methods for managing power consumption of a GNSS receiver


A client-server session is automatically initiated between a client-type device an a cloud-based server in a cloud-based computing environment based on user-defined parameters, thereby providing convenience and ease of use for a user for uploading, sharing and downloading media content to and from a content-sharing website. A user-preference database stores user-preference information, such as information relating to media-content-type information, media-content-source information, media-content-destination information, user-uploading-preference information, and/or uplink-network-preference and downlink-network-preference information. A rule is generated for uploading and/or downloading a designated media-content type to the content-sharing website based on the stored user preference information and at least one calendar event available from a calendar application. An event trigger signal is generated if the conditions of the rule are satisfied, and a communication controller then establishes a communication link to the content-sharing website and uploads and/or downloads the designated media content.

In a conventional cloud-based computing environment, the paradigm used is a client-server model, and a connection to a cloud-based server is always initiated by a client-type device. Moreover, in most cases, user intervention is a necessary aspect for initiating a connection from the client-type device to the cloud-based server. For example, if a user desires to upload photos to a photo-sharing website, the user logs into an account on the photo-sharing website to initiate a connection to the cloud-based server. After a successful login, the photos are then uploaded.
The conventional client-server model in a conventional cloud-based computing environment has the drawback that a user must affirmatively initiate a client-server session. For example, suppose that a celebration event is scheduled on a user's calendar running on a user's smart-type device, such as a smartphone. The e-invitation to the celebration event received by the user contained a link to a website where the user can download details about the celebration, such as other invitees, the invitees attending, and a link to a folder for uploading photos that is located on a cloud-based server. Suppose the user attends the celebration, takes photos and videos using a smartphone, and then would like to upload the photos and videos to the folder on the cloud-based server. Conventionally, user interaction with a client-type smart-type device would be necessary initiate the photo upload to the cloud-based server. Thus, for this exemplary scenario, if the user wants to upload the pictures taken using a smartphone during an event scheduled on the user's calendar, then the user has to affirmatively initiate connection to the photo-sharing server after the event is oven. After successful connection to the cloud-based server, the photos and videos are uploaded from the smartphone to the server.
A system and a technique are needed to automatically initiating a client-server session in a cloud-based computing environment based on user defined parameters. Further, a system and a technique are needed to automatically upload and share the media-content among client-servers based on user defined parameters.
It will be appreciated that for simplicity and/or clarity of illustration, elements depicted in the figures have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements may be exaggerated relative to other elements for clarity. The scaling of the figures does not represent precise dimensions and/or dimensional ratios of the various elements depicted herein. Further, if considered appropriate, reference numerals have been repealed among the figures to indicate corresponding and/or analogous elements.


Preprinted forms are used in a general purpose printing device to allow for the subsequent verification of the authenticity of a printed document such as a ticket for transportation services. In operation, the user accesses the seller of the goods/services and during an information exchange with the seller the user inputs at least a portion of the preprinted data from the form. The seller then uses this information to formulate a printable control indicia which is then printed on the form at the user""s location. When the form is subsequently presented to the seller, for example when the user attempts to board an aircraft using the form he/she printed, the preprinted portion of the form is used to obtain a decipher key which in turn is used to decipher the control indicia. Inability to decode the control indicia indicates that the printed material on the form may not be authentic.

