A metamaterial comprises a plurality of electrically controllable metamaterial units each comprising a varactor diode; the predetermined angle is an angle at which an electromagnetic wave is reflected from a surface of the metamaterial; there is an association relationship between the predetermined angle and the first phase difference; the method comprises: determining a first phase difference between electromagnetic waves reflected by two adjacent electrically controllable metamaterial units in a metamaterial based on a predetermined angle; determining a target capacitance of the varactor diode in each electrically controllable metamaterial unit based on the first phase difference; and adjusting a capacitance of the varactor diode in each electrically controllable metamaterial unit to the target capacitance.

Currently, after most metamaterials used for adjusting an electromagnetic wave are manufactured, controlling of the electromagnetic wave is fixed and unadjustable. For example, a particular metamaterial can only change a direction of the electromagnetic wave that is incident to the metamaterial by a specific angle, and cannot change the direction of the electromagnetic wave by another angle. This limits an application range of the metamaterial that is used for adjusting the electromagnetic wave.
In recent years, the metamaterial used for dynamically adjusting the electromagnetic wave has attracted wide attention of researchers. The adjustment of the electromagnetic wave can be implemented in the following two manners.
Manner 1: the adjustment of the electromagnetic wave can be implemented through mechanical rotation. However, there are disadvantages, for example, a scanning speed is low, a mechanical metal device is heavy and occupies large space, mechanical faults occur frequently, and frequent maintenance is required.
Manner 2: electromagnetic parameters of some parts of the metamaterial can also be controlled by using some controllable components such as a PIN diode. However, as a quantity of states for adjusting a phase is increased, a control circuit is quite complex, the manufacturing is complex, and costs are very high.
For the foregoing problems, no effective solution is currently proposed.

Method for adjusting electromagnetic wave, and metamaterial

SHEN ZHEN KUANG-CHI HEZHONG TECHNOLOGY LTD


In some embodiments, a method includes receiving a template identifying a format for presenting geographic information, receiving an input corresponding to business intelligence (BI) data, and extracting geographical information from the input, the geographical information associated with the BI data. The method further includes accessing a geo-database and identifying a type of the geographical information associated with the BI data, adapting the geographical information to conform to the format identified in the template, and displaying the BI data in a geospatial context based on the geographical data. The BI data can be organized in one or more semantic data models. The geographical information can include one or more location types, where each location definition may be associated with a prioritization value.

Businesses are increasingly looking for ways to gain a competitive advantage and to be able to do more with less. Business intelligence ("BI") has been a significant component to achieve these goals through leveraging corporate data and strategically equipping workers with insights that help organizations to focus on what's important and to make sound business decisions to drive performance.
Geographic Information Systems ("GIS") are systems that integrate software and data to capture, manage, analyze, and display all forms of geographically referenced information. GIS allows users to view, understand, question, interpret, and visualize data in ways that reveal relationships, patterns, and trends in the form of maps, globes, reports, and charts.
The majority of business data contains some sort of location information: office locales, customer addresses, sales territories, marketing areas, facilities, and so on. When the technologies of BI and GIS are fused together, organizations can visualize and analyze key business data through "smart" maps to discover patterns and trends that would have been easily overlooked with traditional BI tables and charts. For example, ESRI Maps for MicroStrategy uses ESRI Location Analytics to visualize BI data on a map. The user can select the type of business location to use (e.g., zip code, city, state, etc.) to display business data (e.g., profit, number of customers, etc. in that location). The user can also determine how to render the BI data (e.g., color code states or cities, use bubbles of varying size, superimpose bar graphs, etc.) For many business users not familiar with mapping software, this requires a lot of configuration to be done to generate a report, and can be a daunting task. It would be desirable to simplify the process for a typical business user.

Semantic modeling of geographic information in business intelligence

ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, INC.


An optical assembly is disclosed where the optical assembly provides an optical device and a holder including a sleeve, a skirt, and a lens. The sleeve has a bore, into which an external optical fiber is set to couple with the optical device, providing a target surface in an end thereof. The target surface includes an aiming index to indicate the axis of the lens.

A recent communicating system has continuously requested the higher speed and the greater capacity. An optical assembly that includes a semiconductor optical device, such as a laser diode (LD) for emitting light or a photodiode (PD) for receiving light, and a mechanism to couple the semiconductor optical device with an external optical fiber is widely applied in the optical communication system. The optical device often has, what is called, a CAN package, while, the coupling mechanism includes a sleeve to receive the external optical fiber, a skirt to receive the CAN package and a lens integrally formed with the sleeve and the skirt.
A Japanese Patent Application published as JP-2010-107692A has disclosed an optical assembly having the optical device and the coupling mechanism. FIG. 15 schematically illustrates, in a cross section thereof, the optical assembly disclosed in the prior art above. The optical assembly 100 includes a holder 110 and an optical device 102 that installs a semiconductor optical device 103 therein. The holder 110 includes a sleeve 112, a lens 113, and a skirt 114. Another Japanese Patent Application published as JP-2007-155973A has disclosed a method to produce an optical assembly, where the semiconductor optical device practically emits light in a process to align the holder with the optical device. Sliding the semiconductor optical device in a plane perpendicular to the optical axis of the device and monitoring the light provided from a tip end of the optical fiber, the optical device is assembled with the holder at a center of the symmetrical distribution of the field pattern of the light.
In order to obtain a desired coupling efficiency between the optical device and the external optical fiber for the optical assembly disclosed in the former prior art, the semiconductor device 103 is preferably positioned on the focal point of the lens 113. Specifically, the semiconductor device 103 is necessary to be positioned around the focal point of the lens 113 within about 10 μm in a case where the external optical fiber is, what is called, a multi-mode fiber. However, the installation of the optical device 103 within the optical device 102 inherently shows alignment tolerance comparable to or greater than the limitation above.
The method to produce the optical assembly disclosed in the latter prior art is not only necessary to activate the semiconductor device practically and to prepare an apparatus to monitor the amplitude of the light, but the method takes a long time to determine the optimal position. Embodiments of the present invention are to provide an improved arrangement of the holder and a method to produce the optical assembly.

Optical assembly and method for producing the same


A derailleur cable detecting assembly for an electric-auxiliary bicycle has a body and a detecting device. The body is mounted on a frame of the electric-auxiliary bicycle, is connected to a derailleur cable and has a casing and a cover. The casing has a chamber and a through hole. The cover is detachably mounted on the casing to mount a cable wire of the derailleur cable in the body. The detecting device is mounted in the body, is connected to the derailleur cable and has a circuit board and a magnetic element. The circuit board is mounted in the chamber of the casing, faces the cable wire and has an electric wire and multiple magnetic sensors. The magnetic sensors are mounted on the circuit board at intervals. The magnetic element is mounted on the cable wire between the casing and the cover, facing the magnetic sensors of the circuit board.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a derailleur cable detecting assembly, and more particularly to a derailleur cable detecting assembly for an electric-auxiliary bicycle to enable the electric-auxiliary bicycle to obtain an auxiliary power timely, to be assembled and maintained conveniently, to reduce the cost of production and to increase the applicability of the derailleur cable detecting assembly.
2. Description of Related Art
In order for a cyclist to ride an electric-auxiliary bicycle conveniently and laborsavingly, a conventional detecting assembly is used to enable the electric-auxiliary bicycle to obtain an auxiliary power timely (for example, in a climbing condition) to drive the electric-auxiliary bicycle electrically. The conventional detecting assembly is mounted in a bottom bracket of the electric-auxiliary bicycle and detects the pedaling frequency or the pedaling moment of a pedal device of the electric-auxiliary bicycle to determine supplying auxiliary power to the electric-auxiliary bicycle or not.
The conventional detecting assembly can be used to enable the electric-auxiliary bicycle to obtain an auxiliary power timely, but the conventional detecting assembly is complicated in structure and large in volume. Thus, the conventional detecting assembly cannot be mounted in the standardized bottom bracket of the electric-auxiliary bicycle, but instead has to be mounted in a bottom bracket specifically made to fit its size, so the cost and time of production of the electric-auxiliary bicycle is increased and the assembling and maintaining the conventional detecting assembly is inconvenient.
A derailleur cable detecting assembly for an electric-auxiliary bicycle in accordance with the present invention mitigates or obviates the aforementioned problems.

Derailleur cable detecting assembly for an electric-auxiliary bicycle


A vehicle detector is disclosed wherein either a glass breakage signal or a door opening signal causes an alarm. The glass breakage signal is caused by the detection of high audio frequency simultaneously accompanied by the detection of a positive pressure change. The door opening signal is generated by the detection of a negative pressure change, which is not preceded by a positive pressure change.

Detectors to sense the breakage of glass are well known in the art. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,853,677. While the detector disclosed therein is responsive to high frequency audio sound, such as breakage of glass, as well as low frequency sound, such as the opening of doors and windows, the detector therein cannot discriminate between the opening of a window or the closing of a window. In an automobile, because the volume of air in the interior is trapped, an impact on the window (without breakage thereof) or on the panel lining the interior results in a low frequency audio sound or a pressure wave. Other actions which might produce a low frequency positive pressure wave would be the closing of a door, trunk or hood.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,928,085 discloses a detection device to detect pressure waves at low and infrasonic frequencies. The detected pressure signal is compared to a threshold and an alarm is generated in response thereto. In addition, a combination pressure and sound activated device is also disclosed (see FIG. 4 thereof). A sound discriminator can be used to reduce the incidents of false alarms and glass breakage detectors.
As previously discussed, the detection of intrusion into a vehicle is unique in that the detector must generate an alarm signal in response to the breakage of the glass or of only certain types of pressure changes.


