A server device, which provides a client device with a driver package including a core module of a driver, includes a storage unit for storing the core module, function modules, and a rule file defining packaging conditions for the function modules; a receiving unit for receiving, from the client device, a request specifying function modules; a determining unit for determining function modules to be included in the driver package from the stored function modules, based on the specified function modules and the rule file; a creating unit for creating an install scenario that specifies a method for installing the function modules when the driver package is installed in the client device, wherein the install scenario is created based on the determined function modules and the rule file; and a package generating unit for generating the driver package including the core module, the determined function modules, and the created install scenario.

A printer driver is a program that is installed in, for example, a user terminal, for giving printing instructions including various printing settings to a printer. Generally a printer driver is available on the Internet, and a user can download a printer driver corresponding to the machine type of the printer. FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a printer driver download page.
The printer driver download page may provide plural types of printer drivers for one machine type. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, different printer driver packages are provided according to the included functions, such as a standard (recommended) version, a lightweight version, and an enterprise version. Furthermore, each user can select the functions to be downloaded by selecting which function is required and which function is not required (optional function).
FIG. 2 illustrates an example of an internal data configuration of a printer driver download page. The printer driver download page and the driver packages (entities) on the server are linked to each other, and the driver packages corresponding to the download page can be downloaded from the server.
FIG. 3 schematically illustrates examples of files that are packaged in the driver packages. Different files (modules) are included according to the package. A driver installer is created for installing a driver core and various functions included in the package. A driver core must be included in every package, because the driver core is for providing essential functions of the printer driver. Functions A, B, and C are not necessarily essential functions, and may thus be selected according to purposes and requirements of the user.
As described above, a driver package includes multiple files, and each file is provided according to the function and task. A package does not need to include all of the files under regular conditions, unless the user wants to use all of the functions. Conventionally, a package is provided with files that are assumed to be typically used by users.
This is because it would be unrealistic to provide packages corresponding to all of the combinations of functions, as costs would increase significantly. For example, in the above case, a total of 16 types of packages would need to be created by the provider (for example, the manufacturer), in order to provide all combinations of functions A, B, and C, in addition to the essential driver core. Therefore, a conventional package is provided with a reasonable number of files.
However, when all of the files (or many files) are packaged in the driver package, the package size increases significantly. Some users may not need all of the functions, in which case the package size would be needlessly large. Furthermore, complicated operations may be required to use the driver package because of the unnecessary functions for some users, thereby reducing user-friendliness. Nevertheless, as described above, it would be unrealistic to provide packages corresponding to all of the combinations of functions, because costs would increase significantly.
Patent document 1 describes a pertinent technology. Specifically, when downloading a package file of a driver, the package file is generated in accordance with the client device. Therefore, even if client devices are provided in a wide variety of environments, submodules can be appropriately added or changed, so that an appropriate package file of a device driver can be easily prepared and provided. That is, when a printer driver is downloaded, the server device selects functions that are required by the user, to generate a package file in which only necessary functions are packaged.
A printer is often provided with many additional options (functions). The basic function of a printer is a printing function. However, in recent years and continuing, technologies related to an MFP (Multi-Function Peripheral) are advancing, such as improved CPU performance, increased memory capacity, increased communications speed, and enhanced digital imaging technologies. Thus, an MFP may not only provide a printing function, but may also provide a variety of functions, thereby providing versatile usage formats in user environments. Accordingly, the corresponding printer driver would need to accommodate a large number of functions. Therefore, it would be unrealistic to provide packages corresponding to all of the combinations of functions.
Furthermore, in the invention of patent document 1, when performing the operation of selecting the functions required by the user and generating (providing) a package file packaging only the necessary functions, it is not good enough to merely package the necessary functions to generate the package file. In a printer having multiple functions, there may be option functions that are in an exclusive relationship or in a subordinate-superior relationship. The functions are to be combined in consideration of such mutual relationships between the functions according to the function properties. For example, if two functions having an exclusive relationship are included in the package, one of the packages is not actually used, and therefore a redundant function would be included in the package. In another example, when there are two functions having a subordinate-superior relationship, but only the subordinate function is included in the package, the subordinate function cannot be actually used because the superior function is missing, and therefore a useless function would be included in the package.
One approach is to create packages corresponding to all of the combinations of functions in consideration of these mutual relationships between the functions; however, this is unrealistic because costs would increase significantly.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2006-244009
Accordingly, there is a need for a server device and a computer-readable recording medium in which a driver package generating program is stored for generating a driver package that can be easily provided by the provider, whereby the driver package is generated such that only function modules required by the user are packaged and unnecessary functions are not packaged.

Server device and computer-readable recording medium for generating a driver package


A mining classifier assembly includes a round main body member with a flat bottom portion, preferably adapted to be received into the top portion of a round bucket or similar container, including a series of holes in the bottom portion thereof. The main body member may be placed into the top of a bucket that contains water. A load of dirt, containing rocks, minerals, gemstones, and the like, may be loaded into the main body member so that the water at least partially covers the load, and an operator may agitate the particulate within the water, so that the particulate small enough to fall through the holes in the main body member may fall through, while the larger particulate remains within the main body member. Additionally, a series of trays having a mesh bottom may be inserted into the main body member, to catch and separate smaller particulate.

The present invention relates generally to equipment generally used in panning and mining operations. More specifically, the present invention relates to classifiers, which are used to sift through dirt, rocks, and minerals that have been dug or dislodged from the ground, so that different sized chunks of material are separated from the rest. The classifier assembly includes a main body member, which is preferably adapted to be received into the top portion of a round bucket or similar container, and includes a series of holes in a bottom portion thereof. The main body member may be placed into the top portion of a bucket that contains water, so that the water level is positioned above the bottom of the main body member. A load of dirt, containing rocks, minerals, gemstones, and the like, may be loaded into the main body member so that the water at least partially covers the load, and an operator may agitate the particulate within the water, so that the particulate that is small enough to fall through the holes in the main body member may fall through, while the larger particulate remains within the main body member. Additionally, a series of trays having a mesh bottom may be inserted into the main body member, in order to catch smaller particulate. Each tray includes a screen or mesh having different sized openings therein, and the operator may select which tray he or she desires, based on the size of particulate that he or she is trying to capture or separate from the rest of the load.
Heretofore, many different devices have been developed and commercialized to separate different sized particulate and sediment in mining operations. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,289,241 discloses a gold panning and classifying method and system including a generally rectangularly shaped gold pan having diverging side panels and a plurality of valleys and ridges in the front panel. A plurality of nesting classifying screens are included to effect a first separation of material into portions composed of equivalent size particles. The unique shape of the pan employs gravity separation techniques for separating fine sands from gold and gold dust.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,319,994 is directed to a gold mining pan having riffle-like slits or grooves in the bottom and a device for separating the material contained in the slits or grooves from the remainder of a slurry contained within the pan. The pan may also include a device for removing the material contained within the slits from the pan.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,371,436 describes an apparatus for recovering silver from spent photographic solutions comprising a tray with a number of non-reactive filter elements having successively smaller porosity through which the spent solutions can be passed. Each successive filter element prevents silver particles of progressively smaller sizes suspended in the liquid from passing therethrough. The filters are stacked in a horizontal position within the tray and a tray cover sits on top of the tray, the cover having an opening into which the developing solutions can be poured. The tray includes a drainage port which allows liquid passing through the filters to drain out of the tray.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,472,269 is directed to a sluice box classifier for a sluice box of a gold mining dredge including a trough and a rim secured to an underside of the trough. The rim anchors the trough to a standard size container. The trough is formed of four walls and a bottom, and is at least as wide as a lower end portion of the sluice box from which collected overburden is received. The bottom includes a center panel and two floor panels which slope upwardly from opposite sides of the center panel to meet opposite sidewalls of the trough. The floor panels funnel overburden deposited into the trough from the sluice box to the center panel, where a plurality of openings in the center panel allows the smaller pieces of overburden to pass through into the container. A portion of a front wall of the trough is bent outwardly of the trough to cooperate with an angle member so as to form a slot which connects the trough to the sluice box.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,839,034 discloses an apparatus to separate heavier metal particles from lighter particles gangue in a fluidic medium by gravity and fluid flow. A vertical container provides a lower fluid input chamber that communicates through a medial structure providing a plate defining a plurality of valve ports, a screen, and a plate defining a plurality of holes to an upper chamber carrying particulate material to be beneficiated. Pressurized water flows upwardly through the medial structure to separate more dense metal bearing particles in the medial structure and gangue exits from a central orifice defined in the medial portion of the separating structure.


A miniature fan arrangement has a fan (10) including an electronically commutated drive motor (21), a first circuit board (52) associated with said motor, and a fan housing (30). The fan also has a mounting part arranged radially outside the fan housing (30), and has a membrane (32), made of an elastic material, that elastically connects the fan housing (30) and the mounting part (34) to one another. A second circuit board (54) is arranged between the mounting part (34) and the fan housing (30) and is electrically connected to the first circuit board (52). The structure provides space for additional motor control components, particularly in small-sized motors.