Electronic commerce is everywhere now. People are using the Internet, as well as other remotely accessible locations, such as kiosks, to order goods and/or services. Some of these services require verification of prior payment and/or reservations at the time the service is being offered which typically is sometime after the actual purchase (or reservation) was made. For example, assume a person desires to reserve a seat on an airplane, or a room in a hotel, or a rental car, or a seat in a theatre, all from a remote terminal. Typically, that person would get into communication contact with a reservation system. This communication can be with a live person at the selling end or could be with a computer acting in an interactive mode or a combination of the two. The reservation would be made and arrangements would be made to pay for the reservation. Then the problem arises; how does the purchaser demonstrate to the gatekeeper at the airline (or to the rental car gatekeeper; or to the theatre usher) that the service has been paid for?
The obvious answer is that a ticket, or other indicia of the transaction, is printed at the purchaser""s terminal and that printed ticket is used to identify that the services have been paid for. That might work when the paper stock that the receipt information is printed on is closely guarded and very distinctive. It will not work for obvious reasons where general purpose printers are used to print the receipt at the purchaser""s premises.
If electronic commerce is to flourish then it is mandatory to have an arrangement whereby the purchaser can obtain immediately upon purchase a printed verification of the transaction in a manner which allows for universal printing while still allowing the printed receipt to act as a final verification of authenticity at the point where the actual services are rendered.
These and other objects, features and technical advantages of my invention have been achieved in one embodiment where a system and method is utilized for establishing a commercially available partially preprinted form where the form has printed on it information used by the service seller during the initial transaction communication period for establishing integrity control for subsequent verification. In one embodiment, the form is available to any purchaser for use with any general purpose printer operable in conjunction with a PC or other communication/computing device, including so called xe2x80x9cdumbxe2x80x9d terminals. This form is advantageously preprinted with both human readable data and machine readable data. As will be seen, the machine readable data, which I will call an indicia, contains key information which serves to help decode material that is subsequently printed on the form under control of the central validating system.
In operation, the purchaser enters into an interaction communication with the seller of the service. This may be, by way of illustration, from the purchaser""s PC at his/her home via the Internet to a web site maintained by the seller. The user has obtained one or more preprinted paper forms from a supplier of forms. The weight of the paper is not critical and the forms may be any weight stock. The user inputs the human readable data from the exact preprinted form that the user intends to use. This input can be by verbally reading the data or by scanning the data or by any other system. In situations when there is no human readable material preprinted on the form, the user would scan in the machine readable portion. Some portion of the preprinted data is unique to the exact form selected by the user at that time.
The seller, upon receipt of the unique data from the user pertaining to the selected form, verifies that this exact form identification number has not been previously used. Since each preprinted form has a unique identification code, this initial screening process insures that a copy of the preprinted form is not being used. The seller then uses the unique identification number to establish an encryption code for printing on the form a machine readable security indicia. It will be this security indicia that will subsequently be used in conjunction with the original preprinted indicia to verify the authenticity of the information to be printed on the form. The seller then sends information to user so that the user""s printer will print on the form all of the information that will be used by the purchaser to subsequently obtain the service.
When the purchaser arrives at the location where the services are to be rendered (in our example, at the airport) the purchaser""s form will contain luggage labels (printed when the security indicia was printed) and a boarding pass. A receipt will also be printed at the time the security indicia was printed. The boarding pass contains all of the information necessary to properly route the luggage to the final destination. This routing information may be both human readable and mechanically readable, perhaps in several different formats.
For verification of the authenticity of the boarding pass and/or the luggage tags, the original preprinted indicia is read to obtain a decryption key. This key is then used to decrypt information stored in the security indicia that was printed at the time the remainder of the form information was printed. If the key is not present on the preprinted form, or if the key differs from the key assigned to that form in conjunction with the human readable data that was inputted by the purchaser during the initial payment and/or scheduling session, then the data on the form will not be verified and the holder of the form (boarding pass) will be denied service.
Note that the printer can be any printing device for creating images on paper, or it could be a device for storing images which can later be displayed to obtain the goods and or services. For example, the image can be created into a memory and that memory can be later used to create a display, or to print a paper or other media copy, which is scanned or observed by a gatekeeper at the point where the services are to be rendered. The recreated image can be electronically scanned using the preestablished key to decode the newly created validity information. Such a system can be useful when a memory device, such as a smart card or PC, is used to gain access to a theatre, to rent a car or to board an airplane. In such a system, the memory device interacts with the seller of the service at an earlier point in time, usually several days or weeks earlier, and during that interaction availability of the service is confirmed, a reservation is made, payment is arranged for, seat assignments issued, and images (or other forms of data) are recorded in the memory in a manner such that such images will not be verifiable unless they are decoded using some portion of the preestablished memory data.
The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of the present invention in order that the detailed description of the invention that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of the invention will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the invention. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Verifying the authenticity of printed documents