A photographing method of an electronic device is provided. The electronic device includes a display screen. In some embodiments, display screen displays an icon of a first application. In those embodiments, display screen displays a user interface of the first application in response to an operation on the icon, where the user interface includes a photographing button. The display screen also displays a photographing preview interface of a second application in response to an operation on the photographing button, where the second application is a camera application, and the photographing preview interface is used to display an image collected by the camera. When ambient light meets a photographing condition, the electronic device automatically photographs the image collected by the camera.

Currently, a user may use various applications installed on an electronic device (such as a smartphone or a tablet computer), to satisfy various requirements of the user. For example, the user may take a photo by using a camera application. In the prior art, the electronic device may perform photographing in response to a photographing operation of the user, after entering a photographing preview interface; or may automatically perform photographing after a delay of preset duration after entering a photographing preview interface.
Photo quality obtained in the foregoing photographing manner may be comparatively poor.

Photographing method and electronic device


A vehicle system is provided. The system may include a first coolant loop, including a radiator, a second coolant loop including a battery chiller, and a centrifugal coolant separator. The centrifugal coolant separator may include a frustoconical hollow body having a base defining a drain and a ceiling defining a spout, and a pair of coolant lines arranged orthogonal to and on opposite sides of the body such that coolant exiting the lines travels along the inner surface and collects at the base to separate gas from the coolant, wherein the spout vents the gas and the coolant exits the drain.

Various systems may require two or more liquids to be separated from one another. The fluid may have various phases, e.g., gas or liquid, and vary in terms of specific gravity and density. As one example, most internal combustion engines within are fluid cooled using either air (a gaseous fluid) or a liquid coolant run through a heat exchanger (radiator) that is cooled by air. As another example, electric vehicles or hybrid-electric vehicles may include a battery and associated electronic components that are fluid cooled in a similar manner.
Hybrid-electric and electric vehicles may include one or more fluid cooling systems to regulate the temperature of various components. For example, one system or "loop" may be used to cool a high-voltage battery and another may cool electric components. These two systems may be fluidly connected to one another to minimize the amount of fluid and components required to cool the electric components and the battery. As the distance the fluid travels increases, the propensity of air within the cooling system increases. Air has relatively poor thermal conductivity compared to liquid coolants, so the presence of air within a coolant system results in a decrease in efficiency.


A monitor apparatus including a monitor main body to display a picture, and a base supporting the monitor main body, the monitor apparatus including: a link provided between the monitor main body and the base; a monitor hinge interposed between the monitor main body and the link and rotatably supporting the monitor main body to the base; a base hinge having a base bracket interposed between the base and the link and rotatably supporting the link to the base; a protruding portion formed in one of the base bracket and the link; and a rotation restricting portion provided in the other one of the base bracket and the link, elastically contacting the protruding portion, and preventing the link from rotation so as to keep the monitor main body rotated in a position parallel with the base. With this configuration, a link of a monitor is prevented from being rotated due to the weight thereof and the link when the monitor is in parallel with a base.

1. Field of the Invention
The present general inventive concept relates to a monitor apparatus, and more particularly, to a monitor apparatus in which a monitor main body can be disposed in parallel with a base.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, there is being widely used a display panel such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) which has a thickness relatively thin with respect to its displaying area.
As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional monitor apparatus 101 comprises a monitor main body 110; a base 120 supporting the monitor main body 110; a link 130 connecting the base 120 and the monitor main body 110; a monitor hinge 140 interposed between the monitor main body 110 and the link 130 and supporting the monitor main body 110 to be rotated with respect to a transverse axis of the link 130; and a base hinge 150 interposed between the base 120 and the link 130 and supporting the link 130 to be rotated about the base 120.
Such a conventional monitor apparatus 101 can be seated on an installation surface such as a table in a state that the monitor main body 110 stands on the base 120, and can be mounted to a wall 190 in a state that the monitor main body 110 is disposed approximately parallel with the base 120, as shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1, when the monitor apparatus 101 is mounted to the wall 190, a mounting bracket 180 is additionally provided to mount the base 120 to the wall 190.
However, in the case where the conventional monitor apparatus 101 is mounted to the wall 190, it is hard to keep an initial state of the monitor main body 110 being parallel with the base 120 due to the weight of the monitor main body 110 and the link 130, and thus the monitor main body 110 is likely to be rotated expansively and downwardly over time. Further, as the monitor main body 110 moves away from the base 120, the conventional monitor apparatus 101 occupies much space.


A color electronic paper device and manufacturing method thereof are provided. The device includes: a front panel; a color filter layer, placed over the front panel; a color protection layer, being a thermoplastic transparent layer placed over the color filter layer; an adhesive layer, placed over the color protection layer; and a cover, placed over the adhesive layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a color electronic paper device, especially to a color electronic paper device capable of avoiding color fading.
2. Description of the Related Art
Due to advances in electrophoretic display technology, electronic paper devices capable of displaying color pictures have begun to appear in the market.
Please refer to FIG. 1, which illustrates a sectional view of a color electronic paper device according to a prior art. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the color electronic paper device includes, from bottom to top, a front panel 110, a color filter layer 120, a transparent adhesive layer 130, and a cover 140.
In the device, the front panel 110 includes an electrophoretic display layer and a pixel electrode layer to control the brightness of pixels of the color electronic paper device.
The color filter layer 120, placed over the front panel 110, has an array of (R, G, B) pigments for filtering the light emitted from the front panel 110, to output corresponding red, green, and blue light beams.
The transparent adhesive layer 130, placed over the color filter layer 120, is adhered to the color filter layer 120.
The cover 140, placed over the transparent adhesive layer 130, is adhered to the transparent adhesive layer 130.
However, the prior art color electronic paper devices tend to have color fading after assembly, and the color fading severely impacts the display quality of color electronic paper devices. Trying to make the (R, G, B) pigments of the color filter layer possess high stability—to be chemically inactive—may be a solution for avoiding color fading. Nevertheless, to attain highly stable pigments, the cost—including time and money—can be relatively high, disadvantaging the products in the market.
To solve the foregoing problems of the prior art color electronic paper device, it is necessary to do a thorough analysis on the device of the color electronic paper device, so as to figure out an effective strategy to avoid color fading, and thereby improve the display quality of color electronic paper devices.

Color electronic paper device and manufacturing method thereof


Disclosed are compounds of the formula

The histamine receptors, H1, H2, H3 and H4 are well-identified forms. The H1 receptors are those that mediate the response antagonized by conventional antihistamines. H1 receptors are present, for example, in the ileum, the skin, and the bronchial smooth muscle of humans and other mammals. Through H2 receptor-mediated responses, histamine stimulates gastric acid secretion in mammals and the chronotropic effect in isolated mammalian atria. H4 receptors are expressed primarily on eosinophils and mast cells and have been shown to be involved in the chemotaxis of both cell types.
H3 receptor sites are found on sympathetic nerves, where they modulate sympathetic neurotransmission and attenuate a variety of end organ responses under control of the sympathetic nervous system. Specifically, H3 receptor activation by histamine attenuates nonepinephrine outflow to resistance and capacitance vessels, causing vasodilation.
Imidazole H3 receptor antagonists are well known in the art. More recently, non-imidazole H3 receptor antagonists have been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,720,328, and in US Published Applications 2003/0109564, 2004/0097483, 2004/0048843 and 2004/0019099.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,869,479 discloses compositions for the treatment of the symptoms of allergic rhinitis using a combination of at least one histamine H1 receptor antagonist and at least one histamine H3 receptor antagonist.

Imidazole and benzimidazole derivatives useful as histamine H

Abstract: Disclosed are compounds of the formula

Abstract: or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or solvate thereof, wherein:                n is 2-5;        R is R3-aryl, R3-heteroaryl, R3-cycloalkyl, R3-heterocycloalkyl, alkyl, haloalkyl, —OR4, —SR4 or —S(O)1-2R5;        R1 and R2 are H or optionally substituted phenyl or optionally substituted

Abstract: and X is —O— or —S—;                or R1 and R2, together with the carbon atoms to which they are attached form optionally substituted

Abstract: and X is —O—, —S— or —NR7—;                Z is

Abstract: and the remaining variables are as defined in the specification;        also disclosed are pharmaceutical compositions comprising the compounds of formula I;        also disclosed are methods of treating allergy, allergy-induced airway responses, congestion, obesity and metabolic syndrome using the compounds of Formula I, as well as combinations with other drugs useful for treating those diseases.


