A clutch mechanism for a hand tool comprises a body with a converging internal wall surface which is mounted on a rod. The body houses a set of ball bearings which are biased along the converging wall into an engaged position with a rod passing through the body. An axial force applied to one end of the body causes the balls to grip the rod. Whereas a force applied to the other end of the body releases the balls from the rod.

The present invention relates to clutch mechanisms for engaging a rod for longitudinal movement. The invention is particularly, though not exclusively, applicable to actuators for hand-held devices, such as applicators for dispensing viscous material.
Applicators for fluids, such as sealants, mastic and other compounds of a thick or pasty nature, are well known. Their basic design has not changed over many decades. Typically, they comprise a frame supporting a yoke in which a cartridge of the compound is positioned. The compound is dispensed from a nozzle as a plunger on a rod advances into the cartridge. An actuating mechanism is also mounted on the frame. This comprises an apertured drive plate mounted on the rod which is engaged by a trigger. As the trigger is squeezed, it tilts the plate to engage the rod and, thereafter, move the rod forwardly. In this sense the inventors have come to view the plate as a form of clutch, harnessing the trigger movement and imparting it to the rod. An apertured brake plate is mounted on the rod behind the drive plate. This is biased into engagement with the rod to allow the rod to advance but prevent it from retreating until it is released manually.
The prior art mechanisms are around 50% efficient based on the ratio of effort applied to the trigger in relation to the resultant force at the plunger. A major contributory factor to this level of inefficiency is the binding of the rod in the bores in the frame by which the rod is supported. The friction problem is caused by the bending moment imposed on the rod by the trigger acting on the drive plate. As the force on the drive plate is applied to one side of the rod, the force transmitted to the rod is out of balance. In heavy duty applications this bending moment is a significant contributory factor to the overall diminution of efficiency.
It has been proposed in EP-A-0645194 to address this by balancing the forces applied by using two drive plates one on either side of the rod, that are engaged by the trigger coincidentally. This has some beneficial effect, but the catch plates are arranged one behind the other, producing some bending moments between them. The proposed system still requires off-centre plates extending in opposite directions. Also, there are still only two points of contact for each plate on the rod.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a balanced clutch mechanism for a rod.
According to the present invention there is provided an clutch mechanism for a rod comprising a body having first and second ends and an aperture partially defined by a wall having a converging portion, through which aperture the rod extends between first and second ends of the body, rod engaging means within the body moveable relative thereto between an engaged position towards the first end of the body, in which the bearing means are engaged between the wall and the rod such that the rod is fixed relative to the body when a force is applied to the first end of the body, and a disengaged position towards the second end of the body, in which the rod is movable relative to the body.
The present invention provides an clutch mechanism that embraces the rod in which the means for engaging the rod are retained within the body. The force on the rod is applied through the body which can be engaged as necessary.
Preferably, the rod engaging means are spaced around the rod to distribute the load evenly.
The engaging means may be adapted for rolling contact e.g. balls, preferably ball bearings, or rollers, or slidable members such as wedges.
Preferably, the converging wall defines the guide surfaces so that the engaging means are entrained to movement axial to the rod. The engaging means may additionally have a spacer means, for example a cage, for maintaining them in their respective positions.
To allow the mechanism to operate in any orientation the engaging means are preferably biased to the engaged position. The mechanism may then also be provided with a release mechanism by which the engaging means are urged from the engaged position.
The invention also extends to a hand tool incorporating a clutch mechanism as defined. More particularly, the invention extends to a dispensing mechanism incorporating a clutch mechanism as defined. The use of the mechanism in a hand tool is particularly advantageous as it addresses the particular problem of the off-axis driving force and is, therefore, of particular benefit.
The clutch mechanism can also be used as a braking clutch as well as a means of engaging a rod to drive it.


An image capture device is mounted in a vehicle. The image capture device includes: an image capture unit; and a setting unit that sets an image capture condition for each region of the image capture unit each having a plurality of pixels, or for each pixel, based upon at least one of a state exterior to the vehicle and a state of the vehicle.

A technique has been developed (refer to Patent Document #1) in which the traveling environment of a vehicle is detected on the basis of images acquired by a camera mounted upon the vehicle, and, on the basis of traveling environment data that has thus been detected, driving support like automatic cruise control such as for following a leading vehicle in front or the like, alarm provision, braking or steering support, and so on is performed.


The invention is suitable for use in an OFDM system, such as the 3GPP-LTE mobile phone system. A method of estimating Doppler spread in a mobile communications device includes: (a) selecting a channel estimate from each of a sequence of time slots at each of a series of selected sub-carrier frequencies; (b) performing a Digital Fourier Transform (DFT) on the selected channel estimates at each selected sub-carrier frequency to thereby compute DFT components at different frequency bins; (c) summing the DFT components at all selected sub-carrier frequencies for each different frequency bin; (d) detecting the frequency bin at which the summed DFT components first falls below a predetermined threshold; and (e) converting the detected frequency bin into a Doppler spread estimate.