EP 1 498 613 A2 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,189,053, WINKLER & METZGER (commonly assigned with the present application) disclose an arrangement in which, in order to reduce vibrations generated by a fan, the fan is suspended in a mounting frame using a flexible part. This is advantageous in particular when the vibrations generated by the fan can be perceived as irritating, for example when a vehicle seat or items of equipment are being ventilated.
In numerous applications, miniature or subminiature fans having housing dimensions of 20 to 60 mm on a side are used to create such fan arrangements. These fans must often be equipped, in an application-specific manner, with an expanded electronic control and protection system that is necessary for cooling purposes or, in combination with a small heating system, for heating purposes, for example in automobiles, trains, aircraft, control cabinets, switching cabinets, and IT electronics cabinets. In addition, this electronic system can also be designed to operate the fan alternatively for blowing or for suction. Because of the very small dimensions of miniature and subminiature fans, however, the expanded electronic control and protection system usually cannot be arranged, or can be arranged only partly, on the circuit board associated with the fan.


This invention relates to a co-oligomer having an Mn of 300 to 30,000 g/mol comprising 10 to 90 mol % propylene and 10 to 90 mol % of ethylene, wherein the oligomer has at least X % allyl chain ends, where: 1) X=(−0.94 (mole % ethylene incorporated)+100), when 10 to 60 mole % ethylene is present in the co-oligomer, and 2) X=45, when greater than 60 and less than 70 mole % ethylene is present in the co-oligomer, and 3) X=(1.83*(mole % ethylene incorporated)−83), when 70 to 90 mole % ethylene is present in the co-oligomer. This invention also relates to a homo-oligomer, comprising propylene, wherein the oligomer has: at least 93% allyl chain ends, an Mn of about 500 to about 20,000 g/mol, an isobutyl chain end to allylic vinyl group ratio of 0.8:1 to 1.2:1.0, and less than 100 ppm aluminum. This invention also relates to a process of making homo-oligomer, comprising propylene, wherein the productivity is greater than 4500 g/mmol Hf (or Zr)/hour.

Alpha-olefins, especially those containing about 6 to about 20 carbon atoms, have been used as intermediates in the manufacture of detergents or other types of commercial products. Such alpha-olefins have also been used as monomers, especially in linear low density polyethylene. Commercially produced alpha-olefins are typically made by oligomerizing ethylene. Longer chain alpha-olefins, such as vinyl-terminated polyethylenes are also known and can be useful as building blocks following functionalization or as macromonomers.
Allyl terminated low molecular weight solids and liquids of ethylene or propylene have also been produced, typically for use as branches in polymerization reactions. See, for example, Rulhoff, Sascha and Kaminsky, ("Synthesis and Characterization of Defined Branched Poly(propylene)s with Different Microstructures by Copolymerization of Propylene and Linear Ethylene Oligomers (Cn=26-28) with Metallocenes/MAO Catalysts," Macromolecules 16 2006, 1450-1460), and Kaneyoshi, Hiromu et al. ("Synthesis of Block and Graft Copolymers with Linear Polyethylene Segments by Combination of Degenerative Transfer Coordination Polymerization and Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization," Macromolecules 38 2005, 5425-5435).
Further, U.S. Pat. No. 4,814,540 discloses bis(pentamethyl cyclopentadienyl)hafnium dichloride, bis(pentamethyl cyclopentadienyl)zirconium dichloride and bis(tetramethyl n-butyl cyclopentadienyl)hafnium dichloride with methylalumoxane in toluene or hexane with or without hydrogen to make allylic vinyl terminated propylene homo-oligomers having a low degree of polymerization of 2-10. These oligomers do not have high Mn's and have at least 93% allylic vinyl unsaturation. Likewise, these oligomers lack comonomer and are produced at low productivities with a large excess of alumoxane (molar ratio ≧600 Al/M; M=Zr, Hf). Additionally, no less than 60 wt % solvent (solvent+propylene basis) is present in all of the examples.
Teuben et al. (J. Mol. Catal. 62 1990, 277-87) used [Cp*2MMe(THT)]+[BPh4], M=Zr and Hf) to make propylene oligomers. For M=Zr a broad product distribution with oligomers up to C24 (Mn 336) was obtained at room temperature. Whereas for M=Hf only the dimer 4-methyl-1-pentene and the trimer 4,6-dimethyl-1-heptene were formed. The dominant termination mechanism appeared to be beta-methyl transfer from the growing chain back to the metal center, as was demonstrated by deuterium labeling studies.
X. Yang, et al. (Angew. Chem. Intl Edn. Engl. 31 1992 1375) discloses amorphous, low molecular weight polypropylene made at low temperatures where the reactions showed low activity and product having 90% allylic vinyls, relative to all unsaturations, by 1H NMR. Thereafter, Resconi, et al. (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 114 1992, 1025-1032), disclose the use of bis(pentamethylcyclopentadienyl)zirconium and bis(pentamethylcyclopentadienyl)hafnium centers to polymerize propylene and obtained beta-methyl termination resulting in oligomers and low molecular weight polymers with "mainly allyl- and iso-butyl-terminated" chains. As is the case in U.S. Pat. No. 4,814,540, the oligomers produced do not have at least 93% allyl chain ends, an Mn of about 500 to about 20,000 g/mol (as measured by 1H NMR), and the catalyst has low productivity (1-12,620 g/mmol metallocene.hr;>3000 wppm Al in products).
Similarly, Small and Brookhart, (Macromol. 32 1999, 2322) discloses the use of a pyridylbis amido iron catalyst in a low temperature polymerization to produce low molecular weight amorphous propylene materials apparently having predominant or exclusive 2,1 chain growth, chain termination via beta-hydride elimination, and high amounts of vinyl end groups. Dekmezian et al. (Macromol. 33, 2000, 8541-8548) discloses materials with up to about 81 percent vinyl termination made using dimethylsilyl bis(2-methyl, 4-phenyl-indenyl)hafnium dichloride and methylalumoxane in toluene at about 120° C. The materials have a number average molecular weight of about 12,300 (measured with 1H NMR) and a melting point of about 143° C.
Moscardi et al. (Organomet. 20, 2001, 1918) discloses the use of rac-dimethylsilylmethylene bis(3-t-butyl indenyl)zirconium dichloride with methylalumoxane in batch polymerizations of propylene to produce materials where " . . . allyl end group always prevails over any other end groups, at any [propene]." In these reactions, morphology control was limited and approximately 60% of the chain ends are allylic.
Coates et al. (Macromol 2005 38, 6259) discloses preparation of low molecular weight syndiotactic polypropylene ([rrrr]=0.46-0.93) with about 100% allyl end groups using bis(phenoxyimine)titanium dichloride ((PHI)2TiCl2) activated with modified methyl alumoxane (MMAO; Al/Ti molar ratio=200) in batch polymerizations run between −20 and +20° C. for four hours. For these polymerizations, propylene was dissolved in toluene to create a 1.65 M toluene solution. Catalyst productivity was very low (0.95 to 1.14 g/mmol Ti/hr).
JP-2005-336092-A2 discloses the manufacture of vinyl-terminated propylene polymers using materials such as H2SO4 treated montmorillonite, triethylaluminum, triisopropyl aluminum, where the liquid propylene is fed into a catalyst slurry in toluene. This process produces substantially isotactic macromonomers not having a significant amount of amorphous material.
Rose et al (Macromolecules 2008, 41, 559-567) discloses poly(ethylene-co-propylene) macromonomers not having significant amounts of iso-butyl chain ends. Those were made with bis(phenoxyimine) titanium dichloride ((PHI)2TiCl2) activated with modified methylalumoxane (MMAO; Al/Ti molar ratio range 150 to 292) in semi-batch polymerizations (30 psi propylene added to toluene at 0° C. for 30 min, followed by ethylene gas flow at 32 psi of over-pressure at about 0° C. for polymerization times of 2.3 to 4 hours to produce E-P copolymer having an Mn of about 4800 to 23,300. In four reported copolymerizations, allylic chain ends decreased with increasing ethylene incorporation roughly according to the equation:% allylic chain ends(of total unsaturations)=−0.95(mole % ethylene incorporated)+100.For example, 65% allyl (compared to total unsaturation) was reported for E-P copolymer containing 29 mole % ethylene. This is the highest allyl population achieved. For 64 mole % incorporated ethylene, only 42% of the unsaturations are allylic. Productivity of these polymerizations ranged from 0.78×102 g/mmol Ti/hr to 4.62×102 g/mmol Ti/hr.
Prior to this work, Zhu et al. reported only low (˜38%) vinyl terminated ethylene-propylene copolymer made with the constrained geometry metallocene catalyst [C5Me4(SiMe2N-tert-butyl)TiMe2 activated with B(C6F5)3 and MMAO (Macromol 2002 35, 10062-10070 and Macromol Rap. Commun. 2003 24 311-315).
Janiak and Blank summarize a variety of work related to oligomerization of olefins (Macromol. Symp. 236 2006, 14-22).
In all the prior art no catalysts are shown to produce high allylic chain unsaturations in high yields, a wide range of molecular weight, and with high productivity for propylene-based polymerizations, especially propylene-ethylene copolymerizations. Thus, there is still a need for propylene based macromonomers that have allyl termination present in high amounts (90% or more), with control over a wide range of molecular weights that can be made at commercial temperatures (e.g. 25° C. and above) and commercial rates (5,000 g/mmol/hr productivity or more). Alternately, there is a need for propylene ethylene oligomers having structural robustness (where addition of ethylene raises viscosity and the solubility parameter—relative to propylene—and provides for potential crystallizable ethylene runs, while lowering glass transition temperature). Further, there is a need for propylene based reactive materials having vinyl termination which can be functionalized and used in additive applications.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

High vinyl terminated propylene based oligomers


A system and method uses a heuristic approach to manage the boosting of thread priorities after I/O completion to improve system performance. Upon detection of the completion of an I/O operation in response to a request, the system thread does not automatically boost the priority of the thread that made the I/O request by a fixed amount. Instead, the system thread determines whether to boost the requesting thread's priority by applying heuristic criteria based on the I/O operation status, such as whether the system thread has additional I/O requests to process, how many I/O request packets have been completed in the current thread context without a priority boost to the requesting thread, and the time that has passed since the last boosted I/O completion.