An illumination device for a display apparatus provided on a rear side of a display panel of the display apparatus includes a plurality of rod-like light sources arranged substantially parallel to each other; and a light scattering member for scattering light, the light scattering member being provided between two adjacent rod-like light sources among the plurality of rod-like light sources.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an illumination device and a display apparatus including the same; and specifically to an illumination device provided on a rear side of a display panel and usable as a backlight of a display apparatus, and a display apparatus including such an illumination device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Liquid crystal display apparatuses are widely used for electronic office equipment, vehicle-mountable TVs, monitors of video cameras and the like owing to the features of being lightweight, thin and low in power consumption. Unlike self-luminous display apparatuses including CRTs (cathode-ray tubes), PDPs (plasma display panels) and EL (electroluminescence) units, liquid crystal display apparatuses use a liquid crystal display device which is not self-luminous. Therefore, transmissive liquid crystal display apparatuses include a planar illumination device referred to as a backlight provided on a rear side of the liquid crystal device. The amount of illumination light from the backlight, which is to be transmitted through the liquid crystal display device, is controlled by the liquid crystal display device pixel by pixel, and thus images are displayed.
Backlights are roughly classified into "direct"-type backlights and "edge light"-type backlights. A direct-type backlight includes a plurality of rod-like light sources such as fluorescent tubes directly below the liquid crystal display device. An edge light-type backlight includes a light source located at an end of a lightguide plate, and the light from the light source is guided to the liquid crystal display device by the lightguide plate.
FIG. 12 schematically shows a general structure of a direct-type backlight. In FIG. 12, a direct-type backlight 40 is provided on a rear side of a transmissive liquid crystal display panel 48. The backlight 40 includes a plurality of fluorescent tubes 41 arranged at a prescribed interval, a case 43 for accommodating the plurality of fluorescent tubes 41, and an optical sheet (for example, a diffusion sheet or a prism sheet) 45 located between the plurality of fluorescent tubes 41 and the liquid crystal display panel 48. The direct-type backlight 40 allows the luminance to be easily controlled by adjusting the number of the fluorescent tubes 41 used as the light sources. (Hereinafter, the fluorescent tubes 41 will also be referred to as the "light sources 41".) Therefore, the direct-type backlight 40 can easily realize high luminance and so are often used for large-sized liquid crystal display apparatuses.
However, the direct-type backlight 40 has the following drawback. The light sources 41 exist discretely, i.e., at an interval directly, below the liquid crystal display panel 48. Therefore, the luminance is higher in areas of the liquid crystal display panel 48 right above the light sources 41 and is lower in areas of the liquid crystal display panel 48 corresponding to regions between the light sources 41. This results in uneven luminance.
The degree of unevenness of luminance is lower as distance A between the light sources 41 and the liquid crystal display panel 48 is longer, and also as distance B between two adjacent light sources 41 is shorter. In other words, the degree of unevenness of luminance is lower as the ratio R of distance B with respect to distance A (i.e., B/A) is smaller, and is higher as the ratio R is larger. This means that the degree of unevenness of luminance can be decreased by increasing distance A between the light sources 41 and the liquid crystal display panel 48, or by increasing the number of the light sources 41 and thus decreasing distance B between two adjacent light sources 41. However, these solutions also have the following problems.
In the case where distance A between the light sources 41 and the liquid crystal display panel 48 is increased, the thickness of the backlight 40 and so the thickness of the display apparatus including the backlight 40 are increased. This lowers the product value of the backlight 40 and the display apparatus. In the case where the number of the light sources 41 is increased so as to decrease distance B between two adjacent light sources 41, the production cost of the backlight 40 and the display apparatus including the backlight 40 is raised. This also lowers the product value of the backlight 40 and the display apparatus.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-122863 discloses a backlight 50 shown in FIG. 13. The backlight 50 includes light-reflective projections 52 having a triangular cross-section, which are provided between light sources 51. With such a structure, the backlight 50 suppresses the unevenness of luminance.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-310776 discloses a backlight 60 shown in FIG. 14. The backlight 60 includes an assisting light source 64 including a primary light source 62 and a lightguide plate 63. The assisting light source 64 is provided on the opposite side from the liquid crystal display panel with respect to the light sources 61. With such a structure, the backlight 60 suppresses the unevenness of luminance. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-310776 also describes that the unevenness of luminance can be further suppressed by forming a scattering dot pattern as follows. The scattering dot pattern is formed on a surface of the lightguide plate 63 in order to guide outside the light which is emitted from the primary light source 62 and incident on the lightguide plate 63. The dots are formed sparsely in areas right below the light sources 61 and densely in areas corresponding to regions between the light sources 61. With this structure, the luminance of the light going out from the lightguide plate 63 can be controlled such that the luminance of the light from the areas right below the light sources 61 is lower and the luminance of the light from the areas corresponding to the regions between the light sources 61 is higher. Thus, the unevenness of luminance can be further suppressed.
The present inventor studied in detail the relationship between the structure of the backlight and the degree of unevenness of luminance from various perspectives. As a result, it was found that the unevenness of luminance is not sufficiently suppressed either by the backlight disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-122863 or by the backlight disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-310776. More specifically, with the backlights disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publications Nos. 2002-122863 and 2000-310776, the degree of unevenness of luminance is sufficiently decreased in the "front" direction (i.e., the direction normal to the display screen of the display apparatus) but is not sufficiently decreased in "oblique" directions (i.e., directions angled with respect to the direction normal to the display screen of the display apparatus).

Illumination device and display apparatus including the same


An aircraft galley refrigeration system is provided which, in one embodiment, includes: first and second galleys; a first chiller for providing a first heat transfer fluid to the first galley; a second chiller for providing a second heat transfer fluid to the second galley; and a heat exchanger including a first circuit and a second circuit, the first circuit connecting the first galley with the first chiller, and the second circuit connecting the second galley with the second chiller. In another embodiment, the system includes a first cooling subsystem with a first heat transfer fluid, a second cooling subsystem with a second heat transfer fluid, and a heat exchanger that thermally couples the first and second cooling subsystems for distributing heat between the first and second heat transfer fluids.

Aircraft galley refrigeration systems are used to refrigerate food carts, which are stored in at least one galley of the aircraft, to prevent spoilage of foodstuffs prior to providing the foodstuffs to onboard passengers. One conventional aircraft galley refrigeration system includes air chillers and cold air supply (or air ducting) systems in the galley that interface with the food carts to cool the interiors of the food carts. Another conventional aircraft galley refrigeration system includes at least one liquid chiller, a central or separate liquid recirculation unit, at least one galley air cooling unit, and a liquid plumbing system. Liquid chillers are remotely located from the galleys for chilling a heat transfer liquid that enters galley air cooling system devices. In such devices, heat is transferred from the interiors of the food carts to the liquid to keep the foodstuffs at proper storage temperature or temperatures (i.e., different galleys may store different foodstuffs, for example one galley may store a first type of foodstuff which requires one storage temperature and another galley may store another type of foodstuff or beverages which require another, different storage temperature) to prevent food spoilage.
One conventional aircraft galley refrigeration system that includes liquid chillers is illustrated in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the aircraft galley refrigeration system 10 includes at least one galley 20, at least one remote chiller (RC) 30, and a central liquid recirculation unit (RU) 40. Although the at least one galley 20 includes three galley locations, namely Galley1 22, Galley2 24, and Galley3 26 as shown, the at least one galley 20 may include fewer or additional galley locations. Similarly, although the at least one RC 30 includes three RC locations, namely RC1 32, RC2 34, and RC3 36 as shown, the at least one RC 30 may include fewer or additional RC locations. However, the number of RCs generally corresponds with the number of galley locations in a one-to-one relationship. Each remote chiller, RC1 32, RC2 34, and RC3 36 as shown, is a self-contained refrigeration unit with a refrigerant vapor cycle system that removes heat from a heat transfer fluid. As shown, the at least one galley 20 receives low temperature heat transfer fluid from the at least one RC 30 via line 32. Also, the RU 40 receives high temperature heat transfer fluid from the at least one galley 20 via line 42. Furthermore, the at least one RC 30 receives from RU 40 the high temperature heat transfer fluid output from the at least one galley 20.
More particularly, Galley1 22, Galley2 24, and Galley3 26, which comprise the at least one galley 20, include respective heat transfer fluid inlets and outlets 22a, 22b; 24a, 24b; 26a, 26b. Similarly, RC1 32, RC2 34, and RC3 36, which comprise the at least one RC 30, include respective heat transfer fluid inlets and outlets 32a, 32b; 34a, 34b; 36a, 36b. Each heat transfer fluid inlet 22a, 24a, 26a of the galley locations 22, 24, 26 is fed low temperature heat transfer fluid by line 32. Each heat transfer fluid outlet 22b, 24b, 26b of the galley locations 22, 24, 26 exhausts high temperature heat transfer fluid to line 42 after the heat transfer fluid has absorbed the heat from cooling foodstuffs stored in the galley locations 22, 24, 26. RU 40 receives the high temperature heat transfer fluid exhausted to line 42 by the galley locations 22, 24, 26 (particularly the outlets 22b, 24b, 26b thereof) and pressurizes the heat transfer fluid. Additionally, each of the RC locations 32, 34, 36 (particularly the heat transfer fluid inlets 32a, 34a, 36a thereof) is fed high temperature, high pressure heat transfer fluid by RU 40. Each heat transfer fluid outlet 32b, 34b, 36b of the RC locations 32, 34, 36 outputs low temperature, high pressure heat transfer fluid to line 32 to work on cooling foodstuffs stored in the galley locations 22, 24, 26.
According to the foregoing, it can be appreciated that RU 40 defines a single point of failure of the system 10. That is, heat transfer fluid of the system 10 could not be sufficiently circulated between the at least one galley 20 and at least one remote chiller RC 30 if the RU 40 were to malfunction or fail. Furthermore, it can be appreciated that if heat transfer fluid were to leak from any one component of the system 10, the entire system 10 would need to be turned off so that repairs could be made. In view of the foregoing, a new aircraft galley refrigeration system would be an important improvement in the art.