The present invention enables relatively easy animation display without requiring a special resource, and facilitates easy generation of the animation. When an image to be displayed as animation is constructed with a background, leg, body and head, these images are distributed as a layer. For each layer, a timing schedule is set with attribute data which includes display update timing and display effects. According to the schedule, display for each layer is updated at the scheduled timing.

An amusement arcade (game center) provides arcade game machines or apparatuses (hereinafter simply referred to as a game machine), which can print and output user's original stickers by photographing a self-portrait of the user with a built-in camera and framing the portrait with a desired modifiable frame. Each of these game machines comprises dedicated hardware.
In order to attract a user during non-operating period of a game machine, game machines of this type display various animation (moving images) on the display screen for a demonstration.
For instance, in a case of a shooting game, the game machine may display a sample of the shooting game for the demonstration. Therefore, special hardware does not need to be added to such game machines.
However, in a case of a game machine which mainly prints stickers, an additional function, which is different from printing stickers, is necessary to display such demonstration. This causes an increase in cost of the game machine. For instance, in order to display animation, images must be stored frame by frame. Thus, in order to store an extremely large amount of data, a large memory capacity is required. Furthermore, generating such animation requires extremely time consuming operation.
Moreover, although a conventional game machine of this type has a simple construction for photographing an image with a built-in camera, synthesizing the photographed image with an appropriate frame, and printing the image, the game machine comprises dedicated hardware. Therefore, manufacturing the game machine requires a high cost.
Furthermore, because of the simplicity of the operation, the game machine is unable to print varieties of stickers desired by users. For instance, a user cannot input or select arbitrary character strings, e.g., user's name or the like, to be combined together and printed.
In a case where a user can select or input various character strings, the operation of the game machine tends to become complicated. Furthermore, in such case, the game machine must be designed so that a user can easily change contents of the inputted setting after or in the middle of input operation.

Animation display apparatus, arcade game machine, control method and apparatus thereof, and storage medium


The present invention is directed to the use of an improved hydrocarbon adsorbent coating for the treatment of exhaust emissions from a motor vehicle. More specifically, the hydrocarbon adsorbent of the present invention can be coated to any surface area of an exhaust gas recirculation system to trap hydrocarbon vapors before they can be released to the atmosphere.