A modern computer with an operating system implementing multi-threading typically has many threads going at a given time. Generally, the threads are context-switched in and out all the time, and which thread is switched in (i.e., getting to use the processor) depends on the priorities of the threads. How the switching is managed can have a significant impact on the performance of the computer.
In the traditional operating system device driver model, a system thread (e.g., the thread for a system-provided driver) performs an I/O operation in response to an I/O request from an application or a higher-level driver. Once the system thread has completed the requested I/O operation, it boosts the priority of the thread that made the request. This priority boost, which is a standard way of implementing I/O drivers, increases the likelihood that the thread that made the request will be context-switched in so that it can consume the data resulting from the I/O operation. In some situations, however, the system thread will have its priority superceded by the boosted thread. This can cause the system thread to be context-switched out and in frequently, which can have significant detrimental effect on the overall system performance.

Method and system for moderating thread priority boost for I/O completion


An embodiment includes a system comprising: a first shield board that includes first and second connectors; wherein the first connector of the first shield board is configured to communicate with a first connector of a second shield board via a cable; wherein the first shield board has connectors configured to directly couple to connectors of a first base board; wherein the first shield board is configured to communicate data and power to the second shield board via the first connector of the first shield board, the cable, and the first connector of the second shield board. Other embodiments are addressed herein.

Development of new technologies may be fostered by use of hardware and software kits or systems that allow users of varying technological experiences to quickly leverage the hardware and software to create varied technological applications. Such kits may be available, for example, commercially in preassembled form or as do-it-yourself (DIY) kits. Such kits may include, for example, single-board microcontrollers and microcontroller kits for building digital devices. An example of such a system is an Arduino Uno board, available at https:***//store.arduino.cc/usa/arduino-uno-rev3.
Hardware systems may use a variety of microprocessors and controllers. The boards may be equipped with sets of digital and analog input/output (I/O) pins that may be interfaced to various expansion boards ('shields') or breadboards (for prototyping) and other circuits. The boards may feature serial communications interfaces, including Universal Serial Bus (USB) on some models, which are also used for loading programs from personal computers. The microcontrollers can be programmed using C and C++ programming languages.
Such systems provide a low-cost and easy way for novices and professionals to create devices that interact with their environment using sensors and actuators. Common examples of such devices include simple robots, thermostats and motion detectors.
Such systems may be used to quickly develop automation technology.
Automation is the technology by which a process or procedure is performed with minimal human assistance. Automation or automatic control is the use of various control systems for operating equipment such as machinery, processes in factories, boilers and heat-treating ovens, switching on telephone networks, steering and stabilization of ships, aircraft and other applications and vehicles with minimal or reduced human intervention.
Automation covers applications ranging from a household thermostat controlling a boiler, to a large industrial control system with tens of thousands of input measurements and output control signals. In control complexity, it can range from simple on-off control to multi-variable high-level algorithms.
In the simplest type of an automatic control loop, a controller compares a measured value of a process with a desired set value, and processes the resulting error signal to change some input to the process, in such a way that the process stays at its set point despite disturbances. This closed-loop control is an application of negative feedback to a system.
Automation has been achieved by various means including mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, electrical, electronic devices and computers, usually in combination. Complicated systems, such as modern factories, airplanes and ships typically use all these combined techniques. The benefit of automation includes labor savings, savings in electricity costs, savings in material costs, and improvements to quality, accuracy, and precision.
Various protocols exist to promote automation. EtherCAT (Ethernet for Control Automation Technology) is a real-time Industrial Ethernet technology. As addressed at https://***.ethercat.org/en/technology.html#1.1, the EtherCAT protocol, which is disclosed in the IEC standard IEC61158, is suitable for hard and soft real-time requirements in automation technology, in test and measurement and many other applications. The main focus during the development of EtherCAT was on short cycle times (≤100 μs), low jitter for accurate synchronization (≤1 μs) and low hardware costs.
The EtherCAT master sends a telegram that passes through each node. Each EtherCAT slave device reads the data addressed to it "on the fly", and inserts its data in the frame as the frame is moving downstream. The frame is delayed only by hardware propagation delay times. The last node in a segment (or drop line) detects an open port and sends the message back to the master using Ethernet technology's full duplex feature.
The EtherCAT master is the only node within a segment allowed to actively send an EtherCAT frame; all other nodes merely forward frames downstream. This concept prevents unpredictable delays and guarantees real-time capabilities.
The master uses a standard Ethernet Media Access Controller (MAC) without an additional communication processor. This allows a master to be implemented on any hardware platform with an available Ethernet port, regardless of which real-time operating system or application software is used. EtherCAT Slave devices use an EtherCAT Slave Controller (ESC) to process frames on the fly and entirely in hardware, making network performance predictable and independent of the individual slave device implementation.


A stator is press fitted into a recess of a casing. The recess has a chamfered portion. The chamfered portion is arranged between an inlet opening end of the recess and a bottom of the recess in such a manner that a width of the recess is progressively increased along the chamfered portion from a bottom side toward an inlet opening end side of the recess. The chamfered portion has a plurality of slant surfaces, which are arranged one after another in the press fitting direction of the stator. Angles of the plurality of slant surfaces with respect to the press fitting direction of the stator decrease from the inlet opening end side of the recess toward the bottom side of the recess.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a stepping motor.
2. Description of Related Art
One previously proposed stepping motor includes a casing, which houses a stator and a magnet rotor. The stator has a plurality of salient poles, which extend radially inwardly. The magnet rotor is rotatably arranged inside the stator in such a manner that a predetermined space is provided between each salient pole and the magnet rotor. The stator is immovably secured in the casing, and the magnet rotor is rotatably supported in the casing (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-111379).
In the case of the above stepping motor, the stator is press fitted into a recess of the casing to immovably secure the stator in the casing. In order to facilitate the press fitting operation of the stator into the casing, an inlet opening end of the recess is chamfered. That is, each lateral side of the inlet opening end of the casing is provided with a single slant surface, so that a width of the recess is progressively increased from a bottom side of the recess toward the inlet opening end side of the recess. In this way, the positioning of the stator into the recess of the casing is eased.
In the process of press fitting the stator into the recess of the casing, a corner of the stator contacts the slant surface at the chamfered inlet opening end. Thereafter, the stator is further pressed toward the bottom of the recess while expanding the width of the recess.
At this time, the casing is likely scraped by each corresponding corner of the stator, so that scraped debris (i.e., foreign object) is generated from the casing. When the foreign object is left in the stepping motor, the foreign object may penetrate into a space of a torque transmission mechanism (e.g., a gear train G) or into a space between the magnet rotor and the salient pole of the stator in the stepping motor. Such a foreign object may possibly limit smooth movement of the stepping motor.
To obviate the above disadvantage, the foreign object must be removed after the press fitting of the stator in the manufacturing of the stepping motor. This disadvantageously increases the number of manufacturing steps of the stepping motor and thereby causes an increase in the manufacturing costs.


A hybrid electronic design system and a reconfigurable connection matrix thereof are disclosed. The electronic design system includes a virtual unit, a hybrid unit and a communication channel. The virtual unit further includes a plurality of proxy units, a plurality of virtual components and a driver. The virtual components are connected with the driver via the proxy units. The hybrid unit further includes an emulate unit, a physical unit and a chip level transactor. The chip level transactor is connected with the emulate unit and the physical unit. The communication channel is connected with the driver of the virtual unit and the chip level transactor of the hybrid unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a digital electronic design system, particularly to a hybrid electronic design system and a reconfigurable connection matrix thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the digital electronic design field, the IC designer can employ Verilog or VHDL to compile the Register Transfer Level (RTL) for hardware simulation. However, after entering into the Systematic-on-a-Chip (SoC) era, there are millions even hundred millions of Gate Count inside the SoC. The IC designer is difficult to finish the design from RTL abstraction level quickly under this situation.
Upon designing the SoC in RTL abstraction level, it is often necessary to consume a lot of time and calculation resources to carry out the simulation and verification, so that the time-to-market will be influenced. In addition, the IC designer will often face the predicaments, such as the transformation of different design tools, and difficult integration among the programming languages. Thus, the RTL verification is still a bottleneck in the digital circuit design.
Although some solutions are able to be adopted to support the functional model of fast and complete SoC simulation at present, it is often necessary to use SystemC and TLM 2.0 to develop the ESL virtual model of existing IP again, which will consume a lot of time and manpower. In addition, the execution speed is still slower than the physical IP.