When a mobile communications device moves at a non-zero speed, such as in a vehicle or even when being used by a pedestrian, the downlink radio signal from the base station to the mobile communication device undergoes a process called fading. Fading appears as a relatively slow pseudo random variation of phase and amplitude of the received signal. The speed of the variation, measured as "Doppler spread", is related to the movement speed of the mobile communication device.
Doppler spread is a different phenomenon to Doppler shift. Doppler shift is an apparent change in frequency at the mobile communication device, due to radial speed between the mobile communication device and the base station. Doppler shift is normally cancelled by the communication device's automatic frequency control loop.
A mobile communication system can be designed in such a way that an active mobile communication device estimates the Doppler spread at its antenna. The estimation is then reported to the base station, which uses this information to improve the allocation of radio resources to each individual mobile communication device. For example, the base station can opt to allocate short transmission bursts with high bandwidth and with low duty cycle to a faster moving mobile communication device, and long bursts with lower total bandwidth to slower moving mobile communication device. In both cases, the average data rate for each mobile communication device would be the same (see for example Patent Citation 1 and Patent Citation 2). However, if the mobile communication device also reports instantaneous quality of the downlink signal—such as Code Quality Indicator (CQI) in the 3GPP WCDMA or 3GPP LTE OFDM system—and the base station transmits to the high speed mobile communication device at times of its peak downlink signal (CQI) quality, the overall average reception quality can be improved.

Device and method for estimating doppler spread in a mobile communications terminal


The invention relates to a method of producing a steering shaft part that forms a section of a steering shaft, the steering shaft part including a reinforcement section at least in an end area, over which reinforcement section the steering shaft part has a wall thickness that is enlarged relative to an adjacent section of the steering shaft part extending toward the longitudinal center of the steering shaft part. The steering shaft part includes a pipe and a sleeve that is arranged in the reinforcement section of the steering shaft part and that form the enlarged wall thickness.

a) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for the production of a steering spindle portion forming a section of a steering spindle, which, at least in an end region, includes a reinforcement section over which the steering spindle portion has a wall thickness that is increased compared to a section of the steering spindle portion adjoining toward the longitudinal center of the steering spindle portion. The steering spindle portion comprises a tube and a sleeve located in the reinforcement section of the steering spindle portion and forming the increased wall thickness. The method comprises the formation of connection elements which serve for the connection of the steering spindle portion with a steering wheel or a yoke for a universal joint or a steering pinion and of which at least a portion is located in the reinforcement section reinforced by the sleeve. The invention further relates to a steering spindle portion implemented in this manner and connected with a steering wheel.
b) Description of Related Prior Art
Steering spindles of motor vehicles conventionally comprise several steering spindle portions each forming a section of the steering spindle. On the steering spindle section which, relative to the traveling direction, is the rearmost, the steering wheel is secured in position on its rearward end. On the steering spindle section which, relative to the traveling direction is the frontmost, a pinion for the engagement into the steering gear is frequently secured in position at its front end. Apart from steering spindle portions connected across universal joints with one another, steering spindle portions that are displaceable (telescopable) with respect to one another can be provided, which serve for setting the length of the steering column and/or for receiving longitudinal dislocations in the event of a crash.
In a known embodiment, the connection of the steering wheel with the rearmost steering spindle portion takes place by means of a bolted connection. The steering spindle portion realized in the form of a hollow shaft includes for this purpose a connection section at the end side which, starting from the end of the steering spindle portion, comprises a substantially hollow cylindrical section and adjoining this a conical section expanding toward the center of the steering spindle portion. The hollow cylindrical section is provided with internal threading and outer toothing. The outer toothing engages into an inner toothing of the hub of the steering wheel and by means of the inner threading the steering wheel is bolted to the steering spindle portion. For this purpose, the steering spindle portion must have a sufficiently large wall thickness in the connection section, in particular in the hollow cylindrical end section. This thickness is greater than the wall thickness required for the transmission of the torque over the remaining length of the steering spindle portion. For the implementation of the steering spindle portion conventionally tubes are therefore utilized which—apart from the connection section—initially have a greater wall thickness than is required. The tube is subsequently worked over its entire length, in particular by swaging or similar reforming methods, for example, knead-working. Herein the diameter in the connection section of the tube is decreased. Over the remaining length of the tube, the wall thickness of the tube is decreased. Further, herein structures can also be worked in over sections of the tube which, for example, serve for the telescopable yet non-turnable connection with a further steering spindle portion. The realization of such contours, in particular in the form of spiral toothings or cloverleaf profiles, is known. For example DE 197 50 005 C1 discloses a steering spindle portion with such contours.
This process is highly labor intensive and also difficult to control due to the required reforming of the tube over its entire length.
While it is feasible to thicken up the wall thickness of a tube by swaging, however, due to factors limiting such thickening, a tube must nevertheless be utilized as a starting product which has a greater wall thickness than would be necessary for the requisite torque transmission. The steering spindle portion becomes thereby overall heavy or the tube must, again, be worked over its entire length in order to decrease accordingly the wall thickness apart from the connection section.
DE 10 2004 009 188 A1 discloses two telescopably connected steering spindle parts which, viewed in longitudinal cross-section, have complicated contours with different thickness regions of their wall thicknesses, wherein at their ends remote from one another connection sections are provided for the connection with a steering wheel or a steering gear. Such wall thickness profiles can be realized through reforming working of tubes over their entire lengths.
Securement in position of a steering wheel on a steering shaft by means of a bolt located transversely to the axis of the steering spindle, which bolt cooperates with a retaining cone and displaces it in a recess of the steering wheel hub and tightens it against the steering shaft, is disclosed in EP 1 138 575 B1. The steering spindle portion, on the end of which the steering wheel is secured, is solid. However, the steering spindle portion could also be realized as a hollow shaft with a sufficiently thick wall thickness.
A further securement of a steering wheel at the end of the steering spindle portion adjoining the steering wheel is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,819,961 A. The steering spindle portion realized as a hollow shaft includes at the end side a connection section in which the tube of the steering spindle portion initially tapers conically toward its end and adjoining thereon includes a hollow cylindrical section with an inner toothing. In the connection section is disposed a clamp piece whose outer contour corresponds to the inner contour of the tube and which projects at the end side from the tube. It comprises first and second outer toothings which, on the one hand, cooperate with the inner toothing of the tube and, on the other hand, with an inner toothing of the steering wheel hub, and comprises further an inner threading into which a bolt engaging on the steering wheel hub is screwed in order to tighten the parts with one another. Due to the solid tightener set into the connection section, the wall thickness of the steering spindle portion can be implemented such that it is constant over its length. With such a clamping connection, there is the risk that the applied clamping forces decrease over time whereby an undesirable play can develop. Moreover, the clamp piece must be introduced from the steering wheel-remote side through the steering spindle portion. The steering spindle portion consequently cannot include any regions with decreased cross-section, for example in order to implement a telescopable, torque transmitting connection with a further steering spindle portion. The clamp piece furthermore can slip into the interior of the steering spindle portion if the steering wheel is removed and is subsequently inaccessible.
DE 25 45 927 B2 discloses a steering spindle portion in the form of a safety shaft piece. This safety shaft piece comprises a corrugated central section extending over the major portion of the length of the shaft piece and adjoining which is a cylinder sleeve section on both sides. In the cylinder sleeve section is disposed a cylindrical pin of a shaft connection. Into the cylindrical pin of the shaft connection several radial bores are worked, whereupon the shaft tube with its end-side cylinder sleeve section is axially slid onto the pin. From the material of the cylinder sleeve section subsequently radial projections are pressed out and pressed into the radial bores, whereupon the pin and the cylinder sleeve section are additionally connected with one another on the axial front side facing away from the shaft tube by welding.
DE 103 47 101 A1 discloses in general the connection of two tubular structural parts by means of external high-pressure reforming. The description explains that in this reforming the external tube is plastically deformed and the internal tube is elastically deformed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,304,147 discloses a steering column in which, for the reinforcement of an upper section of the steering column, an inner tube is disposed in the outer tube to increase the wall thickness. For the securement of the inner tube in the outer tube, the outer tube is brought into contact with the inner tube using mechanical means. The inner tube, moreover, includes a tapering portion which is in contact with the outer tube. The two tubes in contact with one another act like one tube with a wall thickness equal to the composite wall thickness of the two utilized tubes as long as the tubes are subjected to flexural stress.
However, in this case, the structure proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,304,147 no longer provides the desired reinforcement effect if, in addition to flexural stress, also tensile and pressure stresses, securement stresses or torques are to be absorbed by the tube-in-tube combination.
WO 97/48507 A1 discloses the connection of two tubular shaft parts, for example of a steering spindle, in an overlapping section of the two shaft parts, wherein the shaft portion located interiorly in the overlap section is expanded.
WO 02/02377 A1 shows an overload safety, in particular for a steering wheel lock, wherein an outer sleeve-shaped joining portion encompasses a tubular steering spindle portion and is connected with it via a press-fit, wherein the friction closure is released in the event of an overload.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,469,356 A relates to the implementation of plugs for fluid lines, in particular in aircraft. For the simple implementation of such plug connectors the plug connectors are formed integrally with the ends of the pipe lines, wherein the ends of the pipe lines are reformed correspondingly together with sleeves disposed thereon.
A steering spindle portion of the type described in the introduction is disclosed in WO 2007/098513 A1. In the production of this steering spindle portion a sleeve is set into, in particular pressed into, an end section of the tube, whereupon the end section of the tube and the sleeve are reformed jointly. Herein, a flowing of the material of the tube and of the sleeve occurs. Further, after the reforming of tube and sleeve, internal threadings are introduced into the inner wall of the sleeve and the tube is provided with an outer toothing in a section adjoining its end. In the steering spindle portion implemented in this manner there is the risk in the case of a repair that the sleeve becomes detached from the tube, in particular if the portion involved is that steering spindle portion at which the steering wheel is connected. The reason therefor is that for the detaching of the steering wheel a hammer is frequently pounded onto the central connection bolt to facilitate detaching the steering wheel from the steering spindle. Through these hammer blows it is possible for the sleeve to be driven into the interior of the tube. A further disadvantage of the solution proposed in this document comprises that the joined reforming of the sleeve with the connection section requires a relatively complex reforming method, for example swaging operations.

Method for the production of a steering spindle portion forming a section of a steering spindle


An articulated seal for use with polished rod and rotary drive head assemblies is described. In particular, an articulated seal assembly or system 10 is described which seals a rotating drive head and polished rod between high pressure internal fluids within a well 12 and the exterior while absorbing the normal wobble motion of a rotating polished rod.

