An LED module includes an LED unit having an LED chip, a lens covering the LED chip, and a diffusing film. The lens includes a light-incident face facing the LED chip, a light-emitting face opposite to the light-incident face, and a connecting face connecting the light-incident face to the light-emitting face. The diffusing film has a plurality of macromolecule diffusing particles mixed therein, and is coated on the light-emitting face of the lens.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure generally relates to light sources, and particularly to a light emitting diode (LED) module and a method for manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a light source such as alight emitting diode (LED) can be adapted to an LED module for illuminating a flat display device, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD). Since the light-emitting angle of the LED is not larger than 120 degrees, the far-field pattern of the LED is quite narrow; there is nearly no light outside of 120 degrees from the LED. In other words, the light-emitting area of the LED is highly concentrated.
What is needed, therefore, is an improved LED module which overcomes the above described shortcomings.

LED module and method for manufacturing the same


A tow cable includes a high density, high damping core of a material such as lead, surrounded by a layer of helically wrapped or braided strength fibers of a material such as steel, or alternatively, of aramid fibers. Over this is provided a layer of a resilient, deformable thermoplastic material such as polyurethane, to provide for movement of the subsequent data-bearer layer under strain, so that no strain is applied to the data-bearer themselves. Around this layer is provided a layer of helically wrapped (or braided) power and data bearers, the bearers including coaxial cables, twisted pairs, and fiber optic bearers. To ensure water-blocking, this layer may be enclosed in an extrusion of thermoplastic material, such as polyurethane. Around this is wrapped or braided a layer of protective fiber, of material such as steel or aramid fiber, and over this, in a roughly trochoidal cross-section, is extruded an outer layer of thermoplastic material, such as polyurethane. The trochoidal cross section is twisted along the length of the cable. This twisting of the trochoidal section causes the ridges to effectively rotate as the cable moves through water and therefore minimizes vortex shedding and cable strumming.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to tow cables for towed acoustic arrays.
2. Discussion of the Background
Conventional towed arrays, or streamers, have consisted of towing cable, which must be negatively buoyant to achieve submersion to the required depth, a forward Vibration Isolation Module (VIM) to minimize the transmission of mechanical vibration from the tow cable to the acoustic array, an array of acoustic (and non-acoustic) sensors, and an aft VIM to minimize transmission of vibration from the `flapping tail` forward to the acoustic array.
This invention relates to the construction and form of the tow cable which links the towing vessel to the head of the acoustic streamer and, through its density, determines the depth at which the streamer is towed.
Conventional tow cables have typically comprised a multicore inner portion, surrounded by several layers of helically wound steel armoring which provides the required density, tensile strength for towing, and extreme robustness to resist the rigors of handling during deployment and retrieval operations. Regretfully, this construction has also brought disadvantages, including the limitations of limited flexibility (large bend radius), a relatively large diameter (to achieve the target specific gravity of 3 or more) and, with the normal circular section, a low resistance to excitation into strumming by periodic vortex shedding--a problem usually treated by the addition of difficult-to-handle `flags` along the cable length. The dominance of the cable's mechanical characteristics by the steel armoring results in very little internal damping to attenuate any periodic cable strumming that is excited.


The axial piston machine may be used as a hydraulic pump or hydraulic motor. A rotor of the piston machine includes an outer part having a spherical inner surface and an inner part having a corresponding spherical outer surface. The inner part has a plurality of elongate grooves defined therein to seat pistons therein. A plurality of piston members protrude into the pistons. A sleeve member is disposed inside the inner part. The sleeve member has a plurality of openings defined therein that are connected to chambers in an alternating fashion. The sleeve member may be turned sideways to adjust the position of the inner part relative to the outer part to set the operational volume of the piston machine.

The most common type of such machines is tiltable disc machines. Many such machines are heavy and relative large. Conventional machines are also expensive and cumbersome to make. One object of the invention is to provide an axial piston machine that has smaller dimensions and lower weight and that can be produced at a lower cost than conventional axial piston machines.
This object is achieved by providing an inner part of the piston machine that has a spherical outer surface and an outer portion that has a corresponding spherical inner surface wherein grooves are defined in the spherical outer surface. Pistons are connected to the outer portion of the rotor and adjustment members are adapted to adjust the tilting angle of the inner part to set the operational volume of the present invention.


A rotor for a rotary electric machine, including: a stack of magnetic laminations each having openings, the superposition of these openings within the stack forming slots, at least some of the openings having, on at least part of their periphery, friction reliefs, electrically conducting bars made of a first material, received in at least part of the slots and coming to bear via at least one principal face against said reliefs.

Asynchronous electric motors conventionally comprise a stack of magnetic laminations, with slots passing through this laminations stack. Aluminum is injected under pressure to form bars which are connected to the outside of the laminations stack by short-circuiting rings.
In order to improve electrical performance, it may prove advantageous to reduce the electrical resistivity of the bars still further by replacing the aluminum with copper. However, because the melting point of copper is far higher than that of aluminum, it becomes difficult to inject copper into the slots.
One known solution thus consists in introducing conducting copper bars into the slots and in injecting aluminum under pressure to fill the space left empty by the bars inside the slots.
Applications WO2011015494, WO2010100007, WO2009038678, US2011291516, WO2014067792, WO2011020788, WO2015071156, WO2012041943, JPH10234166, CN1925280, JPH11206080, JP2005278373, and JPH1028360 describe rotors of which the laminations stacks have slots accepting copper bars and into which aluminum is injected under pressure.
Application WO2012041943 discloses a caged rotor the conducting bars of which have grooves intended to make it easier for the bars to move toward the bottom of the slots under the effect of the injection pressure. This application also indicates that the grooves encourage the retention of the short-circuiting rings.
Application CN1925280 discloses a rotor having slots which comprise reliefs in order to hold the bars in the bottoms of the slots.
EP 2 728 718 discloses a rotor comprising conducting bars positioned in slots. These slots comprise protuberances to allow the bars to be positioned via corresponding recesses in the latter.
DE 10 2010 041796 discloses conducting bars comprising grooves on the radial surfaces to make it possible to increase the area of contact between the poured aluminum and the copper bars.
US 2014/252910 discloses conducting bars received in slots formed within a laminations stack. The slots may comprise fixing parts present on the radial surfaces of the slots.
JP 2007/295756 discloses a rotor comprising conducting bars received in slots formed within a laminations stack. The slots may comprise protuberances.


A method for recovering a moving picture in which an error occurs provides a more efficient and accurate recovery by enlarging a range of a damaged slice to include regions of undamaged slices adjacent to the damaged slice. Particularly, damaged macro blocks within the damaged slice may be upwardly and downwardly extended. Motion vectors for the extended portions are obtained and used to establish a search region within a previous frame. A closest match for the extended macro block is located within the search region and a portion thereof is replicated to replace the damaged macro block.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to MPEG-2 compression/recovery system, and more particularly, to a method for recovering a moving picture in MPEG-2 decompression system.
2. Background of the Related Art
Due to the development of recent digital signal processing techniques, methods for compression and transmission of moving picture information through a transmission channel of a limited bandwidth have been developed. MPEG-2 is a generally used digital video compression method which uses variable length coding such as the Huffinan coding and run-length coding, each having coded video bitstream. However, the digital compression is so sensitive to an error that, not only deterioration of a picture quality, but also propagation of the error in terms of time and space, occurs.
Particularly, when there is an error in a coded video bitstream, there are a variety of effects due to the error depending on the method of coding used. When an error occurs in MPEG bitstream, all information is damaged until a slice header, namely the next synchronization signal, is detected. The use of motion compensation coding causes continuous damage over many frames even after the damaged portion. Even if an error occurs in the transmission channel rather than the coded video bitstream itself, a picture quality of the recovered picture is poor.
To prevent errors occurring on the channel, a method for making an unequal compensation of errors by a hierarchal classification of a bitstream in the channel coding has been developed. This method reduces deterioration of the picture quality relatively simply by inserting a compensation algorithm both at an end of a transmission terminal and at a beginning of a reception terminal. However, this method cannot avoid picture quality deterioration and error propagation for errors outside of the error correction capability. Consequently, parallel processing, such as a forced insertion of an internal block in the coding and replacement with a prior picture in a decoding, is required. In order to recover the picture closely to an original picture, error concealing methods for complementing lost information with neighboring information properly recovered, rather than by an additional error correction code using the limited bandwidth, have been developing.
In the error concealing methods used in digital TVs, there are a spatial prediction error concealing method in which spatial duplication in the same frame containing lost information is utilized, and a temporal prediction error concealing method which uses the temporal redundancy between successive frames. The spatial prediction error concealing method compensates for a damaged macro block by using, not the temporal duplication, but information on macro blocks which are not damaged at the present frame. In this instance, different error concealing methods are suggested, in which the damaged macro block is replaced with a corresponding block close to the damaged block, or various interpolations are used.
However, in a case of such methods, it is difficult to expect of visibility the recovered picture because the information used for recovering the damaged macro block is limited to blocks above and below the damaged block. Also, if the damaged macro block has a size adequately smaller than the picture, an excellent picture quality compensation can be assured, but a large damaged macro block results in a poor recovered picture and much calculation for compensation is required at the receiver.
The temporal prediction concealing method recovers the damaged macro block by predicting a motion vector as an average of motion vectors of adjacent macro blocks in a temporal region, and using the predicted motion vector. That is, as successive pictures are correlated in terms of time, information on the damaged macro block in the present frame is recovered by using information in the previous frame and using the temporal correlation. As most general methods, there are a method in which information on the damaged block is replaced with information on macro blocks in the previous frame at identical positions, and a method in which a motion vector of the damage macro block is predicted from an average of motion vectors of macro blocks above and below the damaged macro block.
Although the temporal prediction concealing method is less complicated and fast, the method has a low reliability. That is, a simple replacement may cause substantial deterioration of the picture quality in a case when there is much motion between two successive frames because motions of the damaged macro blocks in the present frame are not taken into account. Also, the averaging method may cause a problem in a case when the adjacent macro block have no motion vector.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve at least the problems and disadvantages of the related art.
Additional advantages, objects, and features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part will become apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned from practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained as particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
To achieve the objects and in accordance with the purposes of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, a method for recovering a moving picture, in which an error is concealed if an error occurs in a slice of a frame having a plurality of slices where each slice has a plurality of macro blocks, includes (1) extending a range of a damaged slice to include regions of undamaged slices adjacent to the damaged slice, and (2) obtaining a motion vector with the extended regions in a previous frame, to detect a region most similar to the extended regions, and transferring a macro block having the most similar region to the damaged macro block.
In another embodiment of the present invention, a method for recovering a moving picture includes (1) extending damaged macro blocks in upper and lower directions to include regions of undamaged macro blocks, (2) obtaining motion vectors for the damaged macro blocks with a previous frame by using the extended regions and averaging the motion vectors to set up an initial motion vector prediction value for the damaged macro blocks, and (3) setting up a search region of the macro block in previous frame centered on the initial motion vector prediction value, detecting a region most similar to the extended region from the search region, and transferring a macro block having the most similar region to the damaged macro block.
Here, the extended region may be extended in pixel units.
In still another embodiment of the present invention, a method for recovering a moving picture includes (1) extending each macro block in the damaged slice in upper and lower directions to include regions of undamaged macro blocks, (2) dividing the extended regions into a plurality of sub-blocks and obtaining a motion vector for each of the sub-blocks, (3) respectively obtaining a difference between blocks transferred from a previous frame by using the motion vector and setting up a weighted value to each of the sub-blocks according to the difference, (4) multiplying the weighted values to respective sub-blocks, summing the multiplied values, and determining the sum as a motion vector of the damaged block, and (5) searching a previous macro block for the most similar region to the extended region by using the determined motion vector, and transferring a macro block having the most similar region to the damaged macro block.
Here, each of the plurality of sub-blocks is defined between adjacent macro blocks on top and bottom to be shared by the two adjacent macro blocks. Also, the weighted value is large if the difference is small, and the weighted value is small if the difference is great.

Method for recovering moving picture by extending a damaged region in which an error occurs


An splice enclosure for supporting a splice between the ends of a pair of fiber optic drop cables includes at least one longitudinally-extending flexible support member extending across the splice, a cover member which covers the splice and which overlaps the jackets of the two cables, and at least one collar. Each collar has a central aperture through which the buffer tube of a cable can be passed, at least one aperture for receiving a strength member of one of the cables, and at least one aperture for receiving an end of a support member. The support members preferably have similar or identical dimensions, composition and flexibility as the strength members of the cables so as to substantially preserve the flexibility of the cable across the splice. Also disclosed are kits for forming enclosures for optical fiber splices and methods for enclosing optical fiber splices.

Fiber optic cables are widely used for telecommunications applications. It is often necessary or desirable to splice two segments of fiber optic cable to one another. Splicing of fiber optic cables is typically a multi-step process. Firstly, the ends of the two cables are prepared to expose the optical fibers. Next, the ends of the optical fibers of the two cables are joined together, for example by fusing the fibers together, and then a protective heat shrink tube may be applied directly over the spliced fibers.
In order to avoid damage to the exposed, spliced fibers, a protective enclosure is applied to the spliced area. A number of enclosures are known in the prior art. Some prior art enclosures utilize a rigid or semi-rigid tray or bridge member which extends across and supports the splice. Examples of such systems are described in U.S. Publication No. 2006/0233509 A1 (Ray et al.) published on Oct. 19, 2006, and U.S. Publication No. 2007/0127875 A1 (Allen et al.) published on Jun. 7, 2007.
Other types of prior art enclosures simply utilize an inner tube which extends over the spliced optical fibers, a rigid support rod extending alongside the inner tube, and an outer tube which may be heat shrinkable and encloses both the rod and the inner tube. Structures of this type are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,454,471 B1 (Ware et al.) issued on Sep. 24, 2002, U.S. Pat. No. 6,367,990 B1 (Dumitriu) issued on Apr. 9, 2002 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,099,170 (Sarbell) issued on Aug. 8, 2000.
Prior art enclosures for optical fiber splices are generally more rigid than the cables being spliced. The greater rigidity of the enclosure therefore impairs the normal flexibility of the optical fiber cable and may cause problems in some situations, as for example where the cable must be pulled through a curved conduit. In addition, many prior art systems require excessive amounts of time and skill to use, thereby making the splicing of optical fibers relatively expensive compared to other types of cable.
There is therefore a need for enclosures for optical fiber splices which do not impair the flexibility of the cable and which are simple and inexpensive to use.


A fuel cell stack (30) includes an integrated end plate assembly having a current collector (40) secured adjacent and end cell (36) of the stack, a pressure plate (42) secured adjacent the current collector (40), and a backbone (60) secured within a backbone-support plane (44) defined within the plate (42). Tie rod ends (62, 64, 66, 68) of the backbone (60) extend over a gap (84) defined between the backbone-support plane (44) and a deflection plane (50) defined within the pressure plate (42) so that the tie rod ends deflect within the gap (84) upon tightening of tie rods (78, 80). Deflection of the backbone enables the backbone (60) to permit limited expansion of the fuel cell stack (30) during operation, and the backbone (60) has adequate flexural strength to prohibit expansion of the stack (30) beyond operating dynamic limits of the stack (30).

Fuel cells are well-known and are commonly used to produce electrical energy from reducing and oxidizing reactant fluids to power electrical apparatus, such as apparatus on-board space vehicles, transportation vehicles, or as on-site generators for buildings. A plurality of planar fuel cells are typically arranged into a cell stack surrounded by an electrically insulating frame structure that defines manifolds for directing flow of reducing, oxidant, coolant and product fluids as part of a fuel cell power plant. Each individual fuel cell generally includes an anode electrode and a cathode electrode separated by an electrolyte. A fuel cell may also include a water transport plate, or a separator plate, as is well known.
The fuel cell stack produces electricity from reducing fluid and process oxidant streams. As shown in the simplified schematic drawing of a prior art fuel cell stack in FIG. 1, the prior art fuel cell stack 10 includes a reaction portion 12 formed from a plurality of fuel cells 14 stacked adjacent each other that produce electricity in a well-known manner. The plurality of fuel cells 14 includes a first end cell 16 and opposed second end cell 18 at opposed ends of the reaction portion 12 of the fuel cell stack 10. First and second pressure plates 20, 22 overlie the end cells 16, 18 and the pressure plates 20, 22 are secured to each other typically by a plurality of tie rods (not shown) to apply a compressive load to the stack to seal a plurality of compression seals within the stack 10. Most known pressure plates 20, 22 are made of large, conductive metal materials.
During operation of such fuel cell stacks 10, creation of heat by the stack 10, and flow of compressed fluids through the stack 10 results in expansion and contraction of dimensions of the stack 10 within operating dynamic limits of the fuel cell stack 10. Therefore, to permit expansion of the stack 10 within such limits, known fuel cell stacks 10 utilize a load follow-up system. A common load follow-up system includes one or more belleville washers (not shown) secured to each tie rod of the stack 10, between a tie rod securing nut (not shown) and the pressure plates 20, 22. Such a load follow-up system provides for limited expansion within the operating dynamic limits of the stack 10 while applying a constant minimum load to the stack 10. Traditionally, to achieve an effective load follow-up system, known fuel cell stacks 10 have utilized large, heavy, metallic pressure plates 20, 22 as part of the load follow-up system.
Such known fuel cell stacks 10 have given rise to many problems related to a high thermal capacity of the large pressure plates 20, 22. For example, during a "bootstrap" start up from subfreezing conditions, preferably no auxiliary heated fluids are applied to the fuel cell stack 10, while a reducing fluid, such as hydrogen, and an oxidant, such as oxygen or air, are supplied to the fuel cells 14. In a fuel cell 14 utilizing a proton exchange membrane ("PEM") as the electrolyte, the hydrogen electrochemically reacts at a catalyst surface of an anode electrode to produce hydrogen ions and electrons. The electrons are conducted to an external load circuit and then returned to the cathode electrode, while the hydrogen ions transfer through the electrolyte to the cathode electrode, where they react with the oxidant and electrons to produce water and release thermal energy. Electricity produced by the fuel cells 14 flows into and/or through the conductive pressure plates 20, 22.
During such a "bootstrap" start up, the fuel cells 14 that are in a central region of the stack 10 quickly rise in temperature compared to the end cells 16, 18 that are adjacent opposed ends of the stack 10. The end cells 16, 18 heat up more slowly because heat generated by the end cells 16, 18 is rapidly conducted into the large, conductive metallic pressure plates 20, 22. If a temperature of the end cells 16, 18 is not quickly raised to greater than 0 degrees Celsius ("° C."), water in water transport plates within the stack 10 will remain frozen thereby preventing removal of product water, which results in the end cells 16, 18 being flooded with fuel cell product water. The flooding of the end cells 16, 18 retards reactant fluids from reaching catalysts of the end cells 16, 18 and may result in a negative voltage in the end cells 16, 18. The negative voltage in the end cells 16, 18 may result in hydrogen gas evolution at cathode electrodes and/or corrosion of carbon support layers of electrodes of the cells 16, 18. Such occurrences would degrade the performance and long-term stability of the fuel cell stack 10.
Many efforts have been undertaken to resolve such problems. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,764,786 that issued on Jul. 20, 2004, to Morrow et al. discloses a pressure plate that is made of an electrically non-conductive, non-metallic, fiber reinforced composite material, so that the pressure plate is light, compact and has a low thermal capacity. Similarly U.S. Pat. No. 6,824,901 that issued on Nov. 30, 2004, to Reiser et al. discloses a fuel cell stack having thermal insulting spacers between pressure plates and end cells. Both of these patents are owned by the assignee of all rights in the present disclosure. While known fuel cell stacks have limited such problems related to the high thermal capacity of large, metallic pressure plates, such fuel cell stacks still present substantial challenges for efficient operation, especially for PEM electrolyte based fuel cells within fuel cell stacks that undergo frequent start-stop cycles in varying ambient conditions, such as in powering transportation vehicles.
Accordingly, there is a need for a fuel cell stack having end cells wherein temperatures of the end cells can be raised to greater than 0° C. as quickly as possible during start up from subfreezing conditions, and that can also provide an efficient load follow-up system.

Fuel cell stack having an integrated end plate assembly


A process is provided for producing a poly(arylene sulfide) polymer which employs as a reactant cyclic arylene sulfide oligomers.

Poly(arylene sulfide) polymers are generally known in the art and have been found useful due to their high chemical and thermal resistance. Processes for the preparation of such poly(arylene sulfide) polymers have been disclosed in the art. In a typical preparation, at least one dihaloaromatic compound, a sulfur source, and a polar organic compound are contacted under polymerization conditions. Often certain molecular weight enhancing agents are also added during the polymerization. At the termination of the polymerization, the desirable product is recovered from the spent reaction mixture containing the prior organic compound, unconsumed reactants and by-product inorganic salts and any water which may be present. Some recovery processes for poly(arylene sulfide) polymers additionally separate a portion of the less desirable low molecular weight poly(arylene sulfide) and cyclic and linear oligomers from the more desirable higher molecular weight product. Occasionally, a recovered poly(arylene sulfide) polymer is subjected to a purification process to remove a portion of the lower molecular weight portions, oligomers and other impurities from the more desirable higher molecular weight portions.
The undesired materials must be disposed of in some manner, for example, by placing such material in a landfill or blending such material with other product to render it usable. It would be economically and environmentally desirable to have a process using at least a portion of such undesirable or waste materials so that some of the material need not be disposed of.

Process for preparing poly(arylene sulfide) polymers using cyclic arylene sulfide oligomers


An initial access procedure in a wireless communication of a hierarchical cell structure includes operations of a mobile station (MS). The operations of the MS include transmitting an initial access message; obtaining information of a small cell Base Station (BS) which receives the initial access message, from a response message received from a macro BS; attempting to decode a reference channel transmitted by the small cell BS; and when successfully decoding the reference channel, setting a downlink channel with the small cell BS.

In conventional wireless communication systems, a single Base Station (BS) services Mobile Stations (MSs) in a certain area. However, as demand for a data service rapidly grows, it is necessary to develop techniques of higher transmission efficiency and transfer rate.
In response to such a demand, an advanced mobile communication system ensures additional transmission resources via a heterogeneous network which maintains the existing cellular coverage and additionally installs various BSs, and makes an effort to achieve high transmission efficiency by applying small cell technology for servicing a narrow area against the existing cellular environment. In connection with the heterogeneous network and the small cell technology, researches are conducted to enhance frequency utilization and to lower power consumption by adopting the small cell technology using the additional frequency resource with the existing macrocell maintained, Further, researches are conducted to minimize overhead and to maximize the transmission efficiency by reusing some control channels including a synchronization channel of the existing macrocell in the additional small cell.
However, when the synchronization channel of the existing macrocell is reused in the additional small cell, the overhead can be reduced and the data rate can increase. Disadvantageously, it is hard for the legacy MS to detect the small cell and to carry out the synchronization. Thus, when the small cell does not have the synchronization channel or the legacy MS cannot recognize the synchronization channel by itself, what is needed is a solution enabling the MS to detect the small cell and to communicate using the small cell.

Apparatus and method for initial access in wireless communication system with hierarchical cell structure


A transmission includes a fan assembly having a fan wheel, a cover, and a grating. The fan wheel is connected in a torsionally fixed manner to the input shaft of the transmission, and the fan cover is fixed in place on a holding frame, which, for example, includes multiple parts and is fastened to the housing of the transmission. The grating is formed by two grating parts, whose first separating line is a straight segment or is formed by two mutually aligned straight segments, and the cover includes two cover parts, whose second separating line is a plane curve, made up of straight segment sections.

In certain conventional systems, a fan assembly can be used for cooling a device.
German Patent Document No. 10 2008 010 912 describes a fan wheel and a fan cover, which includes a fan grating that is arranged in one piece on the fan cover, or in other words, is integrated therewith.
A drive is described in German Patent Document No. 10 2005 031 197.
German Patent Document No. 11 2014 000 834 describes a power transmission device.
German Patent Document No. 10 2008 017 755 describes a cooling system for a transmission.


An opening feature for a flexible laminate membrane having a metal foil layer sandwiched between first and second structures is formed by a first score line through a thickness of the first structure but not breaching the metal foil layer, and a second score line through a thickness of the second structure but not breaching the metal foil layer, the first and second score lines together encompassing a removable panel portion of the flexible membrane. A press-and-pull tab constituting part of the removable panel portion is arranged to be pressed downward to cause the metal foil layer to break in the region of the tab, and then to be grasped and pulled upward to cause the metal foil layer to break all around a periphery of the removable panel portion to enable the removable panel portion to be completely removed from the flexible membrane.

The present disclosure relates to flexible package structures, and particularly to opening features for flexible package structures.
There are various known containers having a general can-type configuration in which the top end of the can is closed by a lid structure that is either partially or entirely formed by a flexible membrane. One such type of container has a lid structure comprising a metal ring to which a flexible membrane is sealed. The metal ring is affixed to the can in suitable fashion and is not intended to be removed. To open the container, the membrane is peeled off the metal ring. Another such type of container has a composite paperboard and plastic can body and the lid structure is a flexible membrane that is sealed to the top rim of the can body. The lid is peeled from the top rim to open the container.
The metal ring-and-membrane type of lid is relatively costly because of the metal ring component. The all-membrane type of lid is less costly, but it is difficult to achieve a proper balance between a strong-enough seal to keep the lid from inadvertently becoming detached during shipping and handling, and a weak-enough seal to make opening the container feasible for a wide range of consumers, some of whom (such as the elderly) may have low grip strength.
It would be desirable to provide an alternative type of opening feature for a flexible package structure that does not require any costly component such as a metal ring, and does not require any peel seal that must be broken to open the container.

Flexible package structure with a press-and-pull opening feature


At least one server connects with clients via networks such that each client communicates using a different network. The server divides an image based on an application into portions. The server assigns version numbers to the portions such that each version number corresponds to a different portion. The server generates lists that include the version numbers, wherein each list corresponds to a different client. The server shares the image by transmitting image data to each client separately based on the respective list. The server receives update(s) for the image and identifies portion(s) that has changed based on the update. The server assigns an updated version number to the identified changed portion and generates updated lists that include the updated version numbers for the clients such that each updated list corresponds to a different client. The server transmits updated image data to each client separately based on the respective updated list.

In systems, such as computing systems, one or more software programs or applications that are being executed on a server or host computing device can be shared with remote clients or remote computing devices. For example, at least some known computing devices include browsers that support various mechanisms for receiving a continuous stream of data, such as image data, from the server, wherein the image data is based on the application being executed within the server. In a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), a virtual desktop may be accessible by one or more remote clients through a network, and a server may be used to provide various image data from the virtual desktop to one or more remote clients. More specifically, each remote client may include a browser or a web client that supports various methods for receiving a continuous stream of image data from the server.
Using such concepts, at least two known methods are commonly used to share software programs or applications. One method includes a remote desktop, wherein a remote client uses an application that is being hosted on a server or computing device over the network. When using such a method, the remote client has access to the application from anywhere. However, the access is limited to just the one remote client and other clients do not have access to the application. Another method includes web conferencing, wherein a server or a host computing device shares the application over various networks to remote clients. The remote clients can view an image based on the application and have limited access to take control of the image and/or edit the image. However, in such a method, the user or owner of the application has more direct access to the application than the remote clients and, therefore, the user or owner of the application is enabled with better performance of the application.
Moreover, when multiple remote clients are connected to the server via different types of networks, access to the data for each of the clients can vary. For example, when remote clients are connected to the server via different networks, each network may function at a respectively different speed. As such, the rate at which each client receives the data from the server can vary based on the network that each client is using. In addition, when one client has a relatively slower network speed than the other clients, the data being transmitted to each of the clients can be delayed. For example, when a server is transmitting any image update(s) to the remote clients, the clients may not be able to receive the update(s) until each of the clients has had an opportunity to accept the updates. As a result, if one client has a slower acceptance rate due to a slow network, then the other clients will not be able to receive the update until the slowest client can accept the data. As such, a slow client can adversely impact the other clients.

Systems and methods for sharing image data


A method of forming a channel layer of an electric device according to an embodiment is provided. First, a conductive substrate including an insulating layer on the substrate is provided. The conductive substrate and a metal to be plated are used as respective electrodes to carry out electroplating within an electrolyte solution. In this case, electrons provided by a tunneling current passing through the insulating layer from the conductive substrate are bonded with ions of the metal within the electrolyte solution to form a metal channel layer on the insulating layer.

An electric device technology, for example, a semiconductor device technology has been remarkably developed up to now. In particular, a memory device such as DRAM requiring a high integration degree has been required to have active and passive elements with smaller feature sizes, and the semiconductor device and the process technology have correspondingly reduced the feature sizes.
However, when a channel layer is implemented to have a length of 50 nm or less in a transistor, a short channel effect occurs to make it difficult to implement the device. A doping concentration of the channel layer has been made to be increased to temporarily solve the above problem so far. However, it is required to fundamentally solve the above problem when the feature size is more reduced. Some researches have proposed a Recess Channel Array Transistor (RCAT) in which a channel region below a gate of the transistor is recessed to increase an effective gate length or a Spherical Recess Channel Array Transistor (SRCAT) allowing a threshold voltage to be decreased in comparison with the RCAT. Other researches have proposed a vertical transistor in which a channel between a source and a drain is completely surrounded by a gate. Although the structural change in transistor has been tried to overcome the short channel effect, the manufacturing process thereof is complicated.
Nowadays, in order to overcome the performance degradation due to the reduction in feature size, a transistor structure having a metal channel layer is proposed. By forming the channel layer of the transistor with a metal, a mobility of the charges in the channel layer can be improved, and a leakage current occurring due to the short channel effect can thus be reduced. Accordingly, when more attentions are focused on the transistor structure having the metal channel layer, a research on a method capable of reliably manufacturing the transistor having the metal channel layer is also required.

Method of forming channel layer of electric device and method of manufacturing electric device using the same


Method and apparatus for ensuring secure access to a computer system (1000). The method can begin with the step of receiving in the computer system a request from an entity (using 1002). The entity can have a predetermined access authorization level for access to a first base node (110) representing an information type (102) or a computer system function (104). The system determines if the access request completes a prohibited temporal access pattern for the entity. The system also compares a minimum access level established for the first base node to the predetermined access authorization level assigned to the entity. Thereafter, the system can grant the access request only if the minimum access level for the first base node does not exceed to the predetermined access authorization level.

1. Statement of the Technical Field
The inventive arrangements relate generally to computer and information security and more particularly to security measures that enforce security based on logical implementation methods.
2. Description of the Related Art
Control of access to information and computer system resources is a continuing problem for system, database, and network administrators across the government, military, and private industry. Providing system security in such multi-user environments requires a balance between permitting access to resources necessary to perform the business functions for the enterprise and limiting access. Current security methods fall within two basic categories. These include physical and logical implementation methods.
Methods for implementing logical security safeguards typically provide access based on a user/group/role identifier and an access control list for the file, database, or system function to be accessed. However, there are a number of serious limitations to such an approach, primarily because control over information access is limited to a simple relational comparison. Significantly, such systems do not enforce security based on patterns of behavior, aggregation of data, or information clustering. Further, conventional systems make use of simple point tests which do not support the ability to look at temporal patterns of access.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,453,418 to Ooki et al. concerns a method for accessing information. The invention addresses some aspects of accessing portions of information based on user access authority. However, the invention makes no use of access patterns or temporal activities to control access.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,446,077 to Straube et al. concerns an inherited information propagator for objects. The invention utilizes an inheritance graph to propagate changes in security descriptors to affected objects. The invention focuses on the propagation of security tagging but does not address the process of enforcing the security policy and does not mention aggregation or temporal patterns.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,334,121 to Primeaux et al. concerns a usage pattern based user authenticator. The system utilizes a neural network and a set of rules to track usage patterns and flag suspicious activities. This patent focuses on flagging suspicious activity but does not address enforcement of a security policy based on such flagging.

Enforcing computer security utilizing an adaptive lattice mechanism


A long heating pipe is laid along a conveyor pipe and in contact with the outer surface thereof. The heating pipe is provided with an outer tube which has an operating fluid hermetically contained therein, and a steam tube which is inserted through the outer tube. A container is provided to accumulate condensation created as a result of the liquefaction of vapor fed through the steam tube of the heating pipe. This container has a temperature sensing valve located therein. The temperature sensing valve is closed if the condensation within the container more rises in temperature than predetermined, and this valve is opened if the condensation within the container more decreases in temperature than predetermined. This temperature sensing valve is communicatively connected to the downstream side end portion of the steam tube of the heating pipe, which is inserted into the container.

The present invention relates to a heating system for conveyor pipes which transport through them fluid such as a heavy oil or the like.
In general, a heavy oil or other similar fluid which has solidifiability, or viscosity increasing property under a low temperature, and undergoes thermal decomposition or other chemical phenomenon at a high temperature deteriorates in fluidity thereof in the winter season in which an atmospheric temperature is lower, because it is increased in the viscosity thereof. Therefore, in order to allow such a fluid to be smoothly conveyed through a conveyor pipe under a lower atmospheric temperature, provisions are made to heat the pipe, thereby decreasing the viscosity of the fluid which tends to increase. In a conventional heating system for conveyor pipes, the steam-trace heating method is executed by using a trap. The steam-trace heating method is available as two types. One of these two types is that a heating pipe is installed, and it is only formed with a steam layer therein to use the latent heat of the steam for heating the conveyor pipe, and the other is that a condensation layer is allowed to stay within the separately installed heating pipe, thereby utilizing the sensible heat thereof as well as the latent heat of the steam which is allowed to exit in the form of a layer.
However, in the former type heating method in which a steam layer is only formed within the heating pipe to use the latent heat of the steam, overheating is locally introduced on the contact surfaces of the heating pipe and the conveyor pipe with each other, or the heat to the conveyor pipe is excessively great in quantity, whereby it is difficult that the heating temperature to the conveyor pipe is held to a suitable range.
Also, the latter type heating method in which a condensation layer is allowed to stay in the heating pipe, the condensation layer is subjected to a temperature gradient on the downstream side thereof, and therefore, it is substantially impossible to know a total of precise quantity of heat given to the conveyor pipe. For this reason, it is difficult to estimate temperatures of the conveyor pipe and fluid flowing therethrough such as a heavy oil, which are to be heated. This is a disadvantage of the heating method in which a condensation layer is allowed to stay in the heating pipe.
Therefore, a counterproposal is made such as an electric heater system long in size which heats the conveyor pipe evenly at any longitudinal portion thereof. However, this electric heating system threatens excessive heating of the conveyor pipe, while at the same time, the electric heating system undergoes a problem in which it can not be applied to any conveyor pipe conveying therethrough a heavy oil or any other similar fluid which requires explosion-proof provisions to be made.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide for an explosion-proof heating system for conveyor pipes transporting therethrough a heavy oil or other similar fluid, in which they are longitudinally heated evenly at any portion of them to a predetermined temperature, and which is feasible of installing works thereof.


A SAR ADC converting an analog signal into a digital signal having N bits counting from a most significant bit to a least significant bit includes a comparator comparing a positive component with a negative component of the analog signal, two CDACs and a logic circuit. For at least one i-th bit cycle of N bit cycle except a least significant bit cycle, one of a pair of capacitors relating to (i+1)-th bit respectively arranged in the two CDACs is switched according to a first comparing result of the comparator. After one of the pair of capacitors is switched, the comparator compares the positive component with the negative component of the analog signal again and generates a second comparing result. Then whether each one of capacitors relating to i-th bit in the two CDAC is to be switched is determined according to the first and the second comparing result.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), and more particularly to successive approximation register analog-to-digital converters (SAR ADCs).
2. Description of the Related Art
Successive approximation register analog to digital converters (SAR ADCs) transform an analog input signal into a digital output signal through a binary algorithm which performs binary bit-to-bit comparisons. In a typical SAR ADC, each bit of a digital code (representing a sample of the analog input signal) is determined in a single iteration, starting from the most significant bit. To determine the most significant bit, the most significant bit is set to a specific logical value (for example, 1) and the following bits to the other logical value (for example, 0), and the resulting number is converted to the intermediate analog signal (by using a digital to analog converter (DAC), contained in the ADC). The value of the most significant bit of the digital code is determined to equal 0 if the sample of the analog signal has less voltage than the intermediate analog signal; otherwise, the value of the most significant bit of the digital code is determined to be 1. The approach is continued until all the bits of the digital code are determined
For tolerating settling error, a type of SAR ADC uses redundant comparison cycles accomplished by using extra capacitors. However, in this type of SAR ADC, power consumption is increased because of increased input capacitance, and a signal-to-noise ratio worsens since an effective input range is lowered. Another type of SAR ADC uses double capacitor array DACs (digital to analog converters) to tolerate settling errors. Moreover, in this type of SAR ADC, more than one comparator is used. Accordingly, power consumption is increased and a larger area of the SAR ADC is required. Therefore, improving settling error tolerance without increasing power consumption or/and lowering efficiency is an important topic for SAR ADC development.

Successive approximation register analog-digital converter and method for operating the same


Example embodiments are directed to a device comprising an antenna circuit that receives a radio frequency (RF) signal and that converts the RF signal into an electrical signal, a sensing circuit that senses the electrical signal and that outputs an output signal based on the sensed electrical signal, at least one processing circuit that generates at least one control signal based on the output signal, and a switching circuit that couples the antenna circuit to either the sensing circuit to enter a standby mode of the device or to the at least one processing circuit to exit the standby mode and enter an active mode of the device based on the at least one control signal.

Receiving devices acting as access points for transmitting devices power a radio circuit within the receiving devices at all times in order to ensure that the receiving devices receive transmissions from the transmitting devices. This may lead to undesired power consumption, for example, when no transmitting devices are transmitting to the receiving devices.
Recently, the traditional shipping model has been significantly altered to include a number of handoffs and/or transfers between various carriers to meet optimized delivery logistics. In addition, as lean manufacturing methods are increasingly employed in the technology sector, the shipping demands associated with product and/or component inventory has significantly changed. In short, these changes require an enhanced tracking of shipments beyond the traditional model of checking a shipment upon reaching a destination (e.g., with the assistance of a receiving device that includes a radio circuit).

Devices and methods for ultra-low power standby


The waste compactor comprises a housing having an inclined wall in the upper part thereof. A motor on the upper wall drives a helical screw on the lower side of the inclined wall which converges conically downwardly with a decreasing pitch. A lower hopper extending downwardly from the inclined wall below the helical screw forms a funnel and is opened above to an inlet area. The inlet area receives waste material to be compacted, which material descends into the area of the helical screw. A lower more narrow end of the helical screw is located in a conduit which is slightly wider than the lower end of the helical screw and converges downwardly to a constriction at its lower end. Waste material is compacted by downward movement under the action of the helical screw and by being forced through the conduit. The lower hopper has drainage holes through which liquid can drain, by gravity, and a collector is positioned to collect the liquid passing through the drainage holes.

The invention relates to a waste compactor, of simplified construction and of small dimensions, which is particularly suitable for positioning under or near the counter of a bar, cafeteria or other small restaurant business, for the purpose of compacting empty plastic bottles, glasses, cups and other small items of used tableware made from plastic material and/or paper, and/or other small solid wastes possibly including liquid residues, with the aim of substantially limiting the volume occupied by these wastes and thus facilitating their disposal by the producers of these wastes and by the parties responsible for collecting them and transporting them to the final recycling and/or disposal centres. The compactor according to the invention is also capable of separating any small liquid component from the solid wastes, thus enabling this liquid component to be collected and disposed of separately from the solid component. The closest prior art to the invention can be identified as the published European patent application EP 2 125 352 (Screw press for compacting solid waste) and the published U.S. Pat. No. 2,397,758 (Pulping machine). The former patent application discloses the use of a first horizontal waste feeding screw limited to a single cylindrical spiral or helix, of limited length, attached at one end to and projecting from support and rotation means, and the use of a screw press which can be located axially in the feed spiral or which can be positioned parallel to and outside the spiral in a separate housing, to receive the wastes which have been fed and initially pressed by the first spiral and to compact them, with the aid of calibrated constriction means which operate at the discharge opening of the press. Drainage means are provided at the base of the stator of the first feed spiral, where any liquid present in the waste tends to accumulate by gravity, for the collection and removal of this liquid. The latter of the aforementioned patents relates to a press having a stator body in the form of a truncated cone with a horizontal axis, in which there is an axially rotatable shaft to which are fixed the ends of a transport spiral which operates at a short distance from the inner longitudinally ribbed surface of the conical body, a plurality of curved blades, suitably offset from each other, being mounted on this shaft. The end of the stator of the device having the greater diameter has an opening in its upper part with a hopper for feeding the product to be pressed, while the lower part of the end of the stator of the device having the smaller diameter has a discharge opening closed by a hatch which can be opened manually. The lower part of the stator of the device is pierced and is surrounded externally by a chamber for collecting liquid which can be discharged by gravity. The product to be pressed is pushed from the wider to the narrower end of the device, by the action of the transport spiral, and is pressed by the force of this spiral, by the progressive decrease in pitch and by the progressive constriction of the cross section of the spiral and of the conical stator in which the spiral rotates, while the product is progressively shredded by the curved blades which have a progressive cutting action with a reduced force on the drive shaft of the device. The liquid produced by the pressing is collected in the drainage circuit lying below and the spent compacted material is discharged through the final discharge opening when it is cyclically opened.
The first of the aforesaid devices cannot be constructed with smaller overall dimensions, since the screw press is positioned horizontally, and therefore the material leaving the discharge opening has to be collected by means extending under and beyond this opening, thus unavoidably increasing the overall dimensions of the device in plan view. The second of the aforesaid devices has a simpler construction than the first, but is subject to the same problem as the first device and cannot provide the required degree of compaction. If this device were positioned with its axis vertical and with the discharge at the bottom, in order to occupy a smaller area in plan view, it would no longer be capable of separating the liquid component from the solid component of the pressed product.


A unit pixel of a depth sensor includes a light-receiver configured to perform photoelectric conversion of an incident light to output an electrical signal and at least two sensors adjacent to the light-receiver to receive the electrical signal from the light-receiver such that a line connecting the sensors forms an angle greater than zero degrees with respect to a first line, the first line passing through a center of the light-receiver in a horizontal direction.

1. Technical Field
Example embodiments relate generally to semiconductor devices, and more particularly to a unit pixel, a depth sensor and a three-dimensional image sensor including the unit pixel.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various sensors are widely used for sensing physical quantities such as light intensity, temperature, mass, time, etc. The sensors may include a pixel or a pixel array configured to output electrical signals corresponding to the physical quantity. Recently, sensors and associated methods are developed to measure a distance to an object in addition to a color image of the object.

Unit pixels, depth sensors and three-dimensional image sensors including the same


Provided are a monolithic microwave integrated circuit device and a method for forming the same. The method include: forming an HBT on a substrate; forming a wiring of the HBT and a bottom electrode of a capacitor on the substrate, with a first metal, the bottom electrode being spaced apart from the HBT; forming a first insulation layer on the substrate to cover the HBT and the bottom electrode; and forming a top electrode of the capacitor on the first insulation layer and forming a resistance pattern on the substrate, with a second metal, the resistance pattern being spaced apart from the capacitor, wherein an edge of the top electrode is spaced apart from an edge of the bottom electrode.

The present invention disclosed herein relates to a monolithic microwave integrated circuit device and more particularly to, a monolithic microwave integrated circuit device including a heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) and a method for forming the same.
A bipolar transistor may be used as an ultrahigh frequency semiconductor device in an ultrahigh-speed broadband communication network. Recently, researches for realizing a faster ultrahigh-speed operation by reducing a parasite component of the above device have been being made. Especially, the HBT may be used as a basic device of a power transistor and a power amplifier.
For manufacturing a value-added integrated circuit, a Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit (MMIC) technology is used, through which passive devices such as a capacitor, a resistor, an inductor in addition to the HBT (i.e., an active device) are integrated into the same chip. The MMIC technology can integrate passive devices into the same chip to reduce a chip size and also can reduce unnecessary parasite effect to improve circuit performance. This MMIC technology needs to pay great attention to manufacturing processes since diverse active and passive devices are manufactured in a single substrate.

Monolithic microwave integrated circuit device and method for forming the same

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


Disclosed is a method for producing light-guiding LED bodies in a mold, using a material that is flowable before becoming definitively solid. Each LED body comprises at least one light-emitting chip and at least two electrical connections that are connected to the chip. At least one flowable material is fed into the mold in chronologically separate steps via at least one of at least two locations. In a first step, the flowable material is fed into the mold so as to flow around the chip and the connections in that area. In further steps, one or several flowable materials are fed into areas other than the one in which the chip and connections are located. The inventive method for producing light-guiding LED bodies allows virtually all produced luminescent diodes to have the same optical characteristics and prevents the individual LED electronics from being spoiled through damage.

Known from JP 1-69,020 A is a method for injection molding LEDs, whereby in a first step, the electronic components are first coated by means of molding in a blank mold. In this method, the blank mold extends to the front contour of the light emitting light-guiding body. In a second step, the cooled LEDs, which have been removed from the blank mold, are placed in a final mold in order to mold on the rear base parts of the LEDs by injection molding.
Also known, from EP 0,635,744 A2, is an LED whose LED body has a volume substantially greater than the volume of ordinary, standard LEDs. To this end, in one embodiment the LED body is assembled from several parts. The assembly is accomplished by gluing a standard LED into an additional, larger transparent light-guiding body, whose purpose is light emission. The volume of the standard LED here is only a fraction of the volume of the light guiding body. The glue joint degrades light emission, firstly because of the differences in density between the glued LED components and the adhesive, and secondly because of gas inclusions and different glue joint thicknesses. In another variant, the LED body and the separate light guiding body constitute a single part. With these LEDs, the molding process is subject to the risk of uncontrollable shrinkage during the cooling and curing phase. In the case of single-piece injection molding, the great quantity and rate of injection makes tearing of the wiring to the chip almost unavoidable in a large proportion of the light emitting diodes produced.

Method for the production of light-guiding LED bodies in two chronologically separate stages


The invention relates to a process for the preparation of a phenol-formaldehyde resin by causing phenol and formaldehyde to condense under the influence of a basic catalyst, the catalyst being an aqueous solution containing alkali metal ions, carbonate ions, ions of carboxylic acids and one or more ions chosen from the group comprising transition metal ions and borates.

It is known that a basic catalyst is usually used in the preparation of a phenol-formaldehyde resin using phenol and formaldehyde as starting materials.
Suitable basic catalysts are for example sodium hydroxide, barium hydroxide and calcium hydroxide and organic amines.
Phenol-formaldehyde resins are pre-eminently suitable for impregnating for example paper.
Paper is impregnated with a phenol-formaldehyde resin, dried and stacked. The stack obtained in this manner is cured under pressure, as a result of which a laminate is obtained. In processing the usually flat laminate to a moulded part it is important that the laminate bends easily at temperatures of between 140.degree. and 200.degree. C. The deformability of laminates for this application is called the postforming behaviour.
The laminates are used for for example electrical, insulation and decorative applications.
The fact that laminates obtained in the aforementioned manner do not show optimum postforming behaviour is a drawback.

Process for the preparation of a phenol-formaldehyde resin


The invention concerns a film comprising ethylene copolymers and an unsaturated epoxide and comprising quinones grafted on said copolymers. The invention also concerns a structure comprising at least an oxygen-barrier film and at least said oxygen-absorber film. The invention further concerns a packaging element comprising said structure wherein, starting from inside and moving outwards, there is first the oxygen-absorber-film followed by the barrier film.

The present invention relates to an oxygen-absorbing film and more particularly to a film of polyolefins comprising grafted quinones and also relates to a packaging comprising such a film.
Numerous foodstuffs decompose on contact with atmospheric oxygen; this is why use is made of packagings generally composed of a multilayer structure to preserve them during their transportation and their distribution and until they are consumed.
This structure comprises a film of a polymer which forms a barrier to oxygen, such as EVOH (copolymer of ethylene and of vinyl alcohol or saponified copolymer of ethylene and of vinyl acetate) or polyamides. However, a small amount of air always enters before the packaging is closed. It is not always possible to create a vacuum. Furthermore, foods with porous structures can comprise air, which it is difficult to remove, even by creating a vacuum.
Structures have been developed comprising a barrier film and an oxygen-absorbing film which are positioned so that the barrier film is on the outside and the oxygen-absorbing film is on the inside of the packaging, the inside of the packaging defining the surface of the packaging in contact with the food which it comprises and the outside of the packaging defining the surface of the packaging in direct contact with the surrounding air. In fact, these structures also comprise other films, for example of polyethylene or of polypropylene, which provide for the mechanical strength of the structure and their protection against water.
The polyolefin film of the present invention comprising grafted quinones is an oxygen-absorbing film of use in the technology described above. The invention also relates to a structure comprising one or more oxygen-absorbing films and one or more barrier films.
Patent applications WO 94 12590, WO 96 34070 and WO 99 10251 disclose the technology set out above in the field of the invention and more particularly the oxygen-absorbing film and its operation. This technology consists in introducing anthraquinone (AQ) molecules into a polymer film. The operating principle of this system is broken down into 3 stages:
Activation Stage:
The quinone molecules are reduced to hydroquinone molecules under UV irradiation, the necessary protons being provided by proton donors present in the polymer. This activation is carried out after the manufacture of the packaging. Thus it is not necessary to manufacture this film under an inert atmosphere.
Absorption Stage:
The oxygen present inside the packaging and the small amounts of oxygen which might cross the barrier film react with the hydroquinones obtained in the preceding stage The reaction results in the production of quinone and of hydrogen peroxide H2O2.
H2O2 Destruction Stage:
This is carried out by a reducing agent present in the polymer. The amount of this reducing agent can be adjusted so as not to destroy all the H2O2, so as to leave a sufficient amount thereof to produce a bactericidal effect.
In the examples of these prior arts, the constituents of the oxygen-absorbing film are the following polymers:
blends of polymer with oxygen-absorbing molecules; these are not grafted polyolefins, that is to say that there is no chemical bond between the absorbing molecule and the polymer.
copolymers of styrene, of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate and of vinylanthraquinone.
EVOHs grafted by an anthraquinone which is functionalized with an acid chloride.
ethylene-acrylic acid copolymers which has reacted with bromoethylanthraquinone to give ethylene-anthraquinone acrylate copolymers.
The blending of molecules of the anthraquinone type with polymers is not easy to carry out and the copolymerization of these molecules of the anthraquinone type with other monomers is rendered difficult because of the high melting point of these molecules. Graftings by quinones carrying acid chloride groups or brominated groups are expensive because these functional groups are complicated to prepare and because the grafting generates brominated or chlorinated byproducts which are difficult to remove.
The Applicant Company has now found that quinones can be grafted onto polymers carrying epoxide groups and that they can be very easily converted into a film, it being possible for this film to be used as oxygen absorber in the abovementioned structures.
The present invention relates to a film comprising copolymers of ethylene and of an unsaturated epoxide and comprising quinones grafted onto these copolymers. The advantage of these films is that they can be easily manufactured and that the quinones which are grafted onto the copolymers are easy to manufacture. Another advantage is that these films can be activated by simple passage under UV radiation, without it being necessary to add a proton donor to the film.
The present invention also relates to a structure comprising at least one barrier film to oxygen and at least the preceding oxygen-absorbing film.
The present invention also relates to a packaging comprising the preceding structure, in which, starting from the inside of the packaging and proceeding toward the outside, first the oxygen-absorbing film is encountered, followed by the barrier film to oxygen.
The copolymers of ethylene and of an unsaturated epoxide can be polyethylenes grafted by an unsaturated epoxide or copolymers of ethylene and of an unsaturated epoxide which are obtained, for example, by radical polymerization.
Mention may be made, as examples of unsaturated epoxides to be grafted or to be polymerized, of:
aliphatic glycidyl esters and ethers, such as allyl glycidyl ether, glycidyl vinyl ether, glycidyl maleate, glycidyl itaconate or glycidyl (meth)acrylate, and
alicyclic glycidyl esters and ethers, such as 2-cyclohexene-1 glycidyl ether, diglycidyl cyclohexene-4,5-carboxylate, glycidyl cyclohexene-4-carboxylate, glycidyl 5-norbornene-2-methyl-2-carboxylate and diglycidyl endo-cis-bicyclo-[2.2.1]hept-5-ene-2,3-dicarboxylate.
As regards the polyethylenes onto which the unsaturated epoxide is grafted, the termxe2x80x9cpolyethylenexe2x80x9d is understood to mean homo- or copolymers.
Mention may be made, as comonomers, of:
xcex1-olefins, advantageously those having from 3 to 30 carbon atoms; mention may be made, as examples of xcex1-olefins, of propylene, 1-butene, 1-pentene, 3-methyl-1-butene, 1-hexene, 4-methyl-1-pentene, 3-methyl-1-pentene, 1-octene, 1-decene, 1-dodecene, 1-tetradecene, 1-hexadecene, 1-octadecene, 1-icocene, 1-dococene, 1-tetracocene, 1-hexacocene, 1-octacocene and 1-triacontene; these xcex1-olefins can be used alone or as a mixture of two or of more than two,
esters of unsaturated carboxylic acids, such as, for example, alkyl (meth)acrylates, it being possible for the alkyls to have up to 24 carbon atoms; examples of alkyl acrylate or methacrylate are in particular methyl methacrylate, ethyl acrylate, n-butyl acrylate, isobutyl acrylate and 2-ethylhexyl acrylate,
vinyl esters of saturated carboxylic acids, such as, for example, vinyl acetate or propionate,
dienes, such as, for example, 1,4-hexadiene.
The polyethylene can comprise several of the preceding comonomers.
The polyethylene, which can be a blend of several polymers, advantageously comprises at least 50% and preferably 75% (in moles) of ethylene; its density can be between 0.86 and 0.98 g/cm3. The MFI (viscosity index at 190xc2x0 C., 2.16 kg) is advantageously between 0.1 and 1000 g/10 min.
Mention may be made, as examples of polyethylenes, of:
low density polyethylene (LDPE)
high density polyethylene (HDPE)
linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE)
very low density polyethylene (VLDPE)
polyethylene obtained by metallocene catalysis, that is to say the polymers obtained by copolymerization of ethylene and of xcex1-olefin, such as propylene, butene, hexene or octene, in the presence of a single-site catalyst generally composed of a zirconium or titanium atom and of two cyclic alkyl molecules bonded to the metal. More specifically, the metallocene catalysts are usually composed of two cyclopentadiene rings bonded to the metal. These catalysts are frequently used with aluminoxanes as cocatalysts or activators, preferably methylaluminoxane (MAO). Hafnium can also be used as metal to which the cyclopentadiene is attached. Other metallocenes can include transition metals from Groups IVA, VA and VIA. Metals from the lanthamide series can also be used.
EPR (ethylene/propylene rubber) elastomers
EPDM (ethylene/propylene/diene) elastomers
Blends of polyethylene with an EPR or an EPDM
ethylene/alkyl (meth)acrylate copolymers which can comprise up to 60% by weight of alkyl (meth)acrylate and preferably 2 to 40% by weight.
The grafting is an operation known per se.
As regards the copolymers of ethylene and of the unsaturated epoxide not grafted onto the polyethylene, they are copolymers of ethylene, of the unsaturated epoxide and optionally of another monomer which can be chosen from the comonomers which were mentioned above for the ethylene copolymers intended to be grafted.
The copolymers of ethylene and of an unsaturated epoxide are advantageously ethylene/alkyl (meth)acrylate/unsaturated epoxide copolymers obtained by copolymerization of the monomers and not by grafting the unsaturated epoxide onto the polyethylene. They comprise from 0 to 40% by weight of alkyl (meth)acrylate, preferably 5 to 35%, and up to 10% by weight of unsaturated epoxide, preferably 0.1 to 8%.
The unsaturated epoxide is advantageously glycidyl (meth)acrylate. The alkyl (meth)acrylate is advantageously chosen from methyl (meth)acrylate, ethyl acrylate, n-butyl acrylate, isobutyl acrylate or 2-ethylhexyl acrylate The amount of alkyl (meth)acrylate is advantageously from 20 to 35%. The MFI is advantageously between 5 and 100 (in g/10 min at 190xc2x0 C. under 2.16 kg) and the melting temperature is between 60 and 110xc2x0 C.
As regards the quinones which will be grafted onto the preceding copolymers, mention may be made, as examples, of benzoquinone, anthraquinone and naphthoquinone. The quinone carries a functional group capable of reacting with the epoxide group of the copolymer. Mention may be made, as examples, of carboxylic acids, salts of carboxylic acids, dicarboxylic acid anhydrides, alcohols and amines. Carboxylic acids are preferred. The functionalized quinones are solids at ambient temperature. They are powdered and then they are added to the preceding copolymers, in the molten state, while carrying out intimate blending. The device in which this intimate blending is carried out can be any piece of equipment used for the blending of thermoplastics, such as a single- or twin-screw extruder, a blender or a Buss(copyright) Ko-Kneader. The functionalized quinones are added to these blending devices using hoppers or any device for introducing powders. The particle size of these powders can be highly variable. The finer it is, the more homogeneous the incorporation of the powder in the polymer melt. It is advantageously at most 200 xcexcm and preferably between 10 and 150 xcexcm.
The copolymer in the molten state comprising the grafted quinones can be conveyed to a device for converting it into a film or cooled and recovered in the form of granules to be subsequently converted into a film, like the majority of thermoplastics. The thickness of the film can be between 10 and 300 xcexcm and preferably between 15 and 150 xcexcm.
The proportion of functionalized quinone to be used is one quinone per epoxide functional group. As regards the carboxylated anthraquinone (AQ), its grafting onto the copolymer of ethylene and of an unsaturated epoxide (glycidyl methacrylate) can be represented by the following equation:
in which xe2x80x9cAQxe2x80x9d denotes the anthraquinone.
The quinone functional groups can subsequently be activated but it is recommended only to do it when the packaging is closed or ready to be closed. This activation can be carried out by exposure to UV radiation or any wavelength appropriate to the quinones used or by heat, gamma rays, a corona discharge or a beam of electrons. The film can also comprise an agent for destroying the H2O2 formed, such as, for example, a triphenylphosphine, a triphenyl phosphite, triethyl phosphite, triisopropyl phosphite, tris(nonylphenyl)phosphite, tris(mono- and bisnonylphenyl)phosphite, butylhydroxytoluene, butylhydroxyanisole, tris(2,4-di(tert-butyl)phenyl)phosphite, dilauryl thiodipropionate, 2,2xe2x80x2-methylenebis(6-t-butyl-p-cresol), tetrakis(2,4-di(tert-butyl)phenyl)-4,4xe2x80x2-biphenylenediphosphonite, poly(4-vinylpyridine) or their mixtures.
As regards the multilayer structure comprising at least one barrier film to oxygen and at least the preceding oxygen-absorbing film, the barrier film is advantageously made of EVOH, of polyamide, of polyketone or of PVDF. This structure advantageously also comprises one or more polyolefin films for strengthening the structure and for protection against water. If the barrier film is made of EVOH, the structure advantageously comprises a film made of polyolefin, such as polyethylene or polypropylene, on each side of the barrier film. This is because EVOH is sensitive to moisture and loses its oxygen-barrier property in the presence of moisture. Advantageously, the structure of the invention thus successively comprises: a polyolefin film, an EVOH film, a polyolefin film and the film comprising the grafted quinones as oxygen absorber with thicknesses advantageously (in the same order xcexcm): 10 to 100/5 to 20/10 to 100/15 to 150.
According to another form of the invention, the structure additionally comprises a polyolefin film, the oxygen-absorbing film being thus sandwiched between two polyolefin films. As polyolefins are highly permeable to oxygen, this polyolefin film thus does not hinder the reaction of oxygen with the reduced quinones.
It would not be departing from the scope of the invention to position a binder, such as a coextrusion binder, between the preceding layers.
These structures can be manufactured by the usual techniques for multilayer films, such as cast or blown coextrusion or by extrusion coating.
The present invention also relates to a packaging comprising the preceding structure. It can be formed by the structure, which is closed by any means over itself to prepare sachets or bags therefrom. The structures of the invention may only be a portion of the packaging, for example the film which closes off a punnet. This punnet is advantageously made of a barrier material but does not comprise an oxygen-absorbing film, the oxygen absorber included in the film for closing off the punnet being sufficient. Once the packaging has been closed, the quinones are activated by reduction by passing under a UV lamp or any equivalent means.

Polyolefin films containing grafted quinones and structures comprising same


The apparatus and methods allow for correcting data from a sensor due to changes in relative speed of that sensor. The methods and apparatus described use a determined entropy from data associated with across a direction of travel of the sensor together with a determined entropy from data associated with in a direction of travel of the sensor. The determined entropies allow for providing for correcting the data for changes in the relative speed of the sensor. Also, described are methods and apparatus for correcting data from at least first and second sensors of a measurement device, whereby features are correlated from datasets taken from both sensors to determine one or more corresponding signatures. These signatures can then be used to correct the data from first and second sensors.

In certain industries it is valuable to characterise particular materials. To do so, sensors can be configured to move with respect to a particular material and signals passed into or through the material. In some cases, the sensors may be moved while the material remains stationary, while in other cases the material may be moved and the sensors remain stationary. In some cases, the sensors may be mechanically touching the material, in other cases, they may not (e.g. acoustic, optical sensors, or the like).
The data output of such sensors is usable to provide a characteristic of the material being measured. This measured characteristic may provide a characteristic image or map of the material itself, or may be useable to reconstruct further data or information encoded with or within the material. The measured characteristic may be representative of the body of the material, and/or the surface or surface region of the material.
Examples of such moving sensors include a tape head usable with magnetic tape, whereby the tape is moved with respect to a stationary, or relatively stationary, tape head, such that the characteristic magnetism of the tape can be measured. This characteristic can then be used to reconstruct audio, video or data. A further example is an image scanner, or facsimile machine. Again the material (i.e. paper, or the like) is moved relative to an optical sensor. The data output of the sensor is usable to provide an image of the paper, or indeed, what is composed on the paper.
By maintaining the relative speed of such sensors to be constant or at least roughly constant, samples can be taken at particular intervals, such as regular intervals, along the material. These samples can then be used to provide a characteristic of the material.
However, because such sensors are being moved (and/or the material is being moved) certain variations in relative speed can arise. In the examples described above, motors used to wind or pull magnetic tape may have an eccentric motion causing a resultant variation in acoustic frequency (i.e. flutter, etc.) when the signal is reconstructed into an audio characteristic. Similarly, the tape itself may have been pulled or stretched, causing an apparent change in speed having the same effect on a reconstructed audio characteristic. In the case of a scanner, paper may jam, or be pulled awkwardly through a machine, resulting in the commonly-seen elongating or contracting of images when data is reconstructed into a copy of images provided on paper.
To compensate for these variations in relative speed, sensors may be used that mechanically interact with the material being characterised. As a result, variations in speed may be caused due to the sensor temporarily sticking or jamming on the material (e.g. as a result of frictional effects). The release of this sticking or jamming may result in a "ping back" effect, whereby the sensor or material accelerates for a time in the other, or opposite, direction. Other effects, such as the variations in roughness or friction of a surface, etc. may also cause variations in speed.
As a result of sensors experiencing these speed variations (e.g. either because the movement of material/sensor cannot be sufficiently controlled or because of sticking/jamming), it can be difficult to provide accurate data derived from such sensors.
An example of an industry that attempts to provide characteristic maps of a material using relatively moving sensors is the oil and gas industry. One such process that uses such techniques is referred to as logging, where boreholes drilled into the ground are characterised by pulling a measurement module, or so-called logging tool, through those holes. In such cases, it can be valuable to measure precisely the characteristics, or formation, of subterranean material through which a borehole passes. This information might be useful when exploring for oil and gas. For example, it can be useful to determine precisely the formation and location of particular strata formations from pilot boreholes: those used to determine the possible location of one or more hydrocarbon reservoirs. By identifying accurately the locations and presence of particular strata, the location of reservoirs can be suggested.
Such logging tools generally comprise a plurality of sensors. Some of these sensors may, in some cases, be displaced in the direction of travel from each other (e.g. the sensors may be configured in rows). As these logging tools are pulled through a borehole, the sensors are configured to touch, or at least communicate with, the wall of the borehole and characterise the associated subterranean material. However, regardless of how carefully the logging tools are pulled, variations in the speed of the tools occur. In addition, each sensor can experience localised variation due to frictional or so-called rumble effects, or the like.
Accelerometers comprised with sensors/tools have been used in order to correct data derived from tools experiencing a deviation in speed that occurred as the logging tool was being drawn through a borehole. However, there are several problems associated with using such accelerometers, which means that the quality of the results is severely limited. Firstly, due to the high forces involved, two or more different accelerometers are needed for each sensor or in order to cover the range of motion (i.e. high and low acceleration). The nature of the mathematical transformations involved when using accelerometers is approximate. Furthermore, the accelerometers can be difficult to calibrate, and in addition, are rarely calibrated when used in real life. Also, due to the harsh environments, the devices are often damaged due to being dropped or knocked, etc.
Correction for speed deviations of sensors/tools based on accelerometer data, or so-called kinematic correction, is not entirely satisfactory. As the resolving power of sensors, such as those provided with logging tools, increases the deficiencies of existing kinematic correction techniques are becoming more noticeable, and thus the information which can be inferred from such data is limited.
This background serves to set a scene to allow a skilled reader to better appreciate the following description. Therefore, none of the above discussion should necessarily be taken as an acknowledgement that that discussion is part of the state of the art or is common general knowledge. One or more aspects/embodiments of the invention may or may not address one or more of the background issues.

Methods for providing for correcting data and associated apparatus


An electrical plug assembly may include a body having a plurality of electrical contact blades and an actuator. In particular embodiments, the plug assembly includes a shield member having a back and a front. The back has an opening arranged to receive the body therein and the front has a plurality of openings, wherein each opening is shaped, sized, and aligned with a respective one of the plurality of contact blades of the body. In a particular embodiment, the plug assembly further includes a biasing member positioned between the body of the plug and the back side of the shield member to operatively interact with the shield member to prevent electrical current flow and during operation the shield member may slide over the body and operatively engage the actuator to allow electrical current flow.

1. Technical Field
Aspects of the present disclosure relate to electrical plugs that selectively restrict and permit electrical plugs to be inserted into electrical receptacles and for electrical receptacles to provide electricity to the plugs.
2. Background Art
A number of tamper resistant electrical plugs are known to include various methods of preventing a child or user from receiving an electrical shock. Previous safety plugs have included accordion style outer coverings and retractable covers that utilize a shield housing that encompasses the electrical plug blades, either individually or as a complete unit. For the accordion style outer covering, an insulator material capable of being repeatedly collapsed in an accordion fashion without cracking or losing its resilience is required. In addition, the external accordion sheath requires extra-long prongs to accommodate for the collapsed shielding material that compiles at the base of the prongs. This can destabilize the seating of the electrical plug and the added length of the prongs provides an additional danger during plugging and unplugging resulting from additional instability in the structure of the plug.


A stapling plier has a magazine adapted to contain a supply of detachably interconnected staples, and resiliently biased driver and clincher arms pivotally connected to the magazine for movement between open and closed positions. The magazine has an exit throat and the driver and clincher arms are provided respectively with driver and clincher elements. An operating lever is pivotally connected to the clincher arm and has arcuate surfaces in sliding contact with complimentary arcuate surfaces on bearings journalled for rotation on the driver arm. Pivotal closure of the operating lever causes closure of the driver and clincher arms, with an accompanying ejection of a staple from the magazine by the driver element and a clinching of the thus ejected staple against the clinching element.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to fastener applying implements, and is concerned in particular with an improved stapling plier.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A well known and widely employed type of stapling plier is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,461,165 and 2,354,760 (Lindstrom). A primary objective of the present invention is to improve upon this known design by providing a smoother transmission of the leveraged forces produced as a result of squeezing the operating lever while driving and clinching a staple, thereby reducing the required operator effort involved.
Another objective of the present invention is to simplify and facilitate assembly of the plier components, thereby making it possible to realize important savings in manufacturing costs.
A further objective of the present invention is to provide improved guidance and support for the staples as they are being driven through various work elements.
A companion objective of the present invention is to facilitate the task of clearing jammed staples from the exit throat of the magazine.


A power module (1) is disclosed, comprising:                first and second substrates (10), each substrate patterned layer of electrically conductive material (12),        a plurality of pre-packed power cells (20), positioned between the substrates, each cell comprising:                    an electrically insulating core (21) embedding at least one power die (22), and            two external layers (23) of electrically conductive material on opposite sides of the electrically insulating core (21), said external layers being respectively connected to each patterned layers of the substrates,wherein each external layer of a pre-packed power cell comprises a contact pad (230) connected to a respective contact (220) of the power die through connections arranged in the electrically insulating core (21), said contact pad having a surface area greater than the surface area of the power die electrical contact to which it is connected.

Power dies, such as diodes or various types of power transistors (MOSFET, JFET, IGBT, HEMT) are elementary components of power modules which are used for the control and conversion of electric power, for instance in many different fields such as in the automotive, aeronautic, railway industries. Power dies are vertically constructed as opposed to signal conditioning die that are usually built in a transversal manner. As a result the die has electrical connections on each side of it.
Currently the most common way to connect a power die to other components, for instance in a power module, is by using a substrate such as a Direct Bonded Copper (DBC) Substrate, which comprises a ceramic plate with at least one side covered with a copper layer. Power dies are soldered or sintered on the Substrate on one side, and connected on the other side of the die by wire bond or ribbons that are ultrasonically welded on the die metallization.
The constant increase in the switching frequency allows a volume reduction of the whole converter. This downsizing leads to a concentration of the power in reduced volume. The heat density is therefore further increased. All these evolutions converge to a need for thermal enhancement, and reliability increase of the power modules.
In order to enhance thermal dissipation in a power module comprising a plurality of power dies, it has already been proposed power modules comprising two cooling substrates such as DBCs between which are sandwiched the power dies. This is for instance the case in document U.S. Pat. No. 6,072,240, disclosing a plurality of IGBT dies positioned between two substrates.
The main advantage of these power modules is their good capability of dissipating heat by double sided cooling.
However the existing double sided cooling solutions are not devoid of drawbacks. First, by using sintering technology, bonding dies between two substrates requires exerting a pressure on the substrates and on the dies. As the dies are very fragile, one must take care to properly distribute the pressure on the surface of the substrates not to break any of the dies positioned in between.
Second, the die thickness is usually different between various types of power dies, for instance between diodes and power switches. Due to this thickness difference, the second substrate cannot be directly bonded to the upper side of the dies. In order to accommodate these thickness variations, some solutions have been proposed in which the substrates are not planar and exhibit raised regions or posts, such as in document US2011/0254177. Because of the dimensions tolerances or each part, such a module is however complex to design and manufacture.
It has also been proposed power modules in which interfaces between the dies and the second substrates are made by bumps sintered on the dies and substrates, with the size of the bumps accommodating thickness variations between the dies. In this kind of solution, the bumps also act like spacers in order to ensure the functional electrical insulation. If the substrates were only separated by the thickness of the dies, which is in average of about 0.5 mm, the functional insulation could not be ensured. Moreover, the added shims requires to be soldered on the die and on a substrate adding a solder layer that will increase thermal stress and deteriorate the thermal conductivity.
However, these solutions do not solve another problem which resides in the very limited size of the power dies electrical contacts. For instance, the transistor control pad (gate or base) are much smaller than the one power ones. It is therefore particularly difficult to connect it to the substrate. In particular with wide bandgap devices, the gate connections require high precision parts and accurate alignments, which in turn involve expensive equipment and present a high yield risk.
In view of this problem, the above-described solutions are still not currently commercially available, and the double sided modules found in literature are limited to big feature size like IGBT chips or diodes, and are not adapted to any kind of power dies.
In the publication by C. DiMarino et al. "Design of a novel, high-density, high-speed 10 kV SiC MOSFET module", in 2017 IEEE Energy Conversion Congress and Exposition (ECCE), 2017, pp. 4003-4010, the size problem of the gate pad of a SiC MOSFET has been addressed by enlarging the gate pad to permit the connection with a Molybdenum shim. This solution however requires an extensive modification of the die metallization, whereby the efficient heat and current transfer is compromised.

Power module and method for manufacturing power module