Hybrid electronic design system and reconfigurable connection matrix thereof


A reverse flow aqueous cooling system for an internal combustion engine, comprises a radiator having a gas outlet at a high point thereof, a gas condenser having a gas inlet, a conduit including a flow restrictor disposed between the gas inlet, and gas outlet for controlling the flow of fluid from said gas outlet to said gas inlet. There is a check valve between the radiator and coolant pump.

The present invention relates generally to a cooling system for internal combustion engines such as used in vehicles, and more specifically to an improved radiator and pump configuration for an aqueous reverse-flow cooling system of the type disclosed in my co-pending application Ser. No. 907,392.
One characteristic of a reverse-flow cooling system is that coolant enters the engine coolant chambers at a relatively high point, passes downwardly through the coolant chambers and exits the engine block at a low point. Moreover, the coolant pump must be attached to a low point on the outlet side of the radiator. This geometry creates a potential gas trap at the top of the radiator, which, is complicated by the fact that the pressure relief and vent for the system is located at a high point of a gas separator/condenser in order to purge the engine and cylinder head coolant chambers of accumulated noncondensible gases. Trace amounts of gas and/or coolant vapor pass through the system into the radiator due to excessive volumes of coolant vapor produced during periods of high load and/or ambient conditions. If such noncondensible gases and/or coolant vapor are allowed to accumulate in a high point of the radiator without a means for venting, coolant will be displaced from the radiator by the existence of the gas pocket and an equal volume of coolant will be forced out of the cooling system vent to atmosphere. Initially the result will be a loss of cooling capacity in the radiator causing a higher coolant operating temperature. As the displacement of coolant increases due to additional gases being trapped within the radiator, system failure may occur.
There also exists a need to establish a means to maintain the engine cooling chamber filled with coolant after the engine has been shut off and a significant portion of coolant has been lost from the system. If such coolant loss is experienced while the engine is running, and there is no coolant level control means for the coolant chambers, when the coolant level is lowered in the radiator and the engine is running, the coolant pump will continue to draw from the radiator, keeping the engine coolant chambers filled with coolant, and lowering the coolant level in the radiator but not in the coolant chambers. However, when the engine is turned-off, and the pump stops flowing coolant, the coolant level in the coolant chambers of the engine is immediately lowered and raised in the radiator as the effect of gravity reacts to equalize the two levels. Severe damage may occur from such losses since the head coolant chamber is at the highest heat level of the entire engine. Even at moderate loads and heat levels severe damage such as metal fatigue, cracking, and distortion will occur from such losses of coolant.

Engine cooling system and radiator therefor


A paddle is used for mixing and cutting. A hub is at one end of the paddle for connecting the paddle to a planetary mixing machine. The paddle includes a plurality of interconnected arms in a fan-like array which define a plurality of slots between adjacent arms. The arms include a plurality of apertures formed therethrough. Outermost ones of the arms are positioned at opposite sides of the paddle. A plurality of wire members are secured at their opposite ends to the outermost arms. The wire members extend through the apertures formed in the arms and across the slots defined between the arms. The combination of the arms, the wire members extending through the apertures formed in the arms and across the slots defined between the arms, forms a plurality of multidirectional mixing and cutting components of the paddle.

In mixing operations, especially when blending fat and starch materials used in the food industry, various paddle configurations have been provided for use with planetary mixing machines where the mixed end product is a dry or essentially dry homogeneous powdery-type mixture. By essentially dry is meant that the mixture feels dry to the touch and also appears dry, although some small amounts of moisture may have been added during the mixing operation.
Using such paddles, insufficient cutting of some material will occur and a homogeneous mixture will not be produced. As a result, lumps or chunks of uncut material will remain in the mixture and, no matter how long some materials are mixed, these lumps would not disappear. If a wire whip is used, there will be insufficient structural strength to mix some materials. Wire whips are used for light whipping applications of liquids such as when air is to be incorporated into light batches. The incorporation of air into the dry mixture of the present application is undesirable. Therefore, wire mixing devices are of insufficient strength and totally inappropriate for mixing operations where the mixed end product is a dry or essentially dry homogeneous powdery-type mixture.
The foregoing illustrates limitations of the known prior art. Thus, it is apparent that it would be advantageous to provide an alternative directed to overcoming one or more of the limitations as set forth above. Accordingly, a suitable alternative is provided including features and benefits more fully disclosed hereinafter.


An electron cyclotron resonance plasma chemical vapor deposition system has a reaction chamber for introducing a reaction gas therein, the reaction chamber housing a table for supporting a semiconductor wafer. A microwave oscillator is connected to the reaction chamber through a waveguide for generating and introducing a microwave into the reaction chamber to produce a plasma in the reaction chamber for activating the reaction gas to etch or deposit a film on the semiconductor wafer in the reaction chamber. A pair of upper and lower coils is disposed around the reaction chamber for generating respective magnetic fields in opposite directions in the reaction chamber. The magnetic fields cancel out each other creating a region with substantially no flux density in the magnetic fields between the coils. A bias voltage is applied to the table to attract the plasma to the table in a uniform manner.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of and an apparatus for processing a workpiece in a plasma, e.g., etching a wafer in a plasma, or depositing a layer on a wafer in a plasma by way of chemical vapor deposition (CVD).
2. Description of the Relevant Art
There are known plasma processing apparatus which generate a plasma to activate a reaction gas for etching a wafer or depositing a layer on a wafer by way of CVD. One such plasma processing apparatus is known as an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma CVD system that produces a high-density plasma in a high vacuum with electrons moving in cyclotron orbit in the presence of a magnetic field and a microwave for etching or otherwise processing workpieces highly accurately and efficiently. The ECR plasma CVD system generally has a reaction chamber disposed in a casing connected to a waveguide coupled to a microwave oscillator, and a coil disposed around the reaction chamber for generating a magnetic field in the reaction chamber.
Conventional plasma processing apparatus are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,298,419; 4,330,384; 4,430,138; 4,462,863; 4,559,100; and 4,705,595, or example.
FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b) of the accompanying drawings show the manner in which a magnetic field affects a plasma generated in a conventional ECR plasma CVD system. As shown in FIG. 1 (a), the plasma is constricted into a high-density state within a coil 11 because the plasma tends to avoid a region where the flux density is high. Outside of the coil 11, however, the flux density is lower as shown in FIG. 1 (b) . Consequently, the plasma as it reaches a wafer W on a table 13 outside of the coil 11 is relatively uneven while the wafer W is being etched, causing an undercut in a peripheral edge of the wafer W or etching the surface of the wafer W at different etching rates.
Another known ECR plasma CVD system, shown in FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b) of the accompanying drawings, has upper and lower coils 11, 12 arranged successively along the axial direction of a reaction chamber for further constricting a plasma generated in the reaction chamber. The ECR plasma CVD system shown in FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b) is however unable to fully prevent the plasma from being uneven at the wafer W.

Method of and apparatus for processing a workpiece in plasma


The present invention is directed to a process for preparing light curable energetic polymeric binders. The process for preparing such binder comprises the steps of mixing a pre-polymer such as PGN or GAP having a terminal hydroxyl group with a solvent and adding reactants wherein the reactant has a light curable moiety and a pre-polymer reactive moiety. Catalysts such as carbodiimide and DMAP may be further added to the mixture.

Common energetic pre-polymers used in cast-cure explosive and propellant applications typically take the form of terminally-functionalized energetic polyols which are most often cured using polyisocyanate-based curatives. Curing takes place in the presence of a thermally activated catalyst at elevated temperatures over the course of several hours or days. The use of isocyanate curatives does pose several challenges, as the presence of water from atmospheric moisture results in the formation of carbon dioxide which can form voids within the resulting polymer formulation. In addition, many of the isocyanate curatives are toxic and potential carcinogens, and the thermal cures are extremely slow thus limiting their use in various applications. One proposed solution to these problems that was investigated in the past was to use a "triazole cure" methodology in which azide-containing energetic polymers were reacted with small, oligomeric polyacetylenes. These reactions typically require either heating or the use of a metal-based catalyst and do not work for polymers lacking an azide functionality.
Thiol-ene reactions have received renewed attention recently due to the understanding that these materials undergo click-type reactivity employing polythiol curatives and a radical generating photoinitiator. Applications of these materials include, but are not limited to, thin film coatings, adhesives, bio-scaffolds, dental restoratives, and MEMS structures. These materials can be cured via thermal or photopolymerization techniques, and the photopolyermization offers enhanced spatial and temporal control over traditional thermal cured acrylate and urethane chemistries. Thiol-ynes are a sister reaction to the thiol-ene chemistry and offer nearly identical benefits of their thiol-ene brother. First, the thiol-ene and thiol-yne reactions proceed by a step-growth mechanism, which allows for delayed gelation and nearly 100% conversion of reactive species in these systems, even in highly crosslinked situations. This 100% conversion of reactive species reduces or eliminates aging effects associated with the polymer binder. Second, the thiol-ene and thiol-yne types of reactions do not have any side reactions with water that generate unwanted by-products and thus moisture content is no longer an issue. Thirdly, the thiol-ene and thiol-yne reactions are unaffected by oxygen inhibition and therefore expensive nitrogen blanketing during polymerization is not required. This reduced oxygen inhibition means that these systems can be cured in ambient atmospheric conditions without any reduction in the cure kinetics or adverse effects on the final material properties. Finally, it has recently been discovered that thiol-ene and thiol-yne polymers provide a level of fire retardancy in the condensed phase, which may reduce the violence of cook off events and hot fragment initiations in polymer bound explosive and propellant formulations.

