A single chamber headphone apparatus and earcup design is provided which enhances wearer comfort, reduces headphone weight, facilitates ease of use, maintenance and operation by providing an improved internal chamber and battery cap configuration. Sound quality is improved by eliminating acoustic problems associated with two-chamber headset designs. A volume balance control is also provided.

Recent advances in sound transmission technology have lead to the development of new headphones or headsets for use in telecommunications and entertainment applications in both external environments, such as military field operations, and internal environments, such as home use for listening to music and/or radio and television broadcasts. Headsets normally include one or a pair of earcups which fit over the outer ear and which are held in place by hand or by means of a head band which extends over the top of or behind the wearer's head. In addition to sound quality, wearer comfort is of primary concern to the user, particularly if the headphones are to be worn over an extended time period.
Headphone designs intended to improve both headphone sound quality and wearer comfort are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,455,675 issued to Bose et al, Jun. 19, 1984 and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,644,581 issued to Sapiejewski, Feb. 17, 1987. The headphones which are the subject of those disclosures include headphone cavities and electroacoustical transducers such as pressure-sensitive microphones positioned within the cavities respectively for providing signals which correspond to the sum of external noise and the sound produced by the headphone driver in each cavity. These designs include internal circuitry which reduces noise and distortion and improves the quality of the sound output to the ear and a cushion in contact with the ear to enhance wearer comfort.
More recently, U.S. Pat. No. 4,922,542 issued to Sapiejewski, May 1, 1990 discloses a headphone in which each earcup includes a baffle which supports a driver for converting an electrical input signal into an acoustical output signal to the ear. The baffle defines an inner and an outer cavity, the outer cavity being positioned adjacent the wearers ear and encompassed by a cushion surrounding the outer ear and sealing the outer cavity from the surrounding external environment. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,181,252 issued to Sapiejewski et al., Jan. 19, 1993 discloses a headphone having a high compliance driver mounted on a baffle which divides the headphone earcup into two chambers, each chamber having a preselected compliance which is individually matched to the compliances of the other chamber and the driver respectively to maximize the quality of the acoustical output. U.S. Pat. No. 7,412,070 issued to Kleinschmidt at al., Aug. 12, 2008 discloses a headphone having a pair of earcups, each earcup having a loudspeaker driver located off-center in an internal cavity. However, the designs of the '542, the '252 and the '070 disclosures do not adequately address the problems associated with acoustic interference and cancellation phenomenon associated with multi-chamber headphone designs, nor do they address the problem of volume balance control.
The headphone design of the present invention overcomes these and other problems by providing a new and novel headphone design which eliminates the internal acoustical compliance-related issues associated with a multi-chamber headphone earcup construction and a volume balance control feature which will permit the wearer to selectively psychoacoustically calibrate, adjust and balance the sound volume in each earcup. More specifically, the present invention provides a single chamber earcup having the microphone and driver mounted inside the earcup in such a manner that the baffle is eliminated, thereby permitting free flow of air throughout the entire cavity formed by the back of the earcup and the side of the wearers head. Means are provided to support the driver and the microphone at a predetermined location within the earcup that is sufficiently removed from the wearer's outer ear to prevent damage to the microphone which could result from contact with the pinna and during the process of putting on and/or removing the headphones, yet which is sufficiently close to the ear canal to maximize the quality of the sound delivered to the eardrum. An improved battery cover or cap is also provided.


A cuvette supplying device is disclosed. The cuvette supplying device comprises: a cuvette storage for storing cuvettes; a carrier, provided inside the cuvette storage, for carrying the cuvettes in the cuvette storage outside the cuvette storage; a conveyor for conveying the cuvettes existing at the bottom of the cuvette storage towards the carrier; and an arranging section for arranging the cuvettes carried outside the cuvette storage by the carrier at a predetermined position. The specimen analyzer comprising the cuvette supplying device is also disclosed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cuvette supplying device and a specimen analyzer.
2. Description of the Related Art
A specimen analyzer equipped with a cuvette supplying device for supplying a translucent container (cuvette) used for the optical detection of a specimen is conventionally known (see e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 7,931,861).
As shown in FIG. 12, the cuvette supplying device includes a first accumulation unit 401 for accumulating a cuvette inserted by a user, an annular belt 403 for carrying out a cuvette 402 stored in the first accumulation unit 401, and a second accumulation unit 404 for accumulating the cuvette 402 carried out by the annular belt 403.
The cuvette 402 accumulated in the first accumulation unit 401 is scooped up by a holding plate 405 attached to the annular belt 403 with the rotation of the annular belt 403, and carried out to the second accumulation unit 404.
The cuvette 402 carried out to the second accumulation unit 404 is passed through a predetermined passage one at a time and aligned on a transportation rail 406, and is rotationally transferred by a rotation transfer unit 407 arranged at the tip of the transportation rail 406. The rotationally transferred cuvette 402 is supplied to a dispensing table by a supplying catcher unit (not shown).

Cuvette supplying device and specimen analyzer


A hybrid drum as described combines the characteristics of both acoustic and electronic percussion apparatus enabling a musician to have a single instrument and have either acoustic or electronic output. A hybrid drum includes a multilayer drum head with a built-in FSR sensor such that the FSR drum head replaces the drum head of the acoustic drum and can be used to perform acoustically and or electronically. The FSR sensor is built into a double layer, double-head acoustic drum head, wherein one layer of the double head system has the FSR element printed on it, while the other layer of the double layer head has the inter-digiting conductive fingers printed on it and facing the FSR element. A conductive tail extends from one of the drum head layers and is operably connected to an electronic module secured to the drum shell.

Acoustic drums have existed for thousands of years. Modern materials have created drums with improved characteristics and sound over their ancient predecessors.
Electronic percussion instruments have been known since the late 1970's. They offer a wider range of potential sound variety than acoustic drums, as well as the possibility of quiet operation in situations where the high sound level of acoustic percussion is undesirable.
Acoustic drums have different playing characteristics than their electronic counterparts requiring a musician to translate their style from an acoustic drum to its corresponding electronic instrument.


The present invention provides novel compositions and methods for producing protein-polysaccharide conjugates in aqueous solutions. Also provided are methods for limiting the Maillard reaction to the very initial stage, the formation of the Schiff base. Provided are methods to obtain a simple product of Schiff base with white color, and compositions obtained using the methods of the present invention.