An articulated seal for use with polished rod and a standard packing and/or rotary drive head assemblies is described. In particular, an articulated seal assembly or system is described which seals a rotating polished rod between high pressure internal fluids within a well and the exterior while absorbing the normal wobble motion of a rotating polished rod.
The use of a polished rod and rod string for pumping production wells is known wherein a polished rod and rod string is rotated within the tubing string of the well in order to pump oil from the well. As the polished rod is rotated by a motor at the well-head, the shaft of the polished rod must be provided with a seal system to ensure that high pressure fluids from within the well do not leak or escape at the well-head. In addition, the seal system must also prevent leaks during periods of no rotation.
In the past, various rotary seals have been incorporated into production wells to prevent both static and dynamic leakage during periods of rotation and non-rotation. In addition to basic rotation seals, advanced sealing systems have also been developed which have incorporated additional functionality within the seals including systems which absorb wobble (defined as a dynamic run-out of the polish rod) in the polished rod and the detrimental effect of that wobble on the integrity of the seals.
For example, Applicants U.S. patent application 09/433,687 describes a gimbal seal for absorbing polished rod wobble through the use of a ball and socket joint and rubber seals which allow wobble forces to be absorbed while maintaining a seal. While this design of seal was demonstrated as effective in the short-term, the long term effectiveness of this design provided non-optimal results. Accordingly, there continues to be a need for seal systems for rotating polished rods which provide a seal for both the rotational and wobble motion of a rotating polished rod within either a standard packing assembly or a rotating seal assembly and which also are effective in providing sealing during non-rotation.
In accordance with the invention, there is provided an articulated seal system comprising:
upper and lower seal supporting elements, the upper and lower seal supporting elements having respective overlapping flanges, the overlapping flanges defining a void; and
a resiliently flexible seal within the void.
In a further embodiment, the invention provides a method of assembling an articulated seal system having upper and lower seal supporting elements having respective overlapping flanges, the overlapping flanges defining a void, comprising the steps of:
(a) inserting the overlapping flange of either of the upper or lower seal supporting elements into the overlapping flange of the opposing element;
(b) stabilizing the upper and lower seal supporting elements with respect to one another; and
(c) injecting an un-cured sealing agent into the void and allowing the sealing agent to cure.
In a still further and more specific embodiment, there is provided an articulated seal system for sealing between the interior and exterior of a well comprising:
a lower seal supporting element having an inwardly projecting flange;
an upper seal supporting element having an outwardly projecting flange overlapping with the inwardly projecting flange wherein the inwardly and outwardly projecting flanges define an s-shaped void having curved surfaces between the interior and exterior of the articulated seal system; and,
a resiliently flexible seal bonded to the curved surfaces of the void.
In a still further embodiment, the invention provides a seal assembly for use at a wellhead, the wellhead having a rotating drivehead operatively connected to a rotating inner sleeve and a polished rod, the seal assembly comprising:
a lower seal assembly for sealing between the rotating inner sleeve and a stationary mount;
a bearing assembly operatively connected between the rotating inner sleeve and the stationary mount;
an articulated seal operatively connected to the rotating inner sleeve, the articulated seal having upper and lower seal supporting elements, the upper and lower seal supporting elements having respective overlapping flanges, the overlapping flanges defining a void; and a resiliently flexible seal within the void; and
a top seal assembly for sealing between the polished rod and the exterior of the wellhead.


A personal transportation and freight delivery system that can be operated as a fully automated driverless land transportation system consisting of vehicles that move on their own propulsion on a pair of overhead parallel steel rails that form a single track and allows people to go anywhere the tracks can take them and delivery of freight anywhere along the tracks. Passengers and freight are transported inside a module that hangs from a propulsion dolly with in-line wheels to roll along such tracks. Electric motors are used for propulsion with power supplied at the tracks assembly; however, the system is also suited for internal combustion engines. There's no need for track switches to route vehicles to its destination as each vehicle has a steering mechanism. Rubber bumpers at each end of the propulsion dollies allow the vehicles to fit bumper-to-bumper along the tracks.