Process for preparing light curable energetic binder

United States of America as Represented by the Secretary of the Army


The posture correction collar is able to adjust a forward translation of the head of a hypothetical wearer relative to the shoulders. The collar comprises a first assembly having a support member shaped and dimensioned to wrap around at least a portion of the upper area of the body of the wearer. A second assembly is movable relative to the first assembly. The second assembly has a first adjustable mechanism to progressively and incrementally move relative to the first support assembly and a second adjustable mechanism to engage a portion of the head of the wearer. The first and second adjustable mechanisms are used to correct the posture of the wearer by promoting progressive and incremental movements of the head relative to the shoulders to achieve an anatomically desired condition.

Forward head positioning is an increasingly observed malady in our society. It is well known to orthopedists, chiropractors and other medical practitioners that the human head in its normal position should sit in an anatomically direct fashion on the neck and shoulders. Partly because of certain increasing habits in our society the head can become displaced to a posture where instead of sitting directly on the neck and over the shoulders, it is displaced forward of that normal position to what is called a "forward head posture" position (or "FHP"). FHP is identifiable when the position of the ear is forward when compared to the shoulder, as opposed to being posited directly over it. FHP has become so widespread that it may already constitute a health hazard having the ramifications of a pandemic, since when left untreated FHP can develop degenerative and disabling joint diseases affecting countless numbers of people.
There are numerous reasons why FHP is becoming such a common problem. For example, vastly increased use of computer screens accustoms the operator to move and maintain his or her head (and ears) in the undesirable forward head posture. The problem is exacerbated in children and in young adults by long hours devoted to video games, not to mention conventional television watching. Yet another source believed to be responsible for the malady particularly in children, is the present custom of children carrying extremely heavy backpacks to and from school. The weight of such backpacks is so high as to require head placement in a forward position to balance the load, which results in the increasing observation of forward head posture in both children and young adults. As another example, FHP occurs in athletes playing contact sports, such as football or soccer, in which a given player's head will move involuntarily in an unplanned direction. In football, it is known that a players head will move in several directions when the player is tackled or blocked. In that instance, the head will move in a direction that causes stress on the spine and the head translates forward of the shoulders. The same type of movement may be experienced when a given player is using his or her head during soccer to hit the soccer ball.
Basic damage resulting from forward head posture (FHP) arises because the cervical portion of the spine can become chronically misaligned. The cervical portion of the spine is formed by the first seven vertebrae (numbered C1 to C7) of the spine and is located in the neck. The cervical spine supports the head and enables its flexibility to allow normal head movement. Proper alignment of the cervical spine promotes blood flow to the brain and promotes the function of other organs and systems within the human body. In a normal state, the cervical spine is curved, which is known as cervical lordosis. A lordotic curve in the spine has the opening of the "C" facing posteriorly, that is, towards the back. A normal range of the cervical lordosis ranges from approximately 36° to approximately 44°, but changes when the head translates due to FHP.
The cervical lordosis is part of the normal curvature of the overall spine or vertebrae of the human body which has sections of lordosis and kyphosis. Kyphosis describes the "C" shaped curve in the thoracic spine in which the opening of the "C" is in the front of the human body when viewed from the frontal (coronal) plane. The coronal plane divides the body into a front and a back portion and a sagittal (lateral plane) divides the body into left and right (but not necessarily) equal portions. For purposes of describing the directional function of the changes to lordosis the present invention will concern a human body in a typical anatomical position that has X, Y and Z axes. The Z-axis is oriented in a plane parallel to an imaginary horizontal axial plane that extends intermediate the anterior and posterior portion of the body. The corresponding vertical axis is referred to as the Y-axis and the horizontal left to right side axis is referred to as the X-axis. The Y-axis extends from the top of the head to the bottom of the feet. The X-axis extends from the left side of the body to the right side of the body. The terms right and left as used herein will refer to the individual's right and left side, respectively, when facing the front part of the body, i.e., the anatomical position of the body.
Keeping the anatomical position of the human body in mind, FHP will translate the head forward of the shoulders along the Z-axis. Every inch the head moves forward of the shoulders dramatically adds mechanical weight or loads to the neck. For example, an individual with poor posture may have his or her head translate a number of degrees from the anatomically correct position, which is considered zero degrees. In a normal anatomical position, the head is aligned forward of the shoulders in the zero degree (0°) position, such that the ears are lined up with the center of the shoulder. In that positon, there is about 10-12 lbs. of weight loaded to the neck and cervical spine. When the head moves forward, such that the ears are displaced away from the centerline and no longer are positioned over the shoulders, there is an increase in the number of pounds imposed on the neck. A fifteen degree (15°) displacement can create up to 27 lbs of additional weight and a sixty degree (60°) displacement can impose an additional 60 lbs on the neck. The forward positioning of the head can pull the spine out of its anatomical alignment, and can add up to 30 lbs of abnormal leverage on the cervical spine and, as a result, can pull the cervical spine out of alignment.
FIG. 23 illustrates a side view the progression of FHP which translates the head and the impact on the cervical spine on a hypothetical human body. As shown in FIG. 23, the head translates such that the position of the ears relative to the shoulder move along the Z-axis (from the right side of the paper toward the left side of the paper). As a result of the forward head translation from 0° (approximately 10-12 lbs) to 60° (approximately 60 lbs), the natural lordotic curvature of the cervical spine decreases. Movements in head posture forces the human body to recruit muscles in the upper back and neck areas to work harder to keep the head (including the chin) properly aligned, as opposed to dropping forwards towards the chest area. It is known by those of ordinary skill in the art that FHP may result in the loss of 30% of vital lung capacity due to the loss of the cervical lordosis. When the natural lordotic curvature of the cervical spine changes problems can arise which present in a number of symptoms, such as neck and back pain, neck stiffness, vertigo and nausea, headaches and tinnitus, high blood pressure, insomnia and fatigue, numbness or tingling sensation in the neck, respiratory changes, and other symptoms known in the medical field.
While the difficulties arising from FHP are certainly well recognized in the healing arts, efforts to correct same by treatment with orthopedic devices and the like have not been successful. Most efforts have taken the form of using cervical collars to immobilize the neck. The objective of these collars has simply been to utilize traction to displace the head from its improper position. Neither these prior art collars, nor to the best of applicant's knowledge any other presently available devices and/or apparatus, are however effective in reversing the damaging effects of FHP.
Many of the prior art devices that have been used or proposed, while achieving adjustments along the Z-axis are not otherwise concerned with simultaneously improving cervical lordosis. Most cervical collars are designed to immobilize the neck and/or cause axial translation to decompress the cervical spine while causing the cervical spine straightening. This may produce mixed benefits, as ligament impairment cannot improve around a straightened cervical curve, as this is an abnormal alignment, which will ultimately result in permanent arthritic changes to the cervical joints. Ligament rehabilitation requires improvement of joint alignment over time. Most current extension traction therapy designed to improve cervical lordosis is practiced for 20 minutes or less.
Dellanno, U.S. Pat. No. 8,038,635, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirely, teaches a forward head position correction collar featuring in combination a shoulder collar assembly, a chin-mastoid piece for engaging and positioning the head of a wearer of the collar and a means interconnecting the chin-mastoid piece to the shoulder collar assembly for manually and incrementally adjusting the chin-mastoid piece with respect to the shoulder collar assembly in an anterior/posterior (Z-axis) direction along the Z-axis.
It is desirable to provide an adjustable therapeutic collar for use in correcting FHP and to restore cervical lordosis. It is desirable to provide a forward head position correction collar featuring in combination a shoulder collar assembly, a chin rest and cheekbone elements for engaging and repositioning the head of a wearer of the collar. It is preferable to engage and position using force applied to the cheek jaw rather than the chin. One objective of the present invention is to improve cervical lordosis with a correction collar that can be advantageously used by an individual or a medical provider over many hours. It is another objective of the invention to provide a therapeutic collar that is easy to use, comfortable to wear by an individual wearer and is adjustable. It is a further objective of the invention to provide a therapeutic collar that is light weight and has can be used at work or at home or even during hours facing a screen to avoid unhealthy postures that impair the health of an injured neck.

Forward head posture correction collar assembly


Method and arrangement in a first carrier controller, associated with a network node. The method aims at providing distributed power management of a plurality of power amplifiers within a sector. The first carrier controller, the network node and the power amplifiers are comprised within a communication system. Also, at least one further carrier controller is comprised within the communication system. The first carrier controller is arranged for scheduling power allocation at each power amplifier of the radio frequency power estimated to be used by at least one carrier controlled by the first carrier controller. The method comprises allocating the estimated power usage to be used by the at least one carrier controlled by the first carrier controller during a predetermined time frame on one or more power amplifiers within the same sector. The allocation is based on a priority value of each carrier, dedicated to that sector or to a power amplifier within that sector.