Food proteins and polysaccharides (PS) are two key structural components used to control texture, structure, and stability of food materials. Typically, foods contain both biopolymers in the form of complex multicomponent mixtures. Conjugation of protein with polysaccharide has been intensively studied in recent years (Dunlap and Côté, 2005, J. Agric. Food Chem. 53: 419-423), with a significant improvement in functional properties (e.g. solubility and heat stability) over a wide pH range.
Protein-polysaccharide conjugates (PPC) (i.e., proteins covalently linked to polysaccharides) are useful as emulsifiers in foods and beverages. The addition of the polysaccharide stabilizes the protein, and such protein-polysaccharide conjugates have superior functional properties (e.g., gelation, emulsification, solubility, heat/pH stability) compared to the unaltered proteins. A naturally produced protein-polysaccharide conjugate can be found in gum arabic, which contains about 2% covalently bound protein. Gum arabic is used extensively as a natural food emulsifier/stabilizer for emulsions and beverages, as an encapsulation agent for flavor delivery, in gum drops and similar candies, and to control ice crystallization in frozen products. However, the price and availability of gum arabic is extremely volatile due to a variety of growth, harvest, and regional issues. About half of the gum arabic produced worldwide is imported by the US (approximately 30,000 tons). Consequently, there is considerable commercial interest in developing a substitute for gum arabic.
Two main techniques are used to produce covalently linked protein-polysaccharide conjugates: (1) chemical modification using reagents such as carbodiimide, and (2) glycation by exploiting the initial step (i.e., Schiff base step which is well before the browning and other undesirable reactions) of the Maillard reaction between a reducing sugar (e.g., glucose, lactose) and an amino group (e.g., lysine). Chemical modifications usually use toxic reagents that are not desirable for use in food ingredients. The usual glycation procedure involves using dry heating (e.g., 60° C.), and storage of the lyophilized mixtures (protein and PS) for a period of up to several weeks at a specific relative humidity (RH).
The initial step in the Maillard reaction, the formation of a covalent linkage between ε-NH2 amino groups on proteins and carbonyl groups on reducing sugars, has been used to create new ingredients with improved food functionalities. The Maillard reaction is comprised of a complex series of reactions, which simultaneously occur by multiple reaction pathways. Generally, the Maillard reaction occurs in three stages (Hodge, 1953, J. Agric. Food Chem. 1: 928-943). The initial stage consists of the condensation between ε-NH2 amino groups and carbonyl groups, Schiff base formation and irreversible Amadori rearrangement, which leads to the Amadori products. The products at this initial stage are colorless, and there is no absorption in the near-ultraviolet spectrum. The intermediate stage involves sugar dehydration, sugar fragmentation and amino acid degradation. These products result in absorption at 277-285 nm due to the furfural region (Vallejo-Cordoba and Gonzalez-Cordova, 2007, Electrophoresis 28: 4063-4071; Hodge, 1953, J. Agric. Food Chem. 1: 928-943). Products are colorless or yellow in the intermediate stage. The final stage is highly colored (yellow or brown), with the formation of brown pigments called melanoidins.
The conjugation of proteins with polysaccharides (PS) is usually carried out using dry-heat treatment, for example the conjugation of β-lactoglobulin (β-Ig) and dextran, under conditions of about 60° C., 35-40% RH (relative humidity), for about 3 weeks (Dickinson and Galazka, 1991, Food Hydrocoll. 5: 281-296). However, there are several disadvantages for this method. It requires powdered protein and PS materials and a constant temperature and relative humidity (e.g. 79% RH), which must be maintained during the reaction. The time required for the reaction is also significant (e.g. 3-5 weeks at 60° C.). The reaction process also cannot be easily controlled and the products are complicated. Intermediate or final stage products of the Maillard reaction are also typically obtained as indicated by the appearance of undesirable light yellow or brown color, which results in increased absorbance at ≥420 nm (Dickinson and Galazka, 1991; Tanaka et al., 1999, Fisheries Sci. 65: 623-628). Although the conjugation of proteins with PS by the dry heating process has resulted in interesting improvements in functional properties, the dry-heat treatment method is not attractive and, as a result of the significant disadvantages described above, there are few commercial PPC ingredients.
Whey proteins, including β-Ig, have been used to stabilize food emulsions because of their surface active properties (Dickinson, 1997, J. Dairy Sci. 80: 2607-2619). The emulsifying properties of PPC prepared with whey proteins by the dry heating process have been studied extensively. While many types of PS have been tested by this dry heating process little is known about the effect of the molecular weight size of the PS on the properties of the PPC.
To use the Maillard conjugation type of approach to commercially produce viable food ingredients, new methods are needed to induce this reaction in a short processing time and in aqueous protein-PS mixtures instead of the expensive lyophilized samples that have been previously studied. It would be advantageous to formulate new ingredients (e.g., PPC) that provide improved functionality (e.g., emulsion stability) and health benefits in various nutritional products (e.g., reduced allergenicity in infant formulae and reduced astringency in low pH protein-fortified beverages). The present invention addresses these and related needs.

Production of protein-polysaccharide conjugates


A rapid-engaging, positive locking machine screw mechanism comprises a screw having a head and a body wherein the body includes male threads formed thereon wherein the threaded body has at least one longitudinal segment devoid of threads. A work piece defines a hole having female threads formed therein for receiving the screw and further defines in a portion of the hole, at least one longitudinally extending segment devoid of female threads. The longitudinal screw segment devoid of male threads and the longitudinal hole segment devoid of female threads are arranged such that the screw body is longitudinally received in the hole without engagement of the male screw threads with the female work piece threads. The rapid-engaging, positive locking thread configuration can be applied to a variety of mechanical interfaces. Additionally, thread locking configurations, such as a boos-depression interface, a notch and ridge, etc. can be incorporated to secure the male and female threads.

Threaded fasteners are one of the most common mechanical fastening systems in use today. While bolts and nuts are typically the primary threaded fasteners, screws are just as common and important in the construction of mechanisms consumers use in multitudes of ways every day. A screw is used when, instead of a work piece being clamped between a nut and the head of the fastener, a portion of the work piece is internally threaded and the screw is torqued into the work piece itself. As with all threaded fasteners, screws torqued into engagement with an internally threaded work piece are subject to loosening over time and, as with threaded nuts and bolts, numerous devices have been incorporated to prevent such loosening. In other applications of screws being torqued into a work piece, vibration or dilation will also cause the screw to loosen over time. Often these screws are located in areas that are difficult to access, or may even be totally inaccessible to being re-tightened.
In the particular case of eyeglasses, the screws securing the temples and lenses often loosen, followed by the undesired consequence of a temple falling off or a lens falling out. The causes of such loosening in eyewear are varied. The repeated opening and closing of the temples by rotating the temple about the screw retaining it to the frame of the glasses will induce rotational loosening. Thermal gradients in the environment have a more pronounced effect on the female thread in which the screw is received than on the male threaded screw thus resulting in additional loosening forces.
In other applications of screws being torqued into a work piece, vibration or dilation will also cause the screw to loosen over time. Often these screws are located in areas that are difficult to access, or may even be totally inaccessible to being retightened.
Prior attempts to overcome these loosening forces have included the addition of a smaller setscrew, or locking screw, that is threaded through the side of the work piece into interfering perpendicular contact with the threads of the screw. However, a locking screw is subject to the same loosening forces as the primary screw and can be difficult and expensive to install. Additionally, in the case when the primary screw is relatively small, adding a setscrew becomes impractical. Various types of liquid metal on metal glues have been utilized, but over time the effectiveness of these substances is questionable. Lock washers also have mixed success results.
Other attempts to prevent loosening have included the use of lock washers, but these generally provide unsatisfactory results in situations of considerable vibration. Castellated nuts and cotter pins inserted through holes drilled in the bolt, have also been utilized to prevent loosening of the nut, and are generally successful in so doing, but the cost of installation is high and labor intensive. Screw and nut ensembles having movable locking assemblies have also been used; while they are generally effective, their cost is high.
Further, a problem encountered with machine screws not typically found with regular nuts and bolts is that a machine screw will often engage a greater number of threads in the work piece than in a standard nut of the same size or, in other cases, will require a screw of a significant threaded length necessitating numerous revolutions of the threads to reach a final torqued position. Mechanical locking systems incorporating deformed threads to interferingly lock the fastener in place become disadvantageous in these circumstances. With long threaded fasteners or numerous internal threads engaged by the fastener, the significant number of turns required to finally torque the fastener will either totally defeat the deformation feature by the time final torquing is accomplished or the extended sustained torquing force applied to the fastener head will often damage the head making a final torquing impossible and requiring an undesired replacement.
In the case of container having a closure consisting of a threaded collar and cap and containing carbonated or other beverages, pressure may build up in the container, and the container may also be subject to rough usage; thus a rather long collar and cap thread is required to assure engagement of a significant number of cooperating threads, to assure that the cap is well secured on the container collar; thus, many revolutions of the cap are required to reseal the container. Often, however, users simply neglect to "tighten" the cap to full closure to reseal the container properly or, even if the cap had been tightly screwed onto the collar, it may loosen—resulting in a container losing carbonation and/or leaking its contents, with the attendant consequences. A definite consumer advantage would accrue if the container cap could come to a secure full-closure position rapidly, without a significant number of revolutions, and be prevented from loosening from that position.
There are many types of pipe and tube fittings, the principal one among them being threaded fittings. Such fittings are required to maintain in a fully torqued position at least two elements of a piped or tubing assembly. Speed of assembly of such threaded fittings to a fully torqued position is always an issue and, often, such fittings and assemblies are subject to vibrational stresses, which cause a fitting to loosen, and the transported material to leak thereat. A definite industrial advantage would accrue if the tubes' or pipes' threaded fitting elements could come to a secure fully-torqued position rapidly, without a significant number of revolutions, and be prevented from loosening from that position.
Thread engagement must be discussed when discussing threaded locking fasteners. It is well known that manufacturing variations in common nuts and bolts create an ensemble wherein only relatively few threads of a common nut threaded on a common bolt are in effective mutual engagement. Obviously, the locking features of the device disclosed herein would be vitiated if most, if not all, of the threads of the male and female parts herein disclosed were not in effective engagement. It is therefore preferable that the screw and female receiver disclosed herein be manufactured to specifications adequate to assure effective engagement of their threads, as a set. Obviously, in the case of a threaded container closure, that is always the situation. In the case of tube or pipe fittings and assemblies, especially where the transported material is critical, no leakage is desired, such that the male threaded part and the female receiver disclosed herein be manufactured to specifications adequate to assure effective engagement of their threads, as a set.
Thread pitch is also a consideration to be weighed in applications using the configuration disclosed herein. It is obvious that, the higher the thread pitch of the configuration, the more rapid is the clamping action provided by the ensemble. The choice of thread pitch has no influence on the efficacy of the configurations disclosed herein.
Thus, what is desired is a mechanism for quickly positioning and locking screws torqued into a threaded hole in a work piece and wherein the mechanism will reliably maintain the desired engagement of the screw in the receiving hole throughout the life of the apparatus on which it is installed.