There continues to be a push to reduce emissions from internal combustion engines. One manner in which emissions are generated from an internal combustion engine is when the engine is shut off. Fuel which has been released from fuel injectors, but has not been consumed prior to engine shut down, may evaporate outwardly through the intake manifold, intake air ducts, air filter, or components of the exhaust system and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system, thereby escaping into the atmosphere and contribute to air pollution.
Evaporative emission regulations for vehicles require the control of polluting substances (primarily hydrocarbons) from the vehicle as it sits unused. Evaporative emissions can leak out of a vehicle from many sources including the air intake system, fuel tank, and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system. In the past, only those from the fuel tank were captured, with carbon-filled canisters. However, with increasing emission regulations it has become necessary to expand evaporative emission capture technology to other vehicle components such as the EGR valve system and air intake system. Evaporative emissions need to be retained within the air inlet system until the powertrain is again used at which time the retention system will give up the harmful substances to be consumed and controlled through the normal exhaust emission control systems.
There are several ways to control the outward flow of pollutants from the air intake system of an automobile. One such technique is the careful shaping of the ducting and filter box. However, this method is often not sufficient to meet the regulatory requirements. Accordingly, other methods must be used such as the incorporation of systems in the air intake system that use some form of carbon or other material to absorb the pollutants during the rest cycle. When the vehicle is next started, the in-rushing air will draw the pollutants from the absorbent and direct the pollutants into the engine and/or through the normal exhaust system pollution controls. This inward air rush also regenerates the absorption systems so that they may be reused. Unfortunately, these extra absorption systems add cost, weight and complexity to a vehicle and often restrict the air flow.
In additional efforts to reduce these types of inadvertent evaporative emissions, many types of filters have been developed. Examples of filters for use in the intake system of a vehicle are found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,432,179 to Lobovsky et al. and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. U.S. 2002/0029693 to Sakakibara et al., both of which are incorporated herein by reference. The publication of Sakakibara et al. discloses several embodiments of hydrocarbon adsorbing devices having a case surrounding an inner cylinder portion. A hydrocarbon adsorbent material is provided in a chamber defined by the case and the inner cylinder portion. The inner cylinder portion has a central bore that extends through its length to permit induction air to pass therethrough, and also has windows that allow any hydrocarbons in the induction system to pass through a filter surrounding the inner cylinder portion to the hydrocarbon adsorbent material in the chamber to be adsorbed thereby.
As previously described, when the engine is not operating, fuel-based hydrocarbon emissions can diffuse back from the engine through the air intake, air induction system, exhaust system, or exhaust gas recirculation system and out to the ambient atmosphere. Some sources for these fuel-based hydrocarbon emissions include the fuel injectors, intake manifold walls, cylinders, positive crankcase ventilation system, and EGR valve.
In general, control of air intake system fugitive hydrocarbon emissions can be accomplished by placing a hydrocarbon adsorber unit within the air induction system between the ambient environment and the engine (e.g., before the throttle body). When the engine is not operating, hydrocarbon vapors that diffuse back though the air induction system will be trapped by the adsorber and not released to the ambient atmosphere. During subsequent operation of the vehicle, any hydrocarbons trapped on the adsorber unit will be desorbed and pulled into the engine where they are combusted. Devices for adsorbing hydrocarbon vapors within a vehicle's air intake system are well known in the art and include extruded carbon monoliths, carbon impregnated cloth, carbon impregnated polyurethane, and granular carbon (configured in a thin layer). These devices are usually located within the air cleaner box or air induction tube.
Furthermore, systems and methods for adsorbing uncombusted hydrocarbons in the exhaust gas stream of an automobile are also well known. These systems and methods are particularly useful for adsorbing uncombusted hydrocarbons emitted during the cold start of the automobile engine.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,985,210 is directed to an exhaust gas purifying apparatus for an automobile employing a three-way catalyst with either a Y-type zeolite or a mordenite used in a hydrocarbon trap upstream of the three-way catalyst. In the embodiment of FIG. 2 of U.S. Pat. No. 4,985,210, a bed of activated carbon is disposed upstream of an adsorbent zone. A solenoid-operated valve mechanism serves to direct the exhaust gas stream either through or around the activated carbon bed, depending on the temperature of the exhaust gas stream, and then through the adsorbent zone and the three-way catalyst.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,051,244 is directed to a process for treating an engine exhaust gas stream in which the gas stream is directed through a molecular sieve in an adsorbent zone during the cold-start phase of engine operation. When the hydrocarbons begin to desorb, the adsorbent zone is by-passed until the catalyst is at its operating temperature, at which point the gas stream is again flowed through the adsorbent zone to desorb hydrocarbons and carry them to the catalyst zone. A paper by M. Heimrich, L. Smith and J. Kotowski entitled Cold-Start Hydrocarbon Collection for Advanced Exhaust Emission Control, SAE Publication Number 920847, discloses an apparatus which functions in a manner similar to that of U.S. Pat. No. 5,051,244.