The evolution of broad band wireless services such as Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) and Long Time Evolution (LTE) has improved the performance of high linear wide band power amplifiers, normally called Multi Carrier Power Amplifiers (MCPA). The MCPA may also be used to amplify combined multiple narrow band carriers signals, such as multiple Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) carriers. The use of MCPA for GSM thus removes the need for high power radio frequency combiners.
The use of MCPA for GSM, WCDMA, LTE or other cellular radio systems requires that the allocation of radio frequency power is divided among the carrier controllers of the same MCPA. The allocation of power has to be performed in accordance with a common cell planning.
A problem with MCPA is to maintain the input signal within the linear range of the power amplifier. In a legacy broad band wireless system, the input signal is normally controlled by a single controlling entity, ensuring operation to be within range. In a GSM system with multiple GSM carriers, each with its own corresponding controlling entity, a coordination of the input signal strengths is required.
The MCPA may also be used to amplify the combined signal of carriers of different standards, such as the combination of two GSM carriers and one WCDMA carrier. A coordination of the input signal is then again required. The present invention relates to the coordination of signal strength between controlling entities, or carrier controllers, of the same or different standards.
Thus the user plane data is managed by a carrier controller. The carrier controller is a control function which, amongst other, controls the output power to be used by the carrier it controls. In this context, the carrier may be a portion of the air interface carrier as defined by the relevant standard such as e.g. 3GPP etc, the portion being characterized by having a certain traffic type and/or priority. The carrier controller may also operate on a plurality of carriers.
Each carrier controller may allocate as much radio frequency power from the MCPA as assigned, but not more. If an over-allocation occurs, the MCPA will limit the transmitted signal in some way and transmitted information will get lost or has to be re-transmitted.
Carrier controllers from different systems schedule their power allocation with different time increments, as shown in FIG. 1. In the illustrated example, the scheduling horizon for GSM, WCDMA and LTE respectively, is shown. For GSM the scheduling horizon is 1.5 ms, i.e. the time in advance the GSM base station knows which radio frequency power level a certain time slot must use with a duration of 0.5 ms. For WCDMA and LTE the radio frequency power level must be defined 2 ms before the transmission starts with a duration of 2 ms for WCDMA and a duration of 1 ms for LTE.
Existing solutions, as shown in FIG. 2, offers a static, pre-determined allocation of radio frequency power which do not take into account the short-term under-allocation of radio frequency power by other carrier controllers sharing the same MCPA which in reality offers 'spare' power to be used especially when GSM is introduced.
A GSM transmitter is configured for a nominal power which is the maximum power any time slot will use in that transmitter whereas some or all time slots in reality will be transmitted at a lower power than configured.
The available radio frequency power is therefore not always fully used due to the differences between configured and used power or differences between system concepts such as e.g. GSM, WCDMA and LTE as shown in FIG. 2.
A problem with the existing solution is that the potentially available radio frequency power of the MCPA is not used, which leads to a low throughput.

Method and arrangement in a communication system


An energy conversion and free hydrogen producing system including a electromagnetically energized reciprocating piston motor, a plurality of lead acid flow through batteries, each consisting of a plurality of individual flow through lead acid cells, and a hydrogen burning internal combustion engine. With concentrated sulfuric acid as the primary fluid, the electromagnetically energized reciprocation piston motor, and the hydrogen burning internal combustion engine provide a rotational torque output.

The present concern with preserving natural resources, and reducing environmental pollution, especially air pollution, has driven a demand for more efficient and less polluting systems and methods for providing mechanical energy, particularly rotating mechanical energy to propel motor vehicles. Such less polluting systems and methods will reduce the use of carbon based fuels, thereby preserving natural resources and reducing air pollution.
The storage and use of electrical energy has often been proposed and used as a less polluting system for propulsion of motor vehicles. However, practical battery size and weight has limited the travel of a vehicle between recharges of the battery. So called hybrid vehicles have been developed to address the travel limitation of battery powered vehicles. Internal combustion engines burning hydrogen have been proposed as a more efficient and less polluting system and method. As set forth in the publication by the Argonne National Laboratory: TranForm Vol. 6, No. 1, Argonne Engineers see into the future of hydrogen internal combustion engines, Sep. 9, 2006. However, the risks presented by the storage of compressed hydrogen in a vehicle has been a serious drawback to implementing its use. That risk is increased as a greater quantity of hydrogen is carried on the vehicle so as to permit more extensive travel without the need for refueling. The process of refueling is also fraught with more danger than the current refueling with gasoline or diesel fuel.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an energy conversion system and method for providing vehicle propulsion which combines the advantages of an electromagnetically energized reciprocating motor that can be instantly refueled as opposed to a system that would require a charging period such as in an electric or hybrid vehicle thereby requiring extended down time or battery exchange.
Accordingly, it would also be desirable to provide an energy conversion system and method for providing vehicle propulsion, which combines the advantages of electromagnetically energized reciprocating motor a hydrogen powered internal combustion engine, batteries for the storage and delivery of energy, sulfuric acid as a fuel supplied to the batteries, and hydrogen as a fuel for the internal combustion engine, while providing for greatly reduced air pollution. Further, it would be desirable that the consumable materials, which must be carried on board the vehicle to produce the kinetic energy to drive the vehicle be readily stored in a safe manner and in sufficient quantity to provide a desired range of operation of the vehicle. As set forth in the previously mentioned article, Argonne Engineers see into the future of hydrogen internal combustion engines, a hydrogen
fuel engine will be close to 45% efficient as compared to the 25% efficiency of standard automobile engines.
It would also be desirable to provide lubrication, cooling and a fuel source to an electromagnetically energized reciprocating motor that has demonstrated weight advantages over a conventional electric motor. The horsepower to weight ratio of conventional electric motors requires that the weight of the motor increases as the horsepower increases to a greater extent than with a electromagnetically energized reciprocating motor. It would also be desirable to extend the available useful output of a battery by providing a method of recharging the battery during use. The efficiency of a conventional electric motor decreases as a load is placed on it compared to an electromagnetically energized reciprocating motor that creates more electrolysis of the electrolyte cooling the motor as a load is placed on it.

System including an electromagnetically energized piston motor designed to convert chemical and electrical energy to mechanical energy


A Cu-based wear-resistant alloy of a sliding material consists essentially of, by weight, 10-35% Zn, 2-20% Pb, 1-10% Ni, 0.1-1% B and, as required, 0.5-10% of Sn. The alloy can be used under severe conditions of use at elevated speed and temperature with reduced risk of seizure and corrosion. The alloy can be produced by mixing Pb powder and Ni--B alloy powder with Cu--Zn powder or Cu--Zn--Sn alloy powder, or mixing Ni--B alloy powder with Cu--Zn--Pb alloy powder or Cu--Zn--Sn--Pb alloy powder. The alloy can be compacted and sintered to form a sliding member or a composite sliding member is obtained by sintering and integrating the alloy on a steel backing plate optionally having a surface plated with copper.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wear resistant alloy for use as a material of a sliding member and also to a sliding member made of such an alloy, as well as a method of producing such a sliding member. More particularly, the present invention is concerned with a wear resistant alloy suitable for use as the material of various sliding parts or members which are used under severe sliding conditions in automobiles, ships, aircrafts and usual industrial machines, such as bushes and washers used in floating bearings of turbochargers and thrust bearings, and also to such sliding part or member, as well as a method of producing such sliding part or member.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hitherto, alloys of lead bronze alloy system (JIS H5115) or free cutting brass alloy system (JIS H3250) have been used as materials of bushes and washers of the type described above.
In recent years, sliding parts or members of the kind described must endure severer conditions of use due to, for example, increase in the speed and operating temperature of engines. As a result, alloys of a lead bronze alloy system are required to have greater resistance to decayed oils, while alloys of a free cutting brass alloy system cannot well meet the demands for resistance both to seizure and wear.
In particular, a floating bearing of a turbocharger and a thrust bearing mounted on an internal combustion engine are required to operate at higher temperatures due to increase in the rate of heat transmission from the turbine.
When an alloy of a lead bronze alloy system is used as a material of such a bearing, sulfur content of the lubricant oil reacts with copper in the bearing alloy so as to form copper sulfide. This leads to growth of a blackening layer composed mainly of copper sulfide on the bearing surface, resulting in wear and exfoliation of the surface layer of the bearing during the operation.
The alloy of free cutting brass alloy system is free from the problem of growth of blackening layer but tends to cause seizure during operation under a boundary lubricating condition, partly because of small content of lead which exhibits self-lubricative properties.

