A wake enhancer can be configured to be quickly and easily coupled to and decoupled from a boat even when the boat is in water and without requiring any modification/alteration to the boat. The wake enhancer can include a base, an arm that extends from the base to form a forward facing surface for diverting the flow of water, and opposing sidewalls that extend between the base and the arm to provide support to the arm. The wake enhancer can also include suction cup assemblies that are integrated into the base and function to couple the wake enhancer to the hull of a boat. The opposing sidewalls can include recessed ends which facilitate access to handles of the suction cup assemblies to in turn facilitate coupling and decoupling the wake enhancer.

Wakesurfing is a sport in which an individual rides the wake of a boat without being directly pulled by the boat. Most boats do not naturally produce a wake that is suitable (e.g., large enough and/or with a smooth enough face) for surfing. Therefore, a number of different devices and techniques have been created to modify the wake that is produced by a boat. For example, ballast (or weight) may be added to one side of the boat to cause it to ride lower in the water. Although reasonably effective, weighting the boat in this manner is dangerous since the boat will be much more likely to take on water or even capsize. It can also be difficult to drive a boat while it is listed to one side. Additionally, when using ballast, switching which side the surfer will ride on can be a very tedious process since the ballast will need to be emptied from the one side and then filled on the other.
To address the downsides of using ballast to produce a suitable wake, some wake enhancing devices have been created. These wake enhancers are typically in the form of a device that attaches to one side of the boat towards the stern. Although the exact mechanism by which such devices enhance the wake is beyond the scope of this specification, suffice it to say that such devices alter the flow of water around one side of the boat thereby enhancing the wake on the opposite side of the boat.
There are a number of downsides to the various wake enhancing devices currently available. For example, it can be difficult to secure these devices to the boat—especially in a manner that may not require permanent alteration/damage to the boat.


A method for detecting leaks within a vacuum system is described. The method may detect vacuum system leaks responsive to vacuum pump speed. The method can compensate for changes in barometric pressure so that a single leak threshold may be provided for all altitudes and barometric pressures.

Vacuum can be a source of motive force for actuators of a vehicle. Vacuum may be provided via an intake manifold of an engine or via a vacuum pump. In some vehicle vacuum systems, vacuum may be provided by both a vacuum pump and an intake manifold of an engine so that there may be sufficient vacuum during periods of vacuum demand. However, it may be difficult to determine if there are leaks within the vacuum system during vehicle operation when vacuum is being consumed. Further, since barometric pressure can vary with altitude and weather, it may be difficult to establish a vacuum leak rates under various environmental conditions.
The inventors herein have recognized the above-mentioned disadvantages and have developed a method for assessing vacuum system degradation for a vehicle, comprising: operating a vacuum pump during a condition of substantially no vacuum consumption via vacuum consumers of the vehicle; and providing an indication of vacuum degradation for the vehicle via a single vacuum leak threshold, the single leak threshold referenced to a leak rate at a plurality of altitudes.
By limiting consumption of vacuum from a vacuum system, it may be possible to accurately determine a vacuum leak rate of a vacuum system during vehicle operation. In particular, vacuum consumption by vehicle systems can be limited so as to increase a signal to noise ratio of vacuum leaks within a vacuum system. Further, it may be desirable to establish a single leak threshold that is applicable whether the vacuum system is at sea level or at some higher altitude. For example, a vacuum leak detection method may be structured to compensate for barometric pressure so as to be less sensitive to changes in atmospheric pressure allowing vacuum leak rates to be compared to a single leak rate threshold.
The present description may provide several advantages. For example, the approach may simplify vacuum leak diagnostic calibration and thereby reduce system cost. Further, the approach may reduce a number of pressure sensors for diagnosing vacuum leaks in a vacuum system. Further still, the approach may improve the reliability of diagnosing vacuum leaks.
The above advantages and other advantages, and features of the present description will be readily apparent from the following Detailed Description when taken alone or in connection with the accompanying drawings.
It should be understood that the summary above is provided to introduce in simplified form a selection of concepts that are further described in the detailed description. It is not meant to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, the scope of which is defined uniquely by the claims that follow the detailed description. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any disadvantages noted above or in any part of this disclosure.

Method and system for determining vacuum leaks


Solid-state ultrasound imaging devices, systems, and methods are provided. Some embodiments of the present disclosure are particularly directed to compact and efficient ultrasound transducer scanner formed from a substantially cylindrical semiconductor substrate. In some embodiments, an intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) device includes: an ultrasound scanner assembly disposed at a distal portion of the flexible elongate member, the ultrasound scanner assembly including a semiconductor substrate having a plurality of transistors formed thereupon. The semiconductor substrate is curved to have a substantially cylindrical form when the ultrasound scanner assembly is in a rolled form, and the plurality of transistors are arranged in a cylindrical arrangement when the ultrasound scanner assembly is in the rolled form. In one such embodiment, the device further includes a plurality of ultrasound transducers formed upon the semiconductor substrate and arranged in a cylindrical arrangement when the ultrasound scanner assembly is in the rolled form.

Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) imaging is widely used in interventional cardiology as a diagnostic tool for assessing a diseased vessel, such as an artery, within the human body to determine the need for treatment, to guide the intervention, and/or to assess its effectiveness. An IVUS device includes one or more ultrasound transducers arranged at a distal end of an elongate member. The elongate member is passed into the vessel thereby guiding the transducers to the area to be imaged. The transducers emit ultrasonic energy in order to create an image of the vessel of interest. Ultrasonic waves are partially reflected by discontinuities arising from tissue structures (such as the various layers of the vessel wall), red blood cells, and other features of interest. Echoes from the reflected waves are received by the transducer and passed along to an IVUS imaging system. The imaging system processes the received ultrasound echoes to produce a cross-sectional image of the vessel where the device is placed.
There are two general types of IVUS devices in use today: rotational and solid-state (also known as synthetic aperture phased array). For a typical rotational IVUS device, a single ultrasound transducer element is located at the tip of a flexible driveshaft that spins inside a plastic sheath inserted into the vessel of interest. The transducer element is oriented such that the ultrasound beam propagates generally perpendicular to the axis of the device. The fluid-filled sheath protects the vessel tissue from the spinning transducer and driveshaft while permitting ultrasound signals to propagate from the transducer into the tissue and back. As the driveshaft rotates, the transducer is periodically excited with a high voltage pulse to emit a short burst of ultrasound. The same transducer then listens for the returning echoes reflected from various tissue structures. The IVUS imaging system assembles a two dimensional display of the vessel cross-section from a sequence of pulse/acquisition cycles occurring during a single revolution of the transducer.
In contrast, solid-state IVUS devices utilize a scanner assembly that includes an array of ultrasound transducers distributed around the circumference of the device connected to a set of transducer controllers. The transducer controllers select transducer sets for transmitting an ultrasound pulse and for receiving the echo signal. By stepping through a sequence of transmit-receive sets, the solid-state IVUS system can synthesize the effect of a mechanically scanned transducer element but without moving parts. Since there is no rotating mechanical element, the transducer array can be placed in direct contact with the blood and vessel tissue with minimal risk of vessel trauma. Furthermore, because there is no rotating element, the interface is simplified. The solid-state scanner can be wired directly to the imaging system with a simple electrical cable and a standard detachable electrical connector.
Because an IVUS device is advanced into a confined space, device agility, which strikes a balance between flexibility and controllability, is an important characteristic. Rotational devices tend to smoothly advance around corners due to the flexible rotating drive shaft contained within the sheath. However, rotational IVUS devices often require a long rapid exchange tip to engage the guidewire, and the long tip may limit the advance of the imaging core containing the transducer. For example, this may prevent the device from being advanced to very distal locations within the coronary arteries. On the other hand, solid-state IVUS devices may have a shorter tip as the guidewire can pass through the interior lumen of the scanner. However, some solid-state designs have rigid segments that limit the ability to advance the elongate member around sharp bends in the vasculature. Solid-state IVUS devices also tend to be larger in diameter than rotational devices to accommodate the transducer array and the associated electronics.
While existing IVUS imaging systems have proved useful, there remains a need for improvements in the design of the solid-state scanner to reduce its overall diameter and to reduce the length of rigid portions of the elongate member in order to provide improved access to the vasculature. In addition, the improvements to fabrication and assembly techniques would also prove beneficial because of the difficulties inherent in assembling miniscule components. Accordingly, the need exists for improvements to the scanner assembly and its components, and to the methods used in manufacturing these elements.