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,125,231 discloses an engine exhaust system for reducing hydrocarbon emissions, including the use of beta zeolites as hydrocarbon adsorbents. Zeolites having a silica/alumina ratio in the range of 70/1 to 200/1 are preferred adsorbents. The apparatus includes by-pass lines and valves to direct exhaust gases from a first converter directly to a second converter during cold-start operation and when the first converter reaches its light-off temperature, to either by-pass the second converter or recycle effluent from it to the first converter.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,158,753 discloses an exhaust gas purifying device comprising: a catalyst device installed in the exhaust gas path of an internal combustion engine for treating the exhaust gas of the engine; an adsorbing device installed in the exhaust gas path between the catalyst device and the internal combustion engine, for treating the exhaust gas of the engine. One embodiment includes a heat exchanger for performing heat transfer between the exhaust gas flowing from the internal combustion engine to the adsorbing device and the exhaust gas flowing from the adsorbing device to the catalyst device. Alternatively, the catalyst device includes a catalyst secured in the low-temperature-side gas flow path of a heat exchanger, and the exhaust gas flowing from the internal combustion engine to the adsorbing device is allowed to flow to the high-temperature-side gas flow path of the heat exchanger.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,171,556 discloses a method and apparatus for treating an exhaust gas stream containing hydrocarbons and other pollutants. The method comprises the steps of flowing the exhaust gas stream through a catalytic member comprising a monolith body having a first catalyst zone and a second catalyst zone therein to contact a catalyst in a first catalyst zone to convert at least some of the pollutants in the exhaust gas stream into innocuous products. The exhaust gas stream is then discharged from the catalytic member and flowed through an adsorbent zone to adsorb at least some of the hydrocarbon pollutants with an adsorbent composition. The exhaust gas stream is discharged from the adsorbent zone and flowed to the second catalyst zone to convert at least some of the pollutants into innocuous products. The exhaust gas stream, so treated, is then discharged to the atmosphere through suitable discharge means. A preferred adsorbent is a zeolite, having a relatively high silica to alumina ratio and a low relative Bronsted acidity. The preferred adsorbent compositions comprise beta zeolites.
It is also known in the art to provide an automobile internal combustion engine with an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system for the circulation of a flow of exhaust gases from the engine back to the engine. The recirculation of exhaust gas back to the engine cools the engine, and thereby, limits the formation of nitrogen oxides (NOx) in the engine (exhaust gas). The EGR system contains an EGR valve, which can be opened or closed to varying degrees, to control the flow of engine exhaust gases through the exhaust gas recirculation system. Since the EGR valve is connected to the air intake system and is vented for pressure relief, the EGR valve can be an additional route for release of hydrocarbons to the atmosphere while the vehicle engine is not in operation. Due to the large size, the prior art hydrocarbon adsorber units, described above, cannot be included in or added to the EGR valve. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a means of controlling evaporative hydrocarbon emissions from the EGR valve.
As discussed above, zeolites are often used as coatings on monolithic substrates for various high temperature adsorption and catalytic applications. In these cases, inorganic binder systems are used that survive exposure to high temperatures (e.g., >500° C.) and provide good coating adhesion. However, for low temperature application (e.g., <500° C.), inorganic type binders are often not suitable since their binding characteristics are severely diminished. In these low temperature applications, organic polymer binders are ideal since they are structurally stable and provide excellent coating adhesion.
For example, commonly assigned U.S. Patent Publication No. 2004/0226440 discloses a hydrocarbon adsorption unit. The unit is positioned in the air intake system and has an air intake and air outlet. According to the application the adsorber material may be silica gel, a molecular sieve and/or activated carbon and contains an organic polymer binder, as well as an anionic, nonionic or cationic dispersant, that will cause the material to adhere to the surface of a substrate.
However, without proper choice of these stabilizing agents, interparticle agglomeration of zeolite particles or coagulation of zeolite and binder particles will occur, thus rendering the slurry unstable for coating application. As a result, a zeolite-based coating formulation must be developed that not only has good adhesion (particularly to metal substrates) at low temperature, but also excellent adsorption characteristics.
Therefore, it is an objective of the present invention to provide an improved exhaust gas recirculation system for controlling exhaust gas emissions from a motor vehicle's exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system. It is another objective of the present invention to provide a hydrocarbon adsorbent slurry coating to an EGR valve to reduce hydrocarbon vapors from the exhaust gas, thereby preventing release of hydrocarbons into the ambient atmosphere. A key advantage to this invention is that existing components of the EGR valve can be coated with adsorbent without the need for significant valve redesign.