Aircraft galley refrigeration system with multi-circuit heat exchanger


A spot welding tip detaching apparatus includes a movable plate, an engaging/stopping part, and a holder part. The movable plate has a guide hole through which a shaft set upright in a base plate is inserted with a gap being left between the guide hole and the shaft, rotatable relative to the base plate, and movable along the base plate within a range of the guide hole. The engaging/stopping part stops the movable plate at a predetermined position of the base plate by engagement in an engageable/disengageable manner. The holder part is provided integrally on the movable plate to hold a tip fitted in a spot welding gun. The holder part sandwiches the tip between two members of the holder part. According to movement of the tip along a predetermined route, the holder part rotates the tip, while holding the tip, to detach the tip from the spot welding gun.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a spot welding tip detaching apparatus which detaches a tip being an electrode fitted in a spot welding gun.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a production line of automobile bodies, spot welding is often used. The spot welding is a welding method in which metal plate materials or the like which are laid one on the other are sandwiched from both sides and by the local application of pressure and the passage of an electric current, metals are melted by resistance heat to make the metal plate materials adhere to each other.
In the spot welding, an apparatus called a spot welding gun (hereinafter, a welding gun) is generally used. The welding gun welds metal plate materials or the like by sandwiching the metal plate materials by a pair of electrodes and passing an electric current therethrough while pressing them. The electrodes are fitted in tip portions of bar-shaped members (hereinafter, shanks), one of the tip portions facing the other tip portion. One of the shanks or both of them is (are) capable of advancing/retracting, which enables the electrodes to sandwich the metal plate materials or the like.
The electrodes of the welding gun are generally called cap tips (hereinafter, tips). The tips are deformed or worn away due to long-time use, and such deformation or wearing, if any, sometimes makes it impossible to maintain desired welding quality. Therefore, in the welding gun, the tips are periodically replaced.
As an apparatus for tip replacement, an apparatus is on the market which detaches a tip by moving a welding gun, inserting the tip to a holder part of a tip detaching apparatus, and after holding the tip by a chuck device, such as an air-operated chuck, moving the welding gun in an up and down direction while rotating the tip by an electric motor or the like.
Further, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2006-346701 and Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 07-144284 disclose methods for detaching a tip by inserting a plate-shaped member into a gap between the tip and a shank on a tip mounting side and prying the tip and the shank by a robot operation or device.
However, the aforesaid apparatus on the market requires the air and electric motive power used for holding the tip and for detaching the tip and thus has problems that it has a complicated structure and high cost.
Further, the apparatuses disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2006-346701 and Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 07-144284 require a certain size of gap between the tip and the shank. Therefore, a gap large enough to enable the detaching of the tip cannot be sometimes reserved depending on a state of the gap and the shape and size of the welding gun, that is, the type of the shank (tip base) and the size of the tip (for example, φ16 or φ13), which has posed a problem that these apparatuses cannot be flexibly used. Further, since the tip is pried when detached, the shank, for example, is sometimes damaged, which sometimes necessitates the replacement of the shank and so on because the shank and so on are deformed after the long use.


A wafer track and lithography cluster tool for performing a series of processes with a scheduler which synchronizes all events in a substrate processing system. Events in the cluster tool are scheduled to occur at regular, periodic intervals, thereby improving throughput and quality. The scheduler also eliminates conflicts for transportation resources between modules in the cluster tool. Wafers are loaded into the cluster tool at a regular interval, referred to as a sending period. All events in the system are synchronized with the sending period, and all event timings are normalized in terms of the sending period. The conflicts are resolved by selectively adding delays in modules which can tolerate them without degrading throughput or performance in the system; modules that cannot tolerate delays are exempted. The periodicity of the scheduled cluster tool enables the identification of wafers in the cluster tool. The identification of the order in which a wafer was loaded also identifies a module path followed by the wafer.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to the field of microelectronic fabrication. More particularly, the invention relates to a technique of optimizing the throughput, reliability, and quality of microelectronic fabrication by synchronizing the individual processing and transportation mechanisms within a fabrication system.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In the process of manufacturing a semiconductor device such as an integrated circuit, numerous steps of micro-fabrication are performed to form a device. These steps are performed serially on the individual items of manufacture in individual modules; the items of manufacture are transferred between modules by transport mechanisms such as robots. In order to achieve desirable throughput, reliability, and fabrication quality, several conditions must be met:
1) The delivery and removal of the substrate to and from the process modules, as well as the transportation of the wafer between modules, must be accomplished in a timely manner. This timely delivery and removal of substrate is achieved when the flow of substrate is maintained in a periodic and synchronized manner. If periodicity and synchronization are not maintained, the process results will be inconsistent from substrate to substrate, and the expected throughput may be reduced.
2) It is desirable to transport the substrate in similar process flow paths to avoid inconsistency in process results due to variations in the process history of the substrates.
3) It is imperative to ensure that the articles of manufacture do not spend any pre-process or post-process time idling in modules where critical processes are performed. The addition of pre-process or post-process time in these modules degrades not only the throughput but also the process results. For example, in an IC fabrication system, if a substrate is not immediately transferred from the spin coat module to a bake module to thermally cure a photo-resist film layer, the resulting film thickness will be unpredictable. If it is impossible to totally eliminate pre-process and/or post-process times, they should be rendered as brief as possible, and any variations in these times cannot be allowed.
The inability to meet any or all of the above conditions come from the failure to resolve transport conflicts. Conflicts are situations wherein separate modules demand a robot within a time span insufficient for the robot to service these modules
One conventional solution to the concerns listed above is the addition of extra process modules and transportation resources. However, the size limitations and geometrical constraints of a track system limit the possibility of resolving the above difficulties by adding additional process modules or transportation resources.
The addition of dedicated transfer arms to transfer substrates between adjacent modules (hereinafter called Inter Bay Transfer Arms, or IBTAs) is another method used to improve throughput and eliminate some of the pre-process and/or post-process times. However, the addition of IBTAs also has serious drawbacks. Dedicated transfer arms complicate the tool and increase its cost, constrain the position of the modules, and cannot be used everywhere in the tool. As a result, the tasks of managing the substrate flow in the track system while maintaining both high throughput and quality and resolving all transport conflicts become unmanageable.
Another conventional solution is to assign a set of substrate transport priority rules. Prior to any robot move, the control system, also referred to as the software scheduler, verifies the status of substrates in different modules and makes transfer priority decisions based on these rules. However, to achieve high throughputs, the scheduler may generate undesirable, unpredictable and variable pre-process and post-process times in critical modules, and the substrates may also be forced to follow different flow paths to complete their process cycle.
A substrate processing system may further include lithographic projection apparatus that can be used in the manufacture of integrated circuits (ICs). In such a case, the patterning means may generate a circuit pattern corresponding to an individual layer of the IC, and this pattern can be imaged onto a target portion (comprising one or more dies) on a substrate that has been coated with a layer of radiation-sensitive material. In general, a single wafer will contain a whole network of adjacent target portions that are successively irradiated via the projection system, one at a time. In some current apparatus, employing patterning by a mask on a mask table, a distinction can be made between two different types of machine. In one type of lithographic projection apparatus, each target portion is irradiated by exposing the entire mask pattern onto the target portion at once using what is commonly referred to as a wafer stepper. In an alternative apparatus, which is commonly referred to as a stop-and-scan apparatus, each target portion is irradiated by progressively scanning the mask pattern under the projection beam in a given reference direction (the xe2x80x9cscanningxe2x80x9d direction) while synchronously scanning the substrate table parallel or anti-parallel to this direction. Since the projection system will generally have a magnification factor M (generally less than 1), the speed V at which the substrate table is scanned will be a factor M times that at which the mask table is scanned. More information with regard to lithographic devices as here described can be gleaned, for example, from U.S. Pat. No. 6,046,792 which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
There is a continuing desire in the semiconductor industry to be able to manufacture ICs with ever higher component densities and hence smaller feature size. To image smaller features in a lithographic projection apparatus it is necessary to use projection radiation of shorter wavelength. A number of different type of projection radiation have been proposed, including Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) in the 10-20 nm range, electron beams, ion beams and other charged particle fluxes. These types of radiation beam share the requirement that the beam path, including the mask, substrate and optical components, be kept in a high vacuum. This is to prevent absorption and/or scattering of the beam and a total pressure of less than about 10xe2x88x926 millibar is necessary. Optical elements for EUV radiation can be spoiled by the deposition of carbon layers on their surface which imposes the additional requirement that hydrocarbon partial pressures must be kept below 10xe2x88x928 or 10xe2x88x929 millibar.
Lithographic apparatus may employ various types of projection radiation, non-limiting examples of which include ultra-violet light (xe2x80x9cUVxe2x80x9d) radiation (e.g., with a wavelength of 365 nm, 248 nm, 193 nm, 157 nm or 126 nm), EUV, X-rays, ion beams or electron beams. Depending on the type of radiation used and the particular design requirements of the apparatus, it may comprise a projection system having refractive, reflective or catadioptric components, and comprise vitreous elements, grazing-incidence mirrors, selective multi-layer coatings, magnetic and/or electrostatic field lenses, etc; for simplicity, such components may be loosely referred to in this text, either singly or collectively, as a xe2x80x9clens.xe2x80x9d
In a manufacturing process using such a lithographic projection apparatus, a pattern in a mask is imaged onto a substrate or silicon wafer which is at least partially covered by a layer of radiation-sensitive material such as resist. Prior to this imaging step, the substrate may undergo various procedures, such as priming, resist coating and a soft bake. After exposure, the substrate may be subjected to other procedures, such as a post-exposure bake (PEB), development, a hard bake and measurement/inspection of the imaged features. This array of procedures is used as a basis to pattern an individual layer of a device, e.g., IC. Such a patterned layer may then undergo various processes such as etching, ion-implantation (doping), metallization, oxidation, chemo-mechanical polishing, etc., all intended to finish off an individual layer. If several layers are required, then the whole procedure, or a variant thereof, will have to be repeated for each new layer. Eventually, an array of devices will be present on the substrate or wafer. These devices are then separated from one another by a technique such as dicing or sawing, whence the individual devices can be mounted on a carrier, connected to pins, etc. Further information regarding such processes may be obtained, for example, from the book xe2x80x9cMicrochip Fabrication: A Practical Guide to Semiconductor Processingxe2x80x9d, Third Edition, by Peter van Zant, McGraw Hill Publishing Co., 1997 ISBN 0-07-067250-4.
Heretofore, the semiconductor processing requirements of conflict resolution, synchronization, quality, and path consistency referred to above have not been fully met. What is needed is a solution that simultaneously addresses all of these requirements.
A primary goal of the invention is to provide a synchronized substrate-transporting algorithm that resolves any possible flow conflicts and thereby improves the performance and the throughput of a track system.
Another primary goal of the invention is to provide an algorithm that determines the optimal allocation of transportation resources for balancing the load amongst transport mechanisms.
Another primary goal of the invention is to enable flexible synchronization of the fabrication system, ensuring that substrate processing and transportation occur at regular, predictable intervals without diminishing the throughput.
In accordance with these goals, there is a particular need for an algorithm that synchronizes the fabrication system, so that each process or substrate transportation always occurs at precise point in the interval. Thus, it is rendered possible to simultaneously satisfy the above-discussed requirements of conflict resolution, synchronization, optimized throughput, and wafer quality, which, in the case of the prior art, are mutually contradicting and are not simultaneously satisfied.
A first aspect of the invention is implemented in an embodiment that is based on an algebraic transformation. A second aspect of the invention is implemented in an embodiment that is based on a genetic algorithm.
With respect to yet another aspect of the invention, a clustered wafer track and lithography system is provided. The benefits of the invention as described herein extend beyond a wafer track alone and are applicable to a combined wafer track and stepper apparatus. The synchronization and optimization of processing substrates in accordance with the invention efficiently achieves high and reliable throughput that can be measured and observed on a systemwide level.
These, and other, goals and aspects of the invention will be better appreciated and understood when considered in conjunction with the following description and the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the following description, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention and numerous specific details thereof, is given by way of illustration and not of limitation. Many changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the invention without departing from the spirit thereof, and the invention includes all such modifications.

Method and apparatus for resolving conflicts in a substrate processing system


Various embodiments of the present invention provide methods and systems for optimally staining biological samples for analysis. In one embodiment, images of a sample are recorded before and after the application of a staining reagent and a decolorization reagent. A difference image is then generated based at least in part on a comparison of the images of the sample recorded before and after the application of the staining and decolorization reagents. Application parameters of the staining and decolorization reagents are then corrected based at least in part on the difference image such that the reagents may be optimally reapplied to generate a final image of the sample that may enable a user to better differentiate at least one target of interest in the sample. In one example, embodiments of the present invention allow for the generation of images that show only Gram-positive bacteria or only Gram-negative bacteria.

Gram staining is one of the most frequently performed procedures in modern microbiology laboratories. Such procedures are used to broadly classify bacteria as "Gram-positive" or "Gram-negative." After affixing a bacteria-containing sample to a microscope slide, the sample is treated using staining reagents such as crystal violet in combination with Gram's iodine. This first step stains all bacteria a deep blue or violet. The principal difference between "Gram-positive" and "Gram-negative" bacteria is that in "Gram-positive" samples, the staining reagents are absorbed within the whole cellular structure, while in the "Gram-negative" samples, staining occurs only superficially. Consequently, when the sample is subsequently treated with a decolorizing agent (such as acid alcohol), Gram-negative bacteria tend to lose their color, while Gram-positive bacteria remain stained blue or violet.
Gram stains are conventionally prepared and analyzed manually. Manual Gram staining is labor-intensive, requires skilled personnel, and may fail to achieve optimum staining characteristics in the sample set. Non-optimum staining may result in false Gram-positives as well as false Gram-negatives.
There have been different attempts to automate the Gram staining procedure. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,029,470 to Wilkins et al. ("Wilkins"). Similarly, the Aerospray Slide Stainer, available commercially from Wescor, Inc. of Logan, Utah is a rudimentary automated staining apparatus. Other staining devices include the Midas III Slide Stainer, commercially available from Merck KGaA of Darmstadt, Germany; the Poly Stainer, which is commercially available from IUL Instruments GmbH of Koenigswinter, Germany; and the Automated Gram Stainer, commercially available from the GG&B Company of Wichita Falls, Tex. and described generally in U.S. Pat. No. 6,468,764 to Gibbs et al. None of these instruments or techniques, however, allow for the capability of applying staining and/or decolorizing agents before, during, and/or after examination and/or image processing of a sample slide.
Consequently, there exists a need for an improved automated staining method and system.

Method and apparatus for automated staining of biological materials


Methods and apparatus for communicating packets from a remote access node assembly by way of a serving access node assembly are described. An inter-route tunneling protocol module which interfaces with a radio link protocol module is used to recover a tunneled route protocol packet. Information to be communicated to the access terminal from the remote access node assembly by way of the serving access node assembly is subject to two levels of radio link protocol (RLP) processing operations. The first level of RLP processing being performed by the remote access node assembly. The second level of RLP processing being performed by the serving access node assembly. The access terminal, in recovering information performs the inverse of the two levels of RLP processing.

Wireless communications systems often include a plurality of access points (APs) which may be implemented, for example, as access nodes. In addition to APs, such systems often also include other network elements in addition to access terminals, e.g., mobile or other end node devices. In many cases access terminals communicate with access points via wireless communications links while other elements in the network, e.g., APs, generally communicate with one another via non-air links, e.g., fiber, cable or wire links.
As an Access Terminal (AT) moves in a system, and/or as airlink conditions change, the access terminal may lose or terminate a connection with an AP and may establish and/or maintain a connection with another AP. As a result, an AP which had an airlink connection with an AT may end up in a situation where it has undelivered packets which are to be communicated to an AT with which it no longer has a connection. Similarly, it is possible that an AT has undelivered packets intended for an application residing at an AP with which it previously had a wireless communications link but with which it no longer has a wireless communications link.
Accordingly, in many embodiments, it may important that ATs receiving an RLP packet be able to identify the AP which was responsible for generating the RLP packets to begin with so that the packets can be processed by a corresponding RLP module and the higher level packet, in the case of fragmentation, reconstructed therefrom.
It should be appreciated that there is a need for methods and/or apparatus which support the communications of packets between an AP which is remote to an AT and an AP which is serving the AT and has an active airlink connection with the AT that can be used to deliver packets or previously undelivered portions of packets. There is also a need for methods and/or apparatus which can be used to communicate sufficient control information to allow an AT to apply the proper processing, e.g., RLP processing, to packets received over an airlink.

Methods and apparatus for supporting tunneling related to wireless downlink signaling flows


A battery-powered insect removal device comprises a funnel-shaped housing further including a cylindrical handle which has a fan motor, a battery, an operating switch, and electrical components which generate a vacuum across the opening of the funnel. During use, the device is electrically activated and then placed near a flying or crawling insect. The vacuum will draw the insect inside where it is exterminated by a plurality of fan blades and collected within and interior receptacle. The receptacle is removable for emptying and cleaning.

There are a wide variety of products designed to eliminate the presence of insects in both indoor and outdoor environments. These products include insecticide sprays, electronic insect repellant systems, acoustic repellent systems, and even old-fashioned flyswatters. While these various solutions work in some manner or another they do have many unwanted side effects. These side effects include hazardous chemicals, dangerous high voltages, exposure to unsanitary conditions, and the like. These conditions are especially worrisome when children or pets are present. Accordingly, there exists a need for a means by which all types of flying and crawling insects can be removed from almost any location in an easy manner and without worrisome side effects. The development of the hand-held pest vacuum fulfills this need.
Various attempts have been made to provide a hand-held pest vacuum. Examples of these attempts can be seen by reference to several U.S. patents. U.S. Pat. No. 4,858,376, issued in the name of Reed, describes an insect trap apparatus. This patent discloses a device with a reversible motor that creates a vacuum to secure and eject an insect. This patent does not disclose a receptacle for collecting dead pests for later disposal.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,330, issued in the name of Rorant, describes a suction insect trap device. This patent discloses a vacuum pump device with a receiving container for collecting insects for later release. This patent does not disclose an internal fan blade assembly designed to eliminate pests.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,175,960, issued in the name of Wade, describes a pest collection disposal device. This patent discloses a vacuum pump device that traps and secures insects in a disposable, telescoping tube between a filter and a flap assembly. This patent does not disclose an internal fan blade assembly designed to eliminate pests.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,367,821, issued in the name of Ott, describes a suction insect trap apparatus. This patent discloses a vacuum pump device for capturing insects within a container for the purpose of later releasing the insect without excessive harm. This patent does not disclose an internal fan blade assembly designed to eliminate pests.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,402,598, issued in the name of Wade, describes a pest collection disposal device. This patent discloses a vacuum pump device that traps and secures insects in a disposable, telescoping tube between a filter and a flap assembly. This patent does not disclose an internal fan blade assembly designed to eliminate pests.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives, each of these references suffer from one (1) or more disadvantages. Many such devices are not suited for trapping insects, eliminating the trapped insects, and then collecting the eliminated insects within a removable receptacle for later disposal. Accordingly, there exists a need for hand-held pest vacuum without the disadvantages as described above. The development of the present invention substantially departs from the conventional solutions and in doing so fulfills this need.


The CWE Concepts are designed to extract the maximum possible wind energy passing through a given square footage area of influencing machine interface at given calculated velocities, to deliver that energy to two power take off shafts for end user's useful work (electrical power generation and other requirements). A multi-bucket “S” rotor, airfoils, baffles and cowling combined, utilize one hundred percent of that moving air volume most efficiently. Our strategies are to use smaller units, yielding more power than existing designs while being installed at much lower levels, urban friendly, less visible, nearly-enclosed rotating machinery, quieter, and safer for indigenous wildlife populations. We plan to market for commercial and residential customers, in turn providing HVAC and electrical power augmentation to utility companies—a reliable and robust addition to the national power grid. Our goals—reduce dependency on foreign oil and provide a clean alternative.

The present invention relates generally to "Green" renewable wind energy capture to be used for useful work. The California Wind Engine "S" Rotor system units are designed to enhance the capture of wind energy much more efficiently and reliably while presenting a reduced public perception of unsatisfactory sight visibility interruption both urban and rural. The invention finds application in rural Wind Farm placements, high-rise and commercial building electrical and other power augmentation installations as well as residential and ranch/farm unit installations.
More particularly, the present invention relates to great potential for urban-friendly placements whereby civil urban and rural planning departments will have a much easier task in reviewing and attaining approval consideration for satisfying the general public's needs and aesthetic desires of such wind-driven applications. Current wind energy capture devices tend to garner adverse public acceptance when considering noise pollution, eye disturbance, and hazards to indigenous bird, bat and wildlife populations.
Therefore, the need exists for increasing safety for wildlife, the public in general, reduced horizon interruption, reduced noise pollution and greatly reduced visible rotation components. The need exists for installations placed at much lower elevations, units that are far more capable of power generation when compared with similar-sized wind "sweep" areas of current wind energy capture designs and concepts. Pleasant public acceptance and the potential for mass production and marketing of the present invention lend credence to the concept of economies of scale while reducing the dependence on foreign oil for our nation.


A medical image processing apparatus of an embodiment includes processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to acquire time-series medical images including blood vessels of an examination subject, the time-series medical images being fluoroscopically captured in at least one direction at a plurality of points in time, generate a blood vessel shape model including time-series variation information about the blood vessels in an analysis region of the blood vessels on the basis of the acquired time-series medical images, and perform fluid analysis of blood flowing through the blood vessels on the basis of the generated blood vessel shape model.

Technologies for analyzing the function and structure of a blood vessel using images have been known. In blood vessel analysis, a technology for fixing a function index of the blood vessel of an examination subject from time-series images including the blood vessels of the examination subject on the basis of information on correlations between physical indexes of blood vessels and function indexes of blood vessels with respect to blood circulation states has been known. In addition, a technology for temporarily constructing a dynamic model with respect to structural fluid analysis of an analysis target region on the basis of time-series form indexes, deformation indexes, and medical images and fixing latent variables with respect to a latent variable identification region such that a predicted value of a blood vessel form index and a predicted value of a blood flow index based on the constructed dynamic model match at least one of an observed value of the blood vessel form index and an observed value of the blood flow index, which are measured in advance, has been known. However, there are cases in which the above-described technology requires time and effort for measurement and an analysis method itself also requires time and effort and thus blood vessel analysis cannot be performed in an acute phase or the like.

Medical image processing apparatus and storage medium


A method of performing angiography of the occular fundus of an eye of a patient includes the steps of injecting intravenously calcein into the patient in an effective amount immediately prior to angiography and performing angiography on the patient. The invention further discloses a method of performing photocoagulation therapy and/or photodynamic therapy and angiography of the ocular fundus of an eye of a patient which includes the steps of performing photocoagulation therapy, injecting intravenously calcein into the patient in an effective amount immediately prior to angiography, and performing angiography on the patient.

The present invention relates to a method of performing angiography by using calcein as the fluorescent indicator substance and also to a method of performing photocoagulation therapy and angiography.
Photography of the circulatory system of the eye and angiography of the ocular fundus require the absorption of a fluorescent indicator substance or dye into the blood as it flows through the vasculature of the eye. Investigators have reported the use of soduim fluorescein (Naf), carboxyfluorescein (CF), indocyanine green, lissamine green, patent blue, Evans blue, and acridine orange as dyes suitable for angiography. Fluorescein angiography is one of the most improtant tools in diagnosing retinal-chloroidal diseases. Sodium fluorescein and indocyanine green are the two agents currently used as indicators for angiography of the retinal and choroidal vasculature. Sodium fluorescein is the only fluorescent dye currently in clinical use.
Sodium fluorescein has its light absorption peak near 490 nm and it fluoresces maximally at 514 nm to 520 nm. The molecular weight of sodium fluorescein is 376 and it has a relatively high lipid solubility. Sodium fluorescein is readily metabolized to fluorescein glucuronide, which is weakly fluorescent and easily crosses the blood-ocular barrier. Given these factors, angiograms taken with sodium fluorescein have a relatively short decay time in the retinal vasculature. Also, with sodium fluorescein, fluorescein leakage into the vitreous tends to obscure retinal and choroidal structures in later phases which hinders or prohibits photocoagulation therapy prior to or after angiography.
Carboxyfluroescein is another fluorescent dye which has been used for fundus angiography. Carboxyfluorescein is a hydrophilic derivative of fluorescein. The light absorption peak of carboxyfluorescein is 490 nm and it fluoresces maximally at 520 nm. Carboxyfluorescein has a molecular weight of 373. The main distinction between carboxyfluorescein and sodium fluorescein is that carboxyfluorescein has 1/1000 the lipid solubility of sodium fluorescein and thus is less likely to penetrate cell membranes. Studies of carboxyfluroescein used in fluorophotometry to investigate blood-ocular barriers indicate that it may delineate certain abnormalities of these barriers better than sodium fluorescein. Because carboxyfluorescein is not as readily glucuronated as sodium fluorescein, carboxyfluorescein also has been used as a tracer in quantitative physiological studies of the anterior chamber of human eyes.
Although sodium fluorescein and carboxyfluorescein are suitable for angiography there is a need for a fluorescent dye which has a longer circulation decay time than that of these and any other known fluorescent indicator. Additionally, there is a need for a fluorescent dye which has limited leakage to permit simultaneous angiography and photocoagulation therapy without obscuring the fundus view with leaking dye from the photocoagulated structure.


The invention relates to a reluctance rotor lamination that permits easy assembly of a rotor, in particular by means of press fitting, wherein there must be sufficient stability. For this purpose, a reluctance rotor lamination (18) is provided, wherein an opening (6, 42) for stress reduction is arranged on each d axis half (32) in each flux-conducting section (24), such that a partial flux-conducting section (36, 37) is formed on each of the two sides of each d axis half (32) in each flux-conducting section (24). The sum of the smallest cross-section of each of the two partial flux-conducting sections (36, 37) is substantially greater than or equal to a smallest cross-sectional area of the flux-conducting section (36, 37) perpendicular to each partial d axis half (32) radially above the opening, such that the opening (6, 42) does not cause magnetic impairment.

The present invention relates to a reluctance rotor lamination which is substantially embodied in a circular disk shape. It has a central opening in the center and a flux-conducting section extending radially from the central opening to a connecting ring located on the outer edge of the reluctance rotor lamination along a d-axis (preferred direction of magnetization). The invention also relates to a reluctance rotor having a laminated core made of a plurality of reluctance rotor laminations and a method for the production thereof.
Reluctance rotor laminations of this kind with corresponding openings are known from patent U.S. Pat. No. 5,818,140 A. A laminated core and a corresponding rotor can be assembled from the reluctance rotor laminations. The punched-out sections are used to produce curved, strip-shaped lamination sections that serve as flux-conducting sections and conduct the magnetic flux in the way necessary for the provision of the required reluctance of the rotor. Due to the punched-out sections, air, i.e. a non-magnetic region that acts as a magnetic flux inhibitor, is located between the individual flux-conducting sections. The strip-shaped flux-conducting sections result in a high torque yield. Due to the non-magnetic regions, the magnetic permeability of the laminated core is relatively low in the direction of the q-axis, i.e. the magnetic inhibition direction. The strip-shaped flux-conducting sections extend transversely to the q-axis and, in the circumferential direction, connect adjacent poles of the rotor arranged in each case on the d-axis (preferred directions of magnetization). However, the punched-out sections for the provision of the non-magnetic regions or the formation of the flux-conducting sections result in a weakening of the mechanical stability of the laminated core such that the rotor described is not suitable for high rotational speeds, in particular not for rotational speeds in excess of than 3000 revolutions per minute. For this reason, reluctance motors of the type described are, for example, not suitable for the rotational speeds required for motor vehicles with electric drives.
Therefore, due to the mode of operation, the rotor lamination in a reluctance motor (in short: reluctance rotor lamination) is especially embodied with greatly varying radial stability with respect to the d-axis and q-axis. For example, the d-axis is formed with a flux-conducting section with a continuous lamination from the inner diameter to the outer diameter, while the q-axis is interrupted by flux inhibitors.
For example, the rotor laminations are connected to the shaft by a cylindrical press fit on the shaft. In the case of high speeds, the oversize of the press fitting should be higher, since the centrifugal force results in an expansion of the inner diameter of the rotor lamination and the torque transmission onto the shaft is reduced. In addition, feather keys for torque transmission would be unfavorable since the groove to be introduced into the laminations would further reduce the stability.
The different degrees if stability in the axes results in different degrees of deformation during the pressing-on and hence in impermissible stresses on the outer ribs or on the outer connecting ring of the rotor lamination, in particular on the rib directly next to the d-axis. The continuous material in the d-axis passes as a deformation from the inner diameter to the outer diameter, while in the adjacent region, due to the flux inhibitors, there is no deformation from inside to out.
In addition, the ribs holding the flux-conducting sections together are subject to extreme stress from the centrifugal force on rotation. In the case of a relatively high tensile stress, which can actually be caused by the press fit, there is no reserve or only little reserve for the centrifugal force loading. Therefore, a reluctance rotor of this kind is only suitable for relatively low speeds.
One possibility for optimization consists in the integration of closing shapes between the shaft and the rotor lamination to enable the withdrawal of the press fit forces with the simultaneous transmission of a high torque. The closing shapes used could be grooves and springs, flat parts or even shafts with polygonal cross sections. Although these measures do enable tensile stresses to be avoided as there is no need for press fitting, as indicated above, in some circumstances the lamination is also destabilized by grooves and the production or connection of the shafts is complicated.

Reluctance rotor lamination having an opening for stress reduction


An insulated wire comprising a conductor and an insulating coating made from a polyamideimide base coating, which polyamideimide is made of an acid component and a diisocyanate component containing 10 to 80 % by mole of an aromatic diisocyanate compound of the formula: ##STR1## or which polyamideimide is made of an diisocyanate component and an imidodicarboxylic acid that is a reaction product of an acid component and a diamine component, in which the diamine component contains an aromatic diamine compound of the formula: ##STR2## and/or the diisocyanate component contains the above aromatic diisocyanate compound in such an amount that a total amount of the aromatic diamine compound and the diisocyanate compound is from 10 to 80 % by mole based on the total amount of the whole diamine component and the whole diisocyanate component.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an insulated wire. More particularly, the present invention relates to an insulated wire which is excellent in winding and inserting properties to processing and preferably used as a wire to be wound around a core of a motor.
2. Description of the Related Art
In these years, as a tendency for down-sizing and weight reduction of electric or electronic apparatuses has increased, a smaller and lighter motor with higher performances has been required. To satisfy such requirement, it is necessary to wind more turns of an insulated wire around the core of the motor. To this end, the insulated wire is forced to be jammed in a core slot. Therefore, an insulating coating of the insulated wire tends to be damaged during winding. If the insulating coating is damaged, layer failure or earth failure occurs so that electric characteristics of the motor tend to be deteriorated.
Hitherto, in the motor to be used in the above described application, there is usually used an insulated wire having an insulating coating with good mechanical strength which is formed by coating and baking a coating paint of polyamideimide having good mechanical strength on a conductor or other insulating coating which is already formed on the conductor. As the polyamideimide, a reaction product of diphenylmethane-4,4'-diisocyanate and trimellitic anhydride is generally used (cf. Japanese Patent Publication Nos. 19274/1969 and 27611/1970).
Today, a further down-sized and weight reduced motor with better performances is required. To satisfy this requirement, the number of turns of the insulated wire is further increased so that even the polyamideimide base insulating coating is sometimes damaged.
To decrease the damage of the insulating coating, it is studied to add an organic or inorganic lubricant to the coating paint so as to impart lubricity to the insulating coating, or to apply a lubricant such as a wax directly on the insulated wire. However, these methods do not prevent the damage of the insulating coating completely.
The further increase of the mechanical strength of the insulating coating may decrease the damage of the insulating coating. However, simple increase of the mechanical strength will make the coating more stiff and less flexible, so that the coating is easily cracked or peeled off when the insulated wire is bent, or the winding and inserting properties of the insulated wire is deteriorated.


An improved electrical connector is formed by stamping and bending a sheet of conductive metal, wherein as a preliminary step, a series of longitudinally-spaced openings are formed in the sheet to define a plurality of transversely extending strips from the side edges of which a pair of parallel spaced integral side walls extend, which sheet is coiled on a storage spool, and is subsequently unwound and fed toward a stamping station at which the transverse strips are severed at spaced separation points, thereby to define a connector body wall integral with the side walls. The side walls have portions that are simultaneously bent to form top, bottom and/or end walls which cooperate to define a chamber in which a spring contact is mounted. The connector is then connected an electrical component, such as a printed circuit board, in the manner of a surface mounted device (SMD).

1. Field of the Invention
An improved electrical connector is formed by stamping and bending a sheet of conductive metal, wherein as a preliminary step, a series of longitudinally-spaced openings are formed in the sheet to define a plurality of transversely extending strips from the side edges of which a pair of parallel spaced integral side walls extend, which sheet is coiled on a storage spool, and is subsequently unwound and fed toward a stamping station at which the transverse strips are severed at spaced separation points, thereby to define a connector body wall integral with the side walls. The side walls have portions that are simultaneously bent to form top, bottom and/or end walls which cooperate to define a chamber in which a spring contact is mounted.
2. Description of Related Art
It is known in the electrical connector art to provide a connection device made as a spring terminal for the connection of conductors, as well as a method for the assembly of connection devices that can be made as a spring terminal or also in some other way for connection to electrical conductors, such as an IDC connection or as a screw connection.
Spring terminals for connection of a conductor that have a terminal body with an open front for the introduction of the conductor and a spring contact arranged in the terminal body for contacting the conductor and for firmly clamping the conductor in the terminal body are known, for example, from the European patent No. EP 1 253 670 A2.
Another spring terminal is known from the German patent No. DE 196 14 977. An attachment leg—a kind of bracket—is used as overextension protection of the spring and simultaneously as actuation lever and is made integrally with the spring. The spring terminal is actuated, for example, with a screwdriver, with which the spring, for example, is opened out of the introduction direction of the conductor.
It is, moreover, known that spring terminals can be so designed that a conductor can be inserted into the terminal body into the contact point between the spring and a bus bar directly against the spring force without any need for separately opening the spring. This technique, also referred to as a "push-in connector" is described, for example, in the U.S. patent to Fricke et al U.S. Pat. No. 6,797,855 B2. The conductor can be separated out of the contact point with the aid of a screwdriver.
Against this background, it is the object of the invention, on the one hand, to create a spring terminal that is made as a spring terminal by way of the direct plug-in technique, which has a particularly compact structure. Moreover, there is to be created a particularly simple, automatable process for the assembly of such connection devices, preferably also those with other structures.
According to the present invention, the connector body has at least one lateral opening through which an insulated conductor can be separated laterally or essentially laterally (out of an angle between approximately 60 and 90°) with respect to the conductor insertion direction out of the contact point between the spring contact and the terminal body. According to another invention, the terminal body furthermore has surfaces that are suitable for a surface mounted device (SMD) assembly on a structural part, in particular, a printed circuit board.
Because of the use of only a few parts, the spring terminal has a relatively simple and inexpensive design. It is furthermore easily assembled and can be made relatively small.
The invention also creates a method for assembly of connection devices, whereby the assembly of an arrangement takes place by unrolling the assembly line from a spool, and separating a wall from the metal material between a pair of separation points on the material.