Intravascular ultrasound imaging apparatus, interface architecture, and method of manufacturing

PHILIPS IMAGE GUIDED THERAPY CORPORATION


A very high speed optical converter for converting digital signals from Gray code to binary code and vice versa. The converter implements an exclusive-OR function. The converter may be constructed with fiber optic technology, AlGaAs ridge waveguide technology, LiNbO technology and other technologies.

The present invention pertains to optical translators and particularly to Gray to binary code optical converters. More particularly, the invention pertains to very high speed Gray to binary code optical converters for translation of signals from a first Gray code to a second binary code and vice versa.
Binary code representation of information signals is well known in the art. Two widely used codes are the conventional binary code and the reflected binary code which is also referred to as Gray code. Both the binary and Gray codes are often translated to the other for advantageous reasons in signal processing. Gray code is greatly favored because a single bit reversal (i.e., a bit error does not result in a large quantitative error).
The conversion of signals from the Gray (G) code to binary (B) code may be expressed as EQU B.sub.0 =G.sub.0 EQU and EQU B.sub.n =G.sub.n .sym.B.sub.n-1 for n.gtoreq.1, EQU G.sub.n =B.sub.n .sym.B.sub.u-1 for n.gtoreq.1
where ".sym." is an exclusive-OR function, "0" is the most significant bit, and as n increases the bit becomes less significant.
FIG. 1 is a truth table showing decimal numbers and corresponding four bit Gray and binary codes. Various approaches have been developed for translating signals from one code to another. One approach has been to use digital logic techniques including the exclusive-OR logic function to implement the translations. Various other cumbersome techniques, including quasi-optical circuitry, incorporating the exclusive-OR function, have been used for translating from one code to the other. None resembles the present invention.


A vehicle interior assembly includes a light guide and a light source configured to illuminate the light guide. The vehicle interior assembly also includes an interior trim component at least partially disposed about a display. The interior trim component includes a light transmissive material configured to receive light from the light guide, and to emit light into a vehicle interior.

The invention relates generally to trim components within a vehicle interior, and more specifically, to a system for illuminating a vehicle interior trim component.
A variety of decorative interior trim components may be employed throughout an interior of a vehicle. For example, certain instrument panels (e.g., instrument gauge cluster modules, driver information electronic sub-assemblies, etc.) may include decorative rings disposed about individual gauges, groups of gauges and/or the perimeter of the instrument panel. Other instrument panels may include a graphical display having a decorative trim component disposed about the border of the display. Furthermore, additional displays and/or gauges may be located within other areas of the vehicle interior, such as the center console and/or the headrest of a seat, for example. Such displays and/or gauges may also include a decorative trim component disposed about their perimeters.
Certain decorative trim components are used in coordination with various gauges or displays, such as a thin film transistor (TFT) display. For example, decorative trim components may be used to provide backlit graphics above and about a display area. In certain configurations, backlit graphics on an interior trim component may be used to display the numbers on a speedometer gauge, where the interior trim component is positioned about the electromechanical or digital speedometer needle. Unfortunately, such illuminated interior trim components may partially obstruct a view of adjacent displays or graphics. For example, certain illuminated interior trim components may extend 25 mm or more above a surface of the display due to the size of the light emitting components positioned behind the trim component. As a result, when the display is viewed at an angle, a portion of the display adjacent to the illuminated interior trim component may be blocked.
In addition, because displays such as TFT displays are generally very bright, it may be desirable for the backlit graphics to be equally as bright to match the luminous intensity of the display. Consequently, using the display itself as a light source may be undesirable because the display may lack the brightness required to sufficiently illuminate the graphics of the interior trim component. Furthermore, using the display as the light source for illuminating the interior trim component may result in uneven light distribution due to potential light blockage when the graphics assembly is disposed over and/or about the display. Accordingly, there is a need for a low profile illuminated interior trim component that provides sufficient light intensity for use with digital displays.

System for illuminating a vehicle interior trim component


A lamp socket comprised of a socket shell, a socket body fitted into a socket shell to hold a lamp bulb, and a mounting device fastened to the socket shell to hold the electric wire of a light string, wherein the socket shell has stop blocks to stop the socket body from rotary motion relative to the socket shell; the mounting device has bottom blocks pressed on the electric wire against the socket shell; the socket body has two opposite projecting strips inserted through holes on the socket shell and respectively bent inward to hold down the electric wire.

The present invention relates to lamp sockets, and more particularly to a lamp socket for a Christmas tree light which is durable in use.
The type of lamp socket with which this invention is concerned, as shown in FIG. 4, includes a socket shell, a mounting device having two bottom hooks hooked in holes on the socket shell to hold down an electric wire in a wire groove on the socket shell, a socket body fitted into the socket shell to hold a lamp bulb through a screw joint permitting the lamp bulb to be electrically connected to the electric wire by the contacts being fastened inside the socket shell. Because the socket body is fastened to the socket shell simply by inserting the socket body into the socket shell by force, the socket shell may be turned relative to the socket body, causing a contact error. Further, because the electric wire is retained in the wire groove on the socket shell simply by the mounting device, it may be pulled to disconnect from the contacts easily.


A gas cooktop may include: a gas burner; a sensor configured to sense temperature of a cooking container heated by the gas burner; a valve configured to control flow rate of gas from a gas source to the gas burner; and a control system including circuitry. The control system may start operation of the gas burner; receive sensor signals from the sensor indicating the temperature of the cooking container; and based on received sensor signals representing the sensed temperature of the cooking container and a cooking profile indicating one or more durations and one or more temperatures, control the valve to change the gas flow rate to the gas burner.

Home appliances include controls for setting appliance operating parameters. Some appliances include a timer to help users know when to adjust the operating parameters or to turn off the appliance. As an example, a knob in a gas stove allows a user to control the amount of flame output by a burner. A timer in the stove tells the user when a set time has passed so that the user can increase or decrease the output flame by adjusting the knob. In ovens, a timer can be set to turn off the oven when a time set by the user has elapsed.
Users of home appliances need additional features to be able to precisely control the cooking temperatures to achieve consistent cooking results. Conventional knobs control the amount of flame output by the burner on a stove top, but do not provide users with real time cooking information (e.g., temperatures, timing, etc.), and/or pre-set control based on desired temperatures and timing needed for precision and consistency.

Temperature sensing and smart gas cooking


A device for removing condensation from an ice duct of an ice dispenser for a refrigerator. The device may include a flap, which is arranged to seal an output opening of the ice dispenser and a controller for the flap, which is designed to move the flap between a closed position, in which the inner side of the flap contacts the edge of the outlet opening and a dispensing position in which the flap is withdrawn from the edge of the outlet opening to permit the dispensing of ice cubes. Further, the controller is designed to open the flap after expiry of a first time period, during which the flap is not moved by the action of a user or by the controller and to close the flap after expiry of a second time period.

The present invention relates to an ice dispenser for a refrigerating device and in particular to the draining of condensation water at an ice duct of such an ice dispenser.
In refrigeration appliances with built-in ice makers, an ice dispenser generally contains a duct that runs through a housing wall, in particular the door, of the refrigeration appliance, the outer end of said duct being able to be closed by a flap in order, during non-utilization, to prevent warm air passing through the duct into the interior of the refrigeration appliance. The flap is thermally insulated and has a seal running all round the flap so that with the flap closed the ice dispenser can be protected to the best possible extent against warm air entering from outside. Normally the flap is only opened when ice is to be dispensed from the ice dispenser.
When ice, in particular crushed ice, is being dispensed, ice residues which thaw and collect as water at the lower end of the duct in front of the closed flap can remain behind. Even if ice cubes in the ice maker are occasionally agitated in order to prevent the ice cubes in the ice maker solidly freezing together, ice residues can reach the duct and thaw. If nothing else, moisture can collect in the duct as a result of condensation, in particular from warm outside air that has entered the duct during the dispensing of ice. The flap prevents the water from flowing away, with the result that it accumulates behind the closed flap. The problem therefore arises that when the flap is next opened for the dispensing of ice, a small gush of water emerges before the ice is dispensed. A user of the appliance, however, finds this to be a nuisance if the volume of the emerging condensation water amounts to more than a few drops.
When the door of the appliance is closed there is a brief increase in the air pressure inside the appliance. If this causes the flap to be forced open, any condensation water present will be discharged from the duct. This can also result in spray and generation of noise, which the user likewise perceives as a nuisance.