Hydrocarbon adsorption trap for controlling evaporative emissions from EGR valves


A fuel-air mixer for use with a combustor is provided. The fuel-air mixer includes an outer ring, an intermediate hub disposed coaxially within the outer ring such that a first plenum is formed therebetween, and an inner hub disposed coaxially within the intermediate hub such that a second plenum is formed therebetween. A first swirler including a plurality of first swirler vanes is positioned between the outer ring and the intermediate hub, wherein the first swirler is configured to rotate fluid flowing therethrough in a first direction. A second swirler including a plurality of second swirler vanes is positioned between the intermediate hub and the inner hub, wherein the second swirler is configured to rotate fluid flowing therethrough in a second direction. A plurality of fuel injection conduits are also defined within the fuel-air mixer for channeling fuel to the first and second plenums.

The field of the present disclosure relates generally to turbine engines and, more specifically, to a fuel-air mixer for use with a combustor assembly.
Rotary machines, such as gas turbines, are used to generate power for electric generators. Gas turbines, for example, have a gas path which typically includes, in serial-flow relationship, an air intake, a compressor, a combustor, a turbine, and a gas outlet. Compressor and turbine sections include at least one row of circumferentially spaced rotating buckets or blades positioned within a housing. At least some known turbine engines are used in cogeneration facilities and power plants. Such engines may have high specific work and power per unit mass flow requirements. To increase the operating efficiency, at least some known turbine engines, such as gas turbine engines, may operate with increased combustion temperatures. Generally, in at least some known gas turbine engines, engine efficiency increases as combustion gas temperatures increase.
However, operating known turbine engines at higher temperatures may also increase the generation of polluting emissions, such as oxides of nitrogen (NOX). Such emissions are generally undesirable and may be harmful to the environment. At least some known turbine assemblies facilitate reducing NOx emissions by using pre-mixing technology. Pre-mixing fuel and air facilitates inhibiting the temperature of combustion gases such that the combustion temperature does not rise above the threshold where NOx emissions are formed.
Natural gas is used in at least some known pre-mixers. Natural gas is a fuel mainly composed of methane that has a tendency to burn cleaner compared to other known hydrocarbon fuels. Due to the limited availability of natural gas, the use of non-conventional fuels may be desirable. However, non-conventional fuels such as weak natural gas, for example, contain up to 60-70% of inert compounds by volume. As such, non-conventional fuels have a modified Wobbe index (MWI) number outside of the MWI range that can be accommodated by known fuel nozzles.

Fuel-air mixer for use with a combustor assembly


A porphyrin copolymer containing quinoxaline unit, preparation method and uses thereof are disclosed. The copolymer has the structural formula (I), wherein R1, R2, R3, R4 are selected from C1˜C32 alkyl groups, and n is an integer between 1 and 100. The copolymer is useful in the fields of solar battery and the like.