Copper based alloy for wear resistant sliding layer and sliding member


A bookbinding system includes a printing device which performs printing on text sheets and a cover sheet, a bookbinding device which binds a book by case binding a sheet stack of printed text sheets with a printed cover sheet, and an information processor which outputs bookbinding print data to the printing device. The bookbinding system includes a text sheet retainer which retains one or more types of text sheets, an environmental condition detector which detects environmental conditions in the printing device, a setting unit which sets types and numbers of text sheets, and a sheet stack thickness prediction unit which calculates a prediction value of thickness of a sheet stack including text sheets to be bound, based on the thickness and numbers of sheets of respective types set by the setting unit, according to current environmental conditions detected by the environmental condition detector.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bookbinding system for manufacturing booklets.
2. Related Background of the Invention
Conventionally, there is known a bookbinding device which manufactures booklets using the case binding function. The case binding function refers to a function of manufacturing a booklet by case binding a sheet stack including text sheets equivalent of a single copy of book with a cover sheet (i.e., binding the booklet by wrapping the sheet stack with the cover sheet).
In addition, there is known a bookbinding system including a bookbinding device as described above, and a printing device which performs printing on the text sheets and the cover sheet, and feeds them to the bookbinding device. With such a bookbinding system, images to be printed on text sheets and cover sheet are edited by a user with a personal computer (PC), and bookbinding print data for printing the edited images is sent from the PC to the printing device.
When editing cover sheet images, an image to be printed on the front cover and an image to be printed on the back cover are positioned by sandwiching the region of the spine. Here, the thickness of the spine corresponds to the thickness of the stack of text sheets. Therefore, the thickness of the spine varies depending on the number of text sheets equivalent of a single copy of book and the type of text sheets.
When, in editing cover sheet images, the thickness of the spine (sheet stack thickness) has been inappropriately set, the booklet to be completed may turn out to be a defective item due to a displacement of a printing position of cover sheet images. In order to prevent occurrence of defective items, an accurate setting of the thickness of the spine is required when editing cover sheet images.
Since the bookbinding device cuts the cover sheet into a size corresponding to the sheet stack when performing a bookbinding operation, the thickness of the stack of text sheets is measured. However, the measurement is not yet performed at the stage of editing the images with the PC, and thus the actual thickness of the sheets is unknown.
In contrast, Patent Literature 1 discloses a technique for obtaining, from a table in which types of paper are associated with paper thickness, the paper thickness corresponding to the type of paper set as text sheets, and predicting the sheet stack thickness based on the paper thickness and the number of the sheet stack.


Methods and apparatus for fusion of data from optical and radar sensors by error minimization procedure. The method has been applied to the problem of shape reconstruction of an unknown surface at a distance. The method involves deriving an incomplete surface model from an optical sensor. The unknown characteristics of the surface are represented by some parameter. The correct value of the parameter is computed by iteratively generating theoretical predictions of the Radar cross-sections (RCS) of the surface, comparing the predicted and the observed values for the RCS, and improving the surface model from results of the comparison. Theoretical RCS may be computed from the surface model in several ways. One RCS prediction technique is the method of moments. The method of moments can be applied to an unknown surface only if some shape information is available from an independent source. The optical image provides the independent information.

1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to image enhancement methods and more particularly to image enhancement methods using the fusion of data from optical and microwave sensors.
2. Description of the Related Art
Related inventions include the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,672,562 and 4,672,564 to Egli, et al, which disclose photodetector arrays and include computational means for determining spatial information about target objects; U.S. Pat. No. 4,620,285 to Perdue which teaches a combined sonar ranging and light detection; U.S. Pat. No. 3,981,010 to Michelsen which shows a system for locating objects and includes a radar system in combination with a television camera having the outputs combined in a data processing system to determine direction and range to the objects; U.S. Pat. No. 4,611,292 to Ninomiya, et al, which discloses a robot vision system including twin light beams used to determine the coordinates of an object; U.S. Pat. No. 4,550,432 to Anderson which teaches an image processor using a moment generator including processor means for determining the moments of a geometrical object; U.S. Pat. No. 4,443,855 to Bishop, et al, which reveals a sensing and control system using a mask algorithm image processor to generate control or command signals. None of the discovered related art teaches use of a first sensor in predicting the output of a second sensor and use of non-linear minimization techniques in determining the shape of objects.
Sensor Fusion (SF) techniques have been developed to combine information from such diverse sources as optical imagery, laser ranging, structured light, and tactile feedback. The present invention relates to the fusion of a set of polarized RCS measurements with optical imagery. The polarized RCS yields detailed information about an object's surface only if some other independent surface information is available. An interpreter needs information from an alternate source such as an optical image to convert the RCS into spatial information that a general SF system can use. Once this conversion is completed, the more traditional concepts of SF may be employed. A brief examination of the state-of-the-art in SF is provided, along with comparisons between the state-of-the-art and our SF method.

The United States of America as represented by the Administrator, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration


Embodiments of methods and apparatuses for acquiring information are provided. One implementation of the method can include: determining an initial area corresponding to a target point of interest, and dividing the initial area corresponding to the target point of interest into a plurality of grids; and generating annotations of the plurality of grids respectively based on characteristics of the plurality of grids. Therefore, whether the user data associated with the each of the plurality of grids is used to generate the attribute of the target point of interest may be directly determined based on the annotation of the each of the plurality of grids, thereby saving the spending of the process of acquiring the user data required for generating the attribute of the target point of interest in data mining. The operation state of the target point of interest may be determined based on the annotation of the grid.

In data mining of a target point of interest, it is necessary to determine user data for data mining of the target point of interest, and use the user data for data mining of the target point of interest to generate an attribute of the target point of interest. At present, a commonly used method is: manually marking the contour of the target point of interest based on position data related to the target point of interest in an electronic map, and using user data of users appearing in the contour of the manually marked target point of interest as the user data for data mining of the target point of interest. Since the number of the target points of interest is massive, the cost of manual marking is huge.

Method and apparatus for acquiring information

Baidu Online Network Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd.


The present invention relates to a surgical device (1) comprising: an elongate, flexible and tubular arm (3) having a distal end and a proximal end; a flexible pulling means (6) which is arranged inside the arm (3); a tool (4) which is arranged at the distal end of the arm (3) and which comprises at least two parts (11,12), which are operable by said pulling means (6); and an operating means (15) which is arranged at the proximal end of the arm to operate said pulling means (6) and, thus, said tool (4). The invention is characterised in that said arm (3) is made of a material, which resumes its shape by heating and which has a transformation temperature which allows the arm (3) to be deformable to the desired shape at room temperature and to keep the thus obtained shape at a patient's body temperature during use of the device (1), so as then to allow resumption of its original shape when exposed to a temperature exceeding the body temperature.

In surgical operations, use is frequently made of special surgical devices which can be adjusted to allow access to target areas or spaces which are otherwise difficult to reach. For instance, in so-called endoscopy, use is often made of devices comprising a tubular, elongate arm which is provided with a tool arranged at its one end, the tool being operable by means of a pull rod which extends inside the arm essentially over the entire length thereof. Moreover, the arm can be bent to be adjusted to the particular application.
A problem is the fact that these devices obtain remaining deformations owing to bendings. Consequently, the more the device is used, the more remaining deformations. Thus, it will be more and more difficult to give the device the desired shape.
A further problem is the fact that the pull rod in the tubular arm slides more and more sluggishly, the more deformations the device obtains.
There is thus a need for an improved surgical device of the type described by way of introduction, which obviates the above-mentioned problems associated with prior art technique.
An object of the present invention therefore is to provide a surgical device, which can easily be given its original shape.


Spa nozzles having dual fluidic nozzles capable of submerged operation and of selectively providing straight, concentrated, non-oscillating jets with air entrainment or an oscillating jet or slugs of water in water to provide a soothing massaging effect with no moving parts.

This invention relates to spa nozzles having dual operating modes, and, more particularly, this invention is directed to fluidic nozzles capable of submerged operation and of providing straight, concentrated, non-oscillating jets with air entrainment or an oscillating jet or slugs of water in water to provide a massaging effect.
It is common practice in spa nozzles to provide an air line to a water supply nozzle for aeration of exhausting water. Air is typically drawn by the water through the venturi effect of the flowing water. Sometimes air is supplied under pressure from an air pump. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,495,627, 5,457,825, 5,444,879 and 5,238,585.
The object of the present invention is to provide an improved spa nozzle, and, more particularly, a spa nozzle having multiple operating modes, and still more particularly spa nozzles with fluidic oscillators which in one mode can oscillate or sweep the water jet back and forth in a massage action and in a second mode an air entrainment mode which provides a forceful flow of air/water mixture to provide a soothing feeling to the user.
Specifically, one embodiment, when the mode selector valve is set on xe2x80x9cairxe2x80x9d, provides a submerged, high-velocity jet of water with air entrainment which produces a forceful flow of air and water mixture to provide a soothing feeling to the user. The flow rate of water and the quantity of air entrainment can be adjusted to suit the user""s preferences. And in still another mode of operation, the mode selector valve is set on xe2x80x9cwater massagexe2x80x9d which issues an oscillating jet of water to provide a massaging effect to the user. The intensity of the massaging effect can be adjusted by the user by controlling the water flow rate. The oscillating frequency varies directly with the flow rate through the device. Independent control can be provided in the water mode for water to be entrained in or added to an inertance tube or loop. This will allow the user to change the frequency of oscillation or sweep rate at a given flow setting. Yet another means of frequency adjustment can be provided by changing the length or inertance of the inertance loop.
In another embodiment, a splitter provides alternating pulses or slugs of water submerged under the water level in the spa tub. This embodiment has all adjustment features and capabilities described earlier.
One method to decouple the operation of the device from air ingestion into a control port is to entrain the air downstream of the control port as disclosed in Thurber et al application Ser. No. 09/899,547, filed Jul. 6, 2001 and entitled SPA NOZZLES WITH AIR ENTRAINMENT. This method allows the oscillation to occur with and without air. This method could be combined with the control port entrainment method to increase the total air ingestion and entrainment.
Two forms of fluidic oscillators are disclosed, one having a crossover-type interaction region and the other having a non-crossover-type interaction region. The non-crossover-type version offers space saving where needed. Both embodiments can have dwell at the ends of their sweep and thus are xe2x80x9cheavy endedxe2x80x9d. All the embodiments described herein allow the frequency and consequently the wavelength to be optimized for the spa jet massaging function. It is important for the submerged water jet to have adequate momentum to cause good massaging sensation. For some purposes, it is also necessary for the slugs of water to be appropriately separated in time so that the tissues in the impact area of the human body can restore to the natural position before the arrival of the next pulse or slug of water. A frequency range of about 12 Hz to 1 Hz has been found to be useful and a preferred range of about 10 Hz to about 2 Hz.
The fluidic devices described herein, as well as other types, allow for the design of the proper frequency wavelength characteristic to provide optimum massage effects.
Thus, the invention provides: a spa nozzle for maximizing the momentum delivered by water in underwater spa massaging applications comprising:
a no-moving-parts fluidic oscillator having an oscillation range of operation for oscillating a jet of water from about 12 Hz to about 1 Hz at full-flow settings,
said fluidic oscillator projecting an alternating pair of slugs of water into said spa to impinge on a human body immersed in said spa at a rate from about 12 Hz to about 1 Hz determined by the rate of flow of fluid through said fluidic oscillator.
Further, the invention provides: a spa nozzle for maximizing the momentum delivered by water in underwater spa massaging applications comprising:
a no-moving-parts fluidic oscillator having an oscillation range of operation for oscillating a jet of water from about 12 Hz to about 1 Hz at full-flow settings,
said fluidic oscillator being heavy-ended and projecting an alternating jet of water into said spa to impinge on a human body immersed in said spa at a rate from about 12 Hz to about 1 Hz determined by the rate of flow of fluid through said fluidic oscillator.
The invention also provides: a method for maximizing the momentum delivered by water jets for underwater spa massaging applications with no moving parts comprising:
providing a fluidic oscillator having an oscillation range of operation from about 12 Hz to about 1 Hz at full-flow settings,
feeding only water to said fluidic oscillator to cause said fluidic oscillator to initiate oscillation and project a sweeping jet of water into said spa at sweep rate from about 12 Hz to about 1 Hz determined by the rate of flow of fluid through said fluidic oscillator.
The invention also provides: a method for maximizing the momentum delivered by water jets for spa underwater massaging applications with no moving parts comprising:
providing a fluidic oscillator having an oscillation range of operation from about 12 Hz to about 1 Hz at full-flow settings,
feeding only water to said fluidic oscillator to cause said fluidic oscillator to initiate oscillation and project an alternating pair of slugs of water into said spa to impinge on a human body immersed in said spa at a rate from about 12 Hz to about 1 Hz determined by the rate of flow of fluid through said fluidic oscillator.