The use of cars and freight trucks as our primary land transportation system is prone to traffic jams and accidents that take a fair toll of life, productivity and energy resources. This is so because while we keep building new roads there are usually more cars and trucks than the roads can handle, petroleum is a limited resource and above all because the system is obsolete in many ways since it still relies on traffic signals and the ability of people to drive their cars and trucks as it has been for the past one hundred years. There are also other economic issues and environmental concerns that question the use of cars and trucks as our primary transportation option. Even when collective transportation is constantly improving people still prefer a personal transportation vehicle that takes them anywhere they want.
In the U.S. the Intelligent Transportation Systems initiative or ITS (www.itsa.org) promotes the development and implementation of new technologies to allow for automated driving and indeed improve the efficiency and safety of personal transportation and freight delivery using cars and trucks. So far it has proven very costly and difficult to do so. The main flaw of the ITS initiative is assuming that the primary vehicle for automated personal transportation and freight delivery will still be a car and a freight truck when it looks like it is more complex and costly adapting a car and a truck to this concept as cars and trucks are meant to be driven than developing and implementing a totally new fully automated personal transportation and freight delivery system from the start.
A transportation system of automated vehicles that run on steel tracks and other custom built guide ways in use today at several locations is known as Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/personal_rapid_transit). It is not a reliable or efficient personal transportation and freight delivery alternative to a car and a freight truck because such vehicles only go from one station to another as a collective transportation system does and the only similarity to a personal transportation system is that people can travel in a private vehicle. Another drawback of current PRT is that you could end up waiting in line for a long time until a vehicle is available to pick you up.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,118,392 Zimmerman proposes a transportation system of self-propelled individual vehicles that automatically move from station to station using an overhead guideway. As with PRT his proposal is not a reliable or efficient personal transportation and freight delivery alternative to a car and a truck because the vehicles only go from one station to another as a collective transportation system does. As the system must rely on switching devices at the guide way and moving parts at a motorized carriage to engage and activate the switching devices so as to direct a vehicle to a destination it is not a practical proposition for a fast speed high volume transportation system of vehicles that could go on their own anywhere a track can take them.
A square shaped enclosed guideway makes it difficult to provide maintenance to the inside of the guideway and have access to the motorized carriages; furthermore, the flanges that support the wheels of the carriages could bend under heavy loads and as the thickness of the guideway is increased to prevent this then the guideway could become too heavy for all practical purposes. Motorized carriages moving inside the guideway will result in high levels of friction, noise and heat that will require additional control mechanisms and mechanical contacts between the motorized carriage and the guideway for positioning the carriage within the guideway channel particularly when each carriage will have at least two front and two rear wheels to support the vehicles weight.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,987,734 Horn proposes a transportation system that features modules for carrying passengers and freight from station to station attached to a conveyor and there's a transfer device to load and unload vehicles into the conveyors. It is obvious that this proposal is not a practical personal transportation and freight delivery alternative to a car and a truck either because the vehicles can only go from one station to another and then the system depends on additional devices and a complex procedure to divert vehicles from one track to another and the vehicles will have to wait in line to do so; furthermore, as such vehicles have no propulsion of their own if the conveyor breaks down the complete system is stalled.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,074,220 Petersen proposes an overhead rapid transit system using a tubular enclosed guideway and self-propelled vehicles with a steering mechanism and in-line wheels. The main drawback of this proposal is the guideway configuration for several reasons: 1—In the preferred embodiment it will only allow vehicles to do either right or left turns at guideway splits but not both depending on which side of the guideway an offset open slot is provided. 2—In the preferred embodiment the wheels of the motorized carriage or trolley will have to cross over the guideway slot at splits causing the vehicle to bounce and vibrate. 3—Any of the embodiment alternatives will require additional control mechanisms and mechanical contacts within the guideway and the motorized carriage or trolley for steering the vehicle and keeping it stabilized at guideway splits as the concave wheels track is no longer present at those guideway segments.
An enclosed guideway as noted makes it difficult to provide maintenance to the inside of the guideway and have access to the motorized carriage or trolley; furthermore, the bottom wall of the guideway that supports the wheels of the motorized carriage or trolley could bend under heavy loads and as the thickness of the guideway is increased to prevent this then the guideway could become too heavy for all practical purposes. A wheel with rounded traction rolling inside a concave track within an enclosed guideway and additional mechanical contacts between the vehicle and the guideway for steering and stability will result in high levels of friction, noise, heat, wear and tear.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,202,566 Hutchinson proposes a high-speed high-capacity transportation system using an overhead guideway and wheeled motive modules with a steering mechanism that ride within the guideway channel to carry payloads. It is not a reliable or efficient personal transportation alternative to a car because a passengers carriage is considered payload too. It is obvious from the Patent Drawings and the Detailed Description of the Invention that it will be very difficult to keep the payload stable as it travels to its destination and for the same reason to do it at high speeds. Since the wheeled motive modules is generally much smaller than the payload units these must be positioned further apart from each other for safety reasons and as a result less of them will fit inside a track section as it should for optimal performance.
As with the Zimmerman Patent a square shaped enclosed guideway makes it difficult to provide maintenance to the inside of the guideway and have access to the wheeled motive modules; furthermore, the flange that supports the modules could bend under heavy loads and as the thickness of the guideway is increased to prevent this then the guideway could become too heavy for all practical purposes. Wheeled motive modules inside an enclosed guideway will result in high levels of friction, noise and heat that will require additional control mechanisms and mechanical contacts between the vehicle and the guideway for positioning the motive modules within the channel particularly when each carriage will have at least two front and two rear wheels to support the vehicles weight. Another drawback of this proposal is that at the guideway forks the wheeled motive modules have to ride over a slot through which a payload-holding flange must pass causing the vehicles to bounce and vibrate.
In U.S. Pat. No. 7,124,692 Guenther, et al. proposes an overhead high speed mass transit passenger and freight transportation system that will operate as an overhead suspended light rail (train). It is meant to operate as a collective transportation system does and not as a personal transportation and freight delivery system and as such vehicles only go from one station to another and the system must rely on track switches to route vehicles to a station as vehicles have no steering mechanism to get to a destination on their own.
Other important features that a reliable and efficient automated personal transportation and freight delivery system should have and seems to be missing in the prior art are: 1—A way to fit into a track section as many vehicles as it can hold moving at high speeds in a safe manner to improve performance. 2—A way to allow vehicles to go from a higher track section to a lower one and vice versa in a short linear track section. 3—A way to allow vehicles to travel high into a building. 4—A way to remove disabled vehicles from track sections.

Overhead suspended personal transportation and freight delivery surface transportation system


A vertical trench transistor has a first electrode, a second electrode and also a semiconductor body arranged between the first and second electrodes, there being formed in the semiconductor body a plurality of transistor cells comprising source region, body region, drift region and gate electrode and also contact holes for making contact with the source and body regions, contact being made with the source and body regions by means of the first electrode, and at least the bottom of each contact hole adjoining at least one drift region, so that Schottky contacts between the first electrode and corresponding drift regions are formed at the bottoms of the contact holes. The dimensions and configurations of the body regions or of the body contact regions optionally arranged between body regions and contact holes are chosen in such a way as to avoid excessive increases in electric fields at the edges of the contact hole bottoms.