Ice dispenser with automated flap opening


An impeller includes a substantially cylindrical cup portion arranged to rotate about a center axis, a plurality of blades fixed to an outer circumferential surface of the cup portion for unitary rotation with the cup portion to draw air from one axial side and discharge the air to the other axial side, and an annular connector portion arranged to interconnect the blades. The connector portion has a substantially cylindrical shape in a position spaced apart about 70% to about 90% of the radial length of the blades from the base of each of the blades on the outer circumferential surface of the cup portion, and the ratio of a total axial height of the connector portion to a total radial gap between the outer circumferential surface of the cup portion and the inner circumferential surface of the connector portion is equal to or smaller than about 0.9.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an impeller arranged to generate an air stream flowing along a center axis and more specifically, to a blower fan using such an impeller.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a conventional impeller for use in a blower fan, a plurality of blades fixed to the outer circumferential surface of a cylindrical impeller cup rotates about a center axis to thereby generate an air stream flowing along the center axis.
During rotation of the impeller, radial centrifugal forces act on the blades. The influence of the radial centrifugal forces become more significant as the rotation speed of the impeller becomes greater. In case of a blade with an increased swept-forward degree, the radial outer end of the blade is positioned more forward in the rotational direction than the base thereof. For that reason, an increased moment is generated in the base due to the radial centrifugal forces acting on the respective portions of the blade. Thus, there exists a demand that the impeller be designed to sufficiently bear the radial centrifugal forces.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0056899 discloses a technique in which the strength of blades is increased by interconnecting the blades with a ring-shaped connector portion to reduce the influence of radial centrifugal forces.
In the disclosure of the reference cited above, however, no consideration is given to the impeller characteristics affected by the interference between the air streams generated by rotation of the blades and the ring-shaped connector portion. This interference between the air streams generated by rotation of the blades and the ring-shaped connector portion may deteriorate the impeller characteristics.


A caller may initiate a phone call to a device. A call preview system may send a preview message in conjunction with the phone call. The preview message may contain preview information that identifies the caller. The call preview system may use a text or media messaging service to send the preview message. Callers can manage their own preview information relieving each user from continuously updating contact information in personal contact directories. The call preview system may use different schemes for initiating phone calls. In one example, the call preview system may initiate or forward phone calls in conjunction with sending the preview message. In another example, the call preview system may delay calling a phone number or delay forwarding the phone call until a message is received acknowledging the preview message or accepting the phone call.

Cellular telephone systems may use caller identification (caller ID) to screen phone calls. The cell phone may store contact information containing names and phone numbers of persons or entities. The cell phone may compare a phone number of an incoming phone call with phone numbers in the contact information. The cell phone may display a name in the contact information that matches the phone number of the incoming phone call.
When no contact information matches the phone number of the incoming phone call, the cell phone only displays the telephone number. The user then must choose to answer the phone call or decline to answer the phone call based only on the phone number displayed on the cell phone.
Users must constantly update contact information with new phone numbers, home addresses, telephone addresses, etc. Even with constant updates to the contact information, unknown callers are still only identified by the phone number of the incoming phone call. Phone numbers alone provide little or no information about the identity of the caller. Thus, cell phones may not provide sufficient preview information for screening phone calls.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A security device manufacturing method includes: providing a substrate having a viewing region; providing an obscuring layer in the region; providing a first image; applying a mask to the first image and swapping colour components of first and second sub-images of the first image forming: a mask pattern, and a background pattern representing the unswapped colour components on their assigned side; and printing the mask and background patterns on corresponding layer sides. The layer reduces colours visibility on one side when the other side of the layer is viewed in reflection, and allows light through the region when the security device is viewed in transmitted light. When either side of the region is viewed in reflected light, the patterns on that side are dominantly visible and may be distinguished. When the region is viewed in transmitted light from either side, the region is transparent and the colour-composite image is visible.

A variety of security devices have been proposed in the past to prevent security documents from being counterfeited or fraudulently produced. A particularly useful security device is one which is readily verifiable by a user but which is difficult to produce. An example of such a security device is a "see-through" feature in which complementary images are provided on each side of a document precisely registered relative to one another such that when the document is held up to the light, the image on the back will fit exactly into spaces within the image on the front. For example, each image could comprise a series of coloured segments, segments on one side of the sheet fitting within the spaces between the segments on the other. Printing of these images is normally carried out with specialised lithographic presses which allow simultaneous front and back printing during one printing run.
See-through features have four modes of visual inspection—the image on the first side of the document viewed in reflected light, the image on the other side of the document viewed in reflected light, the composite image viewed by transmitted light as viewed from the first side and with the image on that side predominating, and finally the composite image as viewed on the other side of the sheet with the image on that side predominating. On transmissive viewing of see-through features the image on the opposite side of the document is seen to be in register in a genuine document.
Some known security devices comprise a substrate having a viewing region which is provided on one side with first indicia and on the other side with second indicia overlying the first indicia. The substrate may carry an obscuring material aligned with the second indicia so as to prevent the second indicia from being viewed from the one side of the substrate under reflected radiation.
Other known security features include patterns aligned on the front and back surfaces of a document. The document may be sufficiently transparent to allow see-through of the partial image on the back of the document to be superimposed on the partial image on the front of the document to form a complete image if the patterns are properly aligned.
Security devices which exploit subtractive colour mixing are also known. When such a device is viewed in reflection on either side, the contrast between the two colours enables the two patterns on that side to be distinguished. However, when the device is viewed in transmission, overlapping, different colours subtract respective wavelengths or wavelength bands from the incident light such that the resultant light transmitted through both sets of overlapping patterns has substantially the same colour and thus it is no longer possible to distinguish between the individual patterns.
Although security devices in the prior art perform satisfactorily, they have a number of disadvantages. In particular, the patterns of the conventional see-through features must be precisely registered relative to one another for images to be recognisable. Complete images are not recognisable if the patterns provided on either side of the device are misaligned.
The present invention is intended to avoid the drawbacks of the security features in the prior art and to provide improved features which exhibit novel surprising effects to prevent counterfeiting.

Methods of manufacturing security devices


A semiconductor device includes first active patterns and second active patterns on a substrate, a first source/drain region on the first active patterns, a second source/drain region on the second active patterns and a device isolation layer filling a first trench between adjacent ones of the first active patterns and a second trench between adjacent ones of the second active patterns. A liner layer is disposed on the device isolation layer between the adjacent ones of the second active patterns. The device isolation layer between the adjacent ones of the first active patterns has a recess therein under the first source/drain region and a bottom surface of the liner layer between the adjacent ones of the second active patterns is higher than the recess.

Embodiments of the inventive concepts relate to semiconductor devices and, more particularly, to semiconductor devices including field effect transistors.
Semiconductor devices are widely used in the electronic industry because of their small sizes, multi-functional characteristics, and/or low manufacturing costs. Semiconductor devices may be categorized as any one of semiconductor memory devices storing logical data, semiconductor logic devices processing logical data, and hybrid semiconductor devices having both the function of the semiconductor memory devices and the function of the semiconductor logic devices. Semiconductor devices with excellent characteristics have been in increasing demand with the development of the electronic industry. For example, high-reliable, high-speed, and/or multi-functional semiconductor devices have been in increasing demand. To satisfy the demand, semiconductor devices have been highly integrated and structures of semiconductor devices have become more and more complicated.


A system for remotely monitoring a plurality of ballot tabulation devices is provided. The ballot tabulation devices are located at a plurality of polling locations, each of which is operable to process a plurality of marked paper ballots and maintain health status information for the device. The system includes a central server located remotely from the ballot tabulation devices that is operable to periodically receive the health status information for each device and generate an alert that identifies any irregularities associated with each device based on the received health status information. Preferably, the health status information is encoded in a machine-readable code that is displayed on a display screen of the ballot tabulation device, and a reading device is used to read the machine-readable code from the display screen and transmit the health status information to the central server.