Rapid-engaging and positive-locking threaded configuration


Disclosed are a full-spectrum light emitting diode (LED) and applications thereof. A fluorescent powder composition is mixed with silica gel. In the mixture of the fluorescent powder composition and the silica gel, the mixture of the fluorescent powder composition and the silica gel is applied on blue LED chips. The blue LED chips are blue light emitting diode chips, and at least two blue LED chips are provided. The fluorescent powder composition includes fluorescent powder of at least two different colors. An excited spectrum is close to a plant photosynthesis curve, a meat irradiation curve, a biological growth curve, a seafood irradiation curve, a vegetable and fruit irradiation curve, and a pastry irradiation curve. A full-spectrum LED light source can be adjusted to simulate natural light irradiation. The excited spectrum is close to the plant photosynthesis curve, thereby causing photosynthesis in plants, achieving an optimal plant growth effect. Further, the present invention achieves optimal freshness preservation effects in meat irradiation, seafood irradiation, and vegetable and fruit irradiation, and ensures optimal deliciousness in pastry irradiation.

A full-spectrum LED simulates the spectrum of natural light and contains the spectrum necessary for plant growth. Research on plant growth characteristics has shown that plant growth requirements vary based on different light intensity, spectrum, and photoperiod conditions. Among the plant growth requirements, photosynthesis is found to be most crucial to green plants. The impact of the light source on the efficacy of plant photosynthesis has been studied by American and Japanese scholars, and ideal spectrums have been studied. It is found that when the light source a plant is exposed to during growth resembles the ideal spectrum for plant growth, plant photosynthesis takes place more efficiently. At present, full spectrums are mainly applied in the field of LED lighting and lack wider applications in other fields. Moreover, no relevant technical solutions are provided in the fields of meat irradiation, seafood irradiation, pastry irradiation, and plant irradiation.
In order to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art, the inventor thus needs to solve the problem of designing a full-spectrum LED and applications thereof which can be used in meat irradiation and seafood irradiation, such that meat and seafood appear more fresh, and which can further be used as a light source for pastry irradiation to give pastries a more appealing and delicious appearance.

Full-spectrum light emitting diode and application thereof


A cooling arrangement is provided for a wind turbine. The wind turbine has a nacelle. The cooling arrangement includes a cooling device and a platform. The cooling device is arranged on top of the nacelle and which is configured to remove heat of the wind turbine to the ambient air. The platform is located on top of the nacelle and which is configured to be approached by a helicopter. The platform includes a barrier, which surrounds at least a part of the platform. The barrier includes at least a part of the cooling device.

Electrical machinery produces heat and often needs a cooling system to remove the heat. The cooling system often comprises a cooling fluid that circulates in ducts or pipes. The cooling system further comprises a cooling arrangement as a heat sink. The cooling arrangement comprises a radiator and a support arrangement. The cooling fluid is then cooled by air flowing though the radiator. The radiator is therefore mounted in a way that the surrounding air can flow through the radiator.
In the case of e.g. a wind turbine, the cooling system removes the heat from the generator or a bearing. The cooling fluid is cooled in the radiator. The radiator is mounted outside of the nacelle so that the surrounding air can move through the radiator.
Wind turbines are often installed offshore or close to the coast and are surrounded by salty air. One aim of the installation is to keep salty air out of the nacelle, as salty air will damage the installation in the nacelle. For this the radiator of the cooling system is mounted outside of the nacelle, so no salty air has to be guided through the nacelle.


A fuel cell of a fuel cell stack includes separators. Each of the separators includes a fuel gas supply section, a bridge, and a sandwiching section. A fuel gas supply passage extends through the center of the fuel gas supply section, and a fuel gas supply channel is formed in the bridge. A plurality of the fuel cells are stacked together to form a stack body. Side insulating members are provided in parallel with an extension line extending from the bridge, and along both of outer portions of the sandwiching section. The side insulating members suppress heat radiation from the fuel cells, and are used as a reference level for positioning the fuel cells at the time of stacking the fuel cells.

Typically, a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) employs an electrolyte of ion-conductive solid oxide such as stabilized zirconia. The electrolyte is interposed between an anode and a cathode to form an electrolyte electrode assembly (MEA). The electrolyte electrode assembly is interposed between separators (bipolar plates). In use, generally, predetermined numbers of the electrolyte electrode assemblies and the separators are stacked together to form a fuel cell stack.
For example, in a fuel cell system disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-327130, as shown in FIG. 33, a plurality of fuel cell stacks 2a are placed in a stack case 1a. Each of the fuel cell stacks 2a is formed by stacking a large number of cell units 3a at predetermined intervals.
In each cell unit 3a, an air electrode is exposed in the stack case 1a, and the air supplied into the stack case 1a through an air supply pipe 4a is supplied to the air electrode. The air after partially consumed is discharged to the outside of the stack case 1a through an air discharge port 5a. In the meanwhile, a fuel gas is supplied to each of the cell units 3a through an inlet port 6a, and then, the fuel gas is discharged to the outside of the stack case 1a through a discharge port 7a.
As shown in FIG. 34, in a solid oxide fuel cell disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2007-073357, a fuel cell stack 3b is provided in an apparatus body 2b covered by a heat insulating member 1b. The fuel cell stack 3b is formed by stacking power generation cells 4b and separators 5b alternately.
A first reformer 6b is provided along the fuel cell stack 3b in the stacking direction at a position for absorbing heat generated during power generation of the fuel cell stack 3b. Further, a second reformer 7b is provided at a position spaced away from the fuel cell stack 3b relative to the first reformer 6b, and a fuel gas flows into the second reformer 7b. The position of the second reformer 7b is determined such that the temperature of the fuel gas supplied into the second reformer 7b is raised to a temperature suitable for reforming reaction, using the exhaust gas from the fuel cell stack 3b as a heat source. The second reformer 7b is provided upstream of the first reformer 6b, and connected to the first reformer 6b in series.
In a fuel cell disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2007-080760, as shown in FIG. 35, a fuel cell stack 1c formed by stacking power generation cells and separators alternately is provided. The fuel cell stack 1c and a fuel reforming apparatus 2c are placed in a heat insulating housing 3c. The fuel reforming apparatus 2c includes a plurality of reformers 4c and a plurality of fuel heat exchangers 5c. An air heat exchanger 6c, a fuel gas supply pipe 7c, and an oxygen-containing gas supply pipe 8c are provided in the heat insulating housing 3c.
In Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-327130, the fuel cell stacks 2a each having a cylinder shape as a whole are placed in the stack case 1a, and the fuel cell stacks 2a are spaced considerably away from each other. In the structure, the overall size of the fuel cell system is considerably large.
Further, the sufficient air needs to be supplied to the air electrode of each cell unit 3a exposed in the stack case 1a. Therefore, the air pressure in the stack case 1a needs to be considerably high, and the pressure loss is increased.
Further, in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2007-073357, the fuel gas supply pipe 8b and the oxygen-containing gas supply pipe 9b are placed inside the heat insulating member 1b, in addition to the fuel cell stack 3b, the first reformer 6b, and the second reformer 7b. Thus, the overall size of the fuel cell system is considerably large.
In this regard, in the case where the space between the heat insulating member 1b and the fuel cell stack 3b is minimized to achieve reduction in the overall size of the fuel cell, due to the reforming reaction in the first reformer 6b and the second reformer 7b, i.e., due to the heat absorbing reaction, the temperature of the fuel cell stack 3b is decreased locally. Therefore, uniform temperature distribution in the fuel cell stack 3b cannot be achieved, and the power generation efficiency becomes low.
Further, in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2007-080760, the fuel cell stack 1c, a plurality of the reformers 4c, a plurality of the fuel heat exchangers 5c, the air heat exchanger 6c, the fuel gas supply pipe 7c, and the oxygen-containing gas supply pipe 8c are provided in the heat insulating housing 3c. Therefore, the overall size of the fuel cell becomes considerably large.
In this regard, in the case where the space between the heat insulating housing 3c and the fuel cell stack 1c is minimized to achieve reduction in the overall size of the fuel cell, due to the reforming reaction in a plurality of the reformers 4c, i.e., due to the heat absorbing reaction, the temperature of the fuel cell stack 1c is decreased locally. Therefore, uniform temperature distribution in the fuel cell stack 1c cannot be achieved, and the power generation efficiency becomes low.
Further, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2007-073357 and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2007-080760, seals for fuel gas and oxygen-containing gas manifolds are separated from each other in diagonal directions of the separator. In the structure, heat stress applied to the seals and the power generation units (cell units) becomes large.