FIG. 1 shows a trench transistor of the type referred to above. A trench transistor 1 has a first electrode 2, a second electrode 3 and also a semiconductor body 4 arranged between the first and second electrodes 2, 3. A plurality of transistor cells 5 are formed in the semiconductor body 4. Each transistor cell has a source region 6, a body region 7, a drift region 8 and also a gate electrode 9. The gate electrode 9 is provided within a trench 10 extending from the top side of the semiconductor body 4 in the vertical direction into the semiconductor body, the gate electrode 9 being insulated from the semiconductor body 4 by an insulation layer 11. Contact holes 12 serving for making contact with the source and body regions 6, 7 are furthermore provided. The contact holes 12 are completely filled by the first electrode 2, which is composed of a metallic material. The bottom 13 of each contact hole 12 adjoins the drift region 8, whereby the bottoms 13 form Schottky contacts between the first electrode 2 and the drift region 8. Furthermore, a portion 14 of the side walls of the contact holes 12 likewise constitutes a Schottky contact. A highly doped connection zone 15 adjoining the second electrode 3 is formed in the semiconductor body 4. The source regions 6 and also the gate electrodes 9 are electrically insulated from the first electrode 2 toward the top by means of an insulation layer or passivation layer 16.
The trench transistor 1 shown in FIG. 1 is used in particular for switching inductive loads, for example motors. As long as the trench transistor 1 is operated in the forward direction, that is to say as long as a positive drain/source voltage is present, the Schottky contacts in between the first electrode 2 and the drift region 8 effect blocking. However, if a negative drain/source voltage is present, then the Schottky contacts conduct and thus function as freewheeling elements. A negative drain/source voltage may be brought about for example during the switching of inductive loads by the trench transistor 1 on account of a voltage which is induced by the inductive load after the trench transistor 1 has been turned off.
As can be gathered from FIG. 1, the Schottky contacts are connected in parallel with body diodes formed by the pn junctions between the body regions 7 and the drift region 8 and also the short circuit between the body regions 7 and the source zones 6. The forward voltages of the Schottky diodes are lower than the forward voltages of the body diodes, so that the Schottky diodes always turn on before the body diodes.
The advantage of the Schottky diodes is that in contrast to the body diodes, when the trench transistor 1 is operated in the forward direction, the transistor cells 5 do not store any charge carriers which have to be depleted from the transistor cells 5 again when the trench transistor 1 undergoes transition to the off state. Consequently, the Schottky diodes contribute to reducing switching losses during the switching of inductive loads.
What is disadvantageous about the trench transistor 1 described in FIG. 1 is that excessive increases in the electric field strength can readily occur at corners 17 (corners of the contact holes 12). However, high electric field strengths entail high leakage currents, which is undesirable. The leakage currents are additionally intensified as reverse voltages lying in the region of the breakdown voltage of the trench transistor 1.


Equalized Acquisition Record are prepared from Original Acquisition Records reflecting Total Jitter and from an existing description of DDJ. Removal of timing DDJ alters the locations of edges associated with data events. Voltage DDJ adjusts the asserted voltage in the central portion of a Unit Interval. One technique for equalizing timing jitter variably interpolates along the existing Original Acquisition Record to discover plausible new voltage values to assign to existing sample locations along the time axis. Another technique construes the desired amount of correction for each data event as an impulse that is applied to a Finite Impulse Response Filter whose output is a Voltage Correction Waveform having a smoothed voltage excursion. Time variant voltage values output from the Finite Impulse Response Filter are collected into a Voltage Correction Waveform Record having entry times found in the Original Acquisition Record. An entry by entry addition of these two Records produces the Equalized Acquisition Record.