Today's world economy is built on the basis of fossil energy, such as coal, petroleum and natural gas. However, these non-renewable fossil energy sources are running out continuously. Since the beginning of the 21st century, global energy problems and the associated problems like environmental pollution and climate warming have become more apparent and severer. Solar energy has the prominent advantages such as wide distribution, abundance, pollution-free, cleanliness, safety, and easy accessibility, and is therefore considered to be one of the most promising renewable energy sources. Solar cells convert sunlight directly to electrical energy, and are practical and effective means to utilize solar energy. However, the commercialized solar cells so far are still limited to silicon based inorganic solar cells, of which the price is so high that it exceeds the generally acceptable level, which greatly limits the range of their applications. In order to reduce the cost of cells and to broaden the range of applications thereof, people have long been looking for novel materials for solar cells.
Organic solar cells are novel solar cells. Comparing with inorganic semiconductor materials which has the disadvantages such as limited sources, high price, toxicity, complicated preparation process, and high cost, organic solar cells possess certain incomparable advantages such as wide range of sources of materials, structural diversity and adaptability, low cost, safety and environmental friendliness, simple production process, light weight and possibility for large area flexible preparation. Therefore, organic solar cells can be widely used in a variety of areas like construction, lighting and power generation, and possess an important development and application prospect. In this connection, many domestic and foreign research institutions and enterprises have paid considerable attention and investment. However, so far, the photoelectric transformation efficiency of organic solar cells is still much lower than that of inorganic solar cells. Therefore, the development of novel organic semiconductor materials has great significance for improving the efficiency of organic solar cells.
Currently, the application of silicon cells for ground use is limited due to its complicated production process and high cost. In order to reduce the cost of the cells and to increase the range of applications thereof, people have long been looking for novel material for solar cells. Organic semiconductor materials have drawn great interest due to their advantages of readily availability of materials, low cost, simple preparation process, good environmental stability and good photovoltaic effect. Since 1992 when N. S. Sariciftci et. al. reported in SCIENCE the phenomena of photo-induced electron transfer between a conjugated polymer and C60, lots of efforts have been made in the research of polymer solar cells, and a rapid development had been obtained. However, the conversion efficiency of organic solar cells is still much lower than that of inorganic solar cells. The constraint factors that limit the improvement of the performance include: mismatch of the spectral response of an organic semiconductor materials with the solar radiation spectrum, and the relatively low migration rate and electrode collection rate of the charge carrier of organic semiconductor materials. In order to practically use polymer solar cells, developing novel materials and significantly improving their energy conversion efficiency are still the primary task in this research area.

Porphyrin copolymer containing quinoxaline unit, preparation method and uses thereof

Ocean's King Lighting Science & Technology Co., Ltd.


A pressure-measuring device and a pressure-measuring method for measuring a pressure in a combustion chamber of a turbomachine are provided. The pressure-measuring device includes at least one sensor device for measuring an ion current at at least one point inside the combustion chamber.

This invention relates to a pressure-measuring device and to a pressure-measuring method.
For environmental protection reasons, the purpose is to reduce emissions from turbomachines, such as gas turbines or aircraft engines, for example. It is possible here to combust lean mixtures, i.e. fuel mixtures with a relatively low fuel-to-air ratio, in a combustion chamber of the turbomachine.
This may result in operating states with high pressure peaks or other flow instabilities. The pressure fluctuations are mainly caused here by fluctuations in the heat released during combustion, where the pressure fluctuations can be so great that the combustion chamber or other components of the turbomachine might be damaged. A system for detecting pressure fluctuations of this type is for example known from US 2010/0158670 A1.

Pressure-measuring device and pressure-measuring method for a turbomachine


A container (10) for carrying bulk materials includes a body portion (12) having an open top, a cover (11) to close the open top, and a base portion (13) holding the body portion. The base portion (13) has sidewalls (39) which cradle the sidewalls (25) of the body portion (12), which sidewalls (25) are tapered so that the container (10) can be nested within a like container. Material to be discharged from the container may pass through a valve (33) positioned in a recess (32) in a sidewall (25) of the base portion (12). A preferably flexible liner (14) may be received in body portion (12) and includes a peripheral cuff (46) for attachment to the cover (11) and base portion (12). The liner (14) also has a tube (44) which can communicate with the valve (33) for discharge of the material from the liner (14). The container (10) is made of a resulting translucent plastic formed from the reaction of an isocyanate and a polyol resin utilizing a process whereby pressure is applied to the tanks (58, 60) holding the reactant material (58) and the resin material (60) only during the time when the materials (58, 60) are being transported to the mold (67).

The transportation of large quantities of bulk liquids or solid materials is usually accomplished by tanker trucks or the like, whereas traditionally, smaller quantities thereof are shipped or transported in the conventional 55-gallon drum. While such drums have for years been the benchmark for small quantity bulk material containers, such are not without their problems. Such is particularly the case where intermediate quantities of material, that is, more than 55 gallons and less than a tanker truck quantity, are desired.
In addition to their weight and the tendency to leak, dent, and corrode, one of the primary concerns regarding the 55-gallon drum relates to the costs of handling, using, and disposing of the same. For example, if in excess of 300 gallons of bulk material is desired, six 55-gallon drums must be separately filled, shipped, and then handled by the user. Dispensing of the material is not easy in that the container must be tipped and/or inverted to do so. Upon emptying, such drums must then be cleaned for re-use and often, upon opening a drum believed to be empty, the user finds a small quantity of remaining material therein which not only becomes wasted but which also compounds the cleaning problem. Then the drums must usually be shipped for refilling, and since they take up as much space empty as filled, and since their cylindrical configuration wastes space when positioned side-by-side, return shipping costs are amplified. Finally, the life of such drums is such that disposal is usually required after no more than four uses thereby loading up land fills with remnants of possibly hazardous material thereby incurring the potential of long-term open-ended liability.
In an effort to solve at least some of these problems, recently some bulk containers have been introduced which have become known in the trade as intermediate bulk containers because they are capable of holding more material than a 55-gallon drum, but much less than a tanker truck. Typical of such containers is the type which includes a blow-molded plastic bottle-like tank which is received within a heavy metal cage or multi-walled corrugated box for structural support. While being capable of providing more volume than the 55-gallon drum, such containers are still heavy and difficult to clean. Moreover, there is no way for the user to be certain that the contents thereof have been completely depleted and as in the case of the 55-gallon drum, quite often when the container is opened, some remaining material is found therein. In addition, most of these containers are not designed for long term reuse and must be discarded after just a few uses. For those which may be refilled and reused several times, the empty shipping thereof for refilling remains a costly endeavor.
Thus, the need exists for a bulk container, particularly one of an intermediate size being capable of holding the quantity of several 55-gallon drums, which is relatively light weight and free from denting, and the corrosion and leakage problems. Moreover, the need exists for such a container which is easy to handle, fill, and clean, and one in which the user can determine the quantity of material remaining therein. Finally, the need exists for a container which will drain completely and be economically reused because it can be conveniently shipped when empty.

Container for bulk material and its method of manufacture


The present disclosure discloses an electronic tag and a control method thereof. The electronic tag comprises: a power supply module configured to supply power to the electronic tag; a display module configured to display a display screen required by the electronic tag; an electronic tag circuit configured to control the electronic tag to operate in a state that the electronic tag is powered by the power supply module; and a switch circuit configured to disconnect the power supply module from the electronic tag circuit when the display screen does not need to be updated.

With the rapid development of Internet of Things technology, electronic tags have gradually entered the view of people. Large shopping malls and small convenience stores are gradually replacing traditional paper price tags with electronic tags, thereby updating product information in real time, and reducing the number of staff in shopping malls and supermarkets. The electronic tag may not only provide consumers with more comprehensive and accurate product information, but also greatly reduce the number of staff in large shopping malls and supermarkets, change information more timely and quickly, and make a change operation more convenient and concise.
Most existing electronic tags use electronic papers. Due to a reflective display characteristic of the electronic paper, the electronic tag has become a low-power product. The electronic tag is powered by a battery when a price of a product is changed and updated, and after the update is completed, the battery stops supplying power to the electronic tag. The electronic paper uses a principle of reflection to display an updated screen.
Existing electronic tag is usually powered by a button battery, and energy of the button battery is limited, thus a service life of the electronic tag is limited. According to an energy consumption analysis of the existing electronic tag, the existing electronic tag generally uses 2 button batteries. The power of the 2 button batteries is almost exhausted after the electronic tag is used for about 5 years.

Electronic tag and control method thereof

CHONGQING BOE SMART ELECTRONICS SYSTEM CO., LTD.