Connector arrangement, and method for mounting the same


The present invention relates to a method for producing N-substituted sulfonamide compounds including a step of reacting a sulfonamide compound of general formula (1) with a halogenated organic compound of general formula (2) in the presence of cesium carbonate or potassium carbonate in an organic solvent to produce an N-substituted sulfonamide compound of general formula (3).

N-substituted sulfonamide compounds are useful in various fields as medicinal and agrochemical products and organic materials, or as raw materials and intermediates thereof. In particular, they have recently been reported to be useful as medicinal products. Safe and convenient methods for their production have been desired (for example, see Patent Documents 1 and 2).
In some methods presented so far, N-substituted sulfonamide compounds are produced by reacting a sulfonamide compound with a halogenated organic compound in the presence of sodium hydride (for example, see Patent Documents 1 and 2, and Non-Patent Documents 1 to 5).
In other methods, N-substituted sulfonamide compounds are produced by reacting a sulfonamide compound with a halogenated organic compound in the presence of potassium carbonate (for example, see Patent Documents 3 and 4, and Non-Patent Document 6).
Further, methods have been presented which produce an N-substituted sulfonamide compound by reacting a sulfonamide compound with a halogenated organic compound in the presence of sodium methoxide (for example, see Non-Patent Document 7).

Crystal of N-substituted sulfonamide compound


A method for laser machining of material using a burst comprised of laser pulses. The method tailors the pulse width, pulse separation duration, wavelength and polarization of the multiple laser pulses included in a burst to maximize the positive effect of thermal and physical changes achieved by previous pulses that have impinged upon the machined material.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to high-speed precision laser processing of target materials without damaging the region surrounding the cut or modified portion. More specifically, the present invention relates to a pulsed laser micromachining method to ablate or modify a portion of a structure comprised of single or multi-layer thin films. The pulsed laser beam vaporizes a portion of a layered structure comprised of metal, semiconductor material, organic material and/or dielectric material. Electrically conductive thin film links (e.g., copper, aluminum or platinum) and resistive films (e.g., nichrome, tantalum nitride, cesium silicide or silicon chromide) can be modified using the pulsed laser beam.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the metal interconnections in a LSI circuit or the metal links in a memory device (e.g., DRAM and SRAM) can be precisely severed, without damage to the layer beneath the severed portion or collateral damage to the region of the severed portion. In another embodiment of the present invention, micro- and nano-scale semiconductor devices, optical devices and microelectromechanical (MEMS) devices can be machined. In another embodiment of the present invention, biological tissues, artificial tissues and synthetic tissues can be ablated, incised, removed or fused with great precision.
2. Description of the Related Art
The demand for producing small scale features in MEMS, semiconductor, biomedical and other industries has led to the development of very precise laser material processing methods. The precise tuning and manipulation of laser pulse parameters is one method of achieving the precise control required for small scale feature manufacturing.
In some situations, it is crucial that only the region of interest in the processed material is modified, without damage to the surrounding region and/or without change to the physical, mechanical and/or chemical properties of the surrounding region. In addition, the surrounding region must remain in physical and chemical coherency with the region of interest after the laser irradiation so as to avoid induced cracks or defects in the surrounding region. Careful manipulation of laser parameters is necessary to achieve such results.
The fundamental mechanism of laser-matter interaction depends on basic laser parameters, such as pulse energy, pulse width, wavelength, pulse shape and polarization. It is well known that ultrashort pulse lasers that deliver laser pulses having pulse width of less than 100 picoseconds remove material more precisely and cleanly than laser pulses having longer pulse widths (i.e., nanoseconds). It is also known that the material breakdown threshold fluence is more precisely defined with pulse widths in the femtosecond and picosecond range, as compared to longer pulse widths. Only the laser energy above the threshold fluence contributes to the damage. In addition, most of the laser energy dissipation is confined to the irradiated region, minimizing thermal, physical and chemical damage in depth and collateral dimensions.
Breakdown or damage caused by a laser pulse includes any changes caused by electronic change, structural change and/or disintegration from the normal state of material at the ambient temperature. These changes can include dielectric breakdown, plasma formation, ablation, melting and vaporization during laser material interaction. Since ultrashort laser pulses offer a precise control of ablation threshold, precise control of the amount of material removed during materials processing is achieved with minimal debris and heat affected zone.
FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram that depicts a portion of a memory link 12 in a memory chip. FIGS. 1B and 1C are cross-sectional views of the memory link 12. The memory link 12 comprises conductive materials such as metal, polysilicon and polysilicide. The memory link 12 adheres to the passivation layer 11 (e.g., SiO2) on a silicon substrate 10. The passivation layer 11 thickness is typically 0.01 to 5 microns. The memory link 12 is interconnected with other portions of the memory chip by an electrical contact 13. Typically, the memory link 12 is 0.01 to 3 microns thick and 0.1 to 3.0 microns wide. Each link is spaced apart from each other link by about 1 to 5 microns on the silicon wafer. The typical metal link materials are copper, aluminum, gold, silver, nickel, platinum, titanium and tungsten. Other electrically conductive materials are also used.
Laser spot 14 covers the link 12 and preferably, the laser spot size is 10 to 50 percent larger than the width of the link. The link 12 has to be cut without damage to the surrounding and underlying regions. Laser pulse shape, repetition rate and wavelength have to be designed so as not to cause any damage to the vicinity of the metal link.
Conventional memory link cuts employed a single pulse of a nanosecond pulse width in the IR wavelength range. U.S. Pat. No. 5,265,114 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,569,398 emphasize the importance of wavelength, where an infrared laser beam in the wavelength range of 1.2-3.0 microns is utilized. In this wavelength range, silicon is essentially transparent and absorption contrast of the link material and the silicon is maximized. This results in the selective vaporization of metal links on top of the silicon and reduction of damage to the underlying silicon wafer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,208,437 discloses a sub-picosecond pulse for cutting aluminum interconnects without damaging the vicinity of the cut portion. The laser pulse passes away before melting of the first layer of metal starts and does not reach the layer beneath the first layer of metal.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,574,250 discloses a train of pulses in a burst of duration shorter than 1000 nanoseconds, or more preferably, 300 nanoseconds. Each set of pulse trains contains short pulses of 100 femtoseconds to 30 nanoseconds. The number of short pulses in a burst and energy of each pulse are selected so as to cleanly remove the bottom of the cut link.
U.S. Reissue Pat. No. RE37585E discloses a laser pulse that has a pulse width less than the value determined by the distinct change in the relationship of fluence breakdown threshold energy versus laser beam pulse width.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,281,471 B1 discloses a square shaped pulse of specific range of rise time, duration and fall time. The rise time of about one nanosecond is fast enough to couple the laser energy to the target materials. The pulse duration is about 2-10 nanoseconds and long enough to process the target materials. The fall time is a few nanoseconds and is rapid enough to avoid undesirable thermal effect on the structure.

Pulsed laser processing with controlled thermal and physical alterations


A wheel assembly includes a wheel portion comprises a web having an inboard surface. The web may define a torque bar retention slot that extends from the inboard surface of the web. The wheel assembly may also include a bushing disposed in the torque bar retention slot, wherein the bushing comprises an open end and a closed end. Still further, the wheel assembly may include a torque bar coupled to the wheel, and the torque bar may include a boss extending into the bushing through the open end of the bushing such that the boss of the torque bar is at least partially disposed within the torque bar retention slot of the wheel portion.

Aircraft typically include landing gear for supporting the aircraft above a ground surface and for allowing the aircraft to move relative to the ground surface while remaining supported by the ground surface. The landing gear may include one or more wheel assemblies. The wheel assemblies may be split wheel assemblies, for example, and may have an inboard wheel portion and an outboard wheel portion. Conventional mounting configurations for torque bars, to which rotors of the brake assembly may be coupled, have various shortcomings. For example, environmental contaminants, such as water, debris, chemical compounds, etc., may move through torque bar mounting slots, and the ingress of such contaminants often detrimentally facilitates corrosion of the wheel assembly. This corrosion and other damage may occur at the joining interface between corresponding wheel portions of a split wheel assembly, which can lead to a high scrap rate and/or high repair costs.

Torque bar retention for wheel assemblies


A method is described for transmitting signals at a communication apparatus in a wireless communication system supporting a plurality of component carriers. A physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) with uplink control information (UCI) and a PUSCH without the UCI are simultaneously transmitted using the plurality of component carriers. A predefined transmission power determination scheme is used to determine the transmission power of the PUSCH with the UCI, and determine the transmission power of the PUSCH without the UCI. If a total transmission power of the PUSCH with the UCI and the PUSCH without the UCI exceeds a value corresponding to a maximum transmission power configured for the communication apparatus, the determined transmission power of the PUSCH without UCI is adjusted while maintaining the determined transmission power of the PUSCH with the UCI.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wireless communication system, and more particularly, to a method and device for controlling an uplink transmission power.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Wireless communication systems have been widely deployed to provide a variety of types of communication services such as voice or data. Generally, wireless communication systems are multiple access systems capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (bandwidth, transmission power, etc.). Examples of the multiple access system include a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, a Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) system, a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) system, an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) system, a Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) system, a Multi Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (MC-FDMA) system, and the like.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method for controlling transmission power, and apparatus for same