A folding box for receiving a group of containers includes a cuboid-shaped external packaging made of cardboard. The external packaging has side walls, bottom walls and top walls. The folding box also includes a lining on the inside of the external packaging at least in the corner region between the side walls, top walls and/or bottom walls.

The invention relates to a folding box for receiving a group of containers, in particular bottles.
Folding boxes made of corrugated cardboard are used for transporting containers, in particular for exporting beer bottles or other drinks bottles. The use of a standard transportation box, comprising side walls, bottom wall flaps and top wall flaps articulated to one another and made of (B-flute) corrugated cardboard with a thickness of approximately 3 mm, is widespread. The bottles are frequently inserted into compartments in the folding boxes in order to avoid contact between the glass. Such a folding box is known, for example, for exporting and receiving 24 beer bottles, each with a capacity of approximately 210 ml (7 fl. oz.). The print on folding boxes made of corrugated cardboard, however, is only able to be of average quality. Moreover, the blanks take up a large amount of space. In addition, the folding boxes may be easily deformed during transport. Also, the folding boxes made of corrugated cardboard are able to be relatively easily punctured and/or perforated.
For transporting bottles, folding boxes made of kraft cardboard have also already become known. Said boxes have improved printing properties. So that the kraft cardboard withstands the load of, for example, 24 bottles, kraft cardboard with a relatively high grammage is used.
Proceeding therefrom, the object of the invention is to provide a folding box for the transportation of containers, which has good printing properties and is less costly.

Folding box for receiving a group of containers

Graphic Packaging International Europe Netherlands B.V.


Systems and methods for automatically generating advertisements using a media guidance application are provided. In some embodiments, an advertisement database is searched to identify a stored advertisement for display in an advertisement display region of a media guidance application display screen. Upon determining that the advertisement database does not include a suitable stored advertisement, a new advertisement may be generated for display in the advertisement display region.

This invention relates generally to interactive media guidance applications, and more particularly, to automatic advertisement generation using an interactive media guidance application.
With the increasing use of interactive program guides and other media guidance applications, advertisements shown within such applications have become an important promotional tool. Advertisements, for example, may promote future media programs, ongoing television series, and pay-per-view programming, in hopes of attracting more viewers to these programs. Advertisements may also promote products and services unrelated to television programs, such as automobiles or food products. In some media guidance applications, multiple advertising display opportunities may be available simultaneously. For example, a number of advertisement display regions located within various display screens of the application may be available for presenting advertisements to a user.
In conventional interactive television application systems, advertisement display regions are filled with advertisements provided by a remote server or other remote advertisement source. These advertisements may be delivered to user equipment and stored for future display. However, suitable stored advertisements are not always available to fill all available advertisement display regions. Typically, these advertisement display regions remain unfilled or are filled with placeholder advertisements.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a systematic approach for filling all available advertising display opportunities within a media guidance application.


An electric turbocharger includes an electric motor which rotationally drives a rotating blade, a motor housing which accommodates the electric motor therein, a controller which is disposed outside the motor housing and controls the driving of the electric motor, and a power supply mechanism which supplies a current from the controller to the electric motor through a through-hole communicating the inside and the outside of the motor housing, in which the power supply mechanism includes a rod which is hermetically sealed while being inserted through the through-hole, a connector which is connected to at least one end of the rod, and a busbar which is connected to the connector, and in which the connector absorbs a relative positional displacement of the rod with respect to the connector.

Patent Literature 1 discloses an electric compressor in which a compressor and an electric motor are integrated with each other. The electric compressor includes a housing including a middle casing that accommodates the compressor, a rear casing that accommodates the electric motor, and a front casing that accommodates a drive circuit. Then, the drive circuit and the electric motor are electrically connected to each other by a signal line via a hermetically sealed terminal fixed to the housing.


Magnifying binoculars configured for observing a magnified image of an object, includes a frame configured to be worn by a user, a pair of magnifying optical system units provided for left and right eyes of the user, respectively, each of the magnifying optical system units including a magnifying optical system for observing the magnified image of the object, and an optical path switching unit provided on an object side of each of the magnifying optical system units, the optical path switching unit including a movable mirror and a fixed mirror. The movable mirror is configured to be moved between an operating position on an optical path on the object side of the magnifying optical system unit and an evacuated position off the optical path. The fixed mirror is configured to deflect the optical path deflected by the movable mirror when the movable mirror is located on the operating position.

The present invention relates to magnifying binoculars for binocularly observing a magnified image of an object.
In an operation to treat a microscopic tissue such as a brain surgery and a cardiovascular surgery, a doctor performs the operation observing a portion to be treated as magnified with a magnifying glass. In such a case, it is desirable to use magnifying binoculars so as to three-dimensionally observe the portion to be treated. In Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 2005-128305, there are disclosed magnifying binoculars that are configured with magnifying optical system units attached to apertures that are formed at center portions of right and left lenses of eyeglasses, respectively. The magnifying optical system unit is provided with a real-image-type magnifying optical system configured with an objective lens and an eyepiece, and a roof prism arranged between the objective lens and eyepiece. The roof prism has a function of erecting an image formed by the objective optical system, and deflecting an optical path such that a user wearing the magnifying binoculars can observe a region at the user's hands when facing front.
Thereby, the doctor can observe the magnified portion to be treated without cocking the doctor's head ahead, so as to prevent fatigue of the neck caused by long hours of operation.
However, the magnifying binoculars disclosed in Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 2005-128305 enable observation of a magnified image of the object only in a deflected direction, but do not allow the observation of the magnified image of the object in the other directions keeping the same posture.


A semiconductor memory apparatus includes a shared pad which is configured to output a read operation control signal in a read operation and receive a write operation control signal in a write operation.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory apparatus and a semiconductor system including the same.
2. Related Art
A semiconductor memory apparatus includes a plurality of pads (or pins) and communicates with an external controller through the plurality of pads. While the pads are essential component elements of the semiconductor memory apparatus for communicating with the external controller, the presence of the pads may adversely influence the miniaturization of the semiconductor memory apparatus. That is to say, as a semiconductor memory apparatus has large capacity, the number of pads increases, and the area occupied by the pads correspondingly increases.
FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating the configuration of a known semiconductor memory apparatus. FIG. 1 shows four pads which are used in the data input/output operations, that is, read and write operations, of a semiconductor memory apparatus. The four pads are a data pad 10, a read data strobe pad 20, a write data strobe pad 30, and a data mask pad 40.
The data pad 10 is provided to input data DQ<0:31> to the semiconductor memory apparatus or output data DQ<0:31> from the semiconductor memory apparatus.
The read data strobe pad 20 is a pad for outputting a read data strobe signal RDQS<0:3> outputted with the read data, to be used in capturing the read data at a receiver, e.g., an external controller.
The write data strobe pad 30 is a pad for receiving a write data strobe signal WDQS<0:3> received with the write data, to be used in capturing the write data at the semiconductor memory apparatus
The data mask pad 40 is a pad for receiving a data mask signal DM<0:3>. The data mask signal DM<0:3> is used in the write operation of the semiconductor memory apparatus. The data mask signal DM<0:3> functions to prevent data, currently inputted to the semiconductor memory apparatus through the data pad 10, from being transferred to an internal circuit of the semiconductor memory apparatus, when a change of the data stored in the semiconductor memory apparatus is not required depending upon a data pattern.
FIG. 2 is a timing diagram illustrating the operations of the known semiconductor memory apparatus. The operations of the known semiconductor memory apparatus will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. In FIG. 2, a write command WT is inputted for the write operation of the semiconductor memory apparatus. If the write command WT is inputted, the semiconductor memory apparatus receives input data DQ<0:31> through the data pad 10, the write data strobe signal WDQS<0:3> through the write data strobe pad 30, and the data mask signal DM<0:3> through the data mask pad 40. In FIG. 2, if the data mask signal DM<0:3> is enabled, currently inputted data is masked, and if the data mask signal DM is disabled, the currently inputted data is not masked.
Thereafter, when performing the read operation, a read command RD is applied to the semiconductor memory apparatus. If the read command RD is applied, output data DQ<0:31> is outputted to the external controller through the data pad 10, and the read data strobe signal RDQS<0:3> is outputted to the external controller through the read data strobe pad 20.

Semiconductor memory apparatus and semiconductor system including the same


A zero crossing detector which compensates input offset voltage by switching connections between certain capacitors. A first capacitor connected in parallel with the comparator input, is charged to this offset value during one switching step. Part of this charge is transferred to an input series-connected capacitor during a next switching step. These steps are repeated at a high switching rate. Preferably, a voltage step source is applied to the first capacitor in that next step, and functions as a threshold during the comparison function. Once the threshold has been exceeded, the voltage step source is reversed.

The invention relates to a tone receiver comprising a zero crossing detector which includes an amplifier circuit that has an inverting input and a non-inverting input. Such receivers are known, for example, from the article entitled "A monolithic dual tone multifrequency receiver" in IEEE Journal of Solid State Circuits, Vol. SC-14, No. 6, December 1979. These tone receivers may be used in telephone sets for detecting tone signals customary in telephony, such as DTMF signals (Dual Tone Multi Frequency).
Amplifier circuits having an inverting and a non-inverting input have the property of being capable of presenting an offset voltage i.e. it is possible that a voltage unequal to zero occurs at the output if there is a zero voltage difference between the two inputs. This offset voltage has a detrimental effect on the operation of the zero crossing detector, because the zero level of the amplifier/comparator input (that is, the input voltage which produces a zero voltage on the output) now no longer has a symmetrical position between the positive and negative input threshold voltages to be set. This may have the effect that the amplifier circuit acting as a comparator is energized by small interference signals which are smaller than the set threshold value.

Tone receiver comprising a switch capacitor zero crossing detector


A method for smooth trapping of an object containing run length encoded image pixel data, includes collecting a number of scanlines of run length encoded pixel data equal to 2M in a buffer, wherein M is a line width trap threshold; determining those runs within the collected scanlines that require trapping, wherein a run is a portion of a scanline; if trapping is required in the fast scan direction and the length of the run requiring trapping is less than M, reducing the width of the trap region by a prorated percent. If trapping is required in the slow scan direction, and the number of runs above and below the run to be trapped is less than M, reducing the number of runs above and below the run to be trapped by a prorated percentage.

Electronic processing of graphic and text images produces multi-color prints using multiple color separations. Typically, four process colors, cyan, magenta, yellow and black, are used to print multiple separations, which tend to have minor misregistration problems. The result of abutting or overlapping shapes is a boundary between adjacent regions of color that, under ideal printing conditions should have zero width. That is, one color should stop exactly where the abutting color begins, with no new colors being introduced along the boundary by the printing process itself. In practice, the realization of a zero width boundary between regions of different color is impossible as a result of small but visible misregistration problems from one printed separation to another. The error is manifested as a "light leak" or as a visible boundary region of an undesired color.
Methods for correcting for this misregistration are known. The general approach is to expand one of the abutting regions' separations to fill the gap or misregistration border region with a color determined to minimize the visual effect when printed. Borders or edges expanded from a region of one color to another in this manner are said to be "spread". A border which has been expanded is referred to as a "trap", and the zone within which color is added is called the "trap zone".
Trapping is a generally a two step process. The first step in the trapping process is to determine where there is an edge on which to apply trapping. Trapping is typically used between pixels that are not of identical color, but it can be used in other locations as well. The second step is to generate the overlay of one or more pixels, in any combination of the color separations, which is done by a trap generator or trap oracle. The two inputs for the trap generator are the colors on both sides of the edge in question. For example, consider magenta and cyan, with a user-specified maximum trap width of two. The generator will compute from these whether trapping is necessary, what color to use, and where it should be applied. In this example, the correction could be zero (no trapping), one, or two pixels in width in any combination of cyan, magenta, yellow and black, and it could be located in either the magenta or cyan area. Edge detection and image manipulation to perform trapping may be done in any of several processes, including for example, the technique described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,345,117 to Victor Klassen, for "Method for Automatic Trap Selection for Correcting for Separation Misregistration in Color Printing".
For the typical trapping operation, it is assumed that objects to be trapped are very large relative to the trapping region, so that the trap colors will be difficult to distinguish. Thus, the color of only a thin boundary of the object will be changed, while the large internal area will have the original, correct color. However, for objects smaller than a few pixels, or for long, thin objects having a width less than a few pixels, trapping results in visible hue changes in the color of the entire object. For example, if a thin line is only two pixels in width, and the trap generator decides to change the color of those two pixels, the entire color of the thin line has been changed. Small objects, such as small font size text characters, may be printed in an entirely different color. If the thin line, or the small object, happens to be located near a larger object of the same initial color, there will be a visible hue shift relative to the larger object, and the result of the trapping operation will be less desirable than no trapping at all.
Run length encoding is a type of lossless compression which utilizes the fact that many files frequently contain the same character repeated many times in a row. For example, text files use multiple spaces to separate sentences, indent paragraphs, format tables and charts, etc. Digitized signals can also have runs of the same value, indicating that the signal is not changing. For example, in a data sequence having frequent runs of zeros, each time a zero is encountered in the input data, two values are written to the output file. The first of these is a zero, a flag to indicate that run length compression is beginning. The second is the number of zeros in the run. If the average run length is longer than two, compression will take place. Many different run length encoding schemes have been developed.
Co-assigned application Ser. No. 09/538,596 filed Mar. 29, 2000, for "Method for Trapping Suppression for Thin Graphical Objects Using Run Length Encoded Data", (D/A0062) describes a technique for suppressing trapping for the boundary between two color areas where one is a thin line by testing the number of pixels which make up the thickness of the areas, the decision being based on run length encoded image data. The method of D/A0062 disables trapping for objects with a dimension smaller than a threshold value. Although this reduces the hue shift for "regular" rectangular objects, irregular trapping occurs at the edges of small and complex graphical objects (where local dimensions may be near or below the threshold), for example, small text or thin triangles. It is therefore desirable to reduce the hue shift for these small objects while preserving the continuity of traps along the edges.

Method for smooth trap suppression of small graphical objects using run length encoded data


A system and method for parallel rendering of images are described. Image information is stored into at least one buffer for display on a plurality of display modules. A predetermined number of image units from said image information are mapped to each display module of said plurality of display modules.

The present invention relates generally to image processing and, more particularly, to a system and method for parallel rendering of images.
As graphics applications, for example image rendering applications, become more complex, more powerful computer systems are needed to compute these applications.
Generally, an image processing device, for example a computer system, is connected to a display module, for example a cathode-ray tube (CRT) or an image projector, and displays an image on the display module after processing the image rendering application. However, processing of a complex image rendering application with a single computer system is generally slower and achieves a lower degree of visual resolution.
As a result, clusters of personal computers have become increasingly popular as cost-effective platforms for such supercomputer-class applications. Given continuous performance improvements in graphics accelerators, clusters of personal computers are similarly attractive for complex graphics applications.
However, previous attempts use clusters of personal computers lacked arbitrary scalability in both the number of computer systems and the number of display modules supported and failed to allow any pixel data generated from any computer system to be dynamically mapped to any location of any display module.

System and method for parallel rendering of images


The present invention relates to an eyepiece optical system and device with a large field-of-view angle and high image quality, comprising a first lens group and a second lens group arranged successively along an optical axis from a human eye observing side to a micro display. The first lens group is composed of one or more lenses, and the second lens group comprises a Fresnel lens. The Fresnel lens comprises a Fresnel surface. By the use of a combination of a novel optical surface shape, i.e., the Fresnel surface shape, and traditional optical spherical and aspherical surface shapes, when focal lengths of various lenses and lens groups meet particular conditions, significant elimination of system aberration, reduction of the sensitivity of various optical components, and easy processing and assembly of the components can be achieved.

With the development of electronic devices to ultra miniaturization and the development of new computers, microelectronics, optoelectronics devices, and communications theories and technologies, a new mode such as wearable computing based on "people-oriented" and "unity of man and machine" has become possible, and is emerging in military, industrial, medical, educational, consumption and other fields. In a typical wearable computing architecture, a head-mounted display device is a key component. The head-mounted display device directs the video image light emitted from a micro image display (e.g., a transmissive or reflective liquid crystal display, an organic electroluminescent device, or a DMD device) to the pupil of a user by the optical technology, for implementing virtual magnified images in the near-eye range of the user, so as to provide the user with intuitive, visual images, video, and text information. The eyepiece optical system is the core of the head-mounted display device, which realizes the function of displaying a miniature image in front of human eyes to form a virtual magnified image.
The head-mounted display device develops toward having compact size, light weight, convenient wearing, reduced load, and the like. Meanwhile, a large field-of-view angle and visual comfort experience have gradually become key factors to evaluate the quality of the head-mounted display device. The large field-of-view angle determines a visual experience effect of high liveness, and high image quality and low distortion determine the comfort of visual experience. To meet these requirements, the optical system should try its best to achieve such indexes as a large field-of-view angle, high image resolution, low distortion, small field curvature, and a small volume. It is a great challenge for system design and aberration optimization to achieve the above optical properties at the same time.

Eyepiece optical system and device with large field-of-view angle and high image quality


A fencing system operable to define a barrier relative to a foundation. The fencing system includes a mount that is operable to be supported by the foundation. The mount includes an upright portion configured to extend from the foundation. The fencing system also includes a first barrier member having a lower bracket that receives the upright portion such that the mount supports the first barrier member generally upright. The fencing system also includes a second barrier member having an upper bracket that receives the upright portion such that the mount supports the second barrier member generally upright and such that the upper bracket substantially overlaps the lower bracket to limit movement of the first barrier member.

This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Fencing systems provide security and demarcate predetermined areas. Some fencing systems are assembled from a substantially continuous wall portion that is supported upright by a plurality of posts, mounts, etc. Other fencing systems include a plurality of panels that can be installed end-to-end in an upright manner. As such, these fencing systems create a barrier, which can prevent unauthorized persons from entering a secure area or for other similar purposes.
Although prior art fencing systems have functioned for their intended purposes, significant problems still remain. For instance, current fencing systems may not provide a satisfactory level of security. For instance, a person can cut openings through some conventional fencing systems fairly easily. Other fencing systems can be easily disassembled by unauthorized persons in order to pass through the intended barrier.
Moreover, assembly of some fencing systems can be difficult and time consuming. Indeed, some fencing systems require installation of support members, then robust attachment of a wall portion of a plurality of panels to the support members. This assembly process can include various time consuming steps for increasing the strength of the fence. Otherwise, quick assembly of the fence often comes at the expense of security.


A novel high ion storage/ion mobility separation mass spectrometer that provides for a high duty cycle of operation is presented herein. In particular, the example embodiments, as disclosed herein, provides for a high ion storage/ion mobility instrument that beneficially includes a two-dimensional (2D) plurality of adjacently arranged ion confinement channels to provide a high storage bank of a desired mass range of ions. Such ions, via ion mobility transport, are separated into smaller fractions of an overall mass window into desired confinement regions of the disclosed 2D confinement channels and thereafter transferred out in a manner so as to enable the aforementioned novel high-duty cycle of sequential operation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of mass spectroscopy. More particularly, the present invention relates to the field of mass spectroscopy directed to a novel system and method that enables combining ion storage and ion mobility separation on the same time scale so as to provide high duty cycle analysis of the collected ions.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
High-throughput refers to a technology in which a large number of measurements can be taken in a fairly short time period. "Ome" and "omics" are suffixes that are derived from genome (the whole collection of a person's DNA) and genomics (the study of the genome). High-throughput analysis is essential when considering data at the "omic" level, that is to say considering all DNA sequences, gene expression levels, or proteins at once. Without the ability to rapidly and accurately measure tens and hundreds of thousands of data points in a short period of time, there is no way to perform analyses at this level. In particular, high-throughput analysis in various OMICS' requires a high duty cycle of operation, often by using a configured mass spectrometer. This requires that mass analysis be done faster than ion accumulation or the ions desired to be interrogated must be stored in a manner that enables spectral quality mass analysis. With ever increasing of brightness of the ion sources, the second approach is beneficial.
To provide such ion storage with mass analysis creates a need for higher storage capabilities of the ions. Relative high capacity storage of ions in the field of mass spectroscopy presently entails configurations of linear RF multipole rod assemblies, more often quadrupole arrangements, wherein phases of an applied RF voltage are alternatively applied to opposing rod pairs. From such an arrangement, a pseudo potential is created that enables accelerating the ions in the interior of the device towards the axis so as to enable oscillations around the potential minimum along the length of the interior axis. Applied DC fields located at the ends of the rod poles or applied to predetermined sections of the rods enables trapping of desired ions. Moreover, such devices can also be provided with a buffer inert gas, e.g., Helium, Neon, Argon, to assist the ions in losing their initial kinetic energy via low energy collisions. In the right configuration, introduction of such gases also enables different ion species to be separated by their ion mobility, i.e., by ion mobility spectrometry (IMS).
The utility of ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) for separation of ions has been demonstrated extensively, but IMS combined with mass spectrometry (MS) has remained a niche technique, mainly because of the loss of sensitivity due to ion losses within the combination of techniques. IMS, in particular, remains a desired technique to be coupled with MS because of the speed of the separation technique. Specifically, IMS exploits the beneficial aspect that different particles diffuse through a gas at different speeds, depending on their collision cross-sections with the introduced gas molecules. While neutrals diffuse randomly (via Brownian motion), ions in an applied electric field drift in a defined direction with the velocity controlled by their mobility (K). Such a quantity generally varies with the field intensity E but IMS is often run in a low-field regime where K (E) is substantially constant. In that limit, K depends on the ion/buffer gas collision cross-section Ω, of which allows a spatial separation of different ions.
Accordingly, a need exists for providing higher ion storage configurations that capitalize primarily on ion mobility separation to provide high duty cycle analysis of the collected ions. The present embodiments, as disclosed herein, addresses this need by providing novel arrangements designed to confine desired high ion loads in groups after ion mobility separation and can be directed to scan out desired groups of ions to coupled analyzers while continually filling storage region(s).
Background information on an ion storage bank system is described and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,718,959 B2, entitled, "STORAGE BANK FOR IONS," issued May 18, 2010, to Frantzen et al., including the following, "[t]he invention relates to instruments for storing ions in more than one ion storage device and to the use of the storage bank thus created. The ion storage bank includes several storage cells configured as RF multipole rod systems, where the cells contain damping gas and are arranged in parallel. Each pair of pole rods is used jointly by two immediately adjacent storage cells such that the ions collected can be transported from one storage cell to the next by briefly applying DC or AC voltages to individual pairs of pole rods. The ions can thus be transported to storage cells in which they are fragmented or reactively modified, or from which they can be fed to other spectrometers. In particular, a circular arrangement of the storage cells on a virtual cylindrical surface makes it possible to accumulatively fill the storage cells with ions of specific fractions from temporally sequenced separation runs."
Background information for a mass spectrometer system that incorporates a 2-D "traveling wave" ion guide for moving trapping regions along the ion guide, is described and claimed in, EP No. 1 505 632 A1, entitled, "MASS SPECTROMETER," published Feb. 9, 2005, to Bateman et al., including the following, "[a] mass spectrometer is disclosed wherein ions from a pulsed ion source 10, 11 are dispersed in a drift region 16 so that the ions become separated according to their mass to charge ratios. The ions are then received by an ion guide 1 in which multiple trapping regions are created and wherein the multiple trapping regions are translated along the length of the ion guide 1. The ion guide 1 receives the ions so that all the ions trapped in a particular trapping region have substantially the same or similar mass to charge ratios. The ions are released from the exit of the ion guide 1 and the pusher/puller electrode 14 of an orthogonal acceleration Time of Flight mass analyzer is arranged to be energized in synchronization with the ions emerging from the ion guide 1; The trapping regions may be translated along the ion guide 1 with a velocity which becomes progressively slower and the delay time of the pusher/puller electrode 14 may be progressively increased."
Another exemplary source of background material for 2D-guides using stacked plates or rings arranged parallel and generally transverse to the travel axis of ions can be found in (See Gerlich et al, (1992): Inhomogeneous Electrical Radio Frequency Fields: A versatile tool for the study of processes with slow ions. Adv. In Chem Phys LXXXII, 1. ISBN 0-471-53258-4, John Wiley and Sons). Generally, such structures are also arranged as radio frequency (RF) ion guides and operated under elevated pressures to efficiently transmit ions from one portion of a spectrometer to another. These devices work on the principle of so called "effective potential wells" that can trap the ions in these wells for extended periods of time either by the use of cylindrical geometry devices such as conventional Paul traps, or using linear geometry devices such as multipole guides or ring sets with end plates providing a trapping D. C. potential.

High duty cycle ion storage/ion mobility separation mass spectrometer


A multilayer ceramic capacitor includes a body, and first and second external electrodes respectively disposed on opposing surfaces of the body in a longitudinal direction. The body includes a capacitive portion including an internal electrode layer including first and second internal electrodes respectively exposed to the opposing surfaces of the body in the longitudinal direction and a floating electrode layer including a floating electrode, the internal electrode layer and the floating electrode layer being alternately stacked with a first dielectric layer interposed therebetween, a cover part disposed on the capacitive portion and having stacked second dielectric layers, a dummy part disposed below the capacitive portion and including a dummy electrode layer including a dummy electrode and a third dielectric layer, the dummy electrode layer and the third dielectric layer being alternately stacked, and an identification layer disposed below the dummy part and having a color distinguished from the cover part.

A multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC), among ceramic electronic components, is small in size, has high capacity, and may be easy to mount.
An MLCC is a chip-type condenser, mounted on the circuit boards of various electronic products, such as display devices, including a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a plasma display panel (PDP), a computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), and a mobile phone, playing an important role in charging and discharging electricity.
Such an MLCC is required to have sufficient strength to avoid or suppress bending in order to withstand stress generated when being manufactured or mounted.
In order to increase strength to avoid or suppress bending, a method of disposing dummy electrodes on upper and lower sides of a capacitive portion of a body of an MLCC has been developed. Here, however, a thickness of the capacitive portion and a cover part are reduced when the dummy electrodes are disposed on both upper and lower sides.


The present invention is related to an apparatus and method for determining the location of a communication device within a wireless network in order to provide a geolocation functionality to the communication device participating under an access protocol of a wireless local-area network (WLAN) infrastructure such as IEEE 0.802.11 or Hiperlan. The apparatus comprises at least two transponder units for communicating with the communication device when the communication device is situated in a coverage area of the wireless network and a processing unit for deriving the location of the communication device within the coverage area in dependence on information received from the transponder units.