A variety of different types of voting equipment are used in the United States and throughout the world. In many jurisdictions, a voter receives a paper ballot on which various contests, i.e., voting options and corresponding mark spaces, are printed. The voter votes by darkening or otherwise marking the appropriate mark spaces on the paper ballot. The marked paper ballot may then be dropped in a ballot box, which is transferred to a central election office for tabulation by a high speed ballot tabulation device. Alternatively, many jurisdictions provide a smaller precinct-based ballot tabulation device at each polling place that allows a voter to directly insert her ballot into the device for tabulation.
Precinct-based ballot tabulation devices, such as the Model 100® and DS200® devices sold by Election Systems & Software, LLC, are well known to those skilled in the art. Upon scanning a paper ballot, the tabulation device alerts the voter if there are any ballot irregularities associated with the ballot, such as one or more under votes (when the voter has not made a voting selection for a contest) and one or more over votes (when the voter has made too many voting selections for a contest). The tabulation device also determines if the ballot is blank, which may have been caused by a voter using a writing instrument that the device cannot read. While the tabulation device will warn voters of these ballot irregularities, the voter often has the option to override the warning and allow the device to accept the ballot "as is." In doing so, the tabulation device will process the ballot according to the election rules for the state in which it is being used. For example, an over voted contest will typically not credit any candidate with a vote. At the end of the election day, the vote totals from the tabulation device are transmitted or otherwise provided to the central election office for accumulation with the vote totals of other tabulation devices in the jurisdiction. The central election office is then required to report the election results by voting precinct in accordance with state election laws.
The number of precinct-based ballot tabulation devices will vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction depending on the size of the county and the number of voting precincts. Some jurisdictions will have as few as 20 tabulation devices in various locations, while others may have well over 1000 tabulation devices. Many jurisdictions (particularly large jurisdictions) find it very difficult to monitor all of the devices simultaneously. While the tabulation devices themselves are all self-contained computer systems that are designed and tested to withstand the rigors of transport, such devices are still electronic devices and the jurisdictions must be prepared for failure on election day. Many jurisdictions will purchase extra tabulation devices to have on hand for replacement of any failed devices on election day. However, monitoring when and where the extra tabulation devices are needed is currently handled through phone calls to a central election office, which is already over burdened by voter-related phone calls on election day. Information as to whether each and every tabulation device is operating correctly is critical to maintaining a smooth election day process.

System and method for monitoring voting devices


There is provided a patient specific access retractor for use in surgery, for example, minimally invasive spinal surgery. There are also provided methods of using the access retractor in surgery.

In recent years, minimally invasive surgical (MIS) approaches have been applied to orthopaedic surgery and more recently to spine surgery, such as instrumented fusions involving one or more vertebral bodies.
The evolution of MIS surgery has been dependent on the development of new technologies. Such technologies include prosthetic devices such as screws and rods and interbody fusion cages and access retractors, to allow the surgeon to perform placement of such devices via small incisions and openings in the patient's body.
In regard to the lumbar spine, minimally invasive surgical technique may be applied to the operation of transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF). A minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion may be performed by four small 2 cm incisions in the lumbar region. The incisions are used to place pedicle screws and one of the incisions is used to place a retractor system so that the surgeon can see the anatomical elements such as the nerve roots and the intervertebral disc. The surgeon uses a retractor to perform laminectomy to decompress the associated exiting nerve roots, perform lumbar discectomy and prepare the interbody space and then place bone graft and an interbody cage to facilitate interbody fusion. The MIS TLIF has evolved to a stage where a surgery can be performed in a highly repeatable fashion with a high degree of safety and reliability of outcome.
Minimally invasive surgical procedures may involve the use of a series of muscle dilators that separate the muscle fibers of the spine to create a pathway to the spine. A Kirschner wire (K-wire) is initially introduced through a small incision and directed towards the spinal pathology. The position of the K-wire may be visualized by a fluoroscopic imaging system to identify its location. An initial narrow diameter muscle dilator is passed over the K-wire, and the K-wire is removed and subsequent larger muscle dilators are continually passed. When the opening is large enough, an access tube or retractor is positioned around the last muscle dilator through which the surgery is performed. The inner sequential muscle dilators are then removed allowing the surgeon to operate through the tubular retractor
Furthermore a surgical device company will commonly provide a retractor set for surgery, and such a retractor set often requires multiple retractors of varying diameters and lengths as well as attachment ends to the operating table. As standard surgery requires many instruments and devices to perform the surgery, it incurs a substantial logistic cost. This involves:                cleaning, sterilisation and processing of all components prior to each procedure;        delivery and transfer of components from the device company warehouse to and from the hospital is time consuming and expensive;        such stock must be replaced and accounted for and can be difficult to track and validate.
Therefore, a continuing need exists for an improved device, an improved system, and an improved method for performing surgery, particularly minimally invasive spinal surgery.
The reference in this specification to any prior publication (or information derived from it), or to any matter which is known, is not, and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or admission or any form of suggestion that that prior publication (or information derived from it) or known matter forms part of the common general knowledge in the field of endeavour to which this specification relates.


This invention discloses a surgical prep solution formulation, either film forming or non-film forming, that changes color upon a change in pH to indicate that the solvent has sufficiently evaporated. The major components of this surgical prep solution include: antimicrobial agents, solvents, pH adjusters, color changing pH indicators, and optionally: film forming polymers, dyes and viscosity regulators. The pH of the solution may rise or fall depending on the pH of the original solution as compared with the normal pH range of the acid mantle of the human skin or the normal pH range of a sterilizing solution. As the pH changes, the pH indicator may cause the surgical prep solution to change color. Concurrently, as the fluids evaporate, the pH indicators interact with atmospheric CO2, causing the solution to change color based on the pH of the solution. The solution may also be used as coating for medical devices.

Pre-operative preparation of the skin with a topical antimicrobial agent is necessary to reduce the likelihood that the patient will contract a hospital-acquired infection during a surgery or surgical procedure. Typically, the healthcare practitioners, for example, prep nurses, apply a topical antimicrobial agent to a surgical or needle entry site before the procedure. Similarly, it is essential that medical devices that breach the skin be disinfected prior to penetrating the skin at an entry site or accessing an intravenous system. Healthcare practitioners typically disinfect these medical devices by applying an antimicrobial solution, e.g., alcohol, prior to use. Such treatment reduces the infection rate at the site or within the blood stream by hindering the growth of microorganisms or disinfecting a wound, surgical incision, or needle puncture site.
The human skin is normally covered with microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses. The microorganisms are either transient, found on the skin's surface or are resident in deeper areas of the skin, such as the hair follicles.
The microorganisms are prevented from entering the body by the physical barrier of skin and the acid mantle, a protective layer formed by the mixture of sweat and sebum. The acid mantle maintains a moderately acidic covering for the normal human skin. The pH means and ranges for the normal skin of both adults and neonates are 5.7±0.16 (range: 4.5-6.7) and 7.08±0.17 (range: 6.6-7.5), respectively.
The function of the acid mantle is not completely understood even though the acidic environment of the skin's surface has been recognized for a century. However, the acid mantle is believed to assist the body in processing the lipids required for the skin to function as a barrier. Acidic environments also generally hinder bacterial growth, and hence, help resist bacterial infection.
Potential pathogens usually cannot enter the body if the skin and acid mantle remain intact. However, the integrity of the skin barrier is breached during surgical procedures, potentially exposing the surgical site or wound to microorganisms, increasing a patient's risk of infection. Thus, standard surgical procedures require that the skin at the surgical site be disinfected prior to surgery to reduce the patient's risk of infection. Therefore, there is a need in the art for a topical agent that will both kill the transient and resident microorganisms quickly and provide sustained antimicrobial activity throughout the entire surgery or surgical procedure.
Healthcare practitioners have long used ethanol or isopropanol, either alone or as a solvent along with other antimicrobial agents, to disinfect the skin at the surgical incision or needle puncture site and medical devices that penetrate the skin since these alcohols quickly reduce the population of bacteria, fungi, and some viruses at the site. Alcohol also provides rapid and sustained antimicrobial activity when it is combined with antimicrobial agents. However, alcohol based surgical prep solutions are flammable and certain surgical procedures cannot begin until the alcohol is completely evaporated. Hospital fires have been caused by unevaporated flammable solvents within surgical prep solutions. For the patient's safety, it is critical that healthcare practitioners be able to determine whether the flammable solvents within surgical prep solutions are completely evaporated prior to initiating energized surgical procedures, for example, electrocautery.
Solvent evaporation in particular presents a major challenge for healthcare practitioners for several reasons. First, it is difficult to visually determine when a colorless solvent (e.g., alcohol) has sufficiently evaporated to begin surgery or the surgical procedure. Second, the healthcare practitioners will often physically touch the skin surface or the medical device with a glove to determine the level of dryness. However, if the skin or medical device is not dry when touched, such a touch may breach the applied prep solution and provide a pathway for microorganisms to enter the body through the skin or via the medical device. Thus, it is necessary and desirable for the healthcare practitioners to have an easy way to determine if a solvent within a surgical prep solution has completely evaporated from the surgical site or the medical device without touching the skin, the medical device, or the applied surgical prep solution.
An effective film forming polymer may also be added to the surgical prep solution to provide better adherence of the solution to the skin or the medical device. Film forming polymers are either water soluble or insoluble and most of the water insoluble films adhere poorly to the skin. Poor adherence is especially problematic in orthopedic surgery or surgical procedures in which patients are draped after the surgical prep solution has dried. If the surgical prep solution adheres poorly to the skin or is water soluble, the drape will typically fall off during the procedure, contaminating the sterile surgical environment and increasing the chance of a hospital-acquired infection.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,763,412 teaches a film-forming composition containing chlorhexidine gluconate. U.S. Pat. No. 5,547,662 (hereinafter "the '662 patent") is directed to a film-forming composition for preparation of a skin surface as a surgical site containing an antimicrobial agent and Dowicide A and D&C Red 17, which changes color from purple (wet) to red (dry), but does not teach color changes triggered by pH indicators. The disadvantages of the '662 patent include inter alia the particular combination is not applicable to antimicrobial with inherent color, such as iodine or iodophors and the color change is not reversible. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 4,584,192 teaches chlorhexidine or its derivative, but does not disclose which chlorhexidine compound is suitable and has no visualization feature.


