The present invention is a computer-implemented method comprising: receiving at least one architectural drawing; analyzing each of the at least one architectural drawing, wherein non-structural elements are removed from each of the at least one architectural drawing; generating structural drawings for each of the at least one architectural drawing; marking each element within the structural drawings; generating a 3D model based on the structural drawings; analyzing the 3D model, wherein the 3D model is tested for predetermined characteristics; and generating a report based on the analyzed results of the predetermined characteristics.

This disclosure relates generally to generating a design and detailing of a building, and more specifically to a method, computer program and computer system for automating the process of detailing and generating a report for the building.
Computer Aided Design software is well-known, and used by architects, engineers, designers, planners, construction firms, and owner operators and the like to create and use precision models and technical illustrations. The software is used to create design simulations that are two-dimensional (2-D) drawings, and three-dimensional (3-D) models and related tabular and business property data.
Three-dimensional (3D) assets are commonly designed, analyzed, and built, using a process in which design teams invest large amounts of time, money, and effort, creating insightful 3D digital models of those assets using design software. Design teams gain a tremendous amount of insight into projects while constructing and editing these 3D models. These 3D models are used commonly for analytical and visualization purposes, and increasingly, models are used to automate the production of conventional construction drawings.
Conventional construction drawings are 2D, flat abstractions of things. Conventional construction documentation drawings assist design professionals in explicitly defining limits of liability of the design professionals who draw them. Project designers mitigate liability a priori by selecting the locations within a project at which they intend to design, draw (automated by 3D models or not), and be held accountable.
These 2D drawings are typically created with a variety of features, callouts, and aspects which are beneficial for the professionals but may be problematic for software to decipher and determine which features of the drawings are what. This results in computer programs are not able to take the received images and properly process them or process them incorrectly.
Therefore, a design teams needs to manually go through the 2D drawings and either properly convert them into 3D models or generate the 3D models from desire to provide as much useful information from their design processes as possible. No one can distinguish between the locations in 3D models that are complete and the locations that are not complete. Models are frequently discarded because of that ambiguity. No one can tell which locations in the model are complete and which locations are not complete, nor can anyone tell who claims responsibility for any particular location in a model. It is this deficiency of 3D models that is addressed by this invention and solved.

Method and system for processing and generating a building report


An organic light-emitting display device preventing edge defects between a pixel define layer and a pixel electrode, and a method of manufacturing the same. The organic light-emitting display device, comprises: a substrate; a pixel electrode disposed on the substrate and comprising a first patterned unit and a second patterned unit which are electrically disconnected; a pixel define unit disposed on the substrate and exposing the pixel electrode; an intermediate layer disposed on the pixel electrode and emitting light; and a counter electrode disposed on the intermediate layer and the pixel define layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an organic light-emitting display device and a method of manufacturing the same, and more particularly, to an organic light-emitting display device preventing edge defects between a pixel define layer and a pixel electrode, and a method of manufacturing the organic light-emitting display device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, flat display devices are largely classified into a light-emitting type and a light-receiving type. Examples of a light-emitting type include a flat cathode ray tube, a plasma display panel, an electroluminescent device, and a light-emitting diode. Examples of a light-receiving type include a liquid crystal display. Electroluminescent devices have a wide viewing angle, excellent contrast, and quick response speeds, and thus they have come into the spotlight as next generation display devices. The electroluminescent devices are classified into inorganic electroluminescent devices and organic light-emitting display devices based on the material used to form an emission layer (EML).
The organic light-emitting display device, which is a self-emitting display apparatus in which light is emitted by excitation of a fluorescent organic material, is driven at a low voltage, is thin, and has a wide viewing angle and quick response speeds, and thus it may be used as next generation display devices.
An organic light-emitting display device includes an anode, a cathode, and an EML formed of an organic material and disposed between the anode and the cathode. When an anode voltage and a cathode voltage are applied to the anode and the cathode, respectively, holes are transported from the anode to an EML through a hole transport layer (HTL), and electrons are transported from the cathode to the EML through an electron transport layer (ETL). The holes and the electrons are combined in the EML, and thus excitons are generated.
When the exciton is changed from an excited state to a ground state, fluorescent molecules of the EML emit light, thereby forming an image. A full color type organic light-emitting display device may realize full color by using pixels emitting Red®, green (G), and blue (B) lights.
The organic light-emitting display devices include a pixel define layer at each end of the anode. A predetermined opening is formed in the pixel define layer, and then the EML and the cathode are sequentially formed on top of the anode exposed through the opening in the pixel define layer.

Organic light-emitting display device preventing edge defects between pixel define layer and pixel electrode, and method of manufacturing the same


An apparatus for preparing hot beverages includes a boiler and a device for inhibiting scale. That device comprises at least one ultrasound transmitter located at the boiler, inside the boiler or in the region of the boiler. The ultrasound transmitter is operatively coupled to the boiler and excites it to oscillate with its natural frequency. In a preferred embodiment, an ultrasound receiver and an amplifier is provided whose input is connected to the ultrasound receiver and whose output is connected to the ultrasound transmitter. The advantage of the invention is that the boiler always oscillates with its natural frequency, so that the sound energy is optimally used and can be kept lower than it would be for the same effect without resonance.

The present invention refers to an apparatus for preparing hot beverages with a boiler and an assembly for inhibiting scale.
As an example for such apparatuses for preparing hot beverages can be named coffee machines, particularly espresso machines. Such machines are in widespread use in the commercial field, e.g. in restaurants, canteens, offices etc. But basically similar machines are used in households more and more often.

Apparatus for preparing hot beverages with a boiler and an assembly for inhibiting scale


Systems and methods for reducing overhead by using block acknowledgment with an all polling technique while attempting to meet latency and QoS requirements. Each node transmits a number of packets upon receiving a polling message. The Access Point (AP) then replies with a Block Acknowledgement (BlockAck), which is combined with a subsequent polling message and contains a bitmap that indicates 1 for a successfully received packet and 0 for a failed reception.

1. Technical Field
This invention is directed generally to wireless communication, and more specifically, for using a block acknowledgement to acknowledge data receipt in a polling based access method.
2. Background Art
A scheduled service interval (SI), which is the time interval used by the access point (AP) to periodically poll each non-AP STA (station), can be divided to three periods: an exhaustive polling phase, a selective polling phase and a CSMA phase.
In the exhaustive polling phase, the AP polls all of the STAs that require Quality of Service (QoS) transmissions by sending out a polling packet. Each STA transmits its data after it receives the polling packet.
In the selective polling phase, the AP checks if it failed to receive data from any STAs during the exhaustive polling phase, and then selectively polls the failed STAs. The AP continues to poll the failed STAs until the AP successfully receives data from all of the failed STAs.
The Carrier Sense Multiple Access (CSMA) phase is for communications of legacy devices based on the CSMA mechanism. Stations other than the QSTAs communicate in this period. Also, all STAs may communicate some configuration packets with the AP in this period.

Block acknowledgement for wireless communication methods, apparatuses and systems


A medical connector is described which is formed by a body having an inlet port, an outlet port through a male luer portion of the body, and a fluid path between the inlet port and the at least one outlet ports. A retractable post extends through the fluid path in the male luer sealing a tip of the male luer thereby closing the fluid path when the connector in not activated. There is a seal between the retractable post and the body that forms a fluid volume within a portion of the cavity. The fluid path passes through the fluid volume. When actuated, the retractable post is forced away from the tip of the male luer, thereby opening the fluid path through the medical connector and decreasing the fluid volume.