The technology disclosed uses a combination of an object detector and an object tracker to process video sequences and produce tracks of real-world images categorized by objects detected in the video sequences. The tracks of real-world images are used to iteratively train and re-train the object detector and improve its detection rate during a so-called “training cycle”. Each training cycle of improving the object detector is followed by a so-called “training data generation cycle” that involves collaboration between the improved object detector and the object tracker. Improved detection by the object detector causes the object tracker to produce longer and smoother tracks tagged with bounding boxes around the target object. Longer and smoother tracks and corresponding bounding boxes from the last training data generation cycle are used as ground truth in the current training cycle until the object detector's performance reaches a convergence point.

Regarding "real-world data," one of the most challenging aspects of generating training data is that the training data should resemble an underlying distribution of "real-world data." "Real-world data" is data that is similar to what a user is trying to match when a user is presented with documents or images on a screen.
The outcome of the service is only as good as the trained model. Use of better or more comprehensive training data allows for the creation of a better (e.g., more accurate or realistic) model, because the model is only as "smart" as the data that was used for training. This is why it is important to improve the training data generation process. Training data should satisfy two important aspects—(i) comprehensiveness, i.e., having richly tagged real-world images that are captured in a wide spectrum of uncontrolled environments (e.g., arbitrary poses, textures, backgrounds, occlusion, illumination) so that the model is proficient at handling a diverse array of image requests from the customers during production and (ii) scale, i.e., having large amounts of such tagged real-world images so that the model is adequately trained. There exists a shortage of such training data because collecting and tagging real-world images is tedious, time consuming, and error prone.

Automated and unsupervised generation of real-world training data

Cognizant Technology Solutions U.S. Corporation


A wiring module is for attachment to a power module in which power elements that store or generate electrical power are arranged side-by-side. The wiring module includes: an insulating protector that houses interconnection conductors for interconnecting the power elements; detection wires that are housed in the insulating protector, extend from a side corresponding to the power elements, and detect a state of the power elements; a connector that is provided at an end portion of the detection wires and is arranged inside the insulating protector; and a movement restricting means that is provided in the insulating protector and is for restricting movement of the connector by locking the connector.

Patent Document 1 discloses a known example of a wiring module for arrangement on a storage battery.
Such a wiring module generally includes detection wires for detecting the statuses of electric cells included in the storage battery, and a connector is provided at the leading ends of the detection wires to enable connection to a connector (hereinafter, called a "partner connector") that is provided in a partner device such as an ECU (Electronic Control Unit). Because this connector is a power supply connector, it is common knowledge to employ a female connector in order to prevent contact with a hand.
In the case of the wiring module in Patent Document 1, the detection wires extend from the respective electric cells, pass through the wiring module main body, are routed to one end edge portion of the wiring module, furthermore drawn to the outside and bundled, and then provided with a female connector (so-called pigtail).
With such a pigtail, even if the female connector is pulled or pushed by external force when mated with the partner connector, the external force can be cancelled by changes in the extent of flexure. In other words, it is possible to "cut off" external force outside the wiring module main body.
However, depending on the arrangement relationship between the storage battery and the external device for example, there are cases where it is not possible to ensure sufficient external space for employing such a pigtail type of connector, and therefore sometimes it is necessary to provide a female connector at the leading ends of the detection wires at one end portion of the wiring module main body. In this case, because a pigtail is not employed, external force acting on the female connector during mating with the male connector (partner connector) or the like is not cancelled outside of the wiring module main body, thus resulting in movement of the connector, which has the risk of being transmitted to the detection wires inside the wiring module and reaching the connections at the electric cells.


A manual gauge measures a specimen's thickness by pressing surface contactors against its opposing surfaces. A rigid C-frame has upper and lower jaws providing a means for engaging a specimen and for gauging its thickness using a linear probe that is caused to move linearly between the jaws by a handle assembly. The handle assembly is joined with the C-frame at a point that is co-linear with a force vector of the probe against a workpiece resting on one of the jaws. The force of the probe is transmitted through the specimen to the jaw. The handle leverages from this jaw so that there is no force applied between the jaws thereby avoiding error due to the varying hand pressure by the operator and the resultant strain in the C-frame during measurements.

The present disclosure relates to hand gauges for measuring material thickness and more particularly to such a hand operated gauge capable of more precise measurements and particularly a hand operated thickness measuring gauge capable of avoiding error due to the differences in applied hand pressure of different operators.
Contact measuring tools are widely used to measure the thickness of flat materials by utilizing a linear gauge or the like. When measurements involve simultaneously contacting opposing sides of material (specimen) and determining the thickness thereof, conventional tools are used such as are described in US patents: U.S. Pat. Nos. 202,866; 346,706; 2,051,357; 2,080,534; 2,152,880; 2,734,275; and 3,208,148. In common use are gauges that use a C-shaped jaw having a fixed jaw opening and which have a fixed handle mounted as a part of the jaw, and a pivoting handle also mounted to the jaw allowing the two handles to be squeezed toward each other thereby drawing a fixed and a movable surface contactors toward each other. The stationary contactor is secured to one side of the jaw, while the movable contactor is mounted on a probe of a measurement gauge which is mounted on the opposing side of the jaw, with the two contactors facing each other. The pivoting handle is engaged with the probe so that by drawing the handles toward each other, the two contactors may be brought into mutual contact for zeroing the measurement gauge, and also into contact with opposing sides of the material (specimen) placed between the contacts so as to measure its thickness as indicated by the measurement gauge. Of course the measurement gauge may be read directly, or may be fitted for transmitting a measurement to a distant recorder. Such a hand tool provides significant convenience when thickness measurements must be made directly on a large work piece as for instance in an assembly area.
The accuracy of measurement is influenced, for example, by the pressure applied by the operator, the rigidity of the tool in general, by the flatness and parallelism of the opposing contacts, and by any warp in the specimen. The measuring accuracy is affected as well by distortion of the specimen caused by the contacts. The advantages of a hand tool, include portability, measurement speed, and adaptability to the measurement situation, i.e., the ability to place the tool into various attitudes and positions to accommodate the location and position of the specimen. Clearly, the use of such a tool has disadvantages as well. For example accuracy may suffer due to changes in ambient temperature within a factory site over the course of a work shift. Dust particles may degrade both accuracy and precision. The tool may suffer contact or gauge misalignment due to rough handling. Of course by proper operator training and ambient conditions control, these problems can be minimized. Error may also be caused by variations in the hand force applied to the handles during a measurement. Such force variations can change the linear dimension of the jaw's opening. For instance, a common micrometer holds a measurement gauge at one jaw of the tool. A workpiece is inserted between its jaws and the gauge probe is moved in contact with the workpiece. The force of the probe exerts a force against the workpiece and also against the lower jaw. This force tends to cause strain between the jaws which introduces measurement error. The presently described tool avoids this source of error as will be described thereby providing improved measurement accuracy and precision.


The present disclosure provides for adaptive resource management in new radio operations that adapts a numerology including a subcarrier spacing and/or cyclic prefix for a user equipment (UE) traveling at a high speed. A base station may transmit via a plurality of remote radio heads (RRH) to a user equipment (UE) is moving along a high speed track. The base station may transmit, in a first time period, using a first numerology including a first subcarrier spacing and a first cyclic prefix ratio, a first transmission for the UE. The base station may transmit, in a subsequent time period, using a second numerology including a second subcarrier spacing and a second cyclic prefix ratio, a second transmission for the UE. At least one of the second subcarrier spacing is different than the first subcarrier spacing or the second cyclic prefix ratio is different than the first cyclic prefix ratio.

Aspects of this disclosure relate generally to telecommunications, and more particularly to resource management in wireless communication systems.
Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, and broadcasts. Typical wireless communication systems may employ multiple-access technologies capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmit power). Examples of such multiple-access technologies include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, and single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems.
These multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enables different wireless devices to communicate on a municipal, national, regional, and even global level. For example, 5G new radio (NR) communications technology is envisaged to expand and support diverse usage scenarios and applications with respect to current mobile network generations. In an aspect, 5G communications technology includes enhanced mobile broadband addressing human-centric use cases for access to multimedia content, services and data; ultra-reliable-low latency communications (URLLC) with strict requirements, especially in terms of latency and reliability; and massive machine type communications for a very large number of connected devices and typically transmitting a relatively low volume of non-delay-sensitive information. As the demand for mobile broadband access continues to increase, however, there exists a need for further improvements in 5G communications technology and beyond. Preferably, these improvements should be applicable to other multi-access technologies and the telecommunication standards that employ these technologies.
It is envisaged that 5G NR will, in some cases, be deployed to provide network connectivity to users on high speed trains (HST). A HST network deployment presents unique challenges due to the potential for a large number of users on the train and the high mobility of the users as the train moves at full speed. It would be desirable for a HST network deployment to provide network capacity improvements for 5G communications technology in terms of, for example, spectral and energy efficiency.