A method of manufacturing a rear structure of a motor vehicle for multiple body configurations reduces the costs and complexity in the assembly plant by eliminating separate lines heretofore required to manufacture such various body configurations. The method includes providing common right and left rear rail members (20), a floor pan (30) extending between the right and left rear rail members and being attached thereto forming a floor assembly. Providing right and left first wheelhouse inner members (40) when the vehicle is of the first configuration, or right and left second wheelhouse inner members (71) when the vehicle is of the second configuration, both first and second wheelhouse inner members each having a common flanges for attaching to the floor assembly.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a method of manufacturing vehicle chassis structures for motor vehicles. More particularly the present invention relates to a method of manufacturing rear structures for motor vehicles in a manner that allows assembly of multiple body configurations on a single assembly line.
2. Disclosure Information
In conventional motor vehicles, suspensions found on sedans generally include rear shock absorbers or struts mounted vertically for a variety of reasons. The upper ends of shock absorbers and strut assemblies are attached to structure usually located behind the rear seats. The desirable interior volume of the trunk is only minimally impacted by this design, as the trunk region immediately behind the rear seats is difficult to access. On the other hand, vehicles having different body configurations, such as sport utility vehicles, station wagons and vans, all seek to provide low, flat load floors. Additionally, consumers of these vehicles place a premium on total cargo volume as well as on the width of the load floor. For this reason, vehicle manufacturers have provided unique rear suspensions for such vehicles, tilting the rear shock absorbers from the usual vertical orientation so as to reduce their overall vertical intrusion in the vehicle while maximizing the load floor width.
In the normal course of designing and building motor vehicles, it is desirable to build multiple body configurations from a single vehicle platform. This allows common manufacturing equipment and processes to build a greater variety of related vehicles. To date, manufacturers have not been able to gain these efficiencies when constructing the rear structure for motor vehicles having a sedan style rear suspension and a unique wagon/van/SUV style rear suspension. The sedan construction has generally included relatively low and inboard frame rail members, vertically intrusive wheelhouse inners for supporting vertical shock or strut mounts, as well as a deeply drawn floor pan to allow for a deep trunk.
In contrast, the wagon/van/SUV configurations require relatively high and outboard frame rail members to allow the shock absorber to be tilted under the frame rail member. Additionally, these body configurations require unique attachment structure for the upper end of the shock absorber, as well as unique, non-vertically intrusive, wheelhouse inner members to provide maximum load floor width and finally a higher floor pan for mounting the upper end of the tilted shock absorbers. From this, it can be concluded that there are considerable differences in the structure of these two configurations.
To accommodate assembly of these vastly different vehicle structures, assembly plants must be provided with separate body assembly lines. The location of the welds between the floor pan assembly to the frame rails are unique, as are the welds between the wheelhouse inner member and the floor pan and quite often, even the quarter panel. Other equipment, including fixtures, sealers etc. must be uniquely configured for each of the unique body structures to accommodate the varying vehicle configurations, all at considerable expense to manufacturers and ultimately consumers.
It would be desirable to overcome the aforenoted difficulties with a method of manufacturing a rear vehicle structure using common assembly equipment and facilities, thus allowing manufacturers to make multiple body configurations on a common assembly line, which has not previously been available.

Method for manufacturing a rear structure for a motor vehicle


A sub-ranging analog-to-digital converter includes, in cascade, a coarse converter, a digital-to-analog converter, a subtracter circuit and a fine converter. Errors of the coarse converter are detected in the fine converter by means of an overflow detector and an underflow detector which generate an overflow signal (OF) and an underflow signal (UF), respectively. The digital output (D.sub.A) of the coarse converter is corrected by first subtracting one LBS in a decoder and then, in response to the overflow and underflow signal, adding thereto zero, one or two LBSs.

This invention relates to an analog-to-digital comprising:
a first analog-to-digital converter for converting a first analog signal to a first digital signal which denotes the sub-range of a plurality of sub-ranges in which the first analog signal is situated,
a digital-to-analog converter converting the first digital signal to a second analog signal,
a second analog-to-digital converter for convening a difference signal indicative of the difference between the first and second analog signals to a second digital signal,
detection means for detecting an overflow and an underflow if the difference signal is situated above and below respectively, the sub-range denoted by the first digital signal, and
correction means for correcting the first digital signal in response to the detection of the overflow and underflow.
An analog-to-digital converter (ADC) of this type is known from U.S. Pat. No. 3,967,269 and is of a type known as a multistep or sub-ranging ADC. In this type of ADC the conversion to the desired digital output signal is performed in two or more steps while in each step a separate ADC converts an ever smaller subrange of the overall range of the analog input signal to be convened. In the prior art ADC, a coarse conversion of the first analog signal to be convened to the first digital signal is effected in the first ADC having an M-bit resolution. The first digital signal is reconverted to a second analog signal in the digital-to-analog converter. The difference between the second and first analog signals is then fine-convened to the second digital signal by means of the second ADC having an (N-M)-bit resolution. The M bits of the first and the (N-M) bits of the second digital signal are combined to provide the desired N-bit digital output signal, the bits of the first digital signal forming the most significant bits and the bits of the second digital signal forming the least significant bits of the output signal.
As a result of errors in the system the difference signal may come to be outside the analog sub-range determined by the first ADC. Such errors may be caused by, for example, decision errors in the first ADC. The prior art ADC comprises detection means signalling by means of an overflow signal or an underflow signal whether the difference signal has come to be above or below the sub-range as a result of an error. In the prior art ADC the error is corrected in the following manner. In the case of an overflow the second ADC produces a second digital signal which has a value reduced by a number equal to the maximum number of sub-ranges the second ADC is capable of measuring (fold-back) and in a digital arithmetic unit one bit is subtracted from the first digital signal. In the case of an underflow the second ADC produces a second digital signal which has a value increased by afore-mentioned number and in the digital arithmetic unit one bit is added to the first digital signal. If neither an underflow nor an overflow is detected, the difference signal lies within the range denoted by the first digital signal. In that case the second digital signal is produced by the second ADC unaltered, and no arithmetic operation is performed on the first digital signal by the digital arithmetic unit.
A disadvantage of this prior art error correction method is that the digital arithmetic unit has to be capable of both adding one bit to the first digital signal and subtracting one bit therefrom. The realisation of an arithmetic unit which is capable of performing both of these operations is complicated.

Multistep analog-to-digital converter with error correction


A bracket assembly in which two brackets are attached laterally adjacent one another on a support. A first bracket is adapted to be attached to a support having a face that has a first width. A first leg of the first bracket has a first removable portion and a first non-removable portion. The first leg has a second width that is larger than one half of the first width. A second bracket is adapted to be attached to the support laterally adjacent the first bracket. A second leg of the second bracket has a second removable portion and a second non-removable portion and also has a third width that is larger than one half of the first width. The first and second non-removable portions have fourth and fifth widths, respectively, which are each less than one half of the first width of the support for positioning the first non-removable portion of the first leg of the first bracket laterally adjacent the second non-removable portion of the second leg of the second bracket on the face of the support when the first and second removable portions have been separated from the first and second brackets.

The present invention relates to a bracket having a removable portion for mounting two brackets adjacently on the same face of a support. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method of attaching a first bracket and a second bracket to the same face of the support without overlapping portions of the two brackets on that face of the support.
Electrical boxes are often required to be mounted side by side on opposite sides of a steel stud. The electrical boxes are mounted on the stud with brackets, which are attached to the same face of the stud. Generally, the side of the stud to which the brackets are mounted is the side closest to where the drywall will be installed. Once a first bracket is secured to a face of the stud, portions of a second bracket secured to that same face of the stud overlap portions of the first bracket, thereby creating extra thickness on that face of the stud. When the drywall is installed, the extra thickness causes an unsightly and undesirable raised area at the sight where the brackets are attached to the stud. Elimination of the raised areas by the drywall installer requires special attention, which requires additional time and expense and hinders the construction process.
One prior solution to the problem of overlapping bracket portions is for the installer to manually cut and remove the overlapping portions of the bracket. The brackets are cut back such that the brackets meet near the center of the stud, thereby eliminating any overlapping portions of the brackets. However, this also greatly inconveniences the installer. First, the installer must find a tool capable of cutting the bracket material, and then the installer must estimate how much of the brackets must be trimmed so there will be no overlapping bracket portions. If the brackets are not trimmed enough, the installer must trim more of the brackets, thereby slowing the installation process even more. If the brackets are trimmed too much, the integrity of the attachment between the bracket and the stud may be compromised, thereby providing for weakly mounted electrical boxes.
For construction projects in which a large number of electrical boxes are to be installed, such as new condos and commercial buildings, extreme amounts of time are spent touching up raised drywall areas and trimming portions of brackets for the large number of electrical boxes mounted to studs in such projects. Furthermore, the extra time required to eliminate these problems greatly increases the cost of such projects.
A need exists for a bracket having an easily removable portion such that there is no overlap when mounting brackets side by side on the same face of a stud, thereby greatly reducing installation time and expense.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide brackets having relatively easily removable portions for mounting two brackets laterally adjacent on the same face of a support without bracket overlap.
Accordingly, it is another object of the present invention to provide a method of attaching two brackets laterally adjacent on the same face of a support without bracket overlap.
The foregoing objects are basically attained by providing a bracket assembly that includes a first bracket adapted to be attached to a support having a face having a first width a, the first bracket having a first leg having a first removable portion and a first non-removable portion, the first leg having a second width b that is larger than one half of the first width; a second bracket adapted to be attached to the support, the second bracket having a second leg having a second removable portion and a second non-removable portion and also having a third width bxe2x80x2; and the first and second non-removable portions have fourth and fifth widths c and cxe2x80x2, respectively, which are less than one half of the first width a of the support for positioning the first non-removable portion of the first leg of the first bracket laterally adjacent the second non-removable portion of the second leg of the second bracket on the face of the support when the first and second removable portions have been separated from the first and second brackets.
The foregoing objects are also attained by providing a method of attaching brackets adjacent one another to a face of a support, including the steps of removing a first removable portion from a first non-removable portion of a first leg of a first bracket, the first leg of the first bracket having a second width b and the first non-removable portion of the first leg of the first bracket having a fourth width c less than one half of the first width a of the face of the support; attaching the first bracket to the support; removing a second removable portion from a second non-removable portion of a second leg of a second bracket, the second leg having a third width bxe2x80x2 and the second non-removable portion of the second bracket having a fifth width cxe2x80x2 less than one half of the first width a of the support; and attaching the second bracket to the support such that the second non-removable portion of the second leg of the second bracket is positioned laterally adjacent the fist non-removable portion of the first leg of the first bracket on the face of the support.
Other objects, advantages and salient features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment of the invention.


An apparatus for use with a device used in a well with a wellhead housing includes a sleeve comprising an interior profile that is configured to be coupled to the wellhead housing and an engagement assembly comprising an exterior profile that is configured to engage with the interior profile of the sleeve to prevent axial movement between the engagement assembly and the sleeve. The apparatus further includes a latch assembly coupled to the engagement assembly and configured to latch to the device.

This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the presently described embodiments. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the described embodiments. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light and not as admissions of prior art.
After drilling a wellbore that intersects a subterranean hydrocarbon-bearing formation, a variety of wellbore tools may be positioned in the wellbore during completion, production, or remedial activities. For example, temporary packers may be set in the wellbore during the completion and production operating phases of the wellbore. In addition, various operating tools including flow controllers (e.g., chokes, valves, etc.) and safety devices such as safety valves may be releasably positioned in the wellbore. Such devices are generally lowered downhole by either a wireline or a working string and may be configured with a fishing neck to facilitate recovery at a later time. Once downhole, the device may be set at a desired location and released, allowing the wireline or work string to be retrieved.
The setting and retrieving of such devices may be performed mechanically by an apparatus, a work string, and/or an actuated power unit. Electrically actuated power units may receive surface power through the wireline, working string, or other conveyance after the apparatus is properly positioned. Alternatively, self-contained Downhole Power Units ("DPUs") do not require electrical power from the surface and therefore permit a wider selection of appropriate conveyances (e.g., a slickline rather than a wireline).
In either case, however, the apparatus or power unit may exert a force exceeding the strength of the slickline or wireline, particularly when trying to retrieve a device that may be stuck or subject to a significant amount of hydrostatic head resisting movement or recovery of the device.
The illustrated figures are only exemplary and are not intended to assert or imply any limitation with regard to the environment, architecture, design, or process in which different embodiments may be implemented.

Well apparatus with latch assembly and methods thereof


A TV set including a liquid crystal panel, a processor-readable storage medium storing instruction units for providing the TV set functions to control backlight of the liquid crystal panel; and one or more processors in communication with the storage medium to execute the instruction units, wherein the instruction units include: an image information amount determining unit (102); the backlight gain retrieving unit (104); a backlight value extracting unit (106); the backlight value processing unit (108); and a backlight value transmitting unit (110). Correspondingly a method of controlling backlight of a liquid crystal panel is further disclosed. In the technical solution of the disclosure, a backlight modulation coefficient can be modulated dynamically according to the amount of image information to perform backlight enhancement on an image with a large amount of information.

The present disclosure relates to the field of liquid crystal screen backlight modulation and particularly to an apparatus for controlling backlight of a liquid crystal panel, a TV set and a method of controlling backlight of a liquid crystal panel.
Internet TV, intelligent TV, etc., have constantly been coming into view of audiences along with constant development of TV technologies. But the visual effect of prior arts can not satisfy at least a part of the audiences.

TV set, method of controlling backlight of liquid crystal panel and storage medium


A method for measuring critical dimension (CD) includes steps of: scanning at least one area of interest of a die to obtain at least one scanned image; aligning the scanned image to at least one designed layout pattern to identify a plurality of borders within the scanned image; and averaging distances each measured from the border or the plurality of borders of a pattern associated with a specific type of CD corresponding to the designed layout pattern to obtain a value of CD of the die. The value of critical dimensions of dies can be obtained from the scanned image with lower resolution which is obtained by relatively higher scanning speed, so the above-mentioned method can obtain value of CD for every die within entire wafer to monitor the uniformity of the semiconductor manufacturing process within an acceptable inspection time.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and a system for measuring critical dimension and monitoring fabrication uniformity, and more particularly to a method and a system for measuring critical dimension and monitoring fabrication uniformity from a scanned image with lower resolution.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Uniformity of semiconductor fabrication, which relates to manufacturing yield, can be obtained from critical dimension (CD) distribution in an entire wafer. Therefore, critical dimension is a significant feature in semiconductor manufacturing process. In recent years, line width, being a type of critical dimension and continuously shrunk with semiconductor process progress, is increasingly harder to be measured consequently.
Traditionally, CD-scanning electron microscope (CD-SEM) is used for measuring line width of a die. In order to provide scanned images with ultra high resolution, the probe spot of CD-SEM must be extremely small. Therefore, the electron current, also known as primary beam, provided by the CD-SEM is bound to be very small to reduce coulomb repel force between the electrons. However, in order to image, enough signal electrons, also known as secondary electron, must be collected by the detector of CD-SEM, so the scan speed must be extremely slow. In current CD metrology, only five dies on a 12″ wafer at 65 nm node are selected to be measured for critical dimension to represent fabrication uniformity of the entire wafer, because the inspection speed of the CD-SEM limits the number of dies can be inspected under the requirement of semiconductor manufacturing speed. However, while node proceeds to less than 32 nm on an 18″ wafer, not only critical dimensions of five dies can not represent the entire 18″ wafer any more, but the five dies will incur more inspection time.
Accordingly, how to more quickly measure critical dimension and monitor fabrication uniformity is now highly desirable.

Method and system for measuring critical dimension and monitoring fabrication uniformity


A hydrokinetic torque coupling device comprises a casing rotatable about a rotation axis, a torque converter including an impeller wheel and a turbine wheel disposed in the casing coaxially with the rotation axis, a turbine hub disposed in the casing coaxially with the rotation axis and fixed to the turbine wheel, and a torsional vibration damper. The torsional vibration damper comprises a driven member fixed to the turbine hub, a back plate rotatably mounted to the turbine hub, a plurality of circumferentially acting elastic members, and a damper retainer plate rotatably mounted to the back plate coaxially with the rotation axis. The back plate has a plurality of window-shaped openings separated circumferentially from one another by radial tabs. The elastic members are interposed between the driven member and the back plate in the window-shaped openings. The damper retainer plate is operatively connected to the elastic members.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to hydrokinetic torque coupling devices, and more particularly to a hydrokinetic torque coupling device with a torsional vibration damper.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An internal combustion engine exhibits irregularities due to the succession of combustion events in the engine cylinders. Torsion damping devices allow these irregularities to be filtered before the drive torque is transmitted to an automotive transmission. This is because the vibrations must be damped before they enter the transmission and produce unacceptably troublesome noise. To accomplish this, it is known to interpose a torsion damping device between a drive shaft and a transmission (or driven) shaft. The torsion damping device is generally arranged in a hydrokinetic torque coupling device that allows temporary rotational connection of the drive shaft to the transmission shaft.
Typically, a hydrokinetic torque coupling device includes a hydrodynamic torque converter and a torsion damping device positioned between an axially oriented coaxial drive shaft and driven shaft of the automotive transmission. The torsion damping device includes a torque input element and a torque output element, and circumferentially acting elastic members. The circumferentially acting elastic members are interposed between the torque input element and the torque output element. In so-called "long travel" damping devices, the elastic members are mounted, in groups of at least two elastic members, in series between the input element and output element.
A torque converter of this kind typically has a rotating casing that is capable of transmitting drive torque to the damping device by means of a friction locking clutch, traditionally called a lock-up clutch. The torque converter also has a turbine wheel mounted rotatably inside the casing.
For some applications, the torsion damping device may also include a pendulum oscillator conventionally utilized both in friction clutches and in motor vehicle hydrokinetic coupling apparatuses. A pendulum oscillator has at least one pendulum mass or flyweight, generally several, that is arranged around the rotation axis of the engine shaft and is free to oscillate around a rotational oscillation axis substantially parallel to the rotation axis of the engine shaft. When the masses of a pendulum oscillator react to rotational inconsistencies, they move in such a way that a center of gravity of each of the pendulum masses oscillates around an axis substantially parallel to the rotation axis of the engine shaft. The radial position of the center of gravity of each pendulum mass with respect to the rotation axis of the engine shaft, as well as the distance of the center of gravity with respect to the rotational oscillation axis, are established so that in response to centrifugal forces, the oscillation frequency of each of the pendulum masses is proportional to the rotation speed of the engine shaft.
While hydrokinetic torque coupling devices and torsion damping devices, including but not limited to that discussed above, have proven to be acceptable for vehicular driveline applications and conditions, improvements that may enhance their performance and cost are possible.

Torsional vibration damper for hydrokinetic torque coupling device


A transmitter apparatus and method for reducing PAPR in an OFDM system. The transmitter apparatus performs a masking process on an input signal block using a plurality of mask sequences in an OFDM system, and selects a specific sequence having a lowest PAPR among IFFT-processed results. The apparatus includes a single IFFT for performing an IFFT process on the received signal block, and generating an IFFT-processed sequence; a plurality of shift registers for storing individual bits of the IFFT-processed sequence, cyclically shifting them, and generating the cyclically-shifted bits; a plurality of multiplier groups for multiplying coefficients determined by corresponding mask sequences by the output bits of the shift registers; and a plurality of adders corresponding to the plurality of multiplier groups for adding the multiplied results of the multiplier groups, thereby reducing system complexity and production costs.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) communication system, and more particularly to an apparatus and method for reducing system complexity using an SLM (Selected Mapping) scheme to reduce a PAPR (Peak-to-Average Power Ratio).
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, an OFDM communication system has been defined as an effective digital signal transmission scheme for loading a desired signal to be transmitted on a plurality of sub-band frequencies having carriers that are orthogonal to each other, and transmitting the desired signal loaded on the sub-band frequencies, such that uses an available frequency band at maximum efficiency and can effectively cope with burst errors generable by a fading operation. The OFDM scheme enables a frequency-selective fading phenomenon to approximate a frequency non-selective channel from the viewpoint of individual sub-channels to easily compensate for a serious frequency-selective fading phenomenon using a simple frequency area single-tap equalizer. The OFDM scheme inserts a cyclic prefix that is longer than a length of a multi-path channel delay spread into neighbor symbol blocks to remove interblock interference and interchannel interference, and is appropriate for a high-speed data transmission scheme using an IFFT (Inverse Fast Fourier Transformer) and an FFT (Fast Fourier Transformer).
The sub-band signal used in the OFDM scheme is modulated by the IFFT so that an amplitude of the modulated signal proportional to the number of the sub-bands is displayed in the form of a Gaussian Distribution according to the Central Limit Theorem. Therefore, a transmission signal has disadvantages in that it encounters very high PAPR characteristics along with serious nonlinear distortion, which is worse than that of a single carrier transmission scheme due to nonlinear saturation characteristics of a high-power amplifier used for creating sufficient transmission power in wireless communication environments, resulting in limited performance of the OFDM scheme. Therefore, many developers have conducted intensive research into a variety of solutions for solving the aforementioned problems.
The SLM scheme is a representative solution for reducing the PAPR, which creates U information series independent from each other to indicate the same entry information bit, selects the lowest PAPR among the U information series, and transmits the selected lowest PAPR. The U information series multiply the entry information bit by U mask sequences each having a predetermined length of N, and generate the multiplied result. The SLM scheme abruptly increases the number of calculations needed for an optimum PAPR as the number U of phase series increases, whereas it can maintain a data transfer rate. The SLM scheme uses U IFFTs, which are parallel to each other, to prevent a transmission time from being delayed, resulting in increased complexity of a transmitter.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a transmitter for use in an OFDM communication system for use with a conventional SLM scheme. Referring to FIG. 1, an information bit configured in the form of a binary signal is applied to a channel encoder 100 as an input signal. The channel encoder 100 encodes the received information bit to generate coded symbols, and the coded symbols are applied to a mapper 110. The mapper 110 maps the received coded symbols with a single signal contained in a signal constellation. The mapping-processed output signals generated from the mapper 110 collect N signals according to the input magnitude N of the IFFT 140, and form a single signal block. The signal block branches to U branches, and the branched result is applied to a plurality of multipliers 130, 132, and 134. A mask generator 120 generates U independent mask sequences M1, M2, . . . , Mu each having the length of N, and the U mask sequences M1, M2, . . . , Mu are transmitted to the multipliers 130, 132, and 134, respectively.
The multipliers 130, 132, and 134 adapt the signal block and the mask sequences M1, M2, . . . , Mu, as their input signals, respectively. Therefore, the multipliers 130, 132, and 134 perform the multiplication of two input signals, i.e., the signal block and one of the mask sequences M1, M2, . . . , Mu. The output signals of the multipliers 130, 132, and 134 are IFFT-processed by the IFFTs 140, 142, and 144, respectively, such that the IFFTs 140, 142, and 144 output signal sequences S1, S2, . . . , Su, respectively A selector 150 receives the signal sequences S1, S2, . . . , Su, calculates individual PAPRs of the received signal sequences S1, S2, . . . , Su, selects a single signal sequence having the lowest PAPR among the received signal sequences S1, S2, . . . , Su, and transmits the selected signal sequence as a transmission signal.
As described above, the SLM scheme selects a signal block having the lowest PAPR among U signal blocks generated by the same information bit, and transmits the selected signal block in such a way that it can effectively reduce the PAPR. The higher the number U of signal blocks, the lower the PAPR. However, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the SLM uses U parallel IFFTs to prevent a transmission time from being delayed. As a result, the higher the number U of signal blocks, the higher the complexity and cost of production of a transmitter system.

Apparatus and method for reducing peak-to-average power ratio in an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing system


A water heating device (5) includes an infrared light emitting diode (50) configured to emit a light beam in a wavelength band including a wavelength of 1.4 μm or more. With the application of an infrared light beam emitted from the infrared light emitting diode (50) toward an applied body (e.g., a front cover (11)), at least a part of the infrared light beam is absorbed into water attached to the applied body to heat the water.

Snow is sometimes attached to light-transmitting bodies, such as windowpanes and vehicle headlight covers, which are in contact with the outside. There are concerns that snow attached to a windowpane reduces the visibility of things through the windowpane, and snow attached to the cover of a headlight decreases light distribution. Thus, there are demands for melting snow having been attached to these light-transmitting bodies.
Patent Literature 1 describes a vehicle lamp that can melt snow attached to its front lens, which is a light-transmitting body. This vehicle lamp includes an auxiliary light source that applies infrared light components. The application of light beams emitted from this auxiliary light source to the front lens heats the front lens. A temperature rise in the front lens causes the snow having been attached to the front lens to melt.
[Patent Literature 1] JP2007-141761 A

Water heating device and lamp using same


A scanning electron beam computed tomographic system eliminates axial offset between target and detector by disposing the target, collimator, and detector such that active portions of the target and detector are always diametrically opposite each other. This result is achieved by providing a helical target, collimator, and detector, or by providing planar target, collimator, and detector components that are inclined relative to the vertical axis such that active portions of the target and detector are always diametrically opposite each other. Either configuration eliminates cone beam error and the necessity to correct for same. Further, the system can provide multi-slice scanning of an object that is in constant motion at a critical velocity, without having to interpolate data. Conventional helical scanning may still be undertaken. Detector elements can be disposed axially to improve signal/noise ratio and to produce a cone beam cancellation effect.

The present invention relates generally to scanning electron beam computed tomography X-ray systems, and more particularly to eliminating cone beam error in images produced by such systems, and thus the need to correct for such error, and to providing such systems with an option to make multi-slice scanning of moving objects without requiring that acquired data be interpolated.
A century ago, mathematician J. Radon demonstrated that a two-dimensional slice of a three-dimensional object may be reproduced from the set of all of its projections. Computed tomography (CT) X-ray systems generate a set of X-ray beam projections through an object to be examined. The resultant detected X-ray data are computer processed to reconstruct a tomographic image-slice of the object.
Conventional CT systems subject the object under examination to one or more pencil-like X-ray beams from all possible directions in a plane. The X-ray data may be generated in fan beam format (as is the case for the present invention), or in parallel beam format. In a fan beam system, the X-rays radiate from a source and are collected in a fan. By contrast, in a parallel beam system the X-rays are all parallel within a view. In either system, a view is one projection of the object onto the detectors, and a scan is a collection of all of the views.
In a fan beam scanning electron beam system such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,521,900 to Rand, or U.S. Pat. No. 4,352,021 to Boyd, an electron beam is produced by an electron gun and is accelerated downstream along the z-axis of an evacuated chamber. Further downstream a beam optical system deflects the electron beam about 30xc2x0 into a scanning path, with azimuthal range typically about 210xc2x0. The deflected beam is then focused upon a suitable target, typically a large arc of tungsten material, which produces a fan beam of X-rays.
The emitted X-rays penetrate an object (e.g., a patient) that is disposed along the z-axis and lying within a so-called reconstruction circle. X-ray beams passing through the object are attenuated by various amounts, depending upon the nature of the object traversed (e.g., bone, tissue, metal). One or more X-ray detectors, disposed on the far side of the object, receive these beams and provide signals proportional to the strength of the incoming X-rays.
Typically the output data from the detectors are processed using a filtered back-projection algorithm. Detector data representing the object scanned from many directions are arranged to produce image profiles for each scan direction. Since the X-rayed object is not homogeneous, these profiles will vary in intensity with the amount of radiation detected by the various detectors on the various scans. The convoluted data from the various projections are then superimposed, or back-projected, to produce a computed tomographic image of the original object. The thus processed data are used to produce a reconstructed image of a slice of the object, which image may be displayed on a video monitor.
Systems similar to what is described in the above patents to Rand or Boyd are manufactured by Imatron, Inc., located in South San Francisco, Calif. These systems are termed xe2x80x9cshort scanxe2x80x9d because the views used for reconstructing an object image cover 180xc2x0 plus the fan beam angle (about 30xc2x0), e.g., about 210xc2x0 total, rather than a full 360xc2x0. In a scanning electron beam CT system, the 210xc2x0 angle implies that the target and detector must overlap, which is to say occupy the same space azimuthally.
In prior art systems this problem has been solved by using a parallel planar target and detector that are separated axially. In such systems, the X-ray detectors also span 180xc2x0 plus the fan angle, and define a first plane that is orthogonal to the z-axis. The source of the X-rays scans or travels within a second plane, also orthogonal to the z-axis, but not coincident with the first plane. As the X-ray fan rotates around the target, the central ray from the target to the detector describes a shallow cone rather than an ideal plane. Thus, although ideally reconstruction creates an image in a plane perpendicular to the z-axis using views acquired within that plane, in practice the presence of a cone angle in prior art systems results in each acquired view being inclined rather than perpendicular to the z-axis. This xe2x80x9ccone beamxe2x80x9d effect causes data sets acquired from axially non-invariant objects to be self-inconsistent, which results in image artifacts that degrade image quality and can produce false diagnoses in medical applications.
Unless the cone beam geometry is accounted for by using data from more than one axial position, cone beam error results. The result is a reconstructed image that includes unwanted cone beam artifacts that appear as streaks in the reconstructed, displayed image. In general, cone beam artifacts can be reduced in part only at the expense of scanning contiguous or overlapping slices, and interpolating the data from adjacent slices. U.S. Pat. No. 5,406,479 (1995) to Harman, assigned to Imatron, Inc., assignee herein, describes a method of reconstructing data acquired from a fan beam system such that cone beam error is substantially reduced. However efficient as the Harman technique is, it still requires data processing steps that would not be required if cone beam error could simply be eliminated as an error source. Applicants refer to and incorporate by reference U.S. Pat. No. 5,406,479 to Harman, U.S. Pat. No. 4,521,900 to Rand, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,352,021 to Boyd.
Another problem associated with prior art scanning electron beam CT systems occurs in so-called helical or spiral scanning. In this mode of operation, an object is continuously scanned while being moved at a constant velocity in the axial direction. During scanning, azimuthal and axial motions of the X-ray fan become mixed such that further interpolations must be performed on the resultant data before planar images can be reconstructed. The requirement to perform data reconstruction slows down the reconstruction process, reduces system throughput, and adds to the processing requirements of the overall system.
Thus in a scanning electron beam CT system, there is a need for a method and system to substantially eliminate cone beam error, and thus a need to compensate or correct for such error. Preferably the resultant system should exhibit higher quality images with reduced false diagnoses in medical applications. Finally, the reduction in data processing realizable by such systems should make possible scanning of continuously moving objects with image reconstruction substantially in real-time.
The present invention provides such a system.
A scanning electron beam computed tomographic system eliminates axial offset between target and detector, and resultant cone beam error, by disposing the target, detector, and collimator elements such that active regions of the target and detector are always diametrically opposite each other. This result is obtained by using a helical target, helical collimator, and helical detector. Alternatively, the target, collimator, and detector may be planar, but tilted or inclined about the vertical axis or other transverse axis to approximate an ideal helical configuration.
Eliminating the need to correct for cone beam error and, in some modes of operation, eliminating the need to interpolate data, reduces system cost, reduces computational overhead, and can increase system throughput. Higher quality images are produced, and the decreased data processing makes possible scanning of continuously moving objects and reconstructing acquired images substantially in real-time.
In the helical target, detector, collimator embodiment, the pitch of the helices is sufficient to separate the target and detector axially in overlap regions. The electron beam spot is scanned around the helical target at constant angular velocity to produce an X-ray fan whose axial position moves at a constant velocity Vcrit along the scanner axis.
In a first, helical, mode of operation, the object being scanned is moved at this same, critical, constant velocity Vcrit such that the object slice being scanned remains fixed with respect to the object. In this mode, discrete planar slices are scanned, without cone beam error and without need for data interpolation. A second mode may be used for objects that are moved at non-critical velocity. In this mode helical scanning similar to what is practiced with conventional scanning electron beam CT systems is possible. Data interpolation is needed to produce images, but there is no cone beam error, or need for cone beam correction. In a third mode, step mode scanning is used, in which data interpolation is needed, but no cone beam error or cone beam correction is required.
In the helical or tilted embodiments thus far described, detectors in the detector array were disposed in the azimuthal direction, but not the axial direction. In an alternative embodiment, an array of detectors that includes detector elements disposed in the axial (z-axis) direction is disclosed. Such a multiple axial detector array can provide for more efficient use of X-ray dosage for narrow slices, which increases signal/noise ratio and decreases total scan time. Further, the cone beam effect may be made self-cancelling for images obtained from the various detectors.
Other features and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description in which the preferred embodiments have been set forth in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Electron beam computed tomographic scanner system with helical or tilted target, collimator, and detector components to eliminate cone beam error and to scan continuously moving objects

GE Medical Systems Global Technology Company LLC