The present invention relates to medical connectors used in fluid delivery applications, and more specifically to connectors that minimize fluid leakage during connection and disconnection.
Medical connections are widely used in fluid delivery systems such as those used in connection with intravenous fluid lines, blood access, hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, enteral feeding, drug vial access, etc. Many prior art aseptic medical connections have been designed to puncture an elastomeric diaphragm or septum, which has one side in contact with the fluid, with a sharpened hollow hypodermic needle. The use of such hypodermic needles has been gradually decreasing as a result of both safety and cost considerations associated with infectious disease acquired from needle sticks. These connectors have been replaced with luer activated connectors which don't require hypodermic needles, but instead use an activator such as a luer on the end of a syringe or IV line to create a fluid path though a valve in a connector. The removal of the connector causes the valve to close when the line is disconnected. Such a system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,569,235 to Ross et al.
Typical connectors and valves of this type, such as described by Ross, have many attributes that are not ideal in medical applications for delivery of fluids that could be harmful if contacted by the health care provider or the patient other than through the patient's intravenous ("IV") connection. Oncology drugs such as chemotherapy are examples of fluids that while beneficial to the patient as part of a treatment regimen could be extremely harmful to the health care provider if the chemotherapy drug were to come into contact with the skin of the health care provider or patient.
Traditional medical connectors require the health care provider to exercise great care on connection or disconnection due to the likelihood of the drug remaining inside the connector or dripping, particularly on disconnection when the connectors are primed with fluid. Some female connectors are designed to push fluid in the throat of the connector to the surface during disconnection. While this is desirable for aseptic connectors to provide a swabbable surface, it can result in fluid drips from the device on disconnection. Other connectors use a membrane with a septum that can also allow fluids to escape the connector.
What is needed is a connector for medical fluids that has standardized connections for use with existing medical connectors and also minimizes or eliminates drips on connection or disconnection.
Embodiments of the concepts described herein describe a medical connector which is formed by a body having an inlet port, an outlet port through a male luer portion of the body, and a fluid path between the inlet port and the at least one outlet ports. A retractable post extends through the fluid path in the male luer sealing a tip of the male luer thereby closing the fluid path when the connector in not activated. Barbs extending along the exterior of the male luer and connected to the retractable post, wherein when the connector is activated, the barbs force the retractable post away from the tip of the male luer thereby opening the fluid path through the medical connector. A retention member applies force to the post to force the post to seal the tip of the male luer when the medical connector is not activated.
In another embodiment of the concepts described herein a method for activating a medical connector is described. The medical connector includes a body having an inlet port and an outlet port the outlet port being part of a male luer. The connector further includes a post extending through a flow channel in the male luer and one or more barb arms connected to the post and adjacent to an outer surface of the male luer. The method includes inserting the male luer of the medical connector into a female luer of a secondary device, engaging the barb arms of the medical connector with a surface of the female luer, and retracting the post from the outlet port of the medical connector in response to the engagement of the barb arm with the female luer, wherein the retraction of the post from the outlet port opens a fluid path through the medical connector.
In another embodiment a closed male luer medical connector is described which includes a body formed by a top and a base, the body having an internal cavity and flow channels formed in walls of the internal cavity, the body further having an inlet port and an outlet port, the outlet port including a male luer, wherein the male luer defines a flow channel along its length. The connector also includes a body having a top in the internal cavity of the body; a post extending from the top and having a portion that extends the length of the flow channel, a tip of the post sized to seal the male luer thereby closing the flow channel when the post is fully extended into the male luer, the post further comprising one or more barb arms extending through vent holes in the body and adjacent to an external surface of the male luer, and an elastic cup, the elastic cup having a seating ring held in a fixed position by the body and a cup extending into the internal cavity and receiving the top of the post. Pressure applied to the barb arms in a direction parallel to the male luer and away from the outlet port results in the top of the body being forced up into the internal cavity and the post being drawn out of the outlet port, thereby unsealing the male luer, opening the flow channel through the medical connector. The elastic cup applies tension to the post body, the tension forcing the post back into the sealed position when the force on the barb arms is removed.
The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of the present invention in order that the detailed description of the invention that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of the invention will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the invention. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the invention, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages, will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that each of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration and description only and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the present invention.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Closed male luer device for use with needleless access devices


A local area cosmogenic neutron sensor is used for detecting moisture within a measurement surface. A neutron detector is positioned on a stand structure holding the detector above a measurement surface. A moderator material and neutron shield are positioned around at least a portion of the neutron detector. The neutron shield substantially covers lateral sides and an entirety of a top of the neutron detector and is not positioned on a bottom side of the neutron detector. A thermal neutron shield is positioned below the neutron detector and in a path of neutron travel between the measurement surface and the neutron detector to substantially block environmental thermal neutrons from reaching the neutron detector, which improves the signal-to-noise ratio and signal contrast of the local area cosmogenic neutron sensor.

Measuring the moisture content of materials such as surface soils using cosmogenic neutron detection is known in the art. Cosmic rays continually bombard the Earth and penetrate into materials at the land surface, including soil, atmosphere, water, man-made structures, vegetation, and the like. Inside these materials, cosmogenic high-energy (>10 MeV) neutrons collide with matter and produce fast (<2 MeV) cosmogenic neutrons. These neutrons interact with matter in reactions called neutron scattering that lead to the gradual decrease of neutron energies and eventually to the removal of neutrons from the environment. Hydrogen is by far the most efficient element in scattering neutrons. Therefore, moisture content of the soil through which neutrons have traveled can be inferred from the measured neutron flux, which is inversely correlated with soil moisture content. This principle has been used to develop a cosmogenic neutron soil moisture measuring method widely accepted around the world.
However, there are limitations to this method. At any given location near the land surface, neutrons are present that have interacted with the land surface material anywhere from the near field (within meters of the location) to the far field (or wide-area, hundreds of meters from the location). This reduces the accuracy of measurements by introducing a disproportionate amount of signal to the detector, as the local intensity of cosmogenic neutrons may not reflect average water content of the material over this broad region.
Additionally, neutron detectors must be calibrated. Calibration of cosmogenic neutron probes is typically done by comparing neutron measurements with independently obtained soil moisture to obtain calibration parameter N0 (neutron intensity that would be measured above a completely dry soil). Independent soil moisture is obtained by collecting a large number (typically 108, prescribed by Zreda et al., 2012) of soil samples within the hectometer-sized footprint and measuring soil water content by the gravimetric (oven drying) method. This is a difficult, time-consuming and expensive process. Additionally, it does not work in soils with stones, as sample collection is difficult, in areas with rock outcrops, and in areas with organic litter covering soil.
Thus, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the industry to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.

Distance and direction-sensitive cosmogenic neutron sensors


In a fixing device, a heating section is disposed opposite to an inner circumferential surface of a fixing belt, and includes a heater, a heater holding member, a reinforcing member extending in a rotation axis of the pressure member, a heat sensitive body disposed on the heater holding member, and an urging member disposed between the reinforcing member and the heat sensitive body. The heater holding member includes an engaging portion engaging with a first end of the reinforcing member. In a state in which the reinforcing member is located opposite to the heater holding member through the reinforcing member turning about the engaging portion as a pivot, the urging member urges the heat sensitive body against the heater and a distance between the heat sensitive body and a second end of the reinforcing member is shorter than a distance between the heat sensitive body and the first end.

The present disclosure relates to a fixing device and an image forming apparatus.
Fixing devices using a heating film have been known to be included in electrographic image forming apparatuses. A fixing device such as above includes a fixing assembly and a pressure roller that presses against the fixing assembly to form a fixing nip part. The fixing assembly includes a tubular fixing film, a heater in contact with an inner surface of the fixing film, a heat insulating holder that holds the heater, a metal stay that presses the heat insulating holder against the pressure roller, a thermistor, and a thermal conduction member. The thermistor is provided on the heat insulating holder and in contact with the thermal conduction member at a specific pressure through a through hole in the heat insulating holder. The thermal conduction member is held by the heat insulating holder between the heater and the heat insulating holder.
Each of the heater, the heat insulating holder, the metal stay, and the thermal conduction member extends in a direction perpendicular to a recording medium conveyance direction. In a state in which the metal stay is attached to the heat insulating holder, the load of the metal stay is transmitted to the heat insulating holder in a longitudinal direction of the heat insulating holder via pressure springs disposed at opposite ends of the metal stay in the longitudinal direction of the metal stay. Heat accumulated in a paper non-passing area of the fixing nip part is transmitted to the thermistor via the thermal conduction member. In the fixing device, an excessive increase in temperature of the paper non-passing area can be suppressed.

Fixing device and image forming apparatus


A lighting system for the exterior of a vehicle that includes a housing, a sensor, a lamp assembly, and a controller. The sensor is carried by the housing and detects the presence of a hazard in a predetermined region on the ground adjacent to the vehicle. The lamp assembly is carried by the housing and has a light source for projecting light onto at least a portion of the region. The controller is coupled to the sensor and the lamp assembly. The controller has a light activation input and, upon receipt of a light activation command at the input, it controls the lamp assembly to project light from the lamp assembly of a first color or other visible characteristic when no hazard is detected by the sensor and of a second color or other visible characteristic when the hazard is detected by the sensor.

Automotive vehicles have various lighting systems. These systems may include lighting and signaling devices mounted to the front, sides, rear, topside, and/or underside of the vehicle. Lighting systems may provide illumination to enable the driver to operate the vehicle in dimly lit environments and may increase the conspicuity of the vehicle.
One such lighting device is a puddle lamp or convenience light which may be mounted to a side mirror on a motor vehicle. The puddle lamp may provide lighting on the ground in the vicinity of the vehicle door to which the side mirror is attached.

Vehicle puddle lamp responsive to ground surface conditions


A shaving implement includes a blade assembly configured for a wet shaving process wherein a user of the shaving implement grips a handle and draws the blade assembly across a surface of skin to be shaved. The shaving implement also includes an energy-imparting device, circuitry, and an activation device. The energy-imparting device is configured to impart energy to enhance the wet shaving process. The activation device is configured to impart a signal to the circuitry in response to handling of the shaving implement during the wet shaving process. In response to receiving the signal, the circuitry either extends or initiates an application of signals to the energy-imparting device that enable the energy-imparting device to impart energy that enhances the wet shaving process.

The wet shaving process is used to shear whiskers or other body hair using a sharp blade. "Wet shaving" or "manual wet shaving" systems in the context of the present invention include a razor assembly having a handle portion coupled to a blade assembly. The handle portion is gripped by a person's hand while the blade assembly drawn across a surface of the person's skin to be shaved. The primary cutting motion or action of the blade is the act of pulling, drawing, or passing the blade across a skin surface using the handle. This in contrast to a "dry shaving" system wherein the primary cutting motion of the blade is a motorized action of the blade against a "micro-screen" that shears off the hairs that pass into the micro-screen. Generally speaking, wet shaving systems are considered to provide close and comfortable shaving results.
Even wet shaving with the sharpest blade can have some irritation and discomfort due in part to the friction between the blade assembly and the skin surface being shaved as well as the tendency of the blade to partially pull on hairs being cut. Also, even the closest shaving process typically leaves behind very short portions of hairs or whiskers. There is an ever-present motivation to improve comfort and closeness of the shaving process.

Shaving system with energy imparting device


In one embodiment, a method comprising receiving at a microphone located at a first location audio received from plural speakers, the audio received at a first amplitude level; and responsive to moving the microphone away from the first location to a second location, causing adjustment of the audio provided by the plural speakers to target the first amplitude level at the microphone.

Recent wireless video transmission standards such as WirelessHD allow mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones to transmit rich multimedia from a user's hand to audio/video (A/V) resources in a room, such as a big screen and surround speakers. Current challenges include providing a satisfactory presentation of multimedia to interested users without interfering with the enjoyment of others.

Loudspeaker beamforming for personal audio focal points


The present invention provides a channel selection controller and method for establishing a wireless link connecting a central terminal and a subscriber terminal of a wireless telecommunications system, at least two frequency channels being provided over which said wireless link could be established. The channel selection controller comprises: a storage for storing data identifying the at least two frequency channels; a selector for selecting a frequency channel from those listed in said storage; and link acquisition logic for establishing a wireless link on the frequency channel selected by the selector. Further, the selector is responsive to the link acquisition logic being unable to establish said wireless link, to select an alternative frequency channel from those listed in said storage.

A wireless telecommunications system has been proposed in which a geographical area is divided in to cells, each cell having one or more central terminals (CTs) for communicating over wireless links with a number of subscriber terminals (STs) in the cell. These wireless links are established over predetermined frequency channels, a frequency channel typically consisting of one frequency for uplink signals from a subscriber terminal to the central terminal, and another frequency for downlink signals from the central terminal to the subscriber terminal.
A typical central terminal may have a number of modem shelves, each modem shelf operating with a different frequency channel. Due to bandwidth constraints, it is not practical for each individual subscriber terminal to have its own dedicated frequency channel for communicating with the central terminal. Hence, techniques need to be applied to enable data items relating to different wireless links to be passed over the same frequency channel without interfering with each other. In current wireless telecommunications systems, this can be achieved through the use of a `Code Division Multiple Access` (CDMA) technique, whereby a set of orthogonal codes may be applied to the data items to be transmitted on a particular frequency channel, data items relating to different wireless links being combined with different orthogonal codes from the set.
Signals to which an orthogonal code has been applied can be considered as being transmitted over a corresponding orthogonal channel within a particular frequency channel. Hence, if, for example, a set of sixteen orthogonal codes is used, sixteen orthogonal channels can be created within a single frequency channel, and hence up to sixteen separate communication signals (corresponding to sixteen separate wireless links) can be transmitted simultaneously over the single frequency channel if different RW codes are applied to each communication signal. Thus, each modem shelf within the central terminal could support 16 wireless links.
Typically, each subscriber terminal would be arranged to always communicate on a particular orthogonal channel with a particular modem shelf of the central terminal, this arrangement often being referred to as a `fixed assignment` arrangement.
As more subscribers subscribe to the wireless telecommunications network, it is becoming desirable to support more and more subscriber terminals from each central terminal. There are only a limited number of frequency channels that can be allocated to the wireless telecommunications system, and as it is desirable for neighbouring cells to use different. frequency channels so as to reduce interference, the demand cannot be met by merely adding more modem shelves to each central terminal.
Hence, using the above fixed assignment arrangement, there is a limit as to how many subscriber terminals can be supported from one central terminal.

Establishing a wireless link connecting a central terminal and a subscriber terminal of a wireless telecommunications system


A counter-rotating polisher includes: an enclosure, an electric motor, a polishing arrangement and a counter-rotating arrangement. The electric motor is fixed to the enclosure and includes a driving axle. The polishing arrangement includes two polishing device. The polishing devices respectively include a fixed tray and a polishing material that are fixedly connected to an outside of the fixed tray. The fixed tray is perpendicular to the driving axle. The counter-rotating arrangement includes a first driving wheel, a second driving wheel and a change-direction wheel. The first driving wheel is connected to the driving axle and driven by the driving axle. The second driving wheel is fixedly connected to the second fixed tray. The change-direction wheel is connected to the first driving wheel and the second driving wheel. The driving axle rotates the first polishing material positively. The change-direction wheel reversely transmits the rotation to the second driving wheel.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a polisher, and more particularly to a counter-rotating polisher.
2. Description of Related Arts
Polishers are used in many industries and occasions. Nowadays, a tray of a conventional polisher rotates towards a single direction, this kind of structure does not only have an inferior effect, but also runs unsteadily. Because of a reacting force of the polished object, the polisher is always under a single direction force in operating, so a person is needed to fix a position of the polisher, especially a long time operating will bring the person hands fatigue.


A windshear guidance system for guiding an aircraft during a microburst windshear is provided. This system includes a time comparison subassembly, an airspeed comparison subassembly and a pitch command subassembly. The pitch command subassembly includes a calibrated air speed source, latch means connected to the calibrated air speed source, switch means connected to the latch means, and a pitch guidance command unit connected to the switch means.

The prior art aircraft guidance equipment does not have an automatic windshear guidance system.
One problem with the prior art aircraft guidance equipment is that it does not include a windshear guidance system, which can significantly decrease the hazards caused by windshear.
Flight guidance in increasing performance windshear is based on the fact that the weather phenomenon of a microburst in the vicinity of the approach or departure area of an airport, where aircraft are operating at low altitude, may lead to hazardous conditions, and crashes have been documented as a direct result of this problem. The spatial nature of a microburst relative to the flight path of an aircraft causes a significant headwind and/or updraft (increasing performance windshear) which is encountered prior to themost hazardous portion of the microburst, which will have a downdraft and/or tailwind (decreasing performance windshear). Thus, if the aircraft performance is adjusted sufficiently prior to the tailwind/downdraft portion of the microburst, the aircraft may be prevented from crashing.


A method for disabling one or more features at a computing device, the method including receiving, at the computing device, a first signal, the first signal directing the computing device to enter a monitoring mode; detecting, while in the monitoring mode, a second signal, the second signal indicating the computing device can operate normally; reporting to a system administrator receipt of the second signal; detecting a third signal at the computing device while in the monitoring mode, the third signal indicating an exclusion zone; responsive to the detecting of the third signal: disabling one or more features on the computing device; and reporting detection of the third signal to the system administrator.

Leaks of valuable information have become a problem for companies and organizations. Such leaks may provide competitors or the public with information about upcoming produce releases, business strategy, marketing campaigns, or other similar confidential information.
For various reasons, the information may need to be shared with a limited number of people. For example, the information may be provided to participants in meetings or presentations internal to the company. In some cases, one of the participants may surreptitiously record such information. While it is difficult to prevent word of mouth leaks, the power of such leaks would be lessened if video, audio and/or photographic recordings from the meetings could be prevented.
One way to prevent such leaks is to confiscate any recording devices, including mobile telephones or other similar user equipment, once the attendee reaches the meeting. However, this is intrusive and cumbersome. Confiscation may also fail to prevent other people within the building from the secretly recording the meeting. For example, meetings may be recorded in some cases from the hallways or adjoining offices to the meeting rooms.

Method and system for preventing capture of sensitive information by proximate devices


A hard disk drive that includes a voice coil motor controlled by a servo circuit. The servo circuit provides a sinusoidal driving signal that has two different harmonic frequencies. The dual harmonic waveform creates a voice coil motor jerk profile (derivative of acceleration) that is continuous. The continuous jerk profile reduces vibration and seek time of the drive.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a servo routine of a hard disk drive.
2. Background Information
Hard disk drives contain a plurality of magnetic heads that are coupled to rotating disks. The heads write and read information by magnetizing and sensing the magnetic fields of the disk surfaces. Each head is attached to a flexure arm to create a subassembly commonly referred to as a head gimbal assembly ("HGA"). The HGA's are suspended from an actuator arm. The actuator arm has a voice coil motor that can move the heads across the surfaces of the disks.
Information is typically stored in radial tracks that extend across the surface of each disk. Each track is typically divided into a number of segments or sectors. The voice coil motor and actuator arm can move the heads to different tracks of the disks.
FIG. 1 shows a typical track that has a number of fields associated with each sector. A sector may include an automatic gain control ("AGC") field 1 that is used to adjust the strength of the read signal, a sync field 2 to establish a timing reference for the circuits of the drive, and ID 3 and Gray Code 4 fields to provide sector and track identification.
Each sector may have also a servo field 5 located adjacent to a data field 6. The servo field 5 contains a plurality of servo bits A, B, C and D that are read and utilized in a servo routine to position the head 7 relative to the track. By way of example, the servo routine may utilize the algorithm of ((A-B)-(C-D)) to create a position error signal ("PES"). The PES is used to create a drive signal for the voice coil motor to position the head on the track.
To access data at different disk tracks the drive enters a seek routine. During a seek routine a requested address location is provided and a corresponding seek time and drive current is calculated to drive the voice coil motor and move the heads to the desired location. The drive current provided to the voice coil motor typically has a sinusoidal waveform. The time derivative of the voice coil motor acceleration curve ("jerk") is discontinuous. This discontinuity can create unwanted mechanical vibration that increases the seek time of the heads and the access time of the drive. It would be desirable to provide a drive current waveform that does not have discontinuities in the voice coil motor jerk profile.