High speed digital systems, whether for computational or communications purposes, rely on the ability to correctly ascertain the logical value of a binary data signal at specific times. In a digital system there are abrupt transitions between the logical values, and the nominal period of time that the data signal can represent a particular logical value is called the UI (for Unit Interval). Generally, there is provided (or derived) another signal, called a clock signal, whose period is also the UI and whose abrupt transitions in a selected direction serve as the above-mentioned 'specific times' at which the logical value of the data signal is to be ascertained, a process which is often termed 'sampling.'
In an ideal world, all edges in the data signal would occur at locations along a time axis that were an exact UI apart, or at exact multiples of the unit interval. The 'rattle' that actually occurs in the edge position of a signal that is supposed to transition only at particular times is timing jitter, and when it is understood that it refers to edges, it is often called simply 'jitter.' But the notion of jitter as a succession of incorrect minor errors includes more than timing phenomena; the voltage levels that are asserted to represent the logical values are generally not ideal, either. That is, their voltage levels may vary in time while asserted (and here we are neglecting proper excursions for rise and fall), or exhibit slow drift over time or with temperature. The more rapid variations within a UI (or among a collection of UI occurring at about the same time) while asserted are often thought of as voltage noise, and are also properly thought of as a form of jitter. We are in this Application more interested in the rapid noise behavior than in slow drift, and are prepared to consider such noise as voltage jitter that is also included within the scope of the term 'jitter.' Voltage jitter as a form of jitter is perhaps less familiar than the notion of noise (real signal equals ideal signal plus noise of some bandwidth), but is still a useful concept, since it lets us characterize voltage behavior using the jitter analysis tools developed for timing jitter. Voltage jitter can have just as deleterious an effect on ascertaining logical values as timing jitter does, as it lowers margins for logical value determination and, when it affects an edge of finite slope, moves the location of a threshold crossing (should one be in use). Much of what we will say applies to both timing and voltage jitter, and should be understood as such when we use the term 'jitter' either in isolation or without a qualifying context. We shall endeavor to indicate which of timing or voltage jitter we have in mind when the topic at hand does not apply to both.
One further clarification is in order. While we recognize that both timing and voltage jitter can affect a system, and that each can be measured, characterized and analyzed through the use of similar techniques and paradigms, we shall treat them as separate phenomena, in that they have separate causes, but which can sometimes produce overlapping results (as when voltage noise moves the location of a threshold crossing). In this view, jitter is only known through measurement, and how it is measured greatly affects the result that is obtained. We remain mindful that when a complex thing is measured two different ways, we must not be surprised if the answers are not identical.
In today's high performance digital systems, the presence of jitter in the data signal or in the clock has a significant effect on the system's ability to correctly ascertain the logical values of the data signal. To reduce jitter one generally has to locate its source, a clue to which is the type of jitter it produces. It turns out that it is useful to recognize that each of overall timing jitter and overall voltage jitter is composed of several different types of (component) jitter. Test equipment intended for use with high performance digital systems often include in their repertoire of operations automated measurements of several types of jitter. Total Jitter (TJ) is the aggregate amount of observable jitter, and is (or ought to be) the 'sum' of all the various types of component jitter. Types of component jitter include Periodic Jitter (PJ), Random Jitter (RJ) and Data Dependent Jitter (DDJ). DDJ is jitter that is correlated with the content of the data itself. It is generally not possible to readily directly measure only a particular type of component jitter, since we can't observe those types in isolation: the measured data will generally include the combined effects of various types of jitter. Indirect methods are needed to separate from a combined result the data for an individual type of jitter (e.g., using a suitable models or other analysis technique).
That said, one thing we won't attempt is the wholesale decomposition of one kind of timing jitter into some equivalent form of voltage jitter, or vice versa. (It might work sometimes, but not always.) Like different genders, sometimes what they do overlaps, and they have things in common. Yet it appears that the most practical approach is to say that timing jitter is one way of measuring something, and that voltage jitter is another way, and that while both are measurements of jitter, the ultimate causes of that jitter are varied. Some are specific to voltages and others to timing, while some might be thought of as causing both. So, when we offer an analysis of, say, a particular measured (timing) component jitter for TJ (for timing), it will be appreciated that, unless otherwise stated, there is a corresponding (voltage) measured component jitter for voltage TJ, but that the two TJs and their respective components are treated as though they were quite distinct from one another.
(Upon reflection, one might wonder if the two measured types of TJ combine to indicate more jitter than is 'actually' there. That does seem to be a possibility, since one or more causes may be contributing twice. However, we are NOT tempted to combine the two measurements, nor do we have a way to measure any supposed 'real' Total Jitter. To be sure, we can get a voltage waveform that has been sampled as densely as you'd like and that ought to be an operationally complete description of 'real' Total Jitter—but then what? What is the rule for putting this behavior into this bin and that behavior into another. And if no such separation is attempted, then what is the unit of measure by which the jitter is to be described in the first place? (Evidently the unit is not simply one of time or voltage . . . ) Well, one might imagine the integral of the difference between an ideal waveform and the real one, divided by time. It is a unified measure and essentially it is an area. So, say we give you one hundred square feet of some stuff, the value or usefulness of which may well be different if it is a sheet ten feet by ten feet, as opposed to one foot by a hundred feet. The dimensions of the area influence your opinion of the circumstances. So it is with waveforms; both voltage and time are independently important, even though they might be combined into an 'area' that is the product of two dimensions. It seems we are stuck with measuring the jitter of each of the time and voltage dimensions, even though those dimensions don't always have independent causes for their jitter.)
We are particularly interested here in a DDJ measurement technique for both timing and voltage jitter that is useable in a real time Digital Sampling Oscilloscope (DSO) or comparable environment. It begins with the production of a suitably long digital Test Pattern which may contain a random sequence of bit values, or, which might be actual live data. An Acquisition Record is made of the entire Test Pattern. (That is to say, the digital data may be sampled using the techniques found in modem high speed real time DSOs, in which case a representation (a sequence of numbers in a file) of the actual analog waveform of the sampled digital signal is reconstructed with Digital Signal Processing (DSP) techniques, and the sequence of logical values found from inspection of that reconstruction. What follows for the next several paragraphs is a highly abbreviated version of the Summary of the incorporated METHOD OF FINDING DATA DEPENDENT TIMING AND VOLTAGE JITTER IN AN ARBITRARY DIGITAL SIGNAL IN ACCORDANCE WITH SELECTED SURROUNDING BITS. Our immediate aim in the next several paragraphs is to support the notion that we can get both a UI by UI (for voltage) and edge-by-edge (for timing) description of DDJ.
For timing jitter measurements, an original Time Interval Error (TIE) Record is made from an inspection of the locations of the edges in the Acquisition Record. (A TIE Record is a data structure that associates, for each edge in the Acquisition Record, the error in time by which that edge actually transitioned, as opposed to when it should have.) This may be accomplished with the help of an associated clock signal that either accompanies the data signal of interest or that is derived therefrom.
For a voltage jitter measurement, an original Voltage Level Error (VLE) Record is made from an inspection of the behavior of the signal at locations within the exerted but non-transition portions of each UI. A VLE Record is similar to a TIE Record, except that it is, for each UI, an aggregate measure of how the asserted voltage varies from the ideal case. Upon reflection, it will be appreciated that such a measure is, of necessity, somewhat stylized, in that one might obtain such a measure in any of several different ways, and that each will likely produce a somewhat different result. (For example: How much of the interior of the UI is inspected? Are RMS values used or just peak-to-peak excursions? And so on.) The answer is that all these different approaches are valid, and it is principally a question of cost versus benefit influenced by preference combined with available resources. Upon further reflection, it will be realized that a similar can of worms is associated with the seemingly simpler task of finding Time Interval Error values from when in time the signal actually crossed a threshold. (For example, DSP can convert sampled values to a dense time domain collection of sequential voltage values, but where is the threshold supposedly set? Is it an absolute value? Is it some sort of weighted average? Or is it a simple average of peak logic level excursions? And is straight-line interpolation sufficient to find the actual threshold crossing when—as usually occurs—the values provided by the DSP fall on either side of the threshold, or is a curve fit appropriate?) Once again, the answer is that all these different approaches are valid, and it is principally a question of cost, benefit and preference combined with available resources.
Fortunately, all these considerations about how to find a TIE or VLE value are applicable as post-data-acquisition processing activities, so that if it takes a few seconds to apply the selected techniques to the Acquisition Record, that won't be a burden. (That is, as long as we don't have to do it in real time at a rate fast enough to keep up with the data . . . .) And, if we have confidence in the DDJ measurements that result (and we haven't described yet how those are accomplished), then we really need to do that original TIE/VLE Record production only once for a suitable Test Pattern, as subsequent 'live' data can be processed for DDJ much more quickly if the following assumption is true: Suppose we found the TIE/VLE Records for that subsequent 'live' data—they won't be significantly different than the ones we already found for the Test Pattern, so we can continue to use an existing earlier found understanding of DDJ for the particular SUT of interest.
To continue with DDJ measurements, a user defines a Template that is a collection of associated bit behaviors at bit locations that are nearby or otherwise related to a (reference) bit location of interest. The locations within the collection need not be contiguous or adjacent. A Template can be defined as either bit values, as transitions (edges), or as a mixture of both. A Template might be the two bit-values (or transitions) before and the two bit-values (or transitions) after the bit value (or transition) of interest. The nature of the expected source of jitter may influence the nature of the Template. For example, an electrical structure involving a transmission line that is causing reflections might prompt the use of a Template having two or more groups of one or several bits in each group, where the groups are separated by a number of bit positions.
A Template has associated therewith a collection of Descriptors and their respective Metrics. Each Descriptor identifies an instance of the various different patterns of bit values (or transitions) that, if they were to occur, would fit the Template. For example, the 'two before/at/two after' bit-value Template can have (at most) thirty-two different ways that it can occur ('two before' plus 'two after' plus the one of interest that is 'at' is five two-valued bits, for 25=32 different patterns, although the need for an 'at' edge to occur will cut the number of possible Descriptors in half). The DSP reconstruction (Acquisition Record) of the actual waveform of the Test Pattern is examined (in conjunction with the original TIE Record and/or perhaps the original VLE Record) for the presence of Descriptors. The signed amount of TIE/VLE for the bit position of interest (in the Template) that locates the position of any Descriptor anywhere along the waveform is measured from the original TIE/VLE Record, for each occurring instance of each Descriptor in the Template. The collection of measured TIE/VLE values for each particular Descriptor are averaged (or otherwise combined) to produce a DDJ Metric for that Descriptor. A Look-Up Table (LUT) addressed by the different possible Descriptors is loaded with the discovered DDJ Metric that is associated with each Descriptor.
Such a LUT can be used to separate TJ into one portion that is DDJ and into another portion that is PJ convolved with RJ. The separation works because: (1) TJ is assumed to be the 'sum' of those two portions and no others; and (2) DDJ is correlated with the Descriptors, while PJ and RJ (and thus also their convolution) can be expected to average to nearly zero ('self-cancellation') over a sufficient number of instances of a given Descriptor; i.e., if the Test Pattern is long compared to the size of the Template. Once that LUT is created a plausible value of DDJ can be imputed to each UI (voltage jitter)/edge (timing jitter) in the test pattern by using the Descriptor associated with that UI/edge as an index to address the LUT and obtain the DDJ Metric stored therein.
Now, supposing that we have in hand such a precise description of DDJ occurring in a System Under Test (SUT), there are various ways that it might be put to good use. As an example, the identified instances of DDJ can then be individually removed from the corresponding locations of the Original TIE Record for the measured TJ to produce an Adjusted TIE Record whose only remaining jitter is PJ convolved with RJ. Down that path lies a further analysis of those types of jitter. Another example is the discovery of a filter for regular use on actual data to remove or lessen the effects of that DDJ. The data resulting from such filtering is often referred to as having been 'equalized' and the filtering process itself called 'equalization.' It is a form of error reduction, and it is to the support of such equalization that this Application is principally directed.
Certainly, if one were to include such an equalization mechanism in a data communications path he would like to be able to test it under varying conditions, or, use an obtained description of the DDJ it is suppose to fix as a way to arrive at a corresponding definition of the filter. We have just seen that a description of DDJ can be found, and we will assume that given that description competent engineering efforts can arrive at a proposal for an equalization filter. But how well will it work? And what will be the effects of including other types of jitter in the data? Such questions are often answered with a fairly good degree of certainty before any proposed design is committed to silicon, as it were, by sophisticated modeling techniques performed using computers. That is, there are computer programs that use as data a suitably dense time domain description of an input waveform (akin to our Acquisition Record) and apply that to an emulation of the proposed system (a 'virtual SUT,' as it were) to see what happens. A virtual SUT may very well include a proposed equalization scheme in need of characterization. To test the virtual SUT we need to send it particular kinds of data, in order to judge its performance.
For example, one might half-split the virtual SUT into a first portion that is the equalization filter and a second portion that is whatever follows. Equalized data (with and without non-DDJ jitter) could then be sent to the second portion to characterize its behavior. And, even before deciding upon an equalization scheme, it would be nice to have good confidence that removal of the associated DDJ will produce a satisfactory result that is worth the effort. In support of that last idea, a sequential record of values representing a non-equalized waveform for the data, including jitter, can be applied to a mechanism that produces an eye diagram. Say, for example, the aforementioned Original Acquisition Record is used for that purpose. Then a similar Equalized Acquisition Record is applied, and any improvement in the eye diagram is noted and considered. If the eye diagram is already pretty good and does not get much better, