A work machine (1) includes a controller (40) having a notification control section (374) that exercises control as to whether to notify an operator of operation support information in accordance with a distance between a predetermined target surface, out of a plurality of discretionally set target surfaces, and a work implement (1A), the work machine including a current terrain profile acquisition device (96) that acquires a position of a current terrain profile, the controller including a target surface comparison section (62) that compares the position of the current terrain profile (800) with a position of the predetermined target surface (700) to determine a vertical position relationship between the current terrain profile and the predetermined target surface. The notification control section (374) changes content of the operation support information in accordance with a result of determination by the target surface comparison section.

Operation of operation levers by an operator enables a work implement (front work implement) of a work machine typified by a hydraulic excavator configured with the work implement to be driven to shape a terrain profile to be worked into a desired shape. Machine guidance (MG) is known as a technique intended to support such work. The MG is a technique for realizing support of an operator's operation by displaying design surface data indicating the desired shape of a surface to be worked and to be eventually realized and a position relationship of a work implement with the surface to be worked.
JP-2014-101664-A, for example, discloses a display system of an excavating machine which has a work implement having a bucket (work tool) and to which the work implement is attached, the display system including: a work implement condition detection section configured to detect information about a position of a tip end of the bucket; a storage section configured to store positional information about a design surface indicating a design terrain profile and outer shape information about the bucket; and a processing section configured to determine, among a plurality of measurement reference points that are preset along an outer shape of a buttock part of the bucket for measuring a position and that include at least the tip end of the bucket, a measurement reference point closest to the design surface on the basis of the information about the position of the tip end of the bucket and the outer shape information about the bucket. In other words, the display system calculates a shortest distance among distances between the design surface and the bucket. JP-2014-101664-A also describes emitting a warning on the basis of the shortest distance and changing a mode of emitting a sound as the warning.

HITACHI CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY CO., LTD.


The invention provides an electrical connection arrangement comprising an electrical conductor track element having at least one connection portion electrically connected to a connection zone of an electrical component, wherein a wall is provided in a vicinity of said connection portion and said connection zone, such that a basin is formed and a molding mass is distributed in said basin. Thereby, the connection portion and the connection zone are protected from external influences such as humidity and temperature.

The invention concerns an electrical connection arrangement, suitable, for example, for use in closing devices for automotive vehicles. The invention further concerns a method for manufacturing such an electrical connection arrangement.
Nowadays, electrical circuit connections are found in many electrical devices. Depending on the device for which they are provided, these electrical circuit connections have to fulfill different requirements as for their functional reliability and operational stability. The requirements concerning functional reliability and operational stability of connection arrangements for fixedly installed and indoor operated devices are lower than for mobile and outdoor operated devices. Among other things, those requirements are particularly high for devices which are installed in automotive vehicles, as for example closing devices for car doors, trunks, engine hoods or the like. Here, the connection arrangements are frequently heavily stressed by occasionally occurring extreme outside temperatures and air humidity, by strong variations of those quantities, by soil particles in the ambient air as well as by mechanical vibrations.
It is an object of the invention to provide an electrical connection arrangement which is to a high degree functionally reliable and operationally stable even if it is heavily stressed. Furthermore, it is an object of the invention to develop a method for manufacturing such an electrical connection arrangement.
According to the invention, the object is achieved by a connection arrangement comprising an electrical conductor track element having at least one connection portion electrically connected to a connection zone of an electrical component, wherein a wall is arranged in the vicinity of the connection portion and the connection zone such that a basin is formed in which a molding mass is distributed. The connection portion and the connection zone which are electrically connected to each other by a soldered joint or a weld joint are protected from their surroundings by the molding mass which covers the connection portion and the connection zone. Soil particles in the ambient air are kept away from the soldered or weld joint, in case of a soldered joint in particular from its especially sensitive soldering tin. Furthermore, the molding mass reduces the influence of extreme outside temperatures and air humidity as well as the influence of large variations of those quantities so that the connection portion and the connection zone are stressed less. The application of the molding mass, that is a mass which is applied in pasty form and cures subsequently, shows the advantage that an optimal adaptation to the spatial form of the connection portion and the connection zone is enabled, resulting in an optimal coverage and thus protection.
One further advantage is apparent in the case of the application to the connection portion and the connection zone of a liquid molding mass, which, as a liquid, has the property that it flows. As a result, it has a tendency to disperse beyond the connection portion and the connection zone. The wall of the basin limits this dispersion. Thus, a deterioration of other components of the track element is avoided.
In a preferred embodiment, the track element within the basin is provided with at least one additional electrical component. The additional electrical component may be completely covered by the molding mass. Therefore, it is particularly well protected from external influences. Consequently, the arrangement of the additional component is especially suitable for highly sensitive additional electrical components.
In a further embodiment, the track element is flexible. Because of thisxe2x80x94plastic or elasticxe2x80x94flexibility, it is especially simple to adapt the track element to the spatial form of the device.
Furthermore, it is preferred that the track element has a bent portion within the basin. Thus, the area of the track element which is within the basin and which is covered by the molding mass can be enlarged in a simple way, which enables the arrangement of more than one additional electrical component within the basin.
It is provided in a further preferred embodiment of the invention that the connection arrangement is arranged within a housing. The housing provides a simple additional means for protecting the connection arrangement from external influences.
In yet a further preferred embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the wall forms part of the housing. Advantageously, no separate means for keeping the wall in its spatial position have to be provided. In this embodiment, the basin forms part of the housing.
It is provided in a further embodiment of the invention that the housing has at least one holding protrusion, the holding protrusion extending through a holding opening of the track element. This embodiment shows two advantages. On the one hand, assembling the track element within the housing becomes easier. The track element must only be arranged within the housing such that the holding protrusion extends through the holding opening. On the other hand, the track element of this embodiment is securely kept in its position when the device works, in particular if vibrations are present. It can be provided that the holding protrusion has a head manufactured by applying a stamp to the preheated or not preheated holding protrusion, the head being larger than the holding opening, whereby the track element is securely kept within the housing.
Furthermore, it is preferred if the housing has at least one receiving portion which receives a holding zone of the component. This embodiment enables that the component is securely kept in its position.
It is preferred if the track element comprises a plurality of layers and/or at least one layer of the track element includes the tracks and/or at least one of the layers is an isolating layer. In this embodiment, the track element is a multi-layer track element. In case the isolating layer is in direct contact with the molding mass, the layer of the track element including the tracks is especially protected. Thus, a deterioration of the tracks, especially when distributing the molding mass in the basin, can easily be avoided.
Furthermore, there is provided a method for manufacturing an electrical connection arrangement comprising the steps of forming an electrical connection between a track element and an electrical component; arranging the electrical connection in a basin and at least partially filling said basin with a molding mass.
Further embodiments of the invention along with their advantages may be obtained from the accompanying drawings.

Electrical connection arrangement and method for the manufacture thereof


The present application relates to an apparatus which comprises a wireless power transfer (WPT) system. This system comprises features which allow it to transfer more power wirelessly at extended distances than other systems operating in the same frequency range. The system possesses heat dissipation features; these features allow it to operate effectively in elevated-temperature environments, and to transfer power at higher levels and/or greater distances than a typical power-transfer system. The system also might include design features to withstand mechanical shocks, stresses, and impacts for use in a rugged environment. The system can also comprise adaptations to reduce electromagnetic interference (EMI), and can comprise specially shaped components with magnetic/ferrimagnetic properties that enhance performance. Other potential features include power conditioning by combining, within one circuit or one board, multiple elements that protect against excessive current, over-voltage, and/or reverse voltage. Other features might include integration of an antenna and a battery within one module.

A challenge with wireless power transfer involves a transmitting element being able to generate a sufficiently high concentration of magnetic field flux to reach a receiving element at a particular distance away.
Inductive wireless power transfer occurs when magnetic fields created by a transmitting element induce an electric field, and hence electric current, in a receiving element. These transmitting and receiving elements will often take forms of coils of wire. The amount of power that is transferred wirelessly depends on mutual inductance, which is a function of transmitter inductance, receiver inductance, and coupling. Coupling is measured in terms of a coupling coefficient ("k"), which quantifies how much magnetic field is captured by a receiver coil.
Coupling will decrease when distance increases between a transmitting element and a receiving element. This leads to lower mutual inductance, and less power transfer. This effect can be counteracted by increasing transmitter inductance and/or receiver inductance. One disadvantage is that doing so causes equivalent series resistance (ESR) to increase, which leads to more heat and greater energy losses.
When designing present-day systems, electronics and magnetics designers must make trade-offs, since designs which transmit power effectively at larger distances usually create greater electromagnetic interference (EMI) and higher heat levels. Moreover, components of an electrical system can be damaged or forced to shut down if heat levels rise excessively. Excess heat can also degrade battery life.
Examples of situations where longer-distance wireless power transfer would be helpful include harsh environments where sizable housings or barriers must be placed around equipment, thereby preventing a transmitting coil and a receiving coil from being positioned near to one another. Other, similar examples include situations where accessories—such as a hand strap, a phone cover, a card holder, a case, a vehicle mount, a personal electronic device accessory, a phone grip, and/or a stylus holder—must be positioned between a transmitting coil and a receiving coil.
Longer-distance wireless power transfer is often also limited by the design of the device being charged, the design of the charging system, or both in combination. For example, the size and number of devices requiring charging may not allow for longer-distance charging. Likewise, the size and design of the charging system may pre-determine a maximum charging distance for a device, which is less than the distance needed by the device to be charged. Present-day charging systems which require devices be placed within a charging bay, or in contact with the charging bay, may preclude charging over-sized devices. Even multi-bay systems have left this issue unresolved. An example where size and number of devices needing re-charge matter, and where bay or multi-bay charging systems are needed, is in industrial warehouses where multiple inventory tracking devices require simultaneous charging, especially overnight or in between shifts.
Another issue affecting efficacy of present-day multi-device charging at longer distances is that charging efficacy generally requires proper alignment of each power receiving device with the power transmitter. Transmitter housing designs that mechanically align a receiver and a transmitter or transmitter circuitry in a charging system, whether provided on one singular printed circuit board or multiple printed circuit boards, or even when WPT coils may be driven by multiple controllers or one controller, do not resolve the above issues discussed.
Yet another issue for present-day longer-distance charging relates to the limitations and challenges that exist in detection of whether objects are even acceptable for charging or whether they are really "foreign" objects that may negatively impact the quality of charging intended for acceptable devices. Foreign object detection can be challenging because many times it is difficult to develop schemes to appropriately differentiate between a foreign object and a valid object. Generally, a foreign object is detected by a power loss that it generates in overall power transfer. In cases of extended z (or vertical) height and large-volume charging, the acceptable losses in a system are substantially higher, hence, increasing the difficulty to determine whether a foreign object is present or not.
In cases where operating distance has been increased, significant amounts of current must also be passed through a transmitter system, coil, and associated components in order to transfer adequate power to a receiver. This increased current creates heat and often causes the transmitter system to rise in temperature over time. In many cases, this rise in temperature eventually trips an overheat fault and shuts down the entire WPT system, disrupting charging service for the user. Traditional thermal mitigation techniques have been applied, including heat dissipating components such as heatsinks, ridges, fans, etc.; however, product or system requirements can frequently make these difficult or impossible to use.
Challenges also exist in the area of communication of data in wireless power transfer systems. Many modern power transfer systems are dependent on data communication between a power transmitter and a power receiver, which allows appropriate adjustments to be made that maintain charging effectiveness. (Data transfer and power transfer may be done by utilizing a single antenna, or different antennas.) However, oftentimes there may be other antennas or devices in close proximity which use similar communication methodologies, and which can make is difficult to differentiate and appropriately filter messages that are required for effective and/or efficient wireless power transfer. In addition to the above, challenges also exist in handling larger currents required for a system to provide power at a specified distance and frequency of operation. Therefore, component selection is critical to ensure a reliable and safe operating system.
Electrical systems have other limitations in certain use cases that must be factored in when designing a WPT system. System components such as ferrite, which enhance performance of wireless power transfer, can be vulnerable to cracks or breakage if subjected to sudden impact or high stress. Heat buildup is yet another issue; for example, excessive and/or prolonged exposure at elevated temperatures can cause component damage, or can force a system slowdown or shutdown, limiting reliability and utility of the electrical system. Additionally, thermal issues usually limit wattage which can be transferred in a system such as a wireless power system. This is the case because, given constant voltage, higher wattage transfer levels will require more electric current, and higher current levels cause exponentially more heat to be generated due to electrical resistance.
In general, heat-dissipation features in electronics use a heat-conducting material (such as metal) to remove heat from an apparatus. If this heat-conducting material possesses a large surface area which is exposed to air or another surrounding environment, heat is transferred to a surrounding environment efficiently and carried away from the apparatus. Larger surface areas result in more effective heat dissipation, and can be obtained by using larger amounts of heat-conducting material, and can also be obtained with adaptations such as fans, fins, pins, bars, and/or other protrusions. Specialized features used to dissipate excess heat in this way are often referred to as "heat sinks." However, existing systems with heat-dissipation features are often limited because their heat sinks are made of metal, which means magnetic fields can couple to them and increase heat generation by, for example, inducing eddy currents. Moreover, existing heat dissipation features are frequently costly to make, and might require exotic materials and/or significant space. Finally, and more importantly, heat sinks that are made out of metal will not always provide adequate electromagnetic interference (EMI) protection, since they are not grounded to a main ground plane.
In addition to the above, it is important to note that heat dissipation is critical for multi-bay solutions, where two or more transmitters and two or more receivers are built into a system. With heat-generating components located near each other, their combined effect may raise temperature to unacceptable levels quicker than in a single charged system. More powerful power supplies are used to deliver power to multi-bay systems, and such systems require longer cables to deliver power from the power supply to every single bay. This results in higher losses that generate more heat. For such hardware configurations, it becomes critical to redirect heat from where it is generated to where it can be dissipated into a surrounding environment. If cooling with natural convection and conduction is not enough to keep such systems at safe temperature levels, active cooling (with fans or other similar subsystems) has to be used. This further increases complexity and ownership cost of such systems.
In general, present-day wireless power systems operate over short distances. For example, typical Qi™ systems use a 3 mm-5 mm coil-to-coil distance range. As such, there is a need for a power-transmitting system which limits electromagnetic interference and heat creation, while also transmitting an acceptable amount of power at extended distances. Additionally, there is a need to provide a system that can operate in a low frequency range of 25 kHz-300 kHz.
Likewise, with "multi-up" charging stations packing multiple wireless charging transmitter systems closer together, inter-system interference levels increase. These effects are amplified when the systems operate on the same technology, i.e., 2 Qi™ transmitters. Therefore, there is a need to address unintended inter-system interaction once a coil's center is within approximately 3 times the diameter of a nearby coil. This is true for coils used for power and/or data transfer.
Additionally, in present-day WPT systems, a power transmitting unit (PTU) can only support communication with a single power receiving unit (PRU), for systems that transfer data between PRU and PTU by modulating information on top of a standing carrier wave. In other words, for every PRU, the system needs a complete PTU. This increases a final price of the charging system as a function of how many PRUs must be supported, as well as the cost of a PTU [System Cost is proportional to (#PRUs)*(#PTUs)]. Also, for the systems described above, bandwidth (BW) of a data channel is limited by carrier frequency and modulation frequency, fm, where BW=2*fm. Additionally, magnitude of amplitude modulation, AM, directly impacts instantaneous impedances seen by a transmitter power amplifier, PA. (With larger impedance changes, more stable and tolerant power amplifiers are required.) Hence, there is also a need for a more rugged, less costly solution.

Preemptive thermal mitigation for wireless power systems


A method for safe positioning and related products are provided. Three neighbor awareness network (NAN) devices at a road junction are determined, and a NAN among an electronic device and the three NAN devices is established, where each of the three NAN devices in the NAN locates at a fixed position. Positions of the electronic device and positions of a vehicle in a same plane coordinate map are obtained, where the electronic device and the vehicle are positioned by the three NAN devices, and determine that the vehicle is approaching the electronic device according to positional variations of the electronic device and the vehicle. A distance between the electronic device and the vehicle is determined according to the positions of the electronic device and the positions of the vehicle, and reminding information is outputted when the distance is smaller than a preset threshold.

With the popularization of electronic devices (mobile terminals such as mobile phones, tablet PCs, etc.), the electronic devices can support more and more applications and become more powerful. The electronic device develops towards diversification and individuation, and becomes an essential electronic product in users' lives.
However, the popularization of the electronic devices also causes users to spend a lot of time using mobile phones and ignore unexpected situations in the reality. For example, when pedestrians cross a road, if the pedestrian bows his/her head to play the mobile phone without paying attention to vehicles, a great safety hazard may exist. Some right-turning vehicles easily conflict with pedestrians going straight even though there are traffic lights at a road junction to indicate traffic, and if the pedestrian does not pay attention to the right-turning vehicles, it is easy to cause safety problems. However, some junctions even have no traffic light, and turning vehicles often appear suddenly. Therefore, how to position the pedestrian and remind the pedestrian of nearby vehicles that may cause safety problems is a problem to be solved.

Method for safe positioning and related products

GUANGDONG OPPO MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP., LTD.


A disposable waste container having a substantially rigid shell to which a stack of nested plastic bags is attached and supported thereby. The bags are serially separable from each other, and the outermost of the bag stack permanently attached to the shell for ultimate disposal therewith. The entire unit is collapsible by flattening the shell with the bag stack mounted therein for ease in transportation and storage.

This invention relates to a dispensing package and more particularly a package of the type in which a plurality of disposable bags are nested within one another such that they may be serially disposed of as filled. In order to support the nested bag assembly, a container shell or frame which is foldable to a collapsed form is utilized to which the nested bag stack is permanently attached such that the combination assembly forms a single package and which may be discarded after the last bag is used. In order to accomplish such, the frame is preferably formed of a low cost material such as paperboard or cardboard which folds easily and then, in essence, unfolded or erected to the use position. The bags are preferably formed from a suitable plastic material.
Multiple bag dispensers are generally known and often take the form of a nest or assemblage of a plurality of bags which are supported by a permanent structure and when the last of such nest of bags is utilized, it is replaced with a subsequent nest along with the attendant trouble and difficulty of assembling the two units together. Examples of such prior art devices are shown by Knowles et al in U.S. Pat. No. 4,417,669 issued Nov. 29, 1983 in which the nested stack of disposable plastic bags is attached to various permanent structures and adapted to be serially dispensed therefrom. A similar overall system is shown by U.S. Pat. No. 3,392,825 to Gale et al issued Jul. 16, 1968 in which a container houses a plurality of accordian-folded bags which are adapted to pull up through the top of the bag when one has been dispensed. Another arrangement of interest is shown by the patent to Ling et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,978,231, issued Dec. 18, 1990 in which a nested arrangement of plastic bags is secured over a waste bin and serially dispensed therefrom. In all the above instances, it should be pointed out that the support structure is neither foldable with nor disposable after the last to be dispensed plastic bag such that a number of convenient features desirable in the present invention are absent.
Another prior art structure of interest is shown by Bergstein in U.S. Pat. No. 4,099,665 issued Jul. 11, 1978 in which a foldable carton includes product containing liners 21 attached thereto and arranged for opening and subsequent re-closing to protect the contents thereof from moisture. Obviously no multiple dispensing concept is involved with the structure of this patent. Other patents of which the applicant is aware and which are of general interest to this invention include the following patents: U.S. Pat. No. 4,457,483 issued Jul. 3, 1984, U.S. Pat. No. 4,869,391 issued Sep. 26, 1989, U.S. Pat. No. 4,989,994 issued Feb. 5. 1991 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,040,902 issued Aug. 20, 1991.
From the foregoing, it may be seen that the need for a package of this general type in which bags may be serially dispensed therefrom and then the entire remaining package discarded as a unit and one which can be folded during shipment and prior to use to conserve space and increase the convenience of the article is still needed. Accordingly, these and other objects of the present invention are accomplished by the provision of a combination disposable package comprising a substantially rigid yet foldable outer container shell having a stack of a plurality of collapsible nested bags attached thereto and in turn disposed for serial detachment therefrom, said outer shell having a pair of opposed primary panels interconnected along vertically oriented primary fold lines to a pair of secondary panels each in turn having a centrally disposed vertically oriented secondary fold line such that the shell can be substantially flattened upon itself in a storage position wherein the side panels are folded along said secondary fold lines and then opened to its use position wherein the side panels are unfolded to an open position wherein the shell defines an open upper top peripheral edge, said collapsible bags each having a closed body and an open upper lip, said bags nested together and interconnected to adjacent bags along a line at their upper lips, said upper lips of said nested bag stack folded over said open upper top peripheral edge of said shell and the nested body portions of said bags disposed adjacent the inside surfaces of said shell panels such that trash may be placed into the body of the innermost bag of said nested stack and then said innermost bag detached from the bag stack and serially disposed of until only said outermost bag and said shell remain as the combination package and may be disposed of as a unit.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention shall become apparent as the description thereof proceeds when considered in connection with the accompanying illustrative drawings.


A fitment to be attached to an apertured wall of a container or the like is initially formed (as by plastic molding) with a thin cylindrical plastic molding) with a thin cylindrical wall dimensioned to fit inside the aperture in the container. A flange is formed on the exterior of the cylindrical wall to fit against the exterior of the container wall, surrounding the aperture therein. Preferably the flange slants downward-outward. A curling tool is forced against the end of cylindrical wall, curling it outward-upward to fit tightly against the interior of the container wall opposite the flange, thereby crimping the fitment to the container. Curling of the cylindrical wall may be performed either before or after the fitment is installed on the carton. The fitment is formed to be closed by a cap and preferably to engage the cap in a tamper-evident manner. In a preferred form of the invention the cap and fitment are initially molded as a unitary member.

1. Field of the Invention:
This invention relates to a new and improved tamper-evident fitment and closure and method of applying same to a container panel. More particularly the invention relates to the connection of a fitment to an apertured container panel wherein the fitment is provided with a thin cylindrical wall which fits through the aperture in the panel and is then curled outwardly to crimp against the panel and hold the fitment firmly in place.
2. Description of Related Art:
The related art in fitments and closures therefor is discussed in detail in the aforesaid U.S. patent applications Ser. No. 07/664,658 and Ser. No. 07/771,057. The present invention is an improvement on certain of the modifications shown in the aforesaid applications to simplify the connection of the fitment to the container panel.
Curling of thin walled plastic cylinders is known in the art. For example, applying a concave tool to the edge of a cylindrical plastic member is shown in numerous patents to Thompson, such as, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,708,255; 4,709,824; 4,793,506; 4,872,304; 4,823,967; 4,811,857; and 4,856,667. These patents disclose a curled bead which is resilient and is compressed when a screw closure is applied to a container neck. Similar curling techniques are employed in the present invention, but the curled flange is employed for a totally different purpose; namely, to curl the downward projecting cylinder of the fitment so as to crimp it in place around the aperture in a container panel.

Means for attaching fitment and method of applying fitment


A method for the automatic line calibration of an electrochemical sensor for measuring the concentration of a liquid phase dissolved electrochemical substance flowing into a pipe and is characterized by the following stages: upstream of the electrochemical sensor, a generator is placed on the pipe, the generator being suitable for delivering standard quantities of the substance; between the generator and the electrochemical sensor, a delay line (3) is placed on the flow with a given volume of this liquid. By way of the generator, successively injected into the liquid pipe are two bursts of known quantities of the electrochemical substance corresponding to the concentration C.sub.1 and C.sub.2 in the liquid flow. From the indications of the electrochemical sensor (4), the delay time introduced by the delay time is determined. The meter constant K of the substance concentration as indicated by the sensor is calculated by producing the ratio of the difference of the indications of the sensor to the difference of the concentrations C.sub.2 -C.sub.1.

More precisely, the continuous and automatic measurement of the concentration of such an electrochemical substance is embodied in a known way with the aid of a galvanic cell-type electrochemical sensor, which output delivers an electric intensity proportional to the concentration of the chemical substance dissolved in the liquid with which the sensor is in contact, through a semipermeable membrane, for example.
Unfortunately, and this is a phenomenon well-recognised by experts, such concentration sensors present two major drawbacks which impair their reliability:
The first drawback derives from the instability of the meter constant K of such a device between the electric intensity i it delivers and the concentration of the substance being observed. This constant effectively varies according to the time and temperature, which requires a continuous recalibration of the device so as to have perfectly reliable measurements.
Moreover, another drawback of this type of device results from the fact that, by virtue of its actual principle, it undergoes a certain amount of wear of its electrodes which leads it to a final state in which its indication is continuously nil, regardless of the concentration of the chemical substance monitored. This property constitutes a major drawback, as a nil indication of the sensor clearly constitutes an uncertainty due to the fact that it may be caused by both the absence of the substance sought-for and the definitive wear of the sensor.
In order to overcome this kind of difficulty, it is possible to periodically recalculate the instantaneous value of the meter constant K of the sensor by using the dosed additions method. This consists of injecting upstream in the pipe passed through by the liquid to be monitored known quantities of the chemical substance to be monitored and of deducing from this the instantaneous value of the meter constant K by studying the behavior of the response obtained at the level of the electrochemical sensor. However, such a method requires the use of a flowmeter, as the injector used, generally an electrolytic Faraday cell, making it possible to know the quantity of the substance injected but not its concentration. In order to know its concentration, it is necessary to use a flowmeter, which is a less reliable device having, in particular, heating systems or mobile elements and bearings, such as turbine bearings; such a device is also expensive, it alone representing more than 10% of the total cost of an automatic line concentration measuring installation.
Because of the above-mentioned reasons, there currently exists no reliable method for line measuring the concentration of a dissolved chemical substance which allows for the automatic calibration of the electrochemical sensor at periodic intervals.

Method for the automatic line calibration of a sensor for measuring the concentration of a liquid phase dissolved electrochemical substance

Technicatome Societe Technique pour l'Energie Atomique


An assembly and an optical element have fiducials for alignment of multiple beam paths during fabrication of an optical device. In an assembly including a substrate with machined grooves for optical fibers, a fiducial can be a carbon-coated fiber or other object disposed in one of the grooves. In an assembly including a collimator array, a fiducial can be an opaque collimator lens. Alternatively, photolithographic processes can provide the required positional accuracy for fiducials on the assembly and/or the optical element. During alignment, a computer-controllable process can use machine vision or distance measurements to identify the position and the orientation of the assembly relative to the optical element. Based on the identified position and orientation, the process moves the assembly to the target position and orientation that provide sufficient optical power flow through the optical element for a fine alignment process.

Planar lightwave circuits such as waveguide gratings and optical switches control the routing of optical signals. In order to accomplish this control or routing, input and output optical fibers are connected to the planar lightwave circuit (PLC). A convenient method to align and manage more than one fiber is to use fiber assemblies.
FIG. 1A shows the example of an optical switch 100 with four fiber assemblies 110A, 110B, 110C, and 110D for four sets of optical fibers 112. The four fiber assemblies 110A, 110B, 110C, and 110D are connected to an optical plate 120 that forms a PLC. In this example, fiber assemblies 110A and 110D include optical fibers 112 that input optical signals to optical plate 120 and fiber assemblies 110B and 110C include optical fibers 112 that receive optical signals output from optical plate 120.
In general, optical plate 120 can be made of any material in which optical waveguides can be created. These materials generally have low optical loss for the target wavelengths and a refractive index profile can be created perpendicular to the propagation direction so as to guide the light. In the example of FIG. 1A, optical plate 120 is made of an optical material such as fused silica that is selectively doped with impurities to form optical waveguides, but waveguides can be formed in other structures such as in semiconductor lasers and Lithium Niobate (LiNbO3) modulators.
Optical plate 120 includes two example sets of optical waveguides 122 and 124. Optical waveguides 122 are aligned with optical fibers 112 in fiber assemblies 110A and 10C, and optical waveguides 124 are aligned with fibers 112 in fiber assemblies 110B and 110C. Switching sites 126 that select the paths of the optical signals are at the intersections of optical waveguides 122 and 124.
In operation, switching sites 126 can be individually turned on or off so that an optical signal input to an optical waveguide 122 or 124 either reflects at one of the switching sites 126 along the waveguide 122 or 124 into another optical waveguide 124 or 122 or passes through every switching site 126 along the optical waveguide 122 or 124. In one specific implementation, each switching site 126 includes a trench in optical plate 120 that is either filled with a liquid to make the switching site 126 transparent or filled with a gas bubble to make the switching site 126 reflective. An integrated circuit (not shown) underlying optical plate 120 can selectively heat the liquid in a particular switching site 126 to create the gas bubble that turns on that switching site 126 and makes that switching site 126 reflective.
Optical switch 100 can route an optical signal from an optical fiber 112 in fiber assembly 110A, for example, into any of the optical fibers 112 in fiber assembly 1110B by making the appropriate switching sites 126 reflective. Alternatively, if none of the switching sites 126 along the optical waveguide 122 are reflective, the optical signal from the optical fiber 112 in fiber assembly 110A passes through optical plate 120 to an optical fiber 112 in the opposite fiber assembly 110C.
Proper operation of optical switch 100 requires that the spacing of optical fibers 112 on each fiber assembly 110A, 110B, 110C, or 110D match the spacing of input/output areas for the corresponding optical waveguides 122 or 124. Additionally, the optical fibers 112 must be precisely aligned with optical waveguides 122 or 124 and with optical fibers 112 in other fiber assemblies to achieve maximum performance. Fabricating and aligning fiber assemblies with the required precision can present difficulties because waveguides 122 and 124 have typical dimensions of about 10 xcexcm or less and a standard optical fiber 112 has a diameter of 125 xcexcm and a core 10 xcexcm in diameter. The cores of the optical fibers 112 carry the optical signals and must be aligned for transfer of optical signals to or from the corresponding waveguide. Accordingly, for maximum performance the spacing and alignment of the optical fibers 112 typically must be accurate to within a few tenths of a micron.
FIG. 1B shows a cross-sectional view of a fiber assembly 110. Fiber assembly 110 includes a substrate 115 having v-grooves 116 in which optical fibers 112 reside. Substrate 115 is typically made of the same material as the optical plate (e.g., fused silica) to provide a matching coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), but other materials such as silicon can also be used.
Precision machining of substrate 115 can produce v-grooves 116 with consistent shape and spacing. Such machining can use, for example, step and repeat techniques that grind a v-groove 116 in substrate 115 then move substrate 115 the required distance for grinding the next v-groove 116 in substrate 115. Equipment including a precision stage that positions substrate 115 for grinding can achieve the required precision for the spacing of v-grooves 116. However, separate mechanical operations such as cutting an edge 118 of substrate 115 generally require remounting substrate 115 on different equipment, which introduces variations greater than the required alignment precision. Accordingly, the position of edge 118 of substrate 115 relative to v-grooves 116 may vary by xc2x125 xcexcm.
An exemplary process for aligning fiber assemblies 110A, 110B, 110C, and 110D with optical plate 120 as in FIG. 1A includes a coarse alignment process and a fine alignment process. The coarse alignment process aligns fiber assemblies 110A, 110B, 110C, and 110D and optical plate 120 with sufficient precision to provide some light flow through the required paths. A fine alignment process measures the intensity of output optical signals and adjusts the positions and orientations of assemblies 120 to maximize optical power flow through switch 100. Fine alignment can be computer controlled using known xe2x80x9chill climbingxe2x80x9d algorithms that find the optimal position and orientation for the fiber assemblies 110A, 110B, 110C, and 110D.
Coarse alignment of an assembly 110 and an optical plate 120 aligns the cores 114 of optical fibers 112 with respective optical waveguides 122 or 124 in optical plate 120 so that optical signals flow through optical switch 100. Coarse alignment initially relies on identifying and matching physical features of fiber assembly 110 and optical plate 120. However, cores 114, which are to be aligned, are indistinguishable from other portions of optical fibers 112, and the optical fibers 112, which have their protective sheathes removed for accurate assembly, are transparent and therefore difficult to identify using machine or human vision. Features such as v-grooves 116 or their edges are similarly difficult to identify, particularly when substrate 115 is transparent. Separate mechanically made features such as edges 118 of substrate 115, which may be easier to identify, are subject to variations much greater than those required in the coarse alignment.
The difficulties in identifying reliable reference features for coarse alignment typically means that the coarse alignment is conducted manually. Additionally, an alignment based solely on the apparent location of the features often fails to provide adequate optical power transmission for the fine alignment process. Accordingly, the coarse alignment must further include a search process that systematically shifts or reorients the fiber assemblies until achieving a configuration with sufficient optical power transmission for the fine alignment process. Such coarse alignment procedures can take an hour or more, while computer-controlled fine alignment can typically be completed in two to ten minutes. Accordingly, structures and techniques are sought that can reduce the time required for aligning fiber assemblies in optical switches or other PLCs.
In accordance with an aspect of the invention, both a fiber assembly and an optical plate containing a light circuit have fiducials for coarse alignment of the fiber assembly during fabrication of an optical device. In a fiber assembly including a substrate with machined grooves for optical fibers, a fiducial can be disposed in one of the grooves so that the accuracy of the reference position that the fiducial provides is approximately the same as the accuracy of the positions of the optical fibers. In one embodiment, the fiducial on the fiber assembly is an opaque fiber such as a carbon-coated optical fiber. The centroid of the opaque fiber marks the center of the groove containing the opaque fiber and indicates to the accuracy with which the grooves were formed the positions of other grooves and the optical fibers in the other grooves. As an alternative to the opaque fiber, any opaque or easily visible structure such as a wire or a hypodermic needle having a uniform diameter or thickness can be placed in a groove, or the groove can be otherwise filled with an opaque material.
Photolithographic processes can form optical waveguides, switching sites, and fiducials in the optical plate. Since photolithographic processes conventionally use alignment marks to align successive operations, such processes can provide the required positional accuracy for the fiducials formed on the optical plate even if formation of the fiducials is before or after the processes that form the optical waveguides and switching sites.
In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, photolithographic processes can form grooves in a substrate for a fiber assembly and form fiducials as regions of opaque material on the substrate. Unlike mechanical processes that generally do not use alignment marks for precise alignment of separate processes, the photolithographic processes can position the fiducials accurately relative to the grooves and thereby permit use of the fiducials for aligning the fiber assembly with an optical plate.
Machine vision, interferometer measurements, or other computer controllable processes using appropriate sensors can identify the positions and orientations of fiducials on fiber assemblies and on an optical plate during alignment of the assemblies. Using the appropriate sensors, the coordinates for all 6 degrees of freedom can be identified for both parts. Based on the identified positions and orientations, the computer-controlled alignment process moves the fiber assemblies relative to the optical plate to the coarsely aligned positions that reliably provide light flow through the device. This is much faster than the manual searching technique described above. A fine alignment process can then use xe2x80x9chill climbingxe2x80x9d techniques to position the fiber assemblies for maximum power output.
One specific embodiment of the invention is a process for making an optical device. The process includes fabricating a fiber assembly having a plurality of optical fibers and a first fiducial on a substrate and fabricating an optical plate having a second fiducial. The first fiducial can be an opaque object such as a carbon-coated fiber in a groove that is substantially identical to grooves containing the optical fibers. Alternatively, the first and/or second fiducials can be formed using photolithographic processes that provide the required precision for the positions of the first and second fiducials relative to optical fibers and optical waveguides, respectively.
With the fiber assembly and optical plate thus fabricated, the process further includes identifying locations for the first and second fiducials and moving the fiber assembly relative to the optical plate until the first and second fiducials reach a target relative position. The target relative position provides coarse alignment of the fiber assembly and the optical plate. The process can further include fine alignment that measures optical power flowing through fiber assembly and the optical plate and adjusts the relative position of the fiber assembly and optical plate to maximize the optical power.
Identifying the locations for the first and second fiducials can be done by applying computer vision to an image of the fiber assembly and the optical plate and then computing a relative movement of the fiber assembly and/or the optical plate required to reach the target relative positions. Alternatively, a measuring device such as an interferometer can measure distances to the first and second fiducials and fiducial edges for angular information. A relative movement of the fiber assembly and the optical plate required to reach the target relative positions can be computed from the measurements.
Another embodiment of the invention is an optical device such as a fiber assembly or an optical switch. The device generally includes a substrate having grooves formed in a surface. Optical fibers are in a set of the grooves on the surface of the substrate, and an opaque fiducial is in a groove that does not contain an optical fiber for light guiding. The fiducial can be an opaque cylindrical object such as a carbon-coated fiber. For an embodiment of an optical switch, the device further includes an optical plate to which the substrate is attached. The optical plate contains a light circuit including optical waveguides that are respectively aligned with the optical fibers. In contrast, the opaque fiducial is aligned with a portion of the optical plate that is not a functional optical waveguide for optical signals.

Fiber assembly alignment using fiducials


An uplink data transmission method and apparatus for latency reduction and a communications system. The uplink data transmission method includes: receiving resource indication information transmitted by a base station; the resource indication information indicating availability of using the semi-persistent resources at one or more TTIs or subframes by the first UE; determining a transmission resource from the semi-persistent resources according to the resource indication information when uplink data is needed to be transmitted; and transmitting the uplink data by using the transmission resource. Hence, not only latency of the uplink data may be reduced outstandingly, but also the semi-persistent resources may be allocated to other UEs with no waste of semi-persistent resources as much as possible, thereby improving resource utilization efficiency and transmission latency performance of the UE.

Real-time traffics, such as automatic driving, and industrial automatic control, etc., that will be carried out in a next-generation mobile communications network, have a very high requirement on transmission latency, such as requiring that peer-to-peer latency is between 1-10 ms. When such traffics are carried by an LTE system, a relatively large challenge will be brought about to latency performance of the network. And furthermore, for a legacy transmission control protocol (TCP) traffic, reduction of peer-to-peer latency may greatly improve throughput of the system. Considering from the two aspects, it is urgently needed to lower the peer-to-peer latency of the LTE system.
In a legacy uplink data transmission scheme, when a user equipment (UE) has arrived uplink data, the UE first transmits a scheduling request (SR) to a base station (such as an eNB), receives an uplink resource grant transmitted by the base station after three transmission time intervals (TTIs), and transmits uplink data at a resource position indicated by the uplink resource grant after three TTIs. This procedure is a legacy SR procedure, which will bring relatively large latency (it is generally deemed that average latency is 9.5 TTIs) to the uplink data of the UE.
A method for pre-allocating resources to reduce latency of the UE in transmitting uplink data is under study in the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP). It has been agreed in 3GPP to support a semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) mechanism with one TTI as a period to reduce the latency of the uplink data of the UE.
In the SPS mechanism, the base station configures the UE with periodic uplink resources in advance, and the UE may autonomously transmit uplink data on the configured SPS resources, without needing a procedure of transmitting an SR. In this way, latency of transmission of the uplink data may be greatly reduced.
Taking SPS with a period of one TTI as an example, the latency of transmission of the uplink data by the UE only includes latency of data processing of the UE. And at the same time, in order to lower power consumption of the UE in transmission, 3GPP allows that the UE does not transmit uplink data at a TTI having no uplink data, no matter whether the TTI is configured with SPS resources (hereinafter referred to as semi-persistent resources in brief) or dynamically allocated uplink resources, that is, the UE may jump over the uplink resources configured by the base station. In this way, latency of transmission of the UE may be efficiently reduced, and at the same time, may lower power consumption in transmission and uplink data interference of the UE.
It should be noted that the above description of the background is merely provided for clear and complete explanation of this disclosure and for easy understanding by those skilled in the art. And it should not be understood that the above technical solution is known to those skilled in the art as it is described in the background of this disclosure.

Uplink data transmission method and apparatus for latency reduction and communications system


A smart mobile communication device comprises a casing, a touch screen and two sensors. The casing has a front surface and at least two opposite holding surfaces. The front surface is disposed between the at least two opposite holding surfaces. The touch screen is disposed on the front surface to be used as a main operation interface of the smart mobile communication device. The two sensors are disposed on the at least two opposite holding surfaces respectively to be used as secondary operation interfaces of the smart mobile communication device. Accordingly, the convenience for operating the smart mobile communication device can be enhanced.

1. Technical Field
The disclosure relates to an electronic device and more particularly to a smart mobile communication device.
2. Related Art
As information technology advances, the manufacturing techniques for electronic products have improved. Electronic products tend to have more excellent performance except for lightness and compactness.
Take smart phone as illustration, users can receive and send emails, view stock trends, make schedules for important meetings, and knowing the latest information by a smart phone. Furthermore, users can use a smart phone with global positioning system (GPS) function for navigation. In addition, users can use mapping software and satellite navigation system in a smart phone connecting a network to plan travel routes and view comments on sightseeing spots. Generally, touch screen is widely used for a smart phone, and users can input commands by touching the screen in order to perform multimedia interactions, such as playing games and browsing web pages.
However, when needing to operate a smart phone, a user uses one hand to hold the smart phone, and uses a finger of the other hand to touch the screen of the smart phone. In other words, only the fingers of one hand are used for operating the phone, which causes the convenience for playing certain games or browsing web pages.


In an organic EL illumination device (1), a plurality of organic EL elements (4) are provided between an element substrate (30) and a covering substrate (20). A heat dissipation member (14) which covers surfaces of the organic EL elements (4) is provided in a space formed between the element substrate (30) and the covering substrate (20), between each organic EL element (4).

In recent years, as information technology has been advanced, there has been an increasing demand for flat panel displays. Examples of known flat panel displays include a non-light emitting type liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting type plasma display (PDP), an inorganic electroluminescence (inorganic EL) display, an organic EL display, etc. Among these flat panel displays, there has been particularly a significant advance in the organic EL display.
An organic EL element, which has received attention as a next-generation light emitting element, includes at least an emitting layer made of an organic material between a pair of electrodes, and further optionally includes a charge injecting layer for injecting electronic charge into the emitting layer and a charge transporting layer for transporting electronic charge from the electrode to the organic layer. The organic EL element can have a thinner thickness and a lighter weight, and has properties, such as low voltage drive, high luminance, light emission, etc., and therefore, is currently extensively studied and developed.
The organic EL element is expected to be applied not only to displays, but also to light sources for electrophotographic copiers, printers, etc., and illumination. Organic EL illumination devices including the organic EL element for illumination have many advantages, such as surface emission, high color rendering, ease of dimming, free of mercury, which is contained in fluorescent lamps, ultraviolet-free light, etc.
The organic EL element is a light emitting element which is based on the principle that a fluorescent material emits light which is generated by recombination energy between holes injected from the anode and electrons injected from the cathode in the presence of applied electric field. Organic EL elements made of organic materials have been extensively studied since the report of a low voltage drive organic EL element by C. W. Tang et al. (see NON-PATENT DOCUMENT 1).
In the organic EL element, however, 80% or more of applied energy is dissipated as heat. Also, in the organic EL element, the ease at which a current flows increases exponentially with an increase in temperature. This local temperature increase leads to concentration of a current in the higher temperature portion, disadvantageously resulting in luminance unevenness due to a local increase in emission intensity or luminance unevenness due to degradation or damage of the organic EL element caused by a further temperature increase.
Therefore, for the organic EL element, a technique of efficiently dissipating heat generated during light emission has been proposed.
More specifically, an organic EL illumination device has been described in which heat dissipating means for dissipating heat of a substrate provided on a side opposite to the light emission side is provided on an outer surface of the substrate. The heat dissipating means includes any of a heat dissipation fin, a heat pipe, and a Peltier element. With this configuration, a simple or low-cost structure can be used to efficiently perform heat dissipation of the organic EL element (see, for example, PATENT DOCUMENT 1).

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Organic EL illumination device and method for manufacturing the same


Networks, systems and methods that match orders for TBA futures and settle and clear open positions for TBA futures are disclosed. The TBA futures may include MBS TBA future contracts. A central counterparty clearing firm may net long and short positions and generate delivery instructions to parties having open positions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems and methods for managing trading of investment vehicles, and particularly, to-be-announced (TBA) instruments.
2. Description of the Related Art
Mortgage backed securities (MBS) are bought and sold through different market mechanisms. Some mechanisms include a pass-through MBS issued by or guaranteed by institutions such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae. A pass-through security may be created when multiple mortgages are pooled together and sold as undivided interests. The mortgages generally have similar characteristics, such as loan type, maturity and interest rate. An originator, such as a lender, services the mortgage and passes the principal and interest through, less a servicing fee, to a MBS issuer. The mortgages may be packaged by the issuer and sold to investors. The principal and interest, less guaranty and other fees are thus passed through to the investor. The investor receives a share of the resulting cash flows.
The pass-through securities, or MBS, may trade on a to-be-announced (TBA) market. A TBA contract is an underlying contract to buy or sell a MBS that is delivered at a predetermined future date. Under the TBA contract, the seller promises to deliver MBS on the future settlement date and a purchaser agrees to acquire a specified dollar amount of MBS. The contract is satisfied when the seller delivers the MBS pools at settlement. Thus, a mortgage lender may use a TBA contract to lock in an interest rate on loans it will fund before the loan is closed.
In a TBA market, MBS are traded on a forward or delayed delivery basis with settlement up to 180 days later. The actual mortgage pools comprising the MBS are not specified at the time of sale. In fact, many of the mortgage loans may not even be signed (and the mortgage pools created) at the time of sale. The largest volume of trading in the TBA market is for settlement within 30 days.
The parties to a TBA trade may agree to the type of security, coupon, face value, price, and settlement date at the time of the trade. During a period of time before the settlement date, such as 48 hours before settlement, the seller specifies or allocates the identity and number of mortgage pools to satisfy the TBA trade. Therefore, a mortgage originator may have until 48 hours before the settlement date to decide whether to use new pools of mortgages or to buy outstanding MBS to cover the trade.
In the TBA, trades may take place some time before the actual settlement of the transaction and underwater positions are subject to very high margins of up to 130% which are administered by the clearer of the TBA market, the Mortgage Backed Security Clearing Corporation (MBSCC) which is a subsidiary of the Fixed-Income Clearing Corporation (FICC). The MBSCC is an organization that provides netting and pool notification services to the mortgage-backed securities market.
Each day the MBSCC gets the closing prices for each forward MBS and determines the mark to market for margining. For example, if a position netted out to show a loss of $1 million, a clearing firm would have to post $1.3 million. Initial/base margins are said to be $250,000 plus an additional 32 basis points on your net position. If the net position is positive, this may be credited to reduce 32 basis point minimum on the net.
TBA markets that provide security and saving from cross-margining for the trading parties are desired. Increases in trading efficiencies, pricing, execution, delivery and settlement of TBA contracts as well as the underlying MBS may increase liquidity and provide security for traders. Therefore, there is a need for systems and methods for administering, settling, and clearing of traded TBA instruments.

TBA futures contracts and central counterparty clearing of TBA


In response to sensor data received from sensors mounted on an autonomous vehicle, a surrounding environment is perceived based on the sensor data. The surrounding environment includes multiple sub-environments. For each of the sub-environments, one of a plurality of driving scenario handlers associated with the sub-environment is identified, each driving scenario handler corresponding to one of a plurality of driving scenarios. The identified driving scenario handler is invoked to determine an individual driving condition within the corresponding sub-environment. An overall driving condition for the surrounding environment is determined based on the individual driving conditions provided by the identified driving scenario handlers. A route segment is planned based on the overall driving condition of the surrounding environment, the route segment being one of a plurality of route segments associated with a route. The autonomous vehicle is controlled and driven based on the planned route segment.

Vehicles operating in an autonomous mode (e.g., driverless) can relieve occupants, especially the driver, from some driving-related responsibilities. When operating in an autonomous mode, the vehicle can navigate to various locations using onboard sensors, allowing the vehicle to travel with minimal human interaction or in some cases without any passengers.
Similar to human beings making various decisions while driving, an autonomous vehicle always has to make instant driving decisions according to the actual surrounding environment, which includes, but is not limited to, signal lights, traffic conditions, safety regulations, nearby pedestrians and vehicles, etc. When a human being drives a vehicle, he/she implicitly acknowledges the existence of each perceived object and associates a decision with each object. Thus, the actual decision outcome of human drivers is from a complicated and synthesized procedure, where individual decisions towards each object are consolidated and synthesized into a final decision which transforms into the anticipated trajectory of the vehicle and hence the actual handing of a steering-wheel, brake, and/or throttle. It is challenging to emulate such a thinking process in an autonomous vehicle.

Method and system to construct surrounding environment for autonomous vehicles to make driving decisions


The hard disk drive permits a decrease in the number of component parts and a reduction in the power consumption by having the lock mechanism provided with a lock member having an engaging part for locking the carriage at the position prescribed for locking the carriage by being brought into engagement with a counter-engaging part disposed on the carriage, a first spring for urging the lock member in the direction in which the engaging part is brought into engagement with the counter-engaging part disposed on the carriage, a second spring partially made of a shape memory alloy the shape of which changes from a first shape to a second shape on exposure to heat generated by flow of electric current therein, the second spring for urging the lock member in the direction in which the lock member releases engagement with the counter-engage member disposed on the carriage according to a change of the shape memory alloy's shape from the first shape to the second shape when electric current flows in the shape memory alloy, and a control circuit for controlling the supply of electric power to the second spring.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a hard disk drive provided with a lock mechanism capable of locking a carriage at a prescribed position.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hard disk drives are generally provided with a lock mechanism capable of locking a carriage at a prescribed position, for a magnetic head mounted on the carriage is required to be prevented from reaching a data zone of a magnetic disk while the power source of the hard disk drive is kept off service.
FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 show schematically conventional hard disk drive each provided with a lock mechanism capable of locking a carriage at a prescribed position. FIG. 4 shows the device as held in a state having the carriage locked in place and FIG. 5 shows the device as held in a state having the carriage left unlocked.
In these diagrams, 10 stands for a lock mechanism, 30 for a carriage, and 50 for a magnetic disk.
In the lock mechanism 10, a lock member 12 is rotatably supported in place by a shaft 14. The lock member 12 is provided at one end thereof with a claw 16 adapted for engagement with a projecting part 32 formed on a projecting member 40. A projecting member 40 is formed at the side of the carriage 30. Approximately to the middle of the lock member 12, a plunger 18 driven by a DC solenoid 16 is connected. A spring 20 adapted to urge the lock member 12 counterclockwise in the bearing illustrated is laid taut across the space intervening between the other end of the lock member 12 and the exterior of the DC solenoid 16.
The carriage 30 is rotated about a pivot 38 as the center by a drive mechanism comprising a magnet 34 and a VCM coil 36. This carriage 30 is provided on the lateral part thereof with the projecting member 40. The projecting member 40 is provided at the leading end thereof with the projecting part 32 which is adapted to be engaged with the claw 16 of the lock member 12 as described above. A magnetic head 42 is mounted on the leading end of the carriage 30.
The magnetic disk 50 is fixed on a spindle motor 54 by a disk retainer 52 and is rotated by the spindle motor 54. The surface of the magnetic disk 50 is divided into a data zone 56 and a contact start stop (CSS) zone 58. In the data zone 56, data are recorded and reproduced. While the power source for the hard disk drive is kept off service, the magnetic head 42 is positioned on the contact start stop (CCS) zone 58 and in the CCS zone 58 the magnetic head 42 is contacted with the surface of the magnetic disk 50.
The locking of the carriage 30 is started by rotating the carriage 30 thereby effecting retraction of the magnetic head 42 in the CSS zone 58. Consequently, the lock member 12 is rotated by the spring 20 counterclockwise in the bearing illustrated in the diagram. As the result, the carriage 30 is locked by the claw 16 of the lock member 12 being brought into engagement with the projecting part 32 formed on the carriage 30 (FIG. 4).
For release of this lock, the supply of electric current to the DC solenoid 16 is started again. Consequently, the lock member 12 is rotated clockwise in the bearing illustrated by the plunger 18 being drawn in the direction of A in the bearing shown in the diagram. As the result, the claw 16 falls away the projecting part 32 and the carriage 30 is unlocked (FIG. 5). Thereafter, the carriage 30 is rotated in such a manner as to move the magnetic head 42 to the data zone 56 and prepare the magnetic head 42 for recording and reproducing data.
Incidentally, since the lock mechanism in the hard disk drive constructed as described above has the DC solenoid, the plunger, etc. as its component elements, this hard disk drive suffers from undue numerousness of parts and entails difficulties such as high cost of production and complicate maintenance and inspection.
Further, the DC solenoid consumes electric power heavily and adversely affects the power consumption of the hard disk drive.

Hard disk drive having a carriage lock mechanism


According to the present invention, etching is used to form a concave and convex pattern corresponding to information on an embossing metal mold comprising a conductive layer and a layer which includes an Ni electric-plating layer, or an Ni electric-plating layer, so that the surface of the embossing metal mold will not be contaminated even if processing conditions are somewhat changed, and that the mold will have less defects. Thus, optical disk substrates of high quality can be produced. Besides, time required for manufacturing a stamper can be shortened.

The present invention relates to an embossing metal mold for transferring a fine concave and convex pattern of information to the surface of an optical disk substrate for recording/reproducing the information optically, and also to a manufacturing method thereof.
Since one bit which is a unit of information signals can be stored in a size of 1 .mu.m or less on an optical disk substrate, optical disks have been remarkably appreciated as high density and larger capacity media. As a substrate of such an optical disk, there are known three types in accordance with purposes, i.e., a substrate for an read-only optical disk, a substrate for an write once optical disk, and a substrate for an erasable optical disk. A concave and convex pattern corresponding to information, including pits corresponding to information or address pits and grooves for tracking a laser beam accurately, is formed on the optical disk substrate. Such optical disk substrates are mass-produced in such a manner that a concave and convex pattern corresponding to information is transferred thereto by a stamper, on which the concave and convex pattern corresponding to information is formed, in the injection mold method, the compression mold method or the 2P (Photo-Polymerization) method.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 60-195749, a conventional stamper is manufactured in the following manner: a photo resist layer 3 is formed on a glass substrate 13; a concave and convex pattern corresponding to information is formed on the photo resist layer 3 as a result of exposure to laser light 4 for recording which is modulated by information signals, and development; a master disk thus produced is then baked at 140.degree. C.; a conductive layer 1 which is a metallic layer of Ni or the like is formed on the surface of the photo resist layer 3; an Ni electric-plating layer 2 is formed on the conductive layer 1 which functions as an electrode; the layers 1, 2 and 3 are peeled from the glass substrate 13; and the photo resist layer 3 is removed (see FIG. 2).
The thickness of the stamper used in the injection mold method and the compression mold method is concerned with the durability of the stamper with respect to a pressure of several tens tons/cm.sup.2, a heat cycle of 100.degree. C. to 300.degree. C. and so forth in the molding process. When the thickness of the stamper is small, its strength for pressure is insufficient, and the durability against the pressure is accordingly inadequate. When the thickness of the stamper is large, non-uniform internal strain is generated due to the heat cycle, thereby causing cracks in it. With such a stamper, therefore, it is impossible to produce a large number of substrates. Taking these matters into account, the stamper preferably has a thickness of about 300 .mu.m in general.
The Ni electric-plating process employed for manufacturing the stamper is a method in which a master disk is placed in an electrolytic solution of Ni sulfaminate acid so as to form an Ni electric-plating layer thereon according to the electrolysis method. An important factor in the Ni electric-plating process is that the plating treatment is carried out under such plating conditions that no stress is generated in the Ni electric-plating layer. It is because, if any stress exists, the Ni electric-plating layer will be bent. However, if the plating treatment is repeated many times under the same conditions which will not cause any stress, the electrolytic solution will change in quality, and some stress may exist in the Ni electric-plating layer. When the stress in the Ni electric-plating layer is larger than adhesive strength between substances existing between the glass substrate and the Ni electric-plating layer, peeling phenomena are observed between the Ni electric-plating layer and the conductive layer or between the conductive layer and the photo resist layer or between the photo resist layer and the glass substrate, or the like (in fact, most of peeling phenomena occur between the photo resist layer and the glass substrate). Then, the electrolytic solution enters peeled portions of these layers. This electrolytic solution contaminates the surface of the conductive layer and that of the Ni electric-plating layer, so that pits and projections are left on the surface of the stamper. These pits and projections, which are different from those corresponding to information signals, are defects and result in errors. With such a stamper, optical disk substrates of high quality can not be produced. In this case, another master disk must be manufactured and subjected to the Ni electric-plating process. Thus, there is a drawback that it is extremely difficult to form a stamper from a master disk without defects and reliably.
Moreover, in response to diversifications of industries, it has recently become more necessary to gain access to information covering a wider range, and accordingly, the number of kinds of information thus required has increased. Under the circumstances, there has also been an increasing demand for forming many kinds of information on optical disk substrates in short turn around time. Usually, one kind of information is formed on the surface of a stamper. Consequently, many stampers are required for manufacturing optical disk substrates of many kinds. However, it takes, for example, ten hours or so to produce a stamper because an Ni electric-plating layer is formed to have a thickness of 300 .mu.m in the electrolysis method. Therefore, it takes many days to prepare stampers of many kinds in the conventional method, thus resulting in another drawback that the recent demand can not be satisfied by the conventional method.
In other words, the conventional technique has a problem that it can not provide stampers as reliably and in as short turn around time as the developing industries demand.
In order to solve this problem, there is a stamper on which a pattern corresponding to information is formed by providing a photo resist layer, on which the pattern corresponding to information is formed, on a flat metallic plate which is polished with accuracy, and etching it with the photo resist layer serving as a mask on it, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 63-50937. However, polishing of the metallic plate can not be performed uniformly owing to impurities which the plate material may contain, and its remaining roughness will not be sufficiently reduced. Thus, there is induced a new problem that the S/N of read-out signal will not be improved. Further, an Ni substrate, of which surface is coated by Cr layer or the like by sputtering is disclosed in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 61-3339. However, it is not favorable because the roughness is greatly affected by the sputtering conditions and because the adhesive strength between the Ni substrate and the Cr layer is inadequate.


A gaming system for implementing coinless gaming environment having a central processing system interconnected to a plurality of gaming machines and a plurality of change machines. The central processing system includes a processor and a memory having a plurality of memory locations for storing data. Each memory location is identified by a unique address in memory. In communication with the central processing system are a plurality of gaming machines having an input for accepting encoded media and an input for accepting standard paper currency. The gaming machines also contain an output including a bar code printer for encoding and distributing gaming coupons to a player. The central processing is also in communication with one or more change machines having an input for accepting gaming coupons, an input for accepting paper currency and an output for generating and dispensing encoded gaming coupons and an output for dispensing value either in the form of paper currency and/or coins. By interspersing gaming machines and change machines in a gaming establishment, the gaming establishment can eliminate the use of coins or tokens.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is generally directed to coinless gaming environment, and more particularly, to coinless gaming environment utilizing bar coded gaming coupons.
2. Description of the Related Art
Centralized gaming systems having a plurality of gaming machines connected to a central processing system are well known in the prior art. Typically, these prior art systems include one or more processors managing wagering and credit data for a variety of gaming machines such as slot machines, pinball machines, and video gaming machines. Most prior art gaming machines include a currency acceptor in which a player can insert paper currency, coins or special tokens distributed by the gaming establishment. Upon the insertion of any of these types of currencies, the gaming machine will validate the amount of currency entered into the machine and will grant the player access to the game stored on the gaming machine.
The prior art also discloses gaming systems in which either a central system or an individual gaming machine maintains a credit balance for the gaming machine such that a player can insert an amount of currency more than is required to play a single game and can successively play until the amount entered is depleted. Additionally, the prior art gaming systems also allow a player to accumulate winnings in the credit balance to be used for future plays. Although a player can receive his or her winnings at any time, players typically use their winnings to fund successive plays.
Many of the prior art gaming systems utilize coins or tokens to distribute winnings from play of the games. Upon user initiation of a xe2x80x9ccash out,xe2x80x9d the gaming machine distributes the currency in an amount equal to the value of credit accumulated by the player. In some instances, the amount of currency stored in the machine may be insufficient to cover the player""s winnings and an attendant must be summoned either to distribute winnings or issue a credit voucher.
The use of coins or tokens in gaming establishments present significant problems to gaming machine players. Because of their physical dimensions, coins are bulky and difficult to transport. Players often are required to carry large containers to transport their winnings from the gaming machines. This type of winnings places burdens on the player in the form of having to carry a typically heavy object over the course of a period of play and to maintain careful watch over the container so as not to lose the winnings. Additionally, the player is exposed to a greater security risk in that an unscrupulous individual can easily ascertain which players have been successful at the gaming machines. Finally, coins or tokens, by the general nature, may be dirty as they are handled by a great number of people throughout a short period of time.
The use of coins or tokens in gaming establishments also present significant problems to the providers of the gaming machines. Gaming machines must be configured to accommodate a sufficient reserve of coins or tokens to provide for a majority of the payoffs to a player. Additionally, in some situations, the gaming machine provider must empty the coins when the machine gets too full. Furthermore, because coins or tokens of different values are typically of different dimensions, each gaming machine must have different inputs to accommodate each value of coin or distinguishing means to accept the variety of dimension coins. Accordingly, because multiple inputs are costly and impractical, some prior art gaming machines limit the denomination of coins which they will accept. Thus, a player wishing to wager a different denomination coin would have to cash out and play another machine. Finally, in terms of the accounting, the gaming machine providers must maintain an inventory of coins or tokens to accommodate player need and must implement additional machinery and personnel to count the coin.
Some of the prior art systems have implemented a system in which game coupons are incorporated into the gaming system. One such system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,290,033 to Bittner. The Bittner patent is directed primarily to a gaming machine which dispenses pull-tab game coupons in which the player lifts the tab to determine whether the play is successful. On winning pull-tab game coupons, the value of the amount of winnings is encoded on the coupon to be read by a gaming machine or by a cashier.
The system disclosed in the Bittner patent, and other similar prior art systems, focuses primarily on the value credit won by the player being encoded on the face of the coupon. As such, the central processor in these prior art systems does not participate in dictating the amount of credit represented by each coupon. As mentioned in the Bittner disclosure, encoding the value of credit on the ticket poses significant security risks. The prior art systems address these security concerns by augmenting the system with a secondary encoded random number on the coupon. This secondary random number is referenced to a list in memory which dictates whether the ticket has been cashed in and possibly to verify that the value encoded on the coupon matches a comparison value in memory. Because the prior art system requires both value and security number data, the size of coupon must be sufficiently large to adequately accommodate both numbers or the size of the numbers must be reduced to fit within the area of the gaming coupon. Thus, these system are deficient in effectively providing the most security to the gaming coupon.
Other prior art systems attempt to eliminate the use of coins by the incorporation of magnetic stripe cards or smart cards such as debit or credit cards. Typically, the prior art systems require a user to obtain the card prior to gaming. Because of its inconvenience and because some customers do not feel comfortable providing to a gaming establishment the information necessary to get a card, most of these type of prior art systems only offer the magnetic stripe reader as a feature for some players and most still retain the coin/currency system of the prior art. Thus, these systems have failed to implement a completely coinless gaming environment.
Because of the inconveniences posed to players and gaming establishment in maintaining a coin-based system and because of the problems associated with a value encoded gaming coupon, there is a need for coinless gaming environment incorporating solely an encoded identifier on the gaming media.
Based on the above-noted deficiencies in the prior art, it is an object of the invention to provide a coinless gaming environment utilizing solely a unique identifier encoded on a gaming media.
This and other objects of the present invention are implemented in a gaming system for implementing coinless gaming environment having a central processing system interconnected to a plurality of gaming machines and a plurality of change machines. The central processing system includes a processor and a memory having a plurality of memory locations for storing data. Each memory location is identified by a unique address in memory. In communication with the central processing system are a plurality of gaming machines. Each gaming machine contains an input for accepting encoded media, which preferably is a gaming coupon, and an optional input for accepting standard paper currency. The gaming machines also contain an output including a bar code printer for encoded and distributing gaming coupons to a player. Finally, the gaming machines include a gaming credit display that allows a player to monitor the status of the amount of credit he or she has won.
The central processing system is also in communication with one or more (or none) change machines. Similar to the gaming machines, the change machines include an input for accepting the gaming coupons, an input for accepting paper currency and an output for generating and dispensing encoded gaming coupons. The change machines also include an output for dispensing value either in the form of paper currency and/or coins.
The system of the present invention is implemented by the central processing system in communication with the gaming machines and the change machines disbursed throughout the gaming environment. To initiate a play, a player can first approach the change machine and insert an appropriate amount of paper currency into the input of the change machine. The change machine reads the value represented by the inserted paper currency and stores the value in a memory location in the central processing system memory. The change machine then generates an encoded gaming coupon having a unique identifier with the address of the memory location in a bar code format on the coupon.
Having been issued a gaming coupon, the player is free to use the gaming coupons to initiate one or more games in a gaming machine. To initiate a play, the player inserts the gaming coupon into the input of a gaming machine. The gaming machine accepts the coupon and reads the unique identifier encoded on the coupon. The central memory then accesses the memory location associated with the identifier and credits an individual gaming machine credit balance with the particular gaming machine an amount equal to the credit value stored in memory. As the player continues to game, the gaming machine credit balance is incremented or decremented. If the player wishes to stop playing that particular gaming machine, the gaming machine generates an encoded gaming coupon by storing the value of the gaming machine credit balance into a different central memory location and generating a gaming coupon with a new unique identifier in bar code format associated with the memory location.
In the event that the player has not exchanged currency for gaming coupons prior to approaching the gaming machines, the present invention also discloses a gaming machine with a paper currency reader which accepts and reads currency and which provides the value of the currency in the individual gaming machine credit balance.
Once the player wishes to receive the cash value encoded in memory, the player can approach any change machine or cashiers station. Similar to initiating a play in a gaming machine, the player inserts the gaming coupon in the change machine input and the unique identifier is read. The appropriate memory location corresponding to the unique identifier is queried and the resulting value stored in memory is dispensed by the change machine.
The system of the present invention implements a coinless gaming environment in which a player is not required to carry bulky coins or tokens. By having a unique identifier encoded on the ticket, the central system can process data quicker and provide security for the system.

Method and device for implementing a coinless gaming environment


Embodiments of the disclosure provide a semiconductor device, a semiconductor chip and a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, wherein the semiconductor device, includes a substrate, a semiconductor layer formed on the substrate, a plurality of gates, drains, and a plurality of sources formed on a side of the semiconductor layer away from the substrate, the gates located between the sources and the drains, and the gates, sources, and drains located in an active region of the semiconductor device, wherein a gate pitch is formed between any two adjacent gates, the formed respective gate pitches include at least two unequal gate pitches, the maximum gate pitch of the respective gate pitches is within a first preset range determined according to a pitch of two gates at the two outermost ends in the semiconductor device in the gate length direction and a total number of gates of the semiconductor device.

The present disclosure relates to the field of microelectronic technology, and particularly to a semiconductor device, a semiconductor chip, and a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device.
Gallium Nitride High Electron Mobility Transistor (HEMT) has excellent characteristics such as high band gap width, high mobility, and is suitable for making devices of high temperature, high frequency, high voltage, and high power. It can be widely used in the field of radio frequency microwave and the field of power electronics, and is one of the current research hotspots in the field of semiconductor devices. However, during the use of a semiconductor device, uneven temperature distribution in the device results in that the device generates large amounts of heat and has low reliability, which further affects the output power of the device.

Semiconductor device, semiconductor chip and method of manufacturing semiconductor device


A distributor's apparatus generates distribution information including basic distribution information and extended distribution information which sets the correspondence between a plurality of output modes and a plurality of operating states of a predetermined application program in a recipient's apparatus and transmits the distribution information to the recipient's apparatus via a network. The recipient's apparatus receives the distribution information and detects the operating state of its own. The recipient's apparatus determines the output mode based on the detected operating state and the extended distribution information and outputs the distribution information in accordance with the determined output mode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information delivery system, distributor's apparatus, recipient's apparatus, and computer-readable storage medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-326683 discloses a technique of distributing multimedia contents such as a moving image signal and an audio signal. In the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-326683, a recipient's terminal receives, from a distributor, a request concerning the display mode of a content which should be distributed from the distributor's terminal to the recipient's terminal via a server and a network. This allows changing the content display mode in accordance with the recipient's desire even when the distributed content is the same.
The technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-326683, however, requires the recipient to input a request to his/her terminal to change the content display mode. This may increase the workload on the recipient when browsing the content.

Information delivery system, distributor's apparatus, recipient's apparatus, and computer-readable storage medium


Provided is a method of producing a nitrided lithium-transition metal compound oxide having a rock-salt layer structure or a spinel structure, including: preparing a raw material composite that has a raw material containing lithium, transition metal, and oxygen and a nitriding agent that is expressed by a following General Formula (1) and is solid or liquid at room temperature (25° C.); and synthesizing the nitrided lithium-transition metal compound oxide by firing the raw material composite to nitride the raw material.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method of producing a nitrided lithium-transition metal compound oxide useful as a positive electrode active material, for example, the nitrided lithium-transition metal compound oxide, and a lithium-ion battery.
2. Description of the Related Art
The lithium-ion battery has a high electromotive force and a high energy density, and has been widely put into practice in the field of information-related equipment and communication equipment. Meanwhile, in the field of automobiles, the development of electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles is an urgent business in terms of the environmental problem and the resource problem and as the power source for these vehicles, lithium-ion batteries are being studied. The lithium-ion battery typically has a positive electrode active material layer containing a positive electrode active material, a negative electrode active material layer containing a negative electrode active material, and an electrolyte layer formed between the positive electrode active material layer and the negative electrode active material layer.
It has been known that compounds that have a rock-salt layer structure, such as LiCoO2 and compounds that have a spinel structure, such as LiMn2O4, are used as a positive electrode active material for a lithium-ion battery. Meanwhile, a method of nitriding such a compound (lithium-transition metal compound oxide) with the use of ammonia is available, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-32321 (JP-A-2006-32321) describes a method of producing an active material, in which, after heating an oxide that has a resistivity of 1×104 Ωcm or more in a reducing atmosphere, the oxide is reacted with ammonia gas to obtain a nitrided oxide that is expressed by a composition formula of LixMeOyNz, where 0≦x≦2, 0.1<y<2.2, 0<z<1.4 and Me is at least one selected from the group consisting of Ti, Co, Ni, Mn, Si, Ge, and Sn. Meanwhile, although not a method of producing a positive electrode active material, a method of nitriding an oxide with the use of urea is available. Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-154823 (JP-A-2002-154823) describes a method of producing an inorganic oxynitride having a photocatalytic activity by heating a mixture of an oxide (titanium oxide, for example) that has a particular specific surface area and a nitrogen compound (urea, for example) that is adsorbed by the oxide at room temperature.
Although nitriding a lithium-transition metal compound oxide with the use of ammonia is already known as described in JP-A-2006-32321, when the ammonia is used, nitriding reaction is hard to occur and therefore, the improvement of the electron conductivity is limited.

Method of producing nitrided lithium-transition metal compound oxide, nitrided lithium-transition metal compound oxide, and lithium-ion battery

Abstract: R1, R2, and R3 are independent of each other and are each a functional group having at least one of carbon (C), hydrogen (H), oxygen (O), and nitrogen (N).