The present invention relates to a circuit for controlling waveform distortion resulting from nonlinearity of the impedance of a control terminal (gate or base) capacitance of a transistor, which can be employed in circuits showing a nonlinearity performance of high frequency amplifier or oscillator. According to the circuit of the invention, the waveform distortion can be properly controlled to improve the efficiency of power conversion in a high frequency circuit employing FET, regardless of the frequency band, while assuring a favorable matching of input for the circuit. Also, it can provide the reliability of an integrated circuit by employing outside voltage control circuit. Moreover, it can be fabricated on a wafer substrate of FET circuit with an inexpensive cost, which affords unrestricted designing of the circuit.

In general, gate capacitance means a capacitance applied between channel area and gate of FET(field effect transistor). Referring to FIG. 1, a typical gate capacitance characteristic of FET is depicted. As can be seen in FIG. 1, the gate capacitance has a value of C0 above threshold voltage(Vt), and at a range of below Vp(.apprxeq.Vt), it has a remained parasitic capacitance(C1) of about 1/10 of C0 value, which is caused by the rapid reduction of the capacitance while free carrier disappeared at the channel area.
The effects of the gate capacitance characteristics on a circuit is described in more detail with references on the accompanying drawings, which show a circuit of a high frequency power amplifier employing FET (see: FIG. 2) and a pattern of signal waveform distortion at the gate terminal of the power amplifier(see: FIG. 3).
The circuit depicted in FIG. 2 may be operated in a class of B, AB or F, where gate bias voltage is set around Vp as shown in FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 2, the sine wave signal(Vin) is inputted to an input matching part of the power amplifier, while a distorted waveform such as Vg(t) occurs at the gate terminal of FET. This distorted waveform is shown more specifically in FIG. 3, where the gate signal waveform Vg(t) is a combined one of the gate bias voltage (Vp) and the gate input signal.
Referring to FIG. 3, time course of the gate signal waveform Vg(t) is shown, where Vg(t) rapidly changes to a spike at a voltage range(2) lower than Vp, while it changes slowly at a voltage range(1) higher than Vp. If the Vp biased sine wave are applied to the gate terminal (G) without any distortion, the voltage above Vp will be applied to the gate terminal for a period equivalent to 180.degree. within one cycle of the sine wave. However, the waveform distortion shown in FIG. 3 does not coincide with the expectation, where the voltage above Vp is applied to the gate terminal longer than the expectation. This phenomenon is caused by the change of capacitance of the impedance of the gate terminal depending on the voltage(see: FIG. 1), while the impedance of the input matching part, due to the linearity, remains constant regardless of the magnitude of the signal(see: FIG. 2).
The degree of waveform distortion is directly related with the ratio of C0 and C1(see: FIG. 1): The larger the ratio is, the severer the distortion becomes, and a non-distorted waveform which is close to the sine wave is provided, when the ratio is near 1. In addition, when the sine wave without any distortion is inputted to the gate of FET, FET is turned on for a period equivalent to 180.degree. of one cycle. However, since the distorted waveform is actually applied to the gate as shown in FIG. 3, FET is turned on more longer than the period equivalent to 180.degree..
Due to the reason illustrated as aboves, the drain(D) current becomes overflowed, which results in the drop of the overall efficiency of the amplifier(see: Paul M. White, IEEE MTTs, pp.277-230(1994); Masahiro Maeda, IEEE MTTs, pp.579-582(1995); Kyeik Jeon, IEEE MTTs, pp.817-820(1997)).
According to the simulation studies, the amplifier whose gate is operated in a distorted waveform as in FIG. 3, requires more D.C. electric power more than that operated by the sine wave by the percentage of 30%, which means the reduction of the efficiency of about 30%. Therefore, the reduction of the efficiency can be prevented by controlling or avoiding the waveform distortion. And, the distortion can be properly controlled by regulating the ratio, since the distortion depends on the nonlinearity of the gate capacitance, i.e., the ratio of the capacitances at the range of below and above Vp.
The nonlinearity of capacitance may affect on the linearity of the power amplifier, in addition to the reduction of efficiency. At the gate, the voltage swing is larger at the lower input voltage than that of at the higher input voltage. Moreover, since the capacitance is nonlinear, the impedance of gate may be varied depending on the inputted voltage, which causes the occurrence of so-called "phase distortion", by which the phase of output according to the input of the amplifier changes depending on the electric power. Therefore, if the capacitance of gate remains constant without the dependence of the gate voltage, the gate impedance will have a constant value regardless of the applied voltage, which results in the reduction of the phase distortion.
In this connection, a method for controlling the distortion of the sine wave by regulating the ratio of the gate capacitance in a range of above and below Vp viewed from the X side of FIG. 2 to have a value of approximately 1, has been suggested in the art. This method was realized by employing a shunt capacitor(Cs) between the gate terminal and source terminal of FET as in FIG. 4(A) (see: Paul M. White, IEEE MTTs, pp.277-280(1994)). This circuit, as can be seen in FIG. 4(B), has its merits of relaxing the nonlinearity of the gate capacitance by increasing the capacitance at the input terminal of FET to the level of Cs. However, the prior art circuit is proven to be less satisfactory in the sense that matching of impedance of the amplifier input terminal is very difficult, due to the increase of admittance of the input terminal of the FET by the increased amount of the gate capacitance.
Under the circumstance, a method which employs a circuit supplemented with a LC series circuit between source terminal and gate terminal of FET has been suggested. This circuit, grounded on a fact that the waveform distortion shown in FIG. 3 is resulted from the second high frequency which is caused mainly by the nonlinearity of the gate capacitance, controls the waveforms distortion by locating a LC series circuit which has a characteristic of resonating at the second harmonic frequency, between the source terminal and the gate terminal and then by controlling the component of the second harmonic frequency. However, this method also have revealed shortcomings such that: it can be applied only in the circuit with narrow frequency band, because the inductance and capacitance should be changed according to the signal frequency applied to FET.
Accordingly, there are strong reasons for exploring and developing alternative means for controlling waveform distortion at a gate terminal of FET, while overcoming the problem that their operating frequency are rather limited and matching of the input impedance is difficult, due to the use of linear device such as capacitor.

Circuit for controlling waveform distortion at a control terminal of a radio frequency transistor

Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology


A process for measuring pressure, preferably vacuum is described. The measuring signals from a heat conduction gauge and the measuring signals from a gas friction gauge are processed to a common measuring signal preferably by multiplication. They are linearly superimposed or added. The heat conduction gauge is preferably a Pirani gauge and the gas friction gauge is preferably a tuning fork quartz gauge.

Heat conduction and friction manometers or gauges, as well as ioninization manometers or gauges, are used for measuring the total pressure in a low pressure range. Quartz manometers or gauges, which are a species of gas friction manometers or gauges have also been used.
All indirect measuring processes are dependent on the type of the gas, the pressure of which is to be determined. The gas friction process, like all indirect measuring processes, depends on the type of molecule in the environment of the environment, that is, its influence on the sensor, and changes as the molecule changes. Likewise, measuring processes using the heat conduction measuring process depend on the type of molecule in the environment of the measurement, that is, the influence zone of the sensor, and changes as the molecules change.

Gas pressure gauge and pressure measuring method


Disclosed is a capsule-type endoscope, including: a lens for obtaining an image inside the body, one or more sensors for obtaining information related to the inside of the body, a controller for interleaving the information detected by the one or more sensors with the image captured by the lens and encoding the image interleaved with the sensor data for signal output, and a transmitter for transmitting a signal from the controller.

A variety of methods for collecting medical information within a human body have been developed.
In general, an endoscope has been used for a method for collecting image information within the human body. Endoscope captures inside the body and then transmits the captured image to an external device via a communication cable, such as conducting wires and optical fibers. However, if such cable is used in endoscope, even after the endoscope is inserted inside the body, the cable still remains in the mouth (oral cavity), thereby causing a great pain to a patient. In addition, the cable should be manipulated to adjust a region for image capture, thereby causing various side effects, such as damage in the internal organs inside the body, and the like.
In order to solve such problems, Given Imaging Ltd., an Israel-based company has recently developed a capsule-type endoscope, called the "PillCam." If this capsule-type endoscope is swallowed by a patient, similar to a pill, it may transmit image (data) related to the inside of the human body captured by an endoscope camera to an external receiver and thus to implement such image (data) on a monitor.
However, the capsule-type endoscope developed by Given Imaging Ltd., can only capture images, thereby being unsuitable for collecting a variety of information related to the inside of the body. In particular, the capsule-type endoscope developed by Given Imaging Ltd., is very expensive, but information obtained by the endoscope is limited only to the image related to the inside of the body. Accordingly, in order to collect information related to various materials (hormones, or digestive juices) secreted in the internal organs within the body, there is a need to implement another method (or procedure).

Capsule-type endoscope having sensor and communication method thereof


Programmatically diagnosing the root cause of a problem in a computing system. Events are monitored within an operating system, and at least a subset of the events are logged to a log file. In response to the detection of error condition(s), a diagnostics module is invoked. The diagnostics module queries the log file to correlate events relevant to diagnosis of the problem, and identifies the root cause by evaluating the results of the query. Once the root cause of the problem is diagnosed, a resolution module corresponding to that root cause may be invoked to programmatically resolve the problem. The invocation of the diagnostic and resolution modules may be subject to policy rules. Furthermore, the logging, diagnostics and resolution modules may be automatically updated as needed.

1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to software, and more particularly relates to systems and methods for programmatically determining root causes of problems that occur when operating a personal computer, and providing programmatic resolution and/or rich diagnostic data for users to address those problems.
2. Background and Related Art
Computing technology has transformed the way we work and play. In recent decades and years, computing technology has become quite complex. This complexity enables a computing system to perform a wide variety of high-complexity functions and applications thereby steadily improving the utility of the computing system. On the other hand, such complexity also makes it increasingly difficult for even the most skillful software engineers to develop software which is perfectly compatible and functional in all possible circumstances. Accordingly, even advanced computing systems often experience problems such as crashes, system hangs, or performance degradations.
Currently, it is difficult or impossible to easily diagnose or determine the root cause of many problems in computing systems. The computing system's operating system typically includes some limited mechanism for identifying the presence of a problem in the form of basic error messages. However, the error messages may not provide enough information to those attempting to diagnose and solve the root cause of the problem or to identify the workarounds for avoiding the problem.
Since many different applications and devices can run on an operating system at a given time, and since interoperability between such components can result in complex problems, it is often difficult for the operating system to determine which application, device driver, or configuration is the root cause of the problem that has surfaced. Interoperability can especially result in complex problems where the various interoperating components are provided by different venders. The problems may involve the operating system, applications, or device drivers, but once the problem has surfaced (e.g., via a system crash) it may be too late to provide any information that is useful in solving the problem. This problem is aggravated when the applications or device drivers executing on the operating system do not comply with programming guidelines for the operating system.
Furthermore, even if there is sufficient information with which to diagnose a problem, significant user effort is often needed in order to diagnose the root cause of the problem and provide a resolution. The requirement of significant user effort to diagnose and resolve computing system problems can degrade the user experience in working with the computing system, especially if the user expects fewer problems with the computing system.
Furthermore, many users are not experienced enough to diagnose and resolve computing system problems on their own. Accordingly, they may take actions they hope are corrective, but which may not resolve the problem due to an incorrect diagnosis or resolution of the problem. Such actions may actually further degrade the performance or stability of the computing system. Users may also solicit the help of others to diagnose and resolve the problem thereby incurring unnecessary costs in time or money on the user or the party that assists in resolving the problem.
For these reasons, a system and method that enables an operating system to better determine the root cause of computing system problems would be advantageous. Furthermore, a system and method that provides a programmatic means for addressing identified problems would be advantageous.

Programmatic computer problem diagnosis and resolution and automated reporting and updating of the same


This invention relates to a shaped fibrous material for use in the manufacture of fiber-reinforced metals comprising a uniform mixture of ceramic fibers and aluminum borate whiskers. The invention also relates to a method for producing the shaped fibrous material comprising the steps of dispersing ceramic fibers and aluminum borate whiskers in a suitable solvent containing a binder to form a slurry, transferring the slurry into a suction molding, aspirating and dehydrating the slurry to form a shaped dehydrated fibrous material, and drying and firing the shaped dehydrated fibrous material to obtain the shaped fibrous material. The shaped fibrous material can be cast efficiently into a fiber-reinforced metal with a high yield. The thus produced fiber-reinforced metal has a high wear resistance combined with a very mild nature of attacking the mating member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shaped fibrous material suitable for use in the manufacture of fiber-reinforced metals, commonly named FRMs. The invention also relates to a method of making the shaped fibrous material.
2. Description of the Related Art
Fiber-reinforced metals containing heat-resistant fibers exhibit far greater strength than their respective starting metals (not reinforced). Fiber-reinforced metals are used in aircraft, automobiles and other applications where lightweight high-performance materials are required.
Fiber-reinforced metals have been produced by a "powder metallurgical" process using a metal powder containing reinforcing heat-resistant fibers. Another method of producing fiber-reinforced metals is by a high-pressure casting process in which an assembly of reinforcing fibers is shaped into a suitable form (a shaped fibrous material), impregnated with molten metal at high pressure, and then cooled.
Conventionally shaped fibrous materials comprise whiskers of silicon carbide, silicon nitride, potassium titanate, aluminum borate, etc. or short fibers of alumina, aluminosilicate, etc. Two or more of these fibers can be used in combination (see Examined Japanese Patent Publication No. 17884/1991).
Shaped fibrous materials are difficult to manufacture commercially because many manufacturing requirements must be satisfied, including: the ease of molding fibers into a predetermined shape, the ease of casting metals using the shaped fibrous material (for example, the degree of deformation the shaped fibrous material experiences during casting), and the physical properties of the fiber-reinforced metals obtained. Conventional shaped fibrous materials need improvements in the above aspects.
For example, shaped fibrous materials comprising whiskers of silicon nitride or silicon carbide have satisfactory moldability, castability and reinforcing properties. However, the fiber-reinforced metals produced using these shaped fibers have a strong tendency to wear the mating member which is in sliding contact, also known as "the nature of attacking the mating member." Furthermore, these fibers are very expensive. For these reasons, the reinforcing shaped fibrous materials made of whiskers of silicon nitride and silicon carbide are of only limited use.
Shaped fibrous materials comprising whiskers of potassium titanate have unsatisfactory moldability and castability. Further, the fibers tend to react with molten aluminum alloy, providing fiber-reinforced metals that have inferior physical properties, such as wear resistance.
Shaped fibrous materials comprising aluminum borate whiskers seem advantageous because they have a lower cost than other ceramic whiskers. However, these fibers are not easy to mold and therefore have a high molding cost. Moreover, the quality of these fibers is not uniform.
Shaped fibrous materials comprising ceramic fibers, such as alumina fibers, are generally easy to mold and have sufficiently good compatibility with aluminum alloys to produce satisfactory cast fiber-reinforced metals. However, fiber-reinforced metals using these fibers have a strong nature of attacking the member.

shaped fibrous materials for fiber-reinforced metals


A magnetic recording medium is disclosed which is excellent in the electro-magnetic conversion efficiency and inhibited drop-out. The magnetic recording medium cpomprises a non-magnetic support; a non-magnetic layer comprising a carbon black and a binder and being provided on the non-magnetic support; and a magnetic layer containing ferromagnetic metal particles comprising iron and aluminum or a magnetic layer containing tabular-shaped magnetic particles having an axis of easy magnetization with the direction perpendicular to the tabular surface, in which the magnetic layer is provided on the side of the non-magnetic layer farther fron the support by wet-on-wet coating procedure and has a dry thickness of from 0.3 .mu.m to 4.0 .mu.m.

Generally, a magnetic recording medium is manufactured in such a manner that a magnetic paint, which is prepared by uniformly dispersing a ferromagnetic powder, an abrasive, an antistatic agent such as carbon black, a lubricant, a hardener, and other additives, in a macromolecular resin material that is so-called a binder to which a solvent may suitably be added, if required, such magnetic paint is coated over a support, and dried up.
Heretofore, there has been a known magnetic recording medium comprising carbon black added in its magnetic layer containing ferromagnetic metal powder or tabular-shaped particulate magnetic material of barium-ferrite, Ba-Fe, so as to improve the abrasion resistance of the magnetic layer and to reduce the specific surface resistance.
When a magnetic recording medium contains carbon black in its magnetic layer, there is a defect that the electromagnetic conversion characteristics of the recording medium are deteriorated by worsening the surface roughness of the magnetic layer and lowering the packing density of the magnetic material.
Particularly with carbon black which is excellent in abrasion resistance and has an average particle size of not smaller than 50 m.mu., the surface roughness of the magnetic layer is made greater, so that the chroma S/N of a magnetic recording medium is lowered.
On the other hand, carbon black having an average particle size of not larger than 50 m.mu. and an oil absorption of not less than 100 ml, which is used for reducing the specific surface resistance of a magnetic layer, is so hard to disperse in the magnetic layer, so that the orientation and packing density of the magnetic material are deteriorated to result in the lowering of the chroma output of the magnetic recording medium.
There is another known technique in which a magnetic layer which has a layer-thickness of not thinner than 4.0 .mu.m and contains ferromagnetic metal powder or magnetic barium-ferrite particles is coated on a dried subbing layer containing carbon black.
When the layer thickness of the magnetic layer that is the upper layer is not thinner than 4.0 .mu.m, the effect of the carbon black-containing lower layer is lost, so that the drop-out of a magnetic recording medium is increased, because the specific surface resistance of the magnetic layer is not lowered, but remains as high as dust is apt to be attracted.
The above-described technique uses the so-called wet-on-dry multilayer-coating system that is to multilayer-coat a magnetic paint over a dried lower layer. In the technique, therefore, not only the processing steps are complicated, but also the surface roughness of the subbing layer affects its magnetic layer, so that the chroma S/N of the magnetic recording medium is lowered.


A lamp radiator, a lamp and a lamp assembly are provided. The lamp radiator includes a base and a number of radiating fins fixed on the base, wherein the base includes a mounting surface and a radiating surface opposite to the mounting surface, and the radiating fins are arranged on the radiating surface at intervals; the mounting surface includes a first mounting surface and a second mounting surface, an included angle is defined between the first mounting surface and the second mounting surface, and a direction of the included angle towards the radiating fins.

With the aggravation of environmental pollution, greenhouse and indoor planting which is completely isolated from the outside world has been widely popularized. Light is one of the most important physical environmental factors for plant growth and development, thus plant growth lamps are usually used for photosynthesis in plants.
A good heat dissipation structure is conducive to the use of the plant growth lamps with LEDs as the luminous body, due to poor ventilation of indoor planting, heat generated by LEDs is not easy to dissipate. On the other hand, LEDs of plant growth lights are usually located on a flat surface, and a light angle is limited, resulting in low light source utilization.

TROLMASTER ARGO INSTRUMENTS CO., LIMITED


The present invention is directed to a pre-inked thermoplastic foam which is utilized to form a relief image which includes open cells in the area that is designed to transfer ink and enclosed or sealed cells in the area which is designed to be impermeable to ink or other print medium. The present invention also includes the method of using and manufacturing the pre-inked foam.

In recent years, the field of manufacturing or producing printing plates such as rubber stamps has experienced rapid advancement, especially in the methods used to fabricate the stamps. Resinous relief printing plates, planographic printing plates, and intaglio printing plates all formed using photosensitive resins now enjoy widespread use. In addition, a number of methods are known for forming printing plates using stencil images. These methods generally involve the use of a thermal printer or a wire dot printer to form a stencil image on a sheet, which is then utilized as a printing plate. These are but a few of the common techniques for forming images on a printing plate or stamp. As disclosed in the related art, the principal areas of stamp manufacturing focus principally on three areas and combinations or modifications thereof which can be classified as molding, etching, and thermal imaging.
In recent years, the art has focused on photosensitive polymers which are selectively exposed to photo rays and harden upon exposure. In a typical manufacturing process utilizing photosensitive polymers, the image to be duplicated on the stamp is prepared or generated using a computer software program, typesetting, or another selected method. The designed image or art is generated using these methods. After the art is camera ready, a photograph is taken and a negative is made. The negative is then placed over a photopolymer plate, after which an ultraviolet light is impinged upon the negative. The ultraviolet light cures the polymer to which it is exposed and any uncured resin is washed away in a washout unit. At this point the photopolymer plate is placed in contact with ink in order to act as a carrier of the ink. It is known that the steps in preparing the artwork in camera ready format, making the negative, and washing away uncured photopolymer, account for more than half the materials and two-thirds of the labor used in manufacturing the stamps. It is also known that these materials are typically thrown away after the particular stamp is made because they are useless for anything but identical stamp preparation. Further, it is known that the process of curing the photopolymer plate using ultraviolet light is both expensive and may have a negative impact on the environment.
Another method involves a complicated process for producing either a metal printing plate or a photosensitive resinous printing plate. In addition, the use of a press machine or heated roller is required for this process. Further, positioning the embossing plate properly on a plate prior to pressing can be challenging to even those highly skilled in the art, and deviation from the proper position can readily occur.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,665,524, which is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety by reference, describes a printing plate which is formed from an open celled thermoplastic medium wherein the open cells are sealed upon exposing to energy rays. The methods described in this reference generally require the use of a negative to block photorays which results in a portion of the photosensitive thermoplastic medium remaining open, unfused or unsealed (these terms refer interchangeably to the fact that thermoplastic foam retains open-cell characteristics) by blocking the energy rays, and a separate portion which is fused or sealed (impermeable to ink) by exposure to the energy rays. The exposed portion forms a background of the image to be formed on the stamp. The background portion prevents the transfer of ink from the thermoplastic foam to the receiving medium, i.e. paper, in these regions. As is common in the related art and as is specifically discussed in this reference, it is not until the image is formed on the sheet that the sheet is exposed to or soaked in ink to absorb the ink which is to be transferred to a print medium. Some of the common reasons associated with inking the plate after the image is formed is to substantially eliminate unwanted effusion or release of the ink. Additionally, adverse conditions may result (i.e., heat dispersion) as a result of heat transfer characteristics of the ink. These and other adverse consequences are recited in U.S. Pat. No. 5,460,757 which is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. This reference is directed to a gel or colloidal dispersion of uncured or unformed polymer and ink constituents.

Method of manufacturing pre-inked thermoplastic medium


The present invention provides a semiconductor nonvolatile memory in which writing or erasing of storing information can be carried out at a high speed with low consumption power and in which dispersion width of a threshold voltage after writing or erasing is very narrow.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor nonvolatile memory particularly, a semiconductor nonvolatile memory in which writing and erasing can be electrically carried out (an electrically erasable and programmable read only memory referred to as EEPROM, hereinafter). The invention also relates to a semiconductor device.
2. Description of the Related Art
An electrically erasable and programmable nonvolatile memory (EEPROM) is known as a memory representing semiconductor nonvolatile memories. An EEPROM is a nonvolatile memory and different from a DRAM (dynamic random access memory) and an SRAM (static RAM), which represent other semiconductor memories. Therefore, data in the EEPROM would not be lost even when a power source turns off. Further, the EEPROM has a characteristic superior in integration density, ballistic resistance, consumption power, and writing/reading speed, compared with a magnetic disc representing the nonvolatile memories other than the above EEPROM. Due to such characteristic, a trend using an EEPROM as a substitute for various memories such as a magnetic disc and a DRAM has been increased, and further development in the future is expected.
Information (storing information) in an EEPROM can be written and erased by charge injection to or drawing from a floating gate of each memory transistor. The storing information is discriminated by means of a threshold voltage corresponding to the amount of electric charges accumulated in the floating gate. Thus, it is important to control the threshold voltage after writing or erasing in order to accurately read out storing information of an EEPROM. To inject an electron to the floating gate of a memory transistor so as to increase the threshold voltage is referred to as writing in this specification. On the other hand, to draw an electron from the floating gate of a memory transistor so as to reduce the threshold voltage is referred to as erasing.
In each memory transistor constituting an EEPROM, a threshold voltage thereof is respectively different after writing or erasing even when writing or erasing is carried out at a same applied voltage for a same time period. This is because the speed of each memory transistor in writing or erasing is respectively different. When the threshold voltage after writing or erasing is not within a predetermined range, wrong information is to be read out.
FIG. 2A shows a relation between the writing time and the threshold voltage when writing is carried out in a memory transistor. FIG. 2A also shows a memory transistor A in which writing speed is fast and a memory transistor B in which writing speed is slow. A threshold voltage after writing is distributed in the vicinity of a predetermined threshold voltage Vth when the writing time is set at t0. Thus, a reading-out voltage should be selected in view of dispersion width of a threshold voltage D0 in order to accurately read out information of a memory transistor.
A range for selecting a reading-out voltage is narrow when the dispersion width of a threshold voltage after writing or erasing is large. It is necessary to widen a space between threshold voltages in respective storing conditions in order to accurately read out information, which increases a writing time or an erasing time. Further, consumption power is also increased in writing or erasing. This is a further serious problem in a multi-value memory transistor in which three or more values of information are stored. Therefore, there has been an idea to decrease the dispersion width of a threshold voltage after writing or erasing.
For example, manufacturing processes are improved to manufacture a memory transistor having a uniform characteristic so that the dispersion width of a threshold voltage after writing or erasing can be decreased. This corresponds to make a difference small in writing speed between the memory transistor A in which a writing speed is fast and the memory transistor B in which a writing speed is slow, as shown in FIG. 2B. The threshold voltage after writing is distributed in the vicinity of a predetermined threshold voltage Vth when the writing time is set at t1. Dispersion width D1 of the threshold voltage after writing in this case is smaller than dispersion width D0 shown in FIG. 2A. In order to make a characteristic of a memory transistor uniform, there are so many points for improving the manufacturing processes that there is a limit in making the dispersion width of the threshold voltage small only by improving the manufacturing processes.
In the case that a method for driving a circuit is devised to compensate a writing time or an erasing time at the same time as the improvement of the manufacturing processes, the dispersion width of the threshold voltage after writing or erasing can be further made small. In this method, the threshold voltage of a memory transistor is checked point by point to carry out writing or erasing, which is continued until the threshold voltage reaches a value within a predetermined range. This method is called verify-writing or verify-erasing.
FIG. 2C shows a relation between the writing time and the threshold voltage in performing the verify-writing. The writing speed of the memory transistor A in which the writing speed is fast and that of the memory transistor B in which the writing speed is slow are respectively same as those of FIG. 2B. A period for a writing operation, which is denoted by W, and a period for a reading-out operation and judgment of a threshold voltage, which is denoted by V, are alternately repeated. The writing operation is not performed when a read-out threshold voltage exceeds the predetermined threshold voltage Vth. The memory transistor A and the memory transistor B complete writing respectively at a writing time t2A and t2B. In this case., dispersion width D2 of a threshold voltage after writing can be made smaller than D1. There is, however, a disadvantage that the writing time increases due to a reading-out operation and judgment of a threshold voltage.

Semiconductor device and an electronic device

Abstract: A channel region of a memory transistor is divided into two regions of a writing control region and a writing region. The writing control region and the writing region have different threshold voltages. Writing is only carried out in the writing region. The writing control region turns off when the amount of electric charges accumulated in a floating gate reaches a specific value due to writing. The writing control region is used as a switch for a writing operation to automatically stop writing. Accordingly, an involatile memory comprising a memory transistor, in which writing can be carried out at a high speed with low consumption power and which is superior in controlling a threshold voltage after writing or erasing, can be obtained.

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


System and method for surveying. In one embodiment, a process is provided including detecting a barcode associated with a position of interest. The barcode may be decoded to extract data associated with the position of interest. Additionally, decoded data associated with the position of interest can be presented to an operator of a surveying tool.

Conventional methods and devices for surveying typically utilize surveying markers to provide positioning information. For example, surveying stakes may be used to mark a boundary of a plot of land. However, such markers are limited in their ability to provide data associated with the position. Similarly, surveying targets are also limited in their ability to provide information associated with a particular location. Such methods do not allow for providing data associated with the position of interest.
While conventional methods provide surveying marks to mark a position, such marks struggle to meet requirements for providing information associated with a position of interest.

System and method for surveying with a barcode target


A method of applying to surfaces of component parts of an evaporator hydrophilic coatings which do not emit offensive odors under operating conditions, or at other times. The method provides coatings in which water glass and colloidal silica are attached to the surfaces in the form of solids in an amount of 0.010 to 0.066 g/m.sup.2.

This invention relates to a method of providing coatings on component parts of an evaporator for use in air-conditioning systems for automotive vehicles.
Conventionally, an evaporator of this kind has been proposed in Japanese Provisional Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 57-162605. This evaporator is a laminate type comprising a plurality of tube elements, each of which is composed of a pair of stamped plates joined together in a face-to-face manner to define refrigerant-evaporating passages therebetween, and a plurality of corrugated fins interposed between adjacent tube elements to divide a space between the adjacent tube elements into a plurality of air passages, the tube elements and the corruated fins being superposed one upon another in an alternate manner and united together by brazing. The outer surfaces of the tube elements and the corrugated fins are coated with hydrophilic coating layers. The hydrophilic coating layers are formed by immersing the tube elements and the corrugated fins in a bath of an aqueous solution containing water glass and macromolecular silica, and then heating them to dry.
The laminate type evaporator is intended to have improved hydrophilic property of the surfaces of the corrugated fins and tube elements by coating same with the hydrophilic coating layers so as to cause condensate to be deposited on the surfaces in a flat form to thereby reduce the resistance of the condensate itself to the air flow and improve the adherability and mobility of the condensate on the surfaces, while restraining formation of bridges of the condensate between bent portions of the corrugated fins.
If the concentration of water glass and colloidal silica in the bath is made higher, the water glass (alkali silicate) K.sub.2 O.multidot.3SiO.sub.2 and colloidal silica SiO.sub.2 deposited on the surfaces of the tube elements and corrugated fins have increased weight per unit area after drying by heating. The hydrophilic property of the outer surfaces of the tube elements and corrugated fins is enhanced with increase in the amount of silicon dioxide SiO.sub.2 contained in the solid deposition to contribute to prevention of scattering of the condensate. More specifically, it is generally recognized that the smaller a contact angle .theta. formed between the surface of a solid object and the surface of a liquid drop on the solid object (an angle formed at a point where the surface of a liquid drop is in contact with the surface of a solid object between a tangent to the liquid drop surface at the point and the solid object surface), the more excellent the hydrophilic property of the surface of the solid object. As the SiO.sub.2 content in the solid deposition is higher, the angle .theta. becomes smaller as shown in FIG. 6A, and accordingly the hydrophilic property of the outer surfaces of the tube elements and corrugated fins becomes more excellent, whereas as the SiO.sub.2 content in the solid deposition is lower, the angle .theta. becomes larger as shown in FIG. 6B, and accordingly the hydrophilic property becomes poorer.
However, if the SiO.sub.2 content is too high, not only moisture but also an offensive smell is attached to the outer surfaces of the corrugated fins and tube elements during operation of the air-conditioning system of the automotive vehicle. When the air-conditioning system is stopped, there occurs exhalation of not only the moisture but also the offensive smell attached to the surfaces. As a result, the offensive smell is fed into the car compartment. Therefore, it is necessary to limit the content of water glass and colloidal silica in the hydrophilic coating layers formed on the outer surfaces of the tube elements and corrugated fins of the evaporator within such a range as to contribute to prevention of scattering of the condensate and at the same time prevention of occurrence of the offensive smell.


A film drop-off apparatus which minimizes lost film. The apparatus includes a computer; a display controlled by the computer which displays instructions to a customer, including photo delivery options during a film processing transaction; an input device controlled by the computer which records a customer choice for a photo delivery location; and a printer controlled by the computer which prints information identifying the photo delivery location on a film envelope.

The present invention relates to photo processing and more specifically to a film drop-off apparatus and method.
Film drop-off kiosks are commonplace in grocery stores and other retail establishments. A customer removes a film drop envelope from an envelope bin, fills out the envelope with name and address information, puts film to be developed into the envelope, and drops the envelope into a storage bin for pickup by photo processing personnel. More sophisticated film drop-off kiosks include computer interfaces and provide additional features for customers.
One of a customer's biggest fears with any drop-off system is that the film might be lost. Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a film drop-off kiosk and which minimize the possibility of losing film.


The present invention relates to a method for genotyping single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) using a lateral flow test device. The invention also relates to a kit comprising said lateral flow test device and also to the use thereof for genotyping single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs).

A single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) is a variation in a single base-pair in the genome between individuals of the same species or between chromosomes of the same pair. SNPs make up 90% of all human genetic variations. They are found about every 1000 bases in the human genome and to date more than 1.8 million SNPs are listed and available in specialized databases. Utilization of these databases has shown that these SNPs can be used not only for purposes of forensic medicine to distinguish individuals but also to diagnose or determine predispositions for certain diseases, to predict the gravity of the condition or the patient's response to a treatment, or to determine an individual's blood group.
There are many methods for detecting SNPs, such as DNA microarrays, allele-specific oligonucleotide (ASO) hybridization, DNA sequencing, single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis, mass spectrometry, primer extension, restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis, and allele-specific oligonucleotide ligation. However, most of these techniques are expensive, complex to set up and do not enable one-off analyses with easy-to-use processes.
In recent years, new simplified techniques have thus been developed in which SNPs are detected using simple dipstick tests (or lateral-flow assays) which allow the result to be obtained by visual inspection (Litos et al., 2009; Sapountzi et al., 2015). These new techniques are essentially based on PCR amplification of the target DNA using primers specific for the allele of interest. This means that the amplification reaction takes place only if the 3′ region of the primer is perfectly complementary to the target sequence. Each specific primer for an allele thus comprises a sequence adjacent to the SNP site with a 3′ nucleotide complementary to the allelic variant, a spacer arm and a 5′ label allowing it to hybridize with the probes immobilized on the dipstick. Litos et al. propose a technique in which several SNPs can be genotyped simultaneously on the same dipstick. To that end, each specific primer for an allele comprises a different 5′ label which will specifically hybridize with one of the probes immobilized on the dipstick. However, despite the progress that has been made, these techniques remain complex to implement, notably because of the use of two successive amplification techniques (PCR then primer-extension reaction) and/or the production of microspheres conjugated to the specific sequences for each allele to be detected and the deposit of these microspheres onto nitrocellulose membranes.


A solenoid (30) controlled, pilot air actuated valve assembly (10) includes a poppet valve cartridge (20) which is either of the normally open type or normally closed type by reversing assembly of identical component parts.

Solenoid controlled, pilot air actuated valve assemblies having poppet valve cartridges are known in the prior art. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 232,262, filed 08-15-89 discloses such a valve assembly in a vehicular central tire inflation system (CTIS), which system is also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,640,331. Both of these documents are incorporated herein by reference.
In the above mentioned application there is disclosed two normally open and one normally closed solenoid controlled, pilot air actuated valve assemblies for controlling inflation and deflation of vehicle tires from a central location. When each of these valve assemblies employs a poppet valve cartridge, they differ only with respect to whether the cartridge is normally open or closed, and only with respect to passages which direct fluid to and from a bore containing the cartridge in a body of the valve assembly.
An object of the present invention is to provide a modular cartridge which is readily assembled of identical components to be either normally open or closed, and which may direct fluid via standard passages in the valve assembly body, whereby normally open or closed valve assemblies are provided by a single design and inventory of cartridge components and valve assembly bodies.


Techniques for determining a communication interface of a computer platform. In an embodiment, a power management unit of a computer platform provides to an agent of the platform an indication of a power state. In certain embodiments, the agent determines, based on the indication of the power state, that an interface is expected to be available. The agent may designate information for transmission via the first interface—e.g. in lieu of transmitting the information via a second interface which is available prior to the first interface becoming available.

1. Technical Field
Embodiments relate generally to techniques for determining an interface for communications within a computer platform. More particularly, certain embodiments determine a communication interface during a power state transition.
2. Background Art
In a conventional computer platform, one or more comparatively high-speed, high-power interfaces may be powered-down while the platform is in a low power state—e.g. to decrease power consumption in the platform. While such a platform is subsequently transitioning, for example, from a low power state to a comparatively high power (e.g. fully functional) state, one or more agents within the platform may exchange messages with one another—e.g. to communicate information necessary to complete a power state transition.
Under current techniques, such an agent will identify some currently-available interface for such a message exchange, and communicate the information via the identified interface. More particularly, current techniques are only concerned with the agent choosing from interfaces which are available when the agent is determining an interface to use for such message exchanges.
As networking, power management and other technologies continue to push for more time-sensitive performance parameters, computer architectures are under increasing pressure to provide incremental improvements in their operating speed.

Method, apparatus and system for determining an interface during a power state transition


A chip inductor includes a body having a coil and an insulating member on which the coil is disposed, and external electrodes disposed on external surfaces of the body. The insulating layers are disposed on one surface of the insulating member in the body and another surface opposing the one surface, respectively, and are made of a material different from a material of the insulating member. The insulating member and the insulating layers constitute a multilayer structure. The coil includes a top coil and a bottom coil disposed on a top surface and a bottom surface of the multilayer structure, respectively. The top and bottom coils are connected by a via penetrating through the top and bottom surfaces of the multilayer structure.

As the miniaturization and thinning of various electronic devices have accelerated with the development of information technology (IT), thin-film inductors have also been required to be miniaturized and thinned. In the case of a power inductor, a chip size has decreased, but an increase in the number of turns of a coil pattern (fine patterning), a development of high-permeability materials, and a technique to increase a pattern height are required to achieve miniaturization of products without the loss of chip characteristics such as inductance, Rdc, and the like.

Chip inductor and method of manufacturing the same


An apparatus and method for repairing a knot hole in a piece of lumber includes a rod of compressible polyethylene material and an adhesive caulk. The caulk is applied to the knot hole. The rod is forcibly inserted into the knot hole being secured by a force fit and the adhesive caulk. The rod is cut flush with the surface of the wood being repaired. The surface can be stained or painted along with the remainder of the structure.

Trees with limbs, such as cedar and pine, are widely used as building materials. A tree can be cut into boards or made into siding for use in houses and other buildings. When lumber is made, a knot occurs where a tree limb grew because of the difference in the direction of the grain of the wood. Unfortunately, knots have a way of becoming dislodged, after a while, leaving a knot hole in the lumber. Knot holes typically go unattended until the house or other structure containing the lumber needs refinishing. When refinishing is required, the holes are typically filled with caulk, putty or cement which is time consuming because the material is applied one layer at a time and allowed to set or cure between layers. The final layer is also allowed to cure a day before refinishing. It will be appreciated that it would be highly desirable to be able to repair a knot hole without having to wait several days for the filling material to cure.
In addition to knot holes, lumber can develop holes from insects, birds, squirrels and other animals. These holes, if relatively small, are filled with putty, cement or caulk. Larger holes are typically covered with a piece of sheet metal which is sometimes difficult to cut to the shape of the hole. Accordingly, it is desirable to have a repair apparatus and method that is simple and easy to use, does not require more than one application, and does not require several days to cure.


An aircraft rear engine attachment connecting a primary structure of a pylon and an engine of an aircraft. The rear engine attachment includes first and second rods, each of them including at least two parts, a first part including at least one support orifice, accommodating a support link bar, configured to connect the rod directly or indirectly to the primary structure, at least one second part including at least one engine orifice, accommodating an engine link bar, configured to connect the rod directly or indirectly to the engine, and also detachable link elements for connecting the first and second parts oriented parallel to the direction of the rod.

According to one embodiment visible in FIGS. 1 and 2, an aircraft 10 comprises a plurality of propulsion units 12 positioned under each of the wings 14 of the aircraft. Each propulsion unit 12 comprises an engine 16, a nacelle (not shown in FIG. 2) positioned around the engine 16 and a pylon 18 connecting the engine 16 and the wing 14. The pylon 18 comprises a primary structure 20 that is connected to the engine 16 by an engine attachment 22 and to the wing 14 by a wing attachment 24.
In the case of the present invention, a longitudinal direction is substantially parallel to the axis A16 of rotation of the engine. A vertical longitudinal plane is a vertical plane passing via the axis A16 of rotation of the engine. A transverse plane is a plane perpendicular to the axis A16 of rotation of the engine. A horizontal transverse direction is a horizontal direction perpendicular to the axis A16 of rotation of the engine.
The engine attachment 22 comprises a front engine attachment 26, a rear engine attachment 28 and a pair of thrust rods 30 that take up thrust forces.
According to one embodiment visible in FIG. 3, for the rear engine attachment 28, the primary structure 20 comprises a soleplate 32 positioned approximately in a horizontal plane. The rear engine attachment 28 comprises a transverse beam 34, connected to the primary structure 20 by vertical link elements 36 and to the engine 16 by a central engine link bar 38, a first rod 40 connected to the engine 16 by a first lateral engine link bar 42 and to the transverse beam 34 by two beam link bars 44 and also a second rod 46 connected to the engine by a second lateral engine link bar 48 and to the transverse beam 34 by a beam link bar 50. The link bars 42, 44, 48, 50 are substantially parallel to one another and to the longitudinal direction. According to one configuration, the soleplate 32 has shear pins projecting from the soleplate 32 which are configured such as to be accommodated in housings provided in the region of the rear engine attachment 28.
According to a first operating method, a method of mounting the engine 16 comprises a first step of fixing the rear engine attachment 28 onto the engine 16, a second, contacting step aimed at raising the unit formed by the engine 16 and the rear engine attachment 28 until the rear engine attachment 28 comes into contact against the soleplate 32 of the primary structure 20, the shear pins provided in the region of the primary structure 20 being positioned in their housings, and also a third step of fitting and tightening the vertical link elements 36 in order to connect the rear engine attachment 28 and the primary structure 20.
This solution is unsatisfactory because it leads to considerable bulk in a horizontal transverse direction, which has an impact on the aerodynamic nature of the pylon 18.
According to a second operating method, a method of mounting the engine 16 comprises a first step of fixing the engine attachment 28 onto the primary structure 20, a second, contacting step aimed at raising the engine 16 and also a third step of fitting the central engine link bar 38 and the first and second lateral engine link bars 42, 48. According to this second operating method, the engine link bars 38, 42, 48 are removed first at the time of dismantling.
This solution is unsatisfactory because the dismantling operation may prove to be difficult owing to engine link bar 38, 42, 48 binding phenomena.
Document EP249553 describes a rear engine attachment that comprises three suspension rods connecting the engine and the pylon. Each rod comprises a first part connected to the pylon by a first link bar, a second part connected to the engine by a second link bar and also a swivel joint connecting the first and second parts so that the rod is able to compensate for any expansion in the longitudinal direction experienced by the engine while it is functioning. To that end, the first part of each rod comprises two branches between which the second part of the rod is positioned, and the two parts of each rod are connected by a link element that has an axis perpendicular to the direction of the rod, this latter being parallel to a straight line connecting the first and second link bars. This orientation of the link elements is necessary in order to compensate for any expansions in the longitudinal direction experienced by the engine. According to this configuration, the link elements connecting the first and second parts of the rods work in shear.

Rear engine attachment of an aircraft having two-part rods and aircraft comprising at least one such rear engine attachment