Adaptive scalable numerology for high speed train scenarios


When a sample of biological origin in an aqueous solution is used as the measurement medium in analysis using an electrochemical process, and a voltage of +1.2 V or greater (with saturated silver-silver chloride electrode potential as a reference) is applied, there are instances in which bubbles are observed to be produced within the flow cell, due to an electrolysis reaction deriving from the measurement buffer. There is a possibility that bubbles produced on the electrode will cover the electrode surface, reducing the effective surface area of the electrode. Also, the distribution of magnetic particles captured on the electrode will be disturbed by the gas produced thereby, lowering the reproducibility of the results of the analysis. Deaeration of the measurement medium prior to introduction of the measurement medium into the detector minimizes the effects of bubble production in degrading the analytical capability makes it possible to carry out highly sensitive electrochemical analysis.

As a technique to measure the concentration of a substance contained in an organism-derived sample such as blood and urine, an electrochemical technique that detects a signal related to an electron exchange between a target substance and a working electrode is known. As an electrochemical technique, an electrochemical sensor using a technique (amperometric method) of detecting a current generated between the working electrode and a counter electrode when, for example, the target substance is oxidized or reduced on the working electrode is disclosed. As such a sensor, for example, a glucose sensor that measures the concentration of glucose based on a current response obtained by oxidizing hydrogen peroxide using generated hydrogen peroxide when glucose is oxidized by glucose oxidase is known. Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on the amperometric method, but the application of the present invention is not limited to the amperometric method and the present invention can be applied to any method of detecting a response when a voltage is applied to the working electrode.
To analyze an organism-derived sample highly sensitively by applying an electrochemical technique, it is necessary to curb the influence of a large amount of coexisting components contained in the organism-derived sample on a detection reaction. PTL 1 describes a method of using magnetic particles as an example of the method of selectively separating a component to be analyzed from coexisting components by an analyzer using the amperometric method.


A process and system for treating organic waste materials without venting gaseous emissions to the atmosphere. A fluidized bed including lime particles is operated at a temperature of at least 500.degree. C. by blowing gas having 20%/70% oxygen upwardly through the bed particles at a rate sufficient to fluidize same. A toxic organic waste material is fed into the fluidized bed where the organic waste material reacts with the lime forming CaCO.sub.3. The off gases are filtered and cooled to condense water which is separated. A portion of the calcium carbonate formed during operation of the fluidized bed is replaced with lime particles. The off gases from the fluidized bed after drying are recirculated until the toxic organic waste material in the bed is destroyed.

When operated properly, incinerators can achieve high efficiency in destroying hazardous organic materials in treating both hazardous wastes and mixed wastes. However, problems arise during improper operations or upset conditions, when dioxanes, furans, and other toxic materials may be released at dangerous levels. By means of careful design and operation, which are regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency, and various state and local agencies, dangerous emission levels can be avoided.
Fluid bed incineration for hazardous organic waste is an old concept and has been practiced for years by several companies, one of which being the Doff-Oliver Company. In the June 1992 edition of "Chemical Engineering Progress", John F. Mullin of the Dorr-Oliver Company reviewed the waste incinerator designs used to treat hazardous waste over the past fifteen years. Examples of the Dorr-Oliver technology are included in the Fitch et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,159,682 issued Jul. 3, 1979 showing separate dryer and incinerator fluid beds wherein the dryer off gases are handled separately from the incinerator off gases and hot bed material from the incinerator is used to heat the moist feed material to the dryer. However, the Fitch et al. '682 patent vents incinerator off gases to the atmosphere. Another Dorr-Oliver patent is the Fitch et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,232,614 issued Nov. 11, 1980, which also teaches separate air dryer and incinerator mechanisms, both of which have off gas streams which are treated separately but which eventually exit the system to the atmosphere.
Another company that has been active in the incineration of hazardous waste material was the Envirotech Corporation of Menlo Park, Calif., later bought by the Lurgi Company However, in the 70's and early 80's, the Envirotech Company operated a number of systems in an attempt to treat sewage sludge and industrial waste. Representative systems include rotary kiln systems and multiple hearth systems which were used to classify and dry sludge and thereafter incinerate same, for instance see the Isheim U.S. Pat. No. 4,153,411, the Isheim U.S. Pat. No. 4,248,164, the Lombana U.S. Pat. No. 4,215,637. There are other patents issued to Envirotech which are also pertinent; however, none of these patents relate to systems in which no vapor emissions exit to the atmosphere.
Briefly, other companies through the years, have used fluidized bed systems which treat hazardous organic compounds inherent in the operation of the system. For instance, the Foster-Wheeler Energy Corporation developed significant technology relating to the fluidized bed treatment of coal as for instance in the Daman U.S. Pat. No. 4,275,668 issued Jun. 30, 1981, the Taylor U.S. Pat. No. 4,197,086 issued Apr. 8, 1980 and other Foster-Wheeler patents of this general time frame; however, none of the Foster-Wheeler systems and processes to the knowledge of the applicants included systems which are unvented to the atmosphere. Combustion Power Company in Palo Alto, Calif. investigated fluidized bed separation and incineration, see the Smith et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,654,705 issued Apr. 11, 1972. A large waste incinerator was operated in Palo Alto in the 1970's and this may have been a precursor to such system. Other representative technologies in the hazardous waste disposal business include rotary kilns useful for incineration and such processes were routinely practiced throughout the United States in the 70's and 80's for incinerating waste including hazardous waste of both solid and liquid, but all of these incineration technologies involve venting off gases to the atmosphere.
Finally, there is a rotary kiln process which has been successfully used to remediate PCBs at Waukegan Harbor, Ill. and at Wide Beach, N.Y., which produces a reduced amount of off gases from the remediation, represented by the Taciuk U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,180,455, 4,280,879, 4,285,773 and 4,306,961. However, the Taciuk patents still produces significant quantities of vapor which has to be treated by down stream equipment. Various technologies presently exist which combine incineration with chemical reaction in treating hazardous materials and representative examples of these are the Eggers, III U.S. Pat. No. 3,932,118 issued Jan. 13, 1976 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,040,865 issued Aug. 9, 1977, both of which relate to the pyrolysis of PCB material combined with incineration in a fluidized bed wherein CaCO.sub.3 particles are used to react with chlorine produced during the destruction of PCB to produce CaCl.sub.2. Nevertheless, none of the technologies recited above, although representative of the presently known treatment of hazardous waste materials by fluidized beds, multiple hearth furnaces and rotary kilns, illustrate a process in which no off gases from the treatment of the hazardous waste material per se are emitted to the atmosphere.
The above quoted technologies while effective to remediate hazardous waste fall short because satisfying the local public on all aspects concerning the operations of an incinerator is often more difficult than demonstrating to the scientific community and the appropriate agencies that the emission standards can be met. The public's main concern with incinerators is the risk of toxic organic emissions or radioactive emissions. The public perceives nearby incinerators to be a risk to health imposed by the government or industry, and also a factor tending to lower property values. As a result, the siting of incinerators has become very contentious and expensive. A process that does not produce emissions, such as the inventive process described herein, may meet with greater public acceptance.
Work has been done previously to reduce or eliminate the emissions from incinerators. Stull and Golden at EG&G Rocky Flats have evaluated off-gas capture systems from a fluidized-bed oxidation unit. In the two systems evaluated, 85% of the off-gas from the fluidized bed oxidizer would be recycled with oxygen make-up, and the remaining 15% would be compressed to liquid CO.sub.2, stored in tanks, sampled, and ultimately released. One process requires compression to 75 bar (1100 psia) at 16.degree. C. (60.degree. F.), and the other requires compression to 24 bar (350 psia) at -26.degree. C. (-15.degree. F.). Another approach was taken by Camp and Upadhye of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. In their proposed process, the mixed waste could be destroyed in any one of many types of incinerators with an oxidant of oxygen and recycled CO.sub.2. The off-gases would be directly quenched with water in a venturi scrubber. Acid gases would be removed by reacting with sodium hydroxide in a packed tower, and CO.sub.2 would be removed in a second packed tower by contacting with calcium hydroxide. The remaining oxygen, CO.sub.2, water vapor, and trace gases would be recycled to the waste destructor with makeup oxygen. The solid materials in the slurries exiting the packed towers would be consolidated to moist solids, which could be buried. The Livermore process would produce a large amount of solids for burial, which was viewed by them as a disadvantage.
Still another approach is set forth in the recently issued U.S. Pat. No. 5,179,903 issued Jan. 19, 1993, to Abboud et al., which uses enriched air and high incineration temperature along with several scrubbers to treat effluents from the system.
The inventive process is designed for treating mixed wastes that have accumulated at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) over several decades. The type of mixed waste stored an ANL that has the largest volume is scintillating counting waste, which is stored in 200 drums of 55-gal. capacity. Each drum holds 2000-4000 vials of toluene-based scintillation fluid containing radioactive materials from a wide range of projects. The vials are packed in vermiculite, which also must be treated as a mixed waste. With the proper head-end step to separate the organic liquid from the balance of the materials, this waste inventory could be treated by the inventive process hereinafter described. Also, the biological mixed waste at ANL could be treated by the proposed process, which would destroy the biological materials and separate the inorganic low-level radioactive waste for burial.
The treatment of these wastes at the ANL site is a difficult problem because ANL is located near suburban residences. Installation of a conventional incinerator would be out of the question. The inventive process and system does not release gases from the equipment during the thermal destruction of organic materials. The only products from the inventive system and process are liquid water and calcium carbonate. In one version of the invention, treating the limited quantities of ANL waste, the calcium carbonate and water produced would be mixed with cement-making materials to produce cement. This solid material would be the only product from the process.
The invention consists of certain novel features and a combination of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that various changes in the details may be made without departing from the spirit, or sacrificing any of the advantages of the present invention.