The proliferation of mobile computing devices and wireless local-area networks, also abbreviated to as WLAN's, has created a growing interest in accurate location-aware systems and services.
Of particular interest is the upgrading of existing WLAN infrastructure originally designed for supporting wireless data traffic with a functionality for also enabling location-aware services. The operation (PHY-layer and MAC-layer) of these WLAN's, such as IEEE 802.11 or Hiperlan, is standardized and has originally been designed for wireless data traffic only. Especially WLAN's based on the IEEE 802.11x standard are proliferating and it is highly desirable to add features providing added value. It is therefore of interest to provide a geolocation functionality which does not contradict with the set of standards.
The Global Positioning System (GPS) and wireless enhanced 911 (E-911) mobile phone services address the issue of location finding. However, these technologies cannot provide accurate indoor geolocation, which has its own independent market and technical challenges.
For the determination of a mobile station's location the acquisition of measurement parameters such as received signal strength (RSS) and/or time delay (TD) from a wireless frame exchange between a mobile station and access points can be used.
In their article, Paramvir Bahl and Venkata Padmanabhan, "RADAR: An In-Building RF-based User Location and Tracking System", IEEE INFOCOM, Israel, March 2000, pp. 775-784, suggest the use of a set of access points (AP) with different locations within a desired location range for providing RSS parameters to a mobile station and to determine the estimated location with triangulation methods using a channel attenuation model.
The prior art also shows pure software solutions where a set of at least three AP's per desired location range is used to provide RSS data for processing with the signature method.
Although an obvious choice, using a multitude of AP's as responding stations within the same location range to provide distance estimates to mobile stations has several drawbacks with respect to WLAN infrastructure installation, data throughput performance, as well as cost and application possibilities of the additional geolocation functionality. Referring to the terminology used in the IEEE 802.11 WLAN standard, an AP provides wireless access within a dedicated area or cell for data traffic to and from stations that are associated with the AP thus forming a basic service set (BSS). Another function of the AP is to coordinate routing data within a distribution system (DS), which in turn is connected to other AP's serving different BSS's, and to a portal for connecting to conventional wired LAN's. At installation time the physical placement of AP's within a building should be carefully chosen to optimize radio coverage and to minimize potential interference between AP's operating on the same or adjacent channels. There is a conflict between the physical placement of an AP serving one BSS within its coverage range, and the requirement for several stations responding to location sensing (by using additional AP's according to prior art solutions) within the same coverage range. The situation is more acute if the WLAN is constituted of several BSS's forming an extended service set (ESS) to cover a given site or campus. Here, the cell planning and frequency allocation with one AP per cell to form an ESS conflicts even more with the suggested use of at least three AP's at locations optimized for best location sensing results. Furthermore, if AP's within audible range are chosen to operate on the same channel, severe mutual interference will occur which may preclude the introduction of future protocol extensions addressing quality of service (QoS) such as IEEE 802.11e.
It is a disadvantage that prior to communicating with an AP, stations are required to authenticate and associate/reassociate themselves, which requires several frame exchanges between station and AP thus causing substantial protocol overhead. With additional AP's used for assisting location sensing the protocol overhead becomes even greater. It is a further disadvantage of the prior art that the stations support the full protocol stack to communicate with the set of AP's. This demands a full set of hardware and software (WLAN adapter card, host computer), thus precluding applications demanding very inexpensive and power-saving hardware such as wireless tags for locating objects.
From the above it follows that there is still a need in the art for an improved determination of the location of a communication device within a wireless network. Moreover, the determination of the position location of a station or tag with an accuracy of a few meters is desired with cost-effective stations or tags.

Transponder subsystem for supporting location awareness in wireless networks

International Business Machines Corporation


A switch contains a first semiconductor die, which is configured to receive signals on a plurality of input ports and to output the signals on a plurality of output ports. The first semiconductor die is further configured to selectively couple the signals between the input and output ports using a plurality of switching elements in accordance with a set of control signals, which correspond to a configuration of the switch. During this process, a plurality of proximity connectors, proximate to a surface of the semiconductor die, are configured to communicate the signals by capacitive coupling.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to techniques for communicating signals through switches. More specifically, the present invention relates to the design of a multi-chip switch comprised of semiconductor dies that communicate with each other using capacitively coupled proximity pads or connectors.
2. Related Art
Many computer systems and networks include switches to selectively communicate data items between different system components. These switches often include multiple input ports and multiple output ports, which are often implemented as high-speed serial input/output (I/O) ports. In contrast with lower-speed parallel ports, these high-speed serial ports offer advantages, such as a reduction in overall power consumption and in associated port area (in terms of the number of printed circuit boards, integrated circuit or chip packages, and/or I/O connectors). However, high-speed serial ports typically require additional circuits to serialize and deserialize data, to encode and decode data, and to recover an embedded clock. These additional circuits typically consume a significant amount of the area on an integrated circuit. These circuits, therefore, may partly determine the size and complexity of a chip.
Furthermore, many existing switches are based on the memory switch architecture illustrated in FIG. 1. A memory switch 110 includes a shared multiple-port memory that includes one or more logical buffer memories 114 that selectively couple input ports 112 to output ports 118 in accordance with a configuration provided by control logic 116. The shared memory switch 110 provides sufficient memory bandwidth that the input ports 112 can simultaneously write data into the buffer memories 114, thereby avoiding data collisions. Buffer memory 114 is typically high-bandwidth memory that is often implemented on-chip. The amount of buffer memory, therefore, may also determine the size of a switch.
If the scale of the switch does not allow for a single-chip implementation, the switch may have to be partitioned among several chips with each chip providing a fraction of the aggregate switching capacity. Such multiple-chip implementations are often based on architectures that include multiple switching stages or multiple switching planes.
Unfortunately, it is often challenging to provide interconnects in a multi-chip switch with an aggregate bandwidth that is sufficient to accommodate the total bandwidth of the signals received by the switch. As a consequence, interconnects in large-scale switches may be complicated and expensive. For example, existing switches that offer multiple Tb/s capability typically include multiple racks with cabling between the racks to provide interconnects that can accommodate the full bandwidth of the switch.
Therefore, multi-chip switches often have large footprints and consume significant amounts of power. Moreover, as the size of a given switch increases, it may be more difficult to control due to increased delays and latency. This, in turn, may lead to challenges associated with coordinating or scheduling the data flow in the switch. The complexity and expense associated with the components used to address these challenges can greatly impact the performance and reliability of multi-chip switches.
Hence, what is needed is a method and an apparatus that facilitates switching without the problems listed above.

Multi-chip switch based on proximity communication


A step-down switching regulator is disclosed that includes a first switching element, a smoothing circuit part including an inductor and a second switching element for synchronous rectification, a switching controller circuit part, and a reverse current detector circuit part that detects a reverse current flowing from the inductor to the second switching element and interrupts the reverse current by causing the switching controller circuit part to turn off the second switching element upon detection of the reverse current. Detecting a change in a set voltage, the reverse current detector circuit part stops, for a predetermined period of time, the operation of causing the switching controller circuit part to turn off the second switching element due to detection of the reverse current, and after the predetermined period of time is over, causes the switching controller circuit part to turn off the second switching element upon detection of the reverse current.

1. Technical Field
This disclosure relates generally to step-down switching regulators of a synchronous rectification type capable of changing output voltage, and more particularly to a step-down switching regulator having a circuit to interrupt a backflow of current from an inductor for smoothing to a switching device for synchronous rectification by turning off the switching device upon detection of the backflow of current.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram showing a conventional step-down switching regulator 100.
According to the switching regulator 100, a supply voltage supplied from a DC power supply such as a battery is input to an input terminal IN as an input voltage Vin, and a predetermined constant voltage is generated from the input voltage Vin and output from an output terminal OUT to a load 111 as an output voltage Vout.
The switching regulator 100 includes a switching device SWa to perform output control of the input voltage Vin, a diode Da forming a flywheel diode, an inductor La and a capacitor Ca for smoothing, and resistors Ra and Rb for output voltage detection. The resistors Ra and Rb generate a divided voltage Vfb by dividing the voltage Vout output to the load 111, and output the divided voltage Vfb.
The switching regulator 100 further includes a reference voltage generator circuit 102, an error amplifier circuit 103, and a triangle wave generator circuit 104. The reference voltage generator circuit 102 generates and outputs a predetermined reference voltage Vref. The error amplifier circuit 103 compares the divided voltage Vfb and the reference voltage Vref, and amplifies and outputs the voltage difference therebetween. The triangle wave generator circuit 104 generates and outputs a predetermined triangle wave signal TW. The switching regulator 100 further includes a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) comparator circuit 105 and a drive circuit 106. The PWM comparator circuit 105 generates and outputs a pulse signal for PWM control corresponding to the voltage difference between the output voltage of the error amplifier circuit 103 and the triangle wave signal TW from the triangle wave generator circuit 104. The drive circuit 106 controls switching of the switching device SWa in accordance with the pulse signal from the PWM comparator circuit 105.
When the switching device SWa performs switching to turn ON, a current is supplied to the inductor La. When the switching device SWa turns OFF, energy stored in the inductor La is released through the diode Da. A current generated at this point is smoothed by the capacitor Ca and output from the output terminal OUT to the load 111. Further, the output voltage Vout output from the output terminal OUT is divided between the resistors Ra and Rb, and the divided voltage Vfb is input to the inverting input of the error amplifier circuit 103.
When the output voltage Vout of the switching regulator 100 increases, the output voltage of the error amplifier circuit 103 decreases, so that the duty cycle of the pulse signal from the PWM comparator circuit 105 is reduced. As a result, the ON-time of the switching device SWa is reduced, so that the output voltage Vout of the switching regulator 100 is controlled so as to decrease. On the other hand, when the output voltage Vout of the switching regulator 100 decreases, an operation opposite to the operation described above is performed. As a result, the output voltage Vout of the switching regulator 100 is controlled so as to be constant.
Thus, it is possible to change the output voltage of a switching regulator by changing a reference voltage (for example, see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2001-161063).
On the other hand, according to a step-down switching regulator of a synchronous rectification type in which a switching device SWb for synchronous rectification is provided in place of the diode Da shown in FIG. 1 so that the switching devices SWa and SWb are controlled to switch ON and OFF complementarily, at a light load time when the resistance of the load 111 increases, the direction of a current flowing through the inductor La is reversed so that a current flowing from the inductor La to ground through the switching device SWb is generated, thereby causing a decrease in efficiency. In order to avoid this decrease in efficiency at a light load time, it is effective to include a control circuit that detects such a backflow of current and turns OFF the switching device SWb upon detection of the backflow of current.
However, in the synchronous rectification step-down switching regulator capable of changing output voltage, it is necessary to change the output voltage swiftly even at a light load time, so that it is difficult to interrupt a backflow of current by turning OFF the switching device SWb upon detection of the backflow of current. This causes the problem of reduced efficiency at a light load time.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A method of manufacturing a solid acid catalyst using industrial waste such as an insulator, optical fiber, and tip material is provided. The raw material contains a template agent, a compound having a formula of R14COR15, where R14 and R15 are alkyl groups, a silicon-containing inorganic compound, an aluminum-containing inorganic compound, and water with a weight ratio of SiO2/Al2O3 of at least 1,000. The raw material is heat treated in a closed chamber (a first heat treatment), and heat treated in an atmosphere containing oxygen (a second heat treatment).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a solid acid catalyst, and more specifically to a method of manufacturing a zeolite catalyst.
2. Description of the Related Art
Catalytic material may be used in various applications. One application is to decompose nitrogen oxide (NOx) into nitrogen and oxygen. The nitrogen oxide (NOx) generated in an internal-combustion engine is decomposed by the catalyst before exhaust gas containing the nitrogen oxide is discharged to the atmosphere.
A zeolite of ZSM-5 is well known as a highly efficient solid acid catalyst. ZSM-5 has a catalytic function to promote chemical reactions such as isomerization of hydrocarbons, alkylation of hydrocarbons, and catalytic cracking.
However, conventional ZSM-5 has several problems. For example, the raw material used to manufacture ZSM-5 is relatively expensive and the manufacturing process is complicated such that ZSM-5 becomes expensive and the application thereof is therefore generally limited to specific fields such as automotive applications.
In order to solve the above problems, one method of manufacturing a ZSM-5 solid acid catalyst has been developed, as disclosed in Patent Document JP, H06-182212, A.
JP, H06-182212, A discloses the use of coal ash as a raw material for a distinct reduction of material cost. However, the reaction time thereof is on the order of 36 hours long, resulting in low productivity and high energy costs for manufacturing.
The ZSM-5 catalyst obtained has grains of a very small diameter so that the number of effective pores is reduced. A filtration process for liquid-solid separation at the final step of manufacturing takes a relatively long time. When the ZSM-5 is fabricated into a honeycomb structure to be utilized in an actual vapor or liquid process, the binder degrades the performance of the catalyst.
The amount of industrial waste such as from insulators, optical fiber, silicon dioxide fine powder (white soot) produced by manufacturing of the optical fiber with the soot method, and tip material produced in the pulling process of the optical fiber, has been recently increasing. It is assumed that the amount of the industrial waste thereof will continue to increase. There is no existing practical processing method known and the cost of the current process is expensive.

Method of manufacturing solid acid catalyst


A network device provides an agent application to a user device. The network device receives, from the user device, device information that relates to performance of one or more applications residing on the user device. The network device provides, to a device associated with a registered developer account, a portion of the device information that is associated with a particular application. The network device receives, from the device associated with the registered developer account, optimized device configuration settings for the particular application on the user device. The network device stores the optimized configuration settings for the particular application and sends, to the user device, the optimized configuration settings for the particular application.

Application software, also referred to as an "app," is computer software designed to help a user perform one or more specific tasks. Apps may be downloaded to perform particular tasks for mobile devices, such as tablet computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), smartphones, multimedia players, gaming systems, etc. Apps are typically designed to be executed on different mobile platforms (Android™, iOS™, etc.). A wide variety of mobile devices exist for each platform. A mobile device may use different hardware and software. Also, users of mobile devices may have different behaviors for using their mobile devices. All these difference can affect the performance of applications running on different devices.

System and method of optimization for mobile apps


A high voltage insulator and radiation shield made of barium sulfate composite having a polymer matrix and barium sulfate therein. The device may be made by casting. By means of use of various combinations of barium sulfate, other radiologically resistant materials, polymers, and third components, the physical, radiological and electrical properties of the finished products may be tailored to achieve desired properties. In addition, the invention teaches that radiation shielding, insulators, and combined radiation shield/insulators may be fashioned from the composite. A wide range of production methods may be employed, including but not limited to liquid resin casting.

X-ray and gamma ray sources are presently being used in a wide array of medical and industrial machinery, and the breadth of such use expands from year to year. Consumer Consumers tend to notice medical and dental X-ray machines, but in addition to these applications there are baggage screening machines, CAT scan machines, non-destructive industrial inspection machinery and ion implantation machines used in the manufacture of silicon wafer computer chips. All require that high voltage generated within the device be contained, and furthermore that radiation be contained and directed. In particular, the ion implantation machinery increased in the 1980's and 1990's with the silicon chip boom.
In the past, lead itself or lead-polymer composites were used to make electrical insulator items. But there are numerous problems with the use of lead. One problem with lead is that it is toxic and thus subject to increasingly stringent legal controls. Another issue is that lead may not have the mechanical or electrical properties desired for a given application. Lead has been used in various forms in wide range of applications: machined, as a solid casting, as a solid encased within a matrix such as a polymer matrix, or as a filler. As a filler, it may be lead particles, tribasic lead-sulfate or lead-oxide particles or particles of a specified shape or size, or as a mixture with other materials such as tin. Tungsten shielding, or polymer-tungsten shielding has also been used. Examples of all of these methods may be found in the prior art.
In general, polymer-metal composites are materials having a polymer matrix containing particles of a metal compound intermixed therein. The polymer may advantageously have plastic properties allowing for ease of manufacture, but a wide variety of polymers are known for use in such composites. In the prior art, lead has been a particularly favored material for its density and ease of working. Tungsten has been favored more recently, despite cost concerns. Three characteristics in particular which make such materials desirable are electrical non-conductivity, radiological shielding ability, and high density.
There is a growing list of applications for which polymer-metal composite materials are either required or advantageous. Ion implantation machine source insulators, X-ray tube insulation, radioisotope housings, other castings and housings could benefit from the properties of polymer-metal composite materials. In the case of typical high voltage insulators for ion implantation machinery, a thick walled generally round or cylindrical part is created out of lead or polymer-lead-oxide ranging from an inch to several feet or more in long dimension and weighing anywhere up to 500 pounds. Wall thickness may range from ½ inch to several inches. Such parts must resist high voltages, shield against x-ray or gamma ray emission and hold a high vacuum state when connected to the vacuum chamber. High voltage X-ray shielding for X-ray tube insulators is generally thinner (often 0.070 inch thickness), generally smaller, and of different shape, having an aperture for the X-ray beam, but once again must offer high voltage insulation and radiation protection. The lead in such devices obviously presents an environmental challenge to manufacture, use and disposal.
In the processing of lead precursor filled plastics known in the art, specialized facilities, handling procedures, training and safety equipment must be used to protect the employees from the lead precursor they handle. Lead-based dust is a particular concern, being airborne and inhalable. Such dust may be generated during mixing, molding, deflashing, machining and finishing of final products such as insulators or shields, to say nothing of earlier stages of mining, smelting and refining of lead and the final disposal of the used product at the end of its useful life. Even during the life span of the product, it is illegal to sand, machine, alter or use the product in any way that will generate dust. All such processes must be carried out at special lead handling sites, and all waste dust from any of these processes must be collected in accordance with OSHA regulations and transported to hazardous waste land fills in accordance with OSHA and DES guidelines.
Various radio-opaque agents are known which are used for diverse applications. Importantly, however, certain families of compounds are disfavored as having many of the same issues as lead and lead oxides. For example, the barium family of compounds are almost without exception subject to regulation due to their toxic nature. It is not previously known to use such barium family compounds in amounts greater than 10% by volume, since the structures in which they are emplaced are radio-opaque, not radiation barriers.
Internalized by law into the manufacturing process, such safety issues dramatically increase the cost of such products, which in turn increases other medical or industrial costs.
One recent invention to deal with this issue is TUNGSTEN-PRECURSOR COMPOSITE, for which application Ser. No. 10/095,350 filed Mar. 9, 2002 in the name of the same inventor, Stuart J. McCord was filed and has been allowed, issued on May 25, 2004 as U.S. Pat. No. 6,740,260 B2. This invention addresses material and cost concerns of tungsten shielding by proposing the use of tungsten precursor materials which testing reveals to have favorable properties. However, an entire range of desirable properties is not attainable with a single family of compounds, and so additional compounds may be desirable in order to expand the range of properties which may be attained in a lead-free shield device. Cost, of course, is one issue. Availability is another, as are actual material properties. During prosecution of that patent, U.S. Pat. No. 5,548,125 issued to Sandback (RADIATION PROTECTIVE GLOVE) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,957,943 issued to McAllister et al. (PARTICLE-FILLED MICROPOROUS MATERIALS) were cited by the examiner prior to allowance. However, the glove patent, for example, teaches a flexible material most likely to be extruded.
Other prior art cited includes U.S. Pat. No. 3,473,028 issued to Curry for X-RAY TUBE HOUSEING CONSISTING OF A DIELECTRIC MATERIAL WITH AN ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE LINER, issued Oct. 14, 1969. The device disclosed is neither annular nor composed of truncated cone shapes. Much more importantly, it teaches towards use of a specific dielectric material and thus teaches away from the material of the invention, and for that reason may not be combined with prior art showing the materials of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,443,775 to Brannon on Aug. 22, 1995 for PROCESS FOR PREPARING PIGMENTED THERMOPLASTIC POLYMER COMPOSITIONS AND LOW SHRINKING THERMOSETTING RESIN MOLDING COMPOSITION is directed towards making of desirable colors and refractive properties in polymer products and is thus not relevant prior art for the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,938,233 issued to Orrison, Jr. for RADIATION SHIELD on Jul. 3, 1990 teaches a flexible radiation shield not manufacturable by casting and not having thick walls suitable for high voltage insulation. Since the device teaches flexibility, it teaches away from thick walls and thus cannot be combined with a device having useful high voltage insulation properties (i.e. having thick walls).
U.S. Pat. No. 7,079,624 to Miller et al for X-RAY TUBE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURE, granted Jul. 18, 2006, teaches a device having an entirely different configuration, and teaches away from barium sulfate in a polymer matrix.
Another attempt to deal with the issue of environmental lead contamination may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,048,379 issued Apr. 11, 2000 to Bray et al for "HIGH DENSITY COMPOSITE MATERIAL". This patent teaches the use of tungsten powder, a binder and a polymer to provide a composite material offering a density high enough for use as ammunition. As stated, a serious issue with the use of tungsten is that of cost. Tungsten metal is quite expensive in comparison to lead. For example, tungsten-composite materials may cost as much as $20$ per pound.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,730,664, 5,719,352, and 5,665,808, respectively issued to Asakura, Griffin, Bilsbury all disclose metal-polymer composites for projectiles, respectively golf balls and shot pellets. Other patents from the same art (projectiles) also propose non-toxic materials.
In the actual radiation shielding art itself, various patents propose polymer-metal composites of various forms.
EcoMASS (a registered trademark of the PolyOne Corporation) is a combination of tungsten metal and nylon and elastomer compounds used for shielding, apparently based upon the Bray '379 patent related to ammunition and thus developed specifically in response to military/sporting needs for non-toxic ammunition. It does not teach that materials other than tungsten may be used, thus limiting the range of characteristics of the final product. For example, tungsten is electrically conductive and thus is not normally suitable for insulators. As mentioned earlier, this material also faces cost limitations. In addition, this material has manufacturing limitations in terms of thickness and size of the final item.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,619,963 issued Oct. 28, 1986 to Shoji et al for "RADIATION SHIELDING COMPOSITE SHEET MATERIAL" teaches a lead-tin fiber and resin shield, as does U.S. Pat. No. 4,485,838 issued Dec. 4, 1984 to the same inventors. Obviously the lead inclusion leads to toxicity and thus regulation questions.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,310,355 issued Oct. 30, 2001 to Cadwalader for "LIGHTWEIGHT RADIATION SHIELD SYSTEM" teaches a flexible matrix having a radiation attenuating material and at least one void.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,166,390 issued Dec. 26, 2000 to Quapp et al for "RADIATION SHIELDING COMPOSITION" teaches a concrete composite material.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,360,666 issued Nov. 1, 1994 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,190,990 issued Mar. 2, 1993 to Eichmiller for "DEVICE AND METHOD FOR SHIELDING HEALTHY TISSUE DURING RADIATION THERAPY" teach a radiation shield for the human body comprising an elastomeric material and certain mixtures (see the summary of the invention) of various metals in the form of spherical particles.
Various metals might be explored for lead replacement. In such cases, it is natural enough to skip metals having families which are generally considered toxic or too expensive, and to skip those generally used in radio-opaque applications rather than radiological blocking applications. Thus, it would be natural to skip the barium family of compounds, since these are highly regulated.
It would be preferable to explore the use of other materials which are non-toxic and thus considerably safer than lead or certain available alternatives.

Lead free barium sulfate electrical insulator and method of manufacture


Defects in a semiconductor substrate due to ion implantation are minimized by forming an implant region in the semiconductor substrate and subjecting the semiconductor substrate to a first anneal to recrystallize the semiconductor substrate. The semiconductor substrate is subjected to a second anneal to suppress diffusion of implanted ions in the semiconductor substrate. The first anneal being at a lower temperature and longer duration than the second anneal.

In conventional semiconductor manufacturing processes, ion implantation into a substrate is typically performed through a thermal oxide layer. During ion implantation, oxygen atoms are likely to be driven into the silicon lattice of the substrate. This phenomenon, known in the industry as oxygen "knock on", is responsible for current leakage into the substrate that may degrade operation. Thus, knock-on oxide provides a source for crystalline defects. To offset the effects of knock-on oxide, adequate thermal annealing with its inherent diffusion of impurities is typically performed to contain the defects within the dopant profile.
Ion implantation also introduces substrate crystal damage, in which lattice atoms are knocked out of lattice sites, while at the same time a certain number of the newly-introduced atoms will likewise come to rest in positions outside the lattice positions. Such out-of-position phenomena are termed defects. A vacant lattice site is termed a vacancy defect, while an atom located at a non-lattice site is referred to as an interstitial defect. Another defect is the creation of amorphous silicon which must be annealed to return it to its crystalline state. The restorative method generally employed in the art consists of annealing the substrate, where heat is applied to the lattice to mildly energize the atoms, allowing them to work themselves back into the lattice structure and restoring the ion-implanted substrate to its pre-implant condition.

Method for minimizing defects in a semiconductor substrate due to ion implantation


A channel controlling device includes: a multiplexing circuit coupled to multiple channels for selecting a particular channel from the channels to output a channel data according to a selection signal, wherein the channels correspond to multiple predetermined digital numbers; a sorting circuit arranged to sort the predetermined digital numbers to form multiple sorted digital numbers according to a data output order of the channels; and an arbitration circuit, arranged to determine the selection signal according to the plurality of sorted digital numbers.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a channel controlling device, and more particularly to a storage device control circuit capable of adjusting the data output order of a plurality of channels.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Developments in technology for storage devices have increased their data storage amount, thereby increasing the difficulty of reading data stored in the storage device. A plurality of data channels is utilized to increase the read speed of a flash memory, wherein the data read from the flash memory is decoded in advance, and then sent to a host. The decoder of the flash memory cannot receive data from multiple channels at the same time. An arbitration circuit is therefore utilized to determine an output order of multiple channels so the channels can be controlled to output data to the decoder according to the output order. The output order needs to be dynamically adjustable, however. For example, when the current output order is incorrect, the arbitration circuit should be capable of instantly correcting the output order. Hence, how to provide a storage device control circuit that can dynamically adjust the channel output data order is an issue to be solved in this field.

Channel controlling device for improving data reading efficiency


Technologies for an artificial intelligence article analysis interface are described. The interface is configured to render one or more metrics associated with articles written using artificial intelligence. In some examples, the interface data is provided by an article analyzer. The article analyzer may analyze one or more articles and provide one or more outputs. The article analyzer may receive as an input one or more articles provided by an artificial intelligence journalist or human journalist.

Internet news services are becoming increasingly common. Internet news services may act as news sources or news aggregators. Generally, a news source is an individual or organization that observes events and generates news articles about the event. A news aggregator may collect one or more news articles provided by one or more news source and provided the collected news articles to a reader. The two types of news services are not mutually exclusive. In some contexts, a news source may also act as a news aggregator, and a news aggregator may act as a news source.
It is with respect to these and other considerations that the disclosure made herein is presented.

Artificial intelligence article analysis interface


Disclosed are methods and apparatus for performing inspection or metrology of a semiconductor device. The apparatus includes a plurality of laser diode arrays that are configurable to provide an incident beam having different wavelength ranges. At least some of the laser diode arrays form two dimensional stacks that have different wavelength ranges from each other. The apparatus also includes optics for directing the incident beam towards the sample, a detector for generating an output signal or image based on an output beam emanating from the sample in response to the incident beam, and optics for directing the output beam towards the detector. The apparatus further includes a controller for configuring the laser diode arrays to provide the incident beam at the different wavelength ranges and detecting defects or characterizing a feature of the sample based on the output signal or image.

Generally, the industry of semiconductor manufacturing involves highly complex techniques for fabricating integrating circuits using semiconductor materials, which are layered and patterned onto a substrate, such as silicon. An integrated circuit is typically fabricated from a plurality of reticles. Generation of reticles and subsequent optical inspection of such reticles have become standard steps in the production of semiconductors. Initially, circuit designers provide circuit pattern data, which describes a particular integrated circuit (IC) design, to a reticle production system, or reticle writer.
Due to the large scale of circuit integration and the decreasing size of semiconductor devices, the reticles and fabricated devices have become increasingly sensitive to defects. That is, defects which cause faults in the device are becoming increasingly smaller. The device can generally be required to be fault free prior to shipment to the end users or customers.
Various inspection and metrology systems are used within the semiconductor industry to detect defects or characterize structures on a semiconductor reticle or wafer. One type of tool is an optical inspection or metrology system. In optical inspection and metrology systems, one or more incident beams are directed towards the semiconductor wafer or reticle and a reflected and/or scattered beam is then detected. The detected beam is used to then generate a detected electrical signal or an image, and such signal or image is then analyzed to determine whether defects are present on the wafer or reticle or characterize features on the sample under test.
Various light source mechanisms can be used with optical inspection and metrology tools. One example is an arc lamp based light source. Another example is a laser sustained plasma light source. Both an arc lamp and plasma based light source tend to produce a significant amount of out-of-band radiation, which leads to poor power conversion efficiency. Additionally, these light sources require complex thermal heat management mechanisms for the out-of-band radiation. The plasma based light source also has limits on power brightness scalability.
There is a continuing need for improved light sources for optical inspection and metrology tools.

Diode laser based broad band light sources for wafer inspection tools


A printing apparatus includes one detection switch which is operated according to the movements of a carriage and a paper bail unit. The detection signal outputted from the detection switch is used for a control to locate the carriage to an origin position thereof and a control for automatic paper supply. A CPU judges by which one of the carriage and the paper bail unit the detection switch is operated.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printing apparatus and, more particularly, to a printing apparatus in which a detection switch for setting an origin of a carriage is commonly used as a switch for starting automatic paper supply.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In an electronic typewriter, a printing operation for a printing paper held by a platen roller is executed while a carriage mounted with a printing mechanism moves along the platen roller. In an ordinary typewriter, a paper holding roller called a paper bail roller is provided for preventing the printing paper from floating up from the platen roller in printing operation. The paper bail roller can be moved to a pressed position, in which the paper bail roller is pressed against the platen roller, and to a released position, in which the paper bail roller is released from the platen roller, and in printing operation it is located at the pressed position. When the printing paper is inserted, the paper bail is located in the released position until the tip of the printing paper passes between the platen roller and the paper bail roller to make the insertion operation be performed securely.
There is well known technology in which the insertion operation of the printing paper is performed utilizing the operator's action of releasing the paper bail as a trigger; the technology is shown, for example, in a printing device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,498,795, in which attention is paid to the fact that the paper bail roller is released as mentioned in the above when the printing paper is inserted.
In an ordinary electronic typewriter, control for setting the origin position of a carriage is executed when power supply is switched on or when the cover of the printing mechanism is closed after a character wheel or the like is exchanged.
In an electronic typewriter in which paper supply operation is performed utilizing the releasing action of the paper bail roller as a trigger, a detection switch for setting the origin position of the carriage and another detection switch for detecting the operation of a paper bail arm for supporting the paper bail roller are separately provided to be used exclusively for each purpose. These detection switches are connected to different input ports of an input interface in a control device. The control device judges which detection switch the detection signal is from and, according to the detection signal, it executes origin setting control or automatic paper supply control.
In a conventional electronic typewriter in which automatic paper supply is possible, as mentioned in the above, a switch for setting the origin of the carriage and a switch for automatic paper supply are separately provided and these switches are connected to different input ports, so that there can be the following problems: the number of parts is increased; the same number of input ports as that of the switches is needed; and in some case an extra port chip is needed for only one port.

Printing apparatus having an automatic paper insertion function


Access point pictures designated as randomly accessible positions are I pictures or P pictures. Information indicating the decoding sequence (I1, P1, B1, B2, B3, B4, P2, . . . ) of pictures functioning as access points and attribute information (picture_type) indicating whether a picture functions as an access point or is necessary for decoding of the access point following a given access point are recorded on the video information recording medium. Random access is possible even if the GOP interval is lengthened.

A proposed system for writing encoded image data in packets formatted according to the MPEG system on a storage medium to enable trick reproduction of image data by a simple and efficient method without increasing the capacity of the storage medium is to set up an I picture index of packets in which at least part of the I picture data is stored and, during trick reproduction, to read only the packets on which the I picture index is set (for example, Patent Document No. 1).
Patent Document No. 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. H9-98430 (pp. 4-10, FIGS. 1-15)

Randomly accessible visual information recording medium and recording method, and reproducing device and reproducing method


A nozzle is provided having a low precipitation rate and uniform fluid distribution to a desired arcuate span of coverage. The nozzle has an inflow port having a shape corresponding to the desired arc of coverage and a size for effecting a low precipitation rate. The nozzle also has a deflector surface with a water distribution profile including ribs for subdividing the fluid into multiple sets of fluid streams. There are at least two fluid streams for distant and close-in irrigation to provide relatively uniform distribution and coverage. The nozzle may be a unitary, one-piece, molded nozzle body including a mounting portion, an inflow port, and a deflector portion.

Efficient irrigation is a design objective of many different types of irrigation devices. That objective has become increasingly important due to concerns and regulation at the federal, state and local levels of government regarding the efficient usage of water. Over time, irrigation devices have become more efficient at using water in response to these concerns and regulations. However, there is an ever-increasing need for efficiency as demand for water increases.
As typical irrigation sprinkler devices project streams or sprays of water from a central location, there is inherently a variance in the amount of water that is projected to areas around the location of the device. For example, there may be a greater amount of water deposited further from the device than closer to the device. This can be disadvantageous because it means that some of the area to be watered will be over watered and some of the area to be watered will receive the desired about of water or, conversely, some of the area to be watered will receive the desired amount of water and some will receive less than the desired about of water. In other words, the distribution of water from a single device is often not uniform.
Two factors contribute to efficient irrigation: (1) a relatively low precipitation rate to avoid the use of too much water; and (2) relatively uniform water distribution so that different parts of the terrain are not overwatered or underwatered. The precipitation rate generally refers to the amount of water used over time and is frequently measured in inches per hour. It is desirable to minimize the amount of water being distributed in combination with sufficiently and uniformly irrigating the entire terrain.
Some conventional nozzles use a number of components that are molded separately and are then assembled together. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,642,861 is an example of a fixed arc nozzle having a separately molded nozzle base for mounting the nozzle to a fluid source, base ring, and deflector for directing the fluid outwardly from the nozzle. Other nozzles are complex and have a relatively large number of parts. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 9,776,195 discloses a nozzle that uses a number of inserts and plugs installed within ports. As an alternative, it would be desirable to have a nozzle having a simple one-piece, molded nozzle body that may reduce the costs of manufacture.
Accordingly, a need exists for a nozzle that provides efficient irrigation by combining a relatively low precipitation rate with uniform water distribution. Further, many conventional nozzles include a number of components, such as a nozzle base, nozzle collar, deflector, etc., which are often separately molded and are then assembled to form the nozzle. It would be desirable to reduce the cost and complexity of nozzles by reducing the number of separately molded components. It would be desirable to be able to form a one-piece, molded nozzle body that would avoid the need for separate component molds and the need for assembly after component molding.
Further, it has been found that irrigation may be especially non-uniform at the boundary edges of an irrigation pattern. More specifically, an excessive amount of fluid may be concentrated at these boundary edges, and a nozzle may distribute fluid either too far or not far enough along these boundary edges. Accordingly, there is a need to improve the irrigation uniformity at the boundary edges relative to other portions of the irrigation pattern.


An optical package includes one or more MEMS mirrors to provide alignment between internal optical components and the signal port(s) on the package (where one or more ports may include optical fiber attachments). Once the components are placed in the package, an electrical signal is used to adjust the deflection profile of the appropriately positioned MEMS mirror(s) until maximum coupling between the internal components and the fibers/ports is obtained. Advantageously, if later signal degradation occurs due to, for example, subsequent physical misalignment of the internal components, corrective electrical signal can be sent to the MEMS mirror(s) to provide correction and re-alignment without having to open the package and physically move the components.

One of the major advances in recent years has been the increased use of optical communication systems for carrying very large quantities of information with low distortion and at a relatively low cost over great distances. Optical systems are also promising for such purposes as computing because of the inherently high speeds at which they can be operated. For these reasons, considerable development work ha been done in making various photonics packages for use in such systems. Photonics generally refers to devices that share both electronic and optical attributes, such as lasers, which generate coherent light in response to an electrical signal, and photodetectors, which generate an electrical signal in response to light.
A fundamental problem in making a photonics package such as a laser source module is the alignment of a device such as a laser source module with an optical waveguide. Conventional packages for photonics arrangements are typically made out of variety of dissimilar materials, such as metal, glass and ceramic, and involve relatively complicated manipulation of components during assembly. That is, the assembly process involves moving the components in three dimensions in order to place the components in the desired locations; for example, alignment of a device to a substrate, alignment of a fiber to a ferrule, alignment of a ferrule to a package and, finally, alignment of the package to the device. These alignment steps depend upon fairly specialized, expensive equipment. Thus, it would be desirable to find an alternative mechanism for performing one or more of these alignment procedures.

Active optical alignment using MEMS mirrors


A mechanism is provided for resolving uplift or coupling timing problems and slew violations without sacrificing late mode timing in integrated circuit (IC) designs. Responsive to a request being received to generate a new IC design, for each net in a plurality of nets in the new IC design, a determination is made as to whether the net is routable through a cell in a plurality of cells using a cost function associated with the cell such that a coupling capacitance associated with the net is equal to or below a predetermined coupling capacitance threshold. Responsive to net being able to be routed through the cell with the coupling capacitance being equal to or below the threshold, the net is assigned to at least one track within the cell. Responsive to all nets in the new IC design being routed, a new IC design is generated.

The present application relates generally to an improved data processing apparatus and method and more specifically to mechanisms for resolving coupling timing and slew violations for buffer-dominated designs.
Modern day electronics include components that use integrated circuits. Integrated circuits are electronic circuits formed using Silicon as a substrate and by adding impurities to form solid-state electronic devices, such as transistors, diodes, and resistors. Commonly known as a "chip", an integrated circuit (IC) is generally encased in hard plastic. The components in modern day electronics generally appear to be rectangular black plastic pellets with connector pins protruding from the plastic encasement.
Circuit designers use a variety of software tools to design electronic circuits that accomplish an intended task. For example, a digital circuit may be designed to accept digital inputs, perform some computation, and produce a digital output. An analog circuit may be designed to accept analog signals, manipulate the analog signals, such as by amplifying, filtering, or mixing the signals, and produce an analog or digital output. Generally, any type of circuit can be designed as an IC.
The software tools used for designing ICs produce, manipulate, or otherwise work with the circuit layout at very small scales. Some of the components that such a tool may manipulate may only measure tens of nanometers across when formed in Silicon. The designs produced and manipulated using these software tools are complex, often including millions of such components interconnected to form an intended electronic circuitry.
Interconnect performance is becoming increasingly dominant over transistor and logic performance in the deep submicron regime. Buffer insertion is a fundamental technology used in modern integrated circuit design methodologies. As gate delays decrease with increasing chip dimensions, however, the number of buffers required quickly rises. That is, traditional methods to resolve timing problems is assuming the design is in a good stage of late mode timing and congestion and then starting to aggressively insert buffers into a current netlist to make the interconnect wire shorter and reduce the coupling capacitance impact. Coupling capacitance is the impact one wire has on another wire. The main drawback of this method is to add extra buffer resources and often make the late mode timing worse by putting buffers in non-optimal distance.
Thus, in addition to timing issues, managing the density of an integrated circuit design is becoming more problematic. The performance of a design highly depends on how packed the logic is geographically in the physical integrated circuit. If the logic is completely spread out, the design is routable but the performance suffers significantly. On the other hand, if the logic is packed, the design is not routable but would yield the best timing characteristics. A packed design is unsuitable for later design changes, such as the insertion of additional logic, or change the size of existing logics, since there is little room for the new logic or the increased size change.

Resolving global coupling timing and slew violations for buffer-dominated designs


A pluggable module, such as an optical transceiver for coupling an information system unit to a fiber optical cable, and adapted for mating with a receptacle having a retention tab on the bottom surface thereof, including a housing having a top and a bottom surface; a rotatable lever disposed on an optical connector end of the housing; a pusher element coupled to the rotatable lever and adapted to move parallel to the bottom surface when the lever is actuated; and a spring loaded latch extending from the bottom of the housing for engaging a cavity in the receptacle so as to secure the module in the receptacle, the pusher element engaging the spring loaded latch such that when the moveable lever is rotated in a direction away from the housing, the latch is retraced to enable the module to be released from the receptacle.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention relates to optical transceivers, and in particular to the actuator and latching mechanism for a pluggable assembly or module that provides a communications interface between a computer or communications unit having an electrical input/output connector or interface and an optical fiber, such as used in fiber optic communication links.
2. Description of the Related Art
A variety of optical transceivers are known in the art which include an optical transmit portion that converts an electrical signal into a modulated light beam that is coupled to an optical fiber, and a receive portion that receives an optical signal from an optical fiber and converts it into an electrical signal. Traditionally, an optical receive portion includes an optical assembly to focus or direct the light from the optical fiber onto a photodector, which, in turn, is connected to an amplifier/limiter circuit on a circuit board. The optical transmit portion contains a photodiode and similar optical provisions and, in turn, is coupled to a driver board.
The photodetector or photodiode is typically packaged in a hermetically-sealed package in order to protect it from harsh environmental conditions. The photodetectors or photodiodes are semiconductor chips that are typically a few hundred microns to a couple of millimeters wide and 100-500 microns thick. The package in which a photodetector or photodiode is mounted is typically 3 to 6 mm in diameter and 2 to 5 mm tall, and has several electrical leads coming out of the package which are, in turn, soldered to the circuit board containing the amplifier/limiter or driver.
Optical transceivers are packaged in a number of standard form factors. Standard form factors provide standardized dimensions and input/output interfaces that allow devices from different manufacturers to be used interchangeably.
Although latching mechanisms for large conventional pluggable modules have been used successfully in the past, they tend to be unsuitable for miniaturization which is an ever-constant objective in the industry. It is desirable to miniaturize transceivers in order to increase the port density associated with the network connection, such as, for example, switch boxes, cabling patch panels, wiring closets, and computer I/O. The SFP MSA standard (i.e., "small form factor pluggable") has been promulgated, and this standard specifies a predetermined enclosure height and width and electrical input/output connections, and a certain latch design. However, the MSA does not specify any actuating mechanism, which is left to each vendor to implement.
In addition to miniaturizing the module, it is also desirable to increase its operating frequency. For example, applications are quickly moving from the sub-gigabit realm to well over a gigabit. Conventional pluggable module configurations, however, cannot meet these parameters.
Miniaturizing a module, providing a suitable latch actuating mechanism and providing high operating speed, presents a number of design problems, particularly in applications in which data transmission rates are high, e.g., in the range of 1-10 Gbs (Gigabits/second). Of particular concern is providing an appropriate latching actuator while reducing electromagnetic inference (EMI) emissions.

Latching mechanism for pluggable transceiver module


A large size display is transportable, being construed of multiple rigid segments containing light emitting diodes (LED's). The rigid segments are linked by hinges or cables so the display is flexible and can be rolled up for storage and transport. The display can be unrolled upward or downwards such as from a protective container, such as a canister or truss. The weight of the display on the linked hinges or the tensioned cables provides sufficient rigidity. Such cables, like a signal and power distribution bus, are connected to the rear of each rigid element. The display can be repaired by removing and replacing selected rigid segments from the front thereof.

The present invention relates to large scale electronic displays, and in particular to portable large screen displays.
Large screen displays are commonly deployed at sporting events and other public gatherings, but are generally large fixed installations. While such display can be set temporarily and removed this is very time consuming, in part because it is difficult to identify and repair defects or faulty components in the displays.
It is therefore a first object of the present invention to provide a large screen display that is portable, robust and easy to repair.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a means for transporting and protecting such portable display.
It is a further object of the invention that the portable display is both thin and relatively light weight for portability and storage.
It is a further object of the invention to provide such a display in a variety of portable storage formats for ease of transportation and set up in a variety of venues.