Fluidic SPA Nozzles with dual operating modes and methods


In order to facilitate updating of information on a destination of data, a data communication system includes a server and an MFP capable of communicating with each other. The MFP transmits to the server an update requesting signal including a source address of an e-mail received from another apparatus and related information on the source, transmits an address request to the server and receives user address data from the server, and transmits data to at least one destination address included in the received user address data. The server stores the user address data having destination addresses and related information on the destinations associated with each other, and in receipt of the update requesting signal from the MFP, rewrites the related information associated with the source address included in the update requesting signal by the user address data with the related information included in the update requesting signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data communication system, an address management apparatus, a data communication apparatus, an address management method, and an address management program. More particularly, the present invention relates to a data communication system which transmits data to a destination address stored in advance, an address management apparatus and a data communication apparatus included in the data communication system, and an address management method and an address management program executed thereby.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, multi function peripherals (hereinafter, referred to as "MFPs") are capable of transmitting data by various communication methods including facsimile, e-mail, Internet facsimile, FTP and others. The MFP prestores address data associating names of destinations with their addresses, to facilitate designation of a destination. Once the user designates the name of the destination, the address of the destination is set to allow data to be transmitted thereto. When the MFP is used by a plurality of users and a single set of address data is stored in the MFP, the address data set is shared by the plurality of users. In this case, if the respective users cause the MFP to store address records, the number of address records increases, rendering selection of a desired address record difficult. Thus, there is known a technique to manage the address data for each user.
Further, in the apparatus to which data is to be transmitted, specifications of the data that can be received and output by the apparatus, including resolution, size, coding scheme and others, are predetermined. As such, data needs to be transmitted in accordance with the specifications corresponding to the destination apparatus. Further, it may be necessary to encrypt data with a public key determined by a receiver before transmission, in case of data leakage. When the specifications of data and the public key are included in the address data, once the name of the destination is designated, the data may be transmitted in accordance with the specifications the apparatus at the destination can receive and output, or the data may be transmitted which is encrypted by the public key determined by the receiver.
In the case where the address data is managed for each user, however, there may be a plurality of pieces of address data having the same destination but managed by different users. In such a case, the specifications of data to be transmitted or the public key for encryption will need to be registered for respective ones of the address data of the respective users.
Further, in the case where the MFP stores address data shared by a plurality of users, a plurality of MFPs may each store the address data including the same destination. In such a case, even if the specifications of data and/or the public key for encryption included in the address data in one MFP are updated, those in the address data including the same destination stored in another MFP are not updated. That is, updating of the specifications and/or the public key needs to be carried out in each of the MFPs.

Data communication system including address management apparatus and data communication apparatus, address management method using address management apparatus, and address management program controlling address management apparatus

Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.


A semiconductor device and a method for manufacturing the semiconductor device are provided. A semiconductor substrate has a surface on which an abrasion trace is formed, and a dopant diffusion region includes a portion extending in the direction at an angle within the range of −5° to +5° with respect to the direction in which the abrasion trace extends.

In recent years, from the viewpoint of global environmental problems, such as a problem of the exhaustion of energy resources and an increase in CO2 in the atmosphere, clean energy has been desired to be developed. Solar photovoltaic power generation using, in particular, solar cells out of semiconductor devices has been developed and put into practical use as a new energy source, and is now on the way to progress.
A double-sided electrode type solar cell has been a conventional mainstream solar cell, which includes for example a monocrystalline or polycrystalline silicon substrate having a light receiving surface having an impurity of a conduction type opposite to that of the silicon substrate diffused therein to provide a pn junction, and electrodes provided at the light receiving surface of the silicon substrate and a surface opposite to the light receiving surface, respectively. In the double-sided electrode type solar cell, it is also generally done to diffuse an impurity of the same conduction type as the silicon substrate in the silicon substrate at the back surface at a high concentration to provide high output by a back surface field effect.
Research and development have also been advanced also about back electrode type solar cells, in each of which an electrode is not formed on the light-receiving surface of a silicon substrate and is formed only on the back surface thereof (see, for example, Patent Literature 1 (Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2007-049079)).
Referring to schematic cross-sectional views in FIGS. 28(a) to 28(f), an example of a method for manufacturing a conventional back electrode type solar cell will be hereinafter described.
First, as shown in FIG. 28(a), after masking paste 102 is screen-printed on the entire surface of an n-type or p-type conductive semiconductor substrate 101 on the light receiving surface side and then dried, masking paste 102 is screen-printed on the surface of semiconductor substrate 101 on the back surface side so as to have an opening 114 partially provided therein.
Then, as shown in FIG. 28(b), an n-type dopant 104 is diffused through opening 114 in the back surface of semiconductor substrate 101, thereby forming an n-type dopant diffusion region 103.
Then, masking paste 102 of semiconductor substrate 101 on each of the light receiving surface side and the back surface side is entirely removed. As shown in FIG. 28(c), after masking paste 102 is again screen-printed on the entire surface of semiconductor substrate 101 on the light receiving surface side and then dried, masking paste 102 is screen-printed on the surface of semiconductor substrate 101 on the back surface side so as to have an opening 115 partially provided therein.
Then, as shown in FIG. 28(d), a p-type dopant 106 is diffused through opening 115 in the back surface of semiconductor substrate 101, thereby forming a p-type dopant diffusion region 105.
Then, as shown in FIG. 28(e), after a textured structure 108 is formed by texture-etching of the surface of semiconductor substrate 101 on the light receiving surface side, an antireflection film 109 is formed on textured structure 108 while a passivation film 107 is formed on the back surface side of semiconductor substrate 101.
Then, as shown in FIG. 28(f), after passivation film 107 on the back surface of semiconductor substrate 101 is provided with an opening through which each surface of n-type dopant diffusion region 103 and p-type dopant diffusion region 105 is exposed, an electrode for n type 112 and an electrode for p type 113 are formed that are in contact with n-type dopant diffusion region 103 and p-type dopant diffusion region 105, respectively. In this way, the conventional back electrode type solar cell is produced.

Semiconductor device and method for manufacturing semiconductor device


An improved probe for probing high speed, low impedance bus structures. The probe comprises an AC termination portion and an RCR filter. In a first embodiment, the AC termination portion comprises a resistor and capacitor in series. The time constant formed by the AC termination portion is sufficiently larger than the time it takes a signal to travel through the cable of the probe. The RCR filter comprises two resistors in series disposed between the AC termination resistor and ground. A capacitor is connected in parallel to the first resistor in order to achieve a flat pulse response from DC through to high frequencies.

A typical measurement device designed to analyze tri-state logic systems which includes a low impedance probe (i.e., the probe is low impedance at all frequencies) will cause a floating data bus to be "tri-stated" when the probe is attached to the bus. That is, high speed, low impedance (.about.50 ohm) bus structures may tri-state to high impedances when a drive stops driving the bus. The low impedance probe may pull down the line depending on the value of the pull up resistors.

Electronic probe for measuring high impedance tri-state logic circuits