Thermal and chemical remediation of mixed waste


A sheet-supply cassette including a main member which is open upward and which is adapted to store a plurality of recording sheets which are stacked on each other and each one of which is separated from the other recording sheets, and is fed in a sheet-feed direction, by a sheet feeder; an inclined sheet-separate plate which is provided in a downstream-side portion of the main member as seen in the sheet-feed direction, and which cooperates with the sheet feeder to separate the each recording sheet from the other recording sheets; and a plurality of back-surface support portions which are formed integrally with the downstream-side portion of the main member, such that the back-surface support portions are distant from each other in a perpendicular direction substantially perpendicular to the sheet-feed direction. The inclined sheet-separate plate is detachably attached to the back-surface support portions such that a back surface of the inclined sheet-separate plate is supported by the back-surface support portions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sheet-supply cassette, and an image recording apparatus, such as a printer, a copier, or a facsimile machine, that includes a sheet-supply cassette.
2. Discussion of Related Art
There has been known a sheet-supply cassette that is employed by an image recording apparatus such as a printer, a copier, or a facsimile machine and supplies, one by one, a plurality of cut recording sheets each as a recording medium. The sheet-supply cassette includes a main member in which a plurality of cut recording sheets are horizontally stacked on each other so that the top one of the stacked cut sheets is fed by a sheet-feed roller pressed against it; and an inclined, sheet-separate plate which is provided in a downstream end portion of the main member as seen in a sheet-feed direction in which each cut sheet is fed. A leading end of each cut sheet being fed is engaged with a front surface of the sheet-separate plate so that the each cut sheet is separated from the other cut sheets and is fed forward.
In the above-described conventional sheet-supply cassette, the sheet-separate plate is provided in the downstream end portion of the main member, such that the entirety of the sheet-separate plate is inclined. Therefore, the entire length of the leading end of each cut sheet being fed simultaneously engages the front surface of the sheet-separate plate, thereby receiving too great a frictional resistance. In particular, in the case where a thick cut sheet is fed, the thick cut sheet may not be smoothly curved by the front surface of the sheet-separate plate and accordingly the feeding of the thick cut sheet may fail.
In the above-described background, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-173240 had proposed a sheet-supply cassette including a main member; a plurality of inclined sheet-separate plates that are provided on an inner surface of a side wall of the main member that is located on a downstream end of the main member as seen in a sheet-feed direction, such that the inclined sheet-separate plates are distant from each other in a widthwise direction of each cut recording sheet; and a plurality of pairs of inclined sheet-guide plates which have respective inclined sheet-guide surfaces. Each pair of inclined sheet-guide plates are provided on either side of a corresponding one of the inclined sheet-separate plates in the widthwise direction, and the inclined sheet-guide plates cooperate with each other to guide a plurality of portions of the leading end of each cut sheet that do not contact the inclined sheet-separate plates. Thus, the sheet-supply cassette allows each cut recording sheet to be fed while the leading end portion thereof is smoothly curved in an upward direction without being damaged.
However, in the sheet-supply cassette disclosed by the above-indicated document, the inclined sheet-separate plates and the inclined sheet-guide plates are spaced from each other in the widthwise direction of each cut recording sheet. Therefore, the leading end of each cut sheet may be abruptly bent, or may be damaged, at the boundary between each of those plates and a vacant space adjacent to the each plate.

Sheet-supply cassette with an inclined separate plate, and image recording apparatus including sheet-supply cassette installed with a snap-action device


A method for fabricating a vertical transistor device includes forming a first plurality of fins in a first device region and a second plurality of fins in a second device region on a substrate. The first plurality of fins have a SiGe portion exposed above a top surface of the first region and a portion of the second plurality of fins are exposed above a top surface of the second region. The method further includes depositing a first GeO2 layer on the top surface of the device and over the exposed SiGe portion of the first plurality of fins and the exposed portion of the second plurality of fins.

This disclosure relates generally to transistors, and more particularly to vertical fin-shaped field effect transistors (FinFET) and methods for their fabrication.
Vertical transport field effect transistors (VFETs) are becoming viable device options for semiconductor devices beyond the so-called "seven nanometer (7 nm) node." VFET devices include fin channels with source/drain regions at ends of the fin channels, i.e., on tops and bottoms of the fins. Current flows through the fin channels in a vertical direction (e.g., perpendicular to a substrate), for example, from a bottom source/drain region to a top source/drain region. VFET devices are designed to address the limitations of horizontal device architectures, for example, by decoupling gate length from the contact gate pitch, providing a FinFET-equivalent density at a larger contacted poly pitch (CPP), and providing lower middle-of-the-line (MOL) resistance.
In typical complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) VFET fabrication, top source/drain (S/D) epitaxial growth is used to reduce the contact resistance, e.g., phosphorus doped silicon (Si:P) in negative type FETs (n-FETs) and boron doped silicon germanium (SiGe:B) in positive type FETS (p-FETs).

Maskless top source/drain epitaxial growth on vertical transport field effect transistor

International Business Machines Corporation


The present disclosure provides a curable silicone rubber composition containing 0.1 to 15 mass % of a biuret compound represented by the general formula:

To enhance adhesion of curable silicone rubber compositions, curable silicone rubber compositions containing a reaction mixture of an aminoalkyl alkoxysilane and an epoxy alkyl alkoxysilane (see Patent Documents 1 to 3) or curable silicone rubber compositions containing a cyclic aminoalkyl alkoxysilane (see Patent Document 4), for example, have been proposed.
However, even with such curable silicone rubber compositions, there is a problem in that the adhesion in a short period of time for plastics such as polycarbonate resins, metals, and the like, and heat-resistant adhesion are insufficient.

Abstract: wherein R1 represents the same or different alkyl groups having 1 to 6 carbons, R2 represents the same or different alkyl groups having 1 to 3 carbons, R3 represents the same or different alkylene groups having 2 to 6 carbons, and “a” represents the same or different integers of from 0 to 2. The curable silicone rubber composition may be cured by a condensation reaction, an addition reaction, or the like. The curable silicone rubber composition generally has good adhesion to plastics, metals, and the like.


A device is disclosed for locking the key ignition of a vehicle. The device includes braided cables encased in neoprene rubber, and a recess is provided at the midpoint of the length of these cables. A locking housing is basically cylindrical in shape and includes a combination lock in its center section while the ends of the housing are flared angularly outward and have two through holes which serve as receptacles for the cables. Finally, ratchet-like teeth are arranged along the length of the cable, and two spring loaded engagement levers are located in the cable receptacles within the housing. The cables fit around the steering column of a vehicle with the recess placed over the key ignition. The locking housing receives the cables in the through holes and is locked in place by the combination lock.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to locking devices, and more particularly, to a locking device especially adapted to concealing a car ignition to prevent use of the car.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Locking devices in the form of anti-car theft devices are well known. U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,955 dated Jul. 18, 1989 discloses an anti-theft collar in the form of an arcuate band having a hole to accommodate a shift lever and a wedge having opposed edges for insertion of a locking wedge. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,020,662 dated May 3, 1977 discloses a shackle comprising a collar and a cap, the cap being locked to the collar over the ignition. U.S. Pat. No. 5,092,145 dated Mar. 3, 1992 discloses a lock keeper mounted on a shaft comprising discs pierced with an orifice for receiving the shaft. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,104,895 dated Aug. 8, 1978 discloses a protective device having a casing including a shackle at one end and a bolt lock at the other end to engage an aperture in the shackle.
A need exists, though, for a locking device which is easily fabricated and inexpensively manufactured. A further need exists for a device to easily lock the ignition of a car and prevent "hot wiring" of the car, use by drunk drivers and tampering of the car by children.
The foregoing need is met by the present invention as will be made apparent from the following description thereof. Other advantages of the present invention over the prior art also will be rendered evident.


The present invention is a method and structure for placing resistive circuits underneath a bonding pad in integrated circuit devices such that the resistive circuits are protected from shear and compressive stresses during bonding processes. The resistor is a serpentine wire pattern. A bonding pad is formed above the resistor such that the serpentine pattern extends over the entire bond pad area. The method and structure allow the formation of IC devices with smaller die areas.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of semiconductor processing, and more specifically, to placement of active circuitry underneath bonding pads.
2. Background Information
Integrated circuit chips (dice) are manufactured by fabricating a plurality of identical circuits on a semiconductor wafer, scribing the wafer between the circuits, and subsequently breaking apart the wafer into individual chips. The chips are then mounted on lead frames or substrates for packaging and wire bonded for chip external connections. The bonding wire connects the bonding pads on the chip with the lead frame. IC chips can be bonded using thermocompression or ultrasonic techniques. In thermocompression bonding, heat and pressure are applied to the pad and to the underlying substrate in order to achieve the bond. In ultrasonic bonding, sufficient energy is supplied by ultrasonic vibration in order to achieve the bond.
Active circuit elements, including transistors, resistors, capacitors, inductors, and the like, are generally located in the central portion of the semiconductor device, while bonding pads have been located around the periphery of the active region on the chip. Bonding pads are generally not located above the active circuits in order to protect the active circuit elements during bonding processes.
In many instances, it may be desirable to place resistive circuits beneath the bonding pads. For example, it may advantageous to place resistive circuits under bonding pads in order to decrease die area and to reduce parasitic resistance due to long interconnection wires between bonding pads and active regions. However, due to thermal and mechanical stresses occurring during the bonding process, the underlying resistive circuits may become damaged. For example, as the wire and the die are heated during the process of connecting the wire to the bonding pad, the bonding wire is pressed onto the bonding pad. Additional energy may be supplied by ultrasonic vibration in order to form the bond. Pressure and vibration exerted upon the bonding pad may cause microfractures and/or subtle dislocations of the under-bonding-pad resistive structure which may impact the electrical performance of the resistor or may impact its long-term reliability.
Therefore, what is needed is a method for placing a wire resistor beneath an active bonding pad in an integrated circuit device, without damaging or otherwise affecting the performance of the resistive circuit.
A method for relieving bonding stress in an integrated circuit device having an active circuit placed under a bonding pad is disclosed. The active circuit is formed above a silicon substrate, the active circuit comprising a wire pattern. A dielectric layer is deposited over the wire pattern. A bonding pad is formed over the dielectric layer.
Additional features and benefits of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description, figures, and claims set forth below.

Method for relieving bond stress in an under-bond-pad resistor


An information processing apparatus and an information processing method enables enhancement of accuracy in recognition of locations of a moving body. The information processing apparatus is arranged on a moving body and includes an own-location recognition block that recognizes, based on an image taken from the moving body, a first own location of the moving body. A moving body recognition block recognizes a relative location of another moving body relative to the moving body in the image taken from the moving body, and a communication block executes communication with the another moving body to obtain the absolute location of the another moving body, An own location computation block computes, based on the absolute location of the another moving body and the relative location of the another moving body, a second own location of the moving body.

A system for measuring the location of a vehicle by use of GPS (Global Positioning System) is in popular use (refer to PTL 1, for example).
However, if a system based on GPS cannot receive electromagnetic waves from a GPS satellite, such a system cannot correctly measure the location of the vehicle. This trouble is especially conspicuous in urban areas where buildings are crowded. In addition, the measuring accuracy of GPS in private use is approximately 10 meters that is not accurate enough.
Therefore, in these days, the development of technologies for recognizing vehicle locations by use of SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) is under way. Use of SLAM provides an accuracy of as short as several centimeters in the recognition of vehicle locations without considering electromagnetic-wave receiving conditions.

Information processing apparatus and information processing method


Knitwear modeling is disclosed. A macrostructure corresponding to a three-dimensional object is generated, based on a stitch pattern and optionally a color pattern. Yarn microstructure is generated and applied to the macrostructure to yield a knitwear model. The stitch positions of the macrostructure can be perturbed to achieve stitch position irregularities. The fluffiness of the yarn microstructure can be controlled. In an alternative embodiment, a two-dimensional knitwear texture is generated, which can then be mapped to a three-dimensional object to yield a knitwear model.

For applications as diverse as animation, electronic commerce ("e-commerce"), design and prototyping work, as well as other types of applications, computer graphics modeling is important. For example, within an e-commerce Internet web site, a user may be able to see a computer-rendered model wearing the clothes that he or she is potentially interested in buying. The use of computer modeling in such an application allows the user to ultimately make a more informed decision regarding his or her purchase, lessening the chance of a product being returned.
A type of clothing that consumers can commonly purchase in retail and online stores is knitwear. The real-world process for constructing knitwear clothes includes spinning raw fibers into yarn, which is knitted into fabric based on a stitch pattern, and optionally a color pattern. The knitted fabric is then sewn into the desired clothing, such as a shirt, sweater, or other type of clothing.
Within the prior art, however, there is no provision for computer modeling of knitwear. This is a disadvantage in applications where knitwear modeling is needed, such as in e-commerce. For this and other reasons, there is a need for the present invention.


The present invention contemplates an outfeed lift ramp (24) for use with a male (19) and female (18) combination of blanking dies for separating a diecut paper box blank (21) from an attendant web portion (20). Outfeed lift ramp (24) is appended to the leading edge (33) of female die member (18) adjacent to blanking through holes (32) at preselected points corresponding to a series of naturally occurring or benign box blank slots (31). During the blanking operation, the diecut and partially stripped sheet (17) is interposed over the die through holes and the upper arcuate portion of the lift ramp (38) extends through the through slots (31) of the sheet to be blanked thereby permitting the sheet to lie flush against the female die surface. After blanking, box blanks 21 are forced through female die through holes (32) and all that remains on the female die surface is a flexible and flimsy web (20). Upon automatic removal of the web across the die face, entanglement and snagging on the die leading edge (33) often occurs. The lift ramps (24), however, while not impeding the blanking operation, serve to lift and support the flexible internal webs (25) generated by blanking across the die leading edge independent of the non-supportive nature of the web (20).

Cardboard or paper containers or boxes of various shapes and sizes are commonly used to contain consumer products, foods, cosmetics and other merchandise. Such boxes and containers are bio-degradable, easily disposed of and may be manufactured in accord with practically any specification relatively inexpensively.
Over the years, computerized technology has evolved wherein the process of generating boxes or die cut forms from sheets of paper or cardboard stock is done automatically by controlled machine systems without the need for intensive labor or human operators. It is also common for the manufactured planar box blanks to be assembled, filled with merchandise and sealed automatically by machine.
Too, the advent of computer and CAD technology now enables designers to compile optimum layouts of a plurality of die cut forms on a single sheet for multiple scoring and stamping during the course of the manufacturing process. In addition, computer technology, combined with attendant laser technology, has enabled box manufacturers to utilize highly accurate cutting and creasing dies for producing a planar sheet of diecut blanks and also, to produce male and female blanking dies used to automatically separate the die cut or stamped forms from the intervening web or waste portion of the sheet. Automatic blanking, in particular, results in a tremendous cost savings compared to the identical operation when performed by laborers using manual blanking means.
The current technology and the known prior art includes automatic systems or presses that feed large sheets of paper for cutting and creasing of blanks and also, for automatically stripping the excess paper from the stamped sheet, leaving a flexible thin webbing supporting the various rows of stamped forms. The known prior art also contemplates the use of a male and female combination blanking die for automatically separating the planar forms from the flexible web. In short, the male die, effectively through the use of a blanking member, pushes each of the box blanks through the web and supporting female die blanking holes. The thin web typically remains on the face of the female die while the separated blanks are pushed through the blanking holes into a stack below the female blanking die.
For speed and efficiency, the prior art also contemplates the use of a traveling feed bar and grippers to "pull" a sheet through the various stations of the process on a continuous chain drive or other mechanism thereby automatically feeding the sheet from station to station. Similarly, in most applications, the remaining flexible web on the face of the female die after blanking is also pulled away through the use of the traveling bar and grippers into a waste container or other receptacle at the end of the machine.
A problem not yet solved by the prior art, however, involves the remaining thin web typically found on the face of the female die after separation of the box blanks through the use of the male blanking member. In particular, if forms in excess of a specified width are blanked, the remaining web is typically extremely flexible and non-supporting. Accordingly, as the web is pulled from the female blanking die face through the use of the grippers and traveling bar, the inner web portion has a tendency to sag down and become entangled or severed by the edges of the female blanking die. This can cause the automatic blanking operation and feeding of sheets to become inefficient and prone to jamming and breakdown. Accordingly, automatic blanking is limited in the prior art to blanks of less than a predetermined width and with a certain web support strength, in turn limiting the size of die cut paper forms that can be cut on a single sheet which can be produced if the more efficient blanking operation is to be used to separate the die cut blanks from the web.
The present invention solves the problem of blanking forms of significant width through the use of strategically and flexibly placed outfeed lifter ramps which, in effect, serve to internally support the thin web produced after blanking is complete while permitting the sheet, prior to blanking, to be placed firmly on the female cutting die for separation.
Accordingly, the present invention contemplates use of automatic blanking, and the concomitant savings in labor and time, with sheets of die cut forms of practically any width and configuration.

Outfeed lifter ramp for blanking boxes and other die-cut paper products


A servo control system includes an actuator controlling a controlled quantity. A device detects the controlled quantity and generates a detection signal representative thereof. The actuator is controlled in response to a target value and the detection signal so that the detected controlled quantity can follow the target value. A device generates a signal representative of an input variable relating only to the target value. The target value is corrected in accordance with the input variable through fuzzy reasoning using predetermined rules.

This invention generally relates to a servo control system using fuzzy reasoning or fuzzy inference. For example, this invention relates to a vehicle wheel speed servo control system or an antiskid control system using fuzzy reasoning.
It is known to use Fuzzy Logic in control systems in order to improve characteristics of the control systems. Since fuzzy control systems generally require many steps of calculations, it is usually difficult to apply the fuzzy systems to real-time control or quickly-responsive control.


An electrical plug for connecting the first and second conductors of an electrical lead to an electrical power outlet. The plug is designed to contain a fuse. When the plug is connected to the power outlet and the fuse makes a proper electrical connection, a signal member provides a signal.

1. Cross-Reference to Related Applications
This application is related to copending, commonly assigned Application No. 07/415,820 (Tucker), filed contemporaneously with this application, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to electrical plugs, particularly electrical plugs which are useful for making an electrical connection between an electrical lead and an electrical power outlet.
2. Introduction to the Invention
It is known to insert a light, or other signal, into an electrical circuit so that it is easy to determine whether current is flowing through a heater or other operational electrical device which forms part of the circuit. The light can, for example, be placed in a plug through which the device is connected to a wall outlet in a building or to another power source. It is also known to insert a fuse, circuit breaker, ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI), or other circuit protection device into an electrical circuit so that if the current exceeds a safe level or otherwise behaves in an abnormal fashion, the protection device is converted from its normal state into an abnormal state in which it disconnects the circuit from the power supply or otherwise prevents maintenance of the abnormal current. The protection device can, for example, be placed in a plug through which a heater or other operational device is connected to a wall outlet in a building or to another power source. When an electrical circuit contains both a signal light and a protection device, absence of the signal light may signify failure of the operational device itself, or failure of the electrical connections to the operational device, or conversion of the protective device into its abnormal state, e.g. failure ("blowing") of the fuse.
Self-regulating strip heaters which comprise elongate electrodes connected by a conductive polymer resistive element are well-known. In operation, the thermal output of these strip heaters varies in response to changes in the thermal environment and thus serves to limit the maximum temperature which the heater achieves. Such heaters are often used to provide freeze protection of pipes, such as domestic or commercial water lines, or to maintain a constant temperature for pipes in process industries. A number of measures have been proposed for assisting the safe operation of such heaters. Reference may be made, for example, to U.S. Pat. No. 4,436,986 (Carlson) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,822,983 (Bremner et al) and to copending commonly assigned application Ser. No. 404,730, filed Sept. 8, 1989 (Emmett). The disclosure of each of these patents and applications is incorporated herein by reference.


A semiconductor package having outer leads which are not protruded from the package but only exposed to outside. The semiconductor package comprises a semiconductor chip which is formed with a plurality of bond pads at a central portion of its bottom surface, a lead frame including leads connected to bond pads for input/output of the bond pads respectively and bus bars connected to power supplying pads of the bond pads, insulation adhesives for attaching inner leads of the leads and inner leads of the bus bars to a bottom surface of the semiconductor chip formed with the bond pads, metal wires for electrically connecting the inner leads of the leads and the inner leads of the bus bars to the bond pads respectively, and a molding compound enveloping the semiconductor chip assembly with outer leads of the lead frame exposed to outside. The adhesive tapes are removed after a molding procedure.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor package, and more particularly to a semiconductor package suitable for packaging a center pad layout-shaped memory chip wherein paddles of a lead frame are removed and outer leads of a lead frame are not protruded from the package but only exposed to a lower surface of molding resin of a semiconductor package.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, semiconductor packages may be mainly classified into a semiconductor of SOP (small outline package) type and a semiconductor of SOJ (small outline J-lead) type.
In this case, the semiconductor packages are manufactured in accordance to following procedures. A semiconductor chip is attached on paddles of a lead frame and then wire bonding is carried out between inner leads of the lead frame and pads on the semiconductor chip. The wire bonded semiconductor and lead frame are molded by molding resin. Thereafter, the resulting product is subjected to deflash, trimming and forming procedures so that outer leads of the lead frame are protruded from the molded resin and then bent into predetermined shape respectively.
Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, there are shown a front section and a bottom of a semiconductor package of LOC (lead on chip) type. In the semiconductor package shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a semiconductor chip 3 is formed with a plurality of bond pads 3a at central portion thereof. Inner leads 4a of a lead frame 4 without paddles are attached on a surface of the semiconductor chip 3 at both sides of the bond pads 3a by means of insulation tapes 6. The inner leads 4a are electrically connected to the bond pads 3a of the semiconductor chip 3 by means of metal wires 7, respectively. Also, power supplying pads of the bond pads 3a are electrically connected to bus bars 5 by metal wires 7, respectively. Thereafter, the resulting semiconductor chip 3 and the inner leads 4a of the lead frame 4 are molded by molding resin 1.
The above-mentioned prior semiconductor packages are manufactured in such a manner that a semiconductor chip aggregate is subjected to a sawing step for dividing the semiconductor chip aggregate into separate semiconductor chips 3 and the semiconductor chip 3 is subjected to a die bonding step for attaching the separated semiconductor chip 3 to a lead frame 4, a wire bonding step for electrically connecting bond pads 3a of the semiconductor chip 3 to inner leads 4a of the lead frame 4 respectively, a molding step for enveloping the wire bonded semiconductor chip 3 and lead frame 4, a deflashing step, a solder plating step, a trimming step for cutting dampers of the lead frame 4, a forming step for bending outer leads into a certain shape, and a marking step.
The semiconductor package prepared as described above have outer leads protruded from the mold resin. The outer leads are formed into a certain shape and then mounted on a printed circuit board.
However, the prior semiconductor packages have various disadvantages as follows. The prior semiconductor packages occupy large space due to the outer leads protruded from mold resins when the semiconductor packages are mounted on printed circuit boards.
Since the semiconductor packages have outer mechanical shock when their forming procedure, fine gaps may occur in contact areas between outer leads protruded from package bodies and mold resins, thereby causing humidity resistant property to be deteriorated due to the gaps.
Also, since the semiconductor packages require a trimming step and a forming step after a molding procedure, manufacturing process of the packages becomes complicated so that their manufacturing cost and poor products occurring rate are increased.
In addition, in case of the LOC type of semiconductor packages using lead frames without paddles, electrical property is decreased because of their long length between inner leads and outer leads.
Furthermore, so-called "good rate" which is a rate of good products in products identified as poor packages is increased because of poor lead contacts in testing of finished products.

Semiconductor package for a semiconductor chip having centrally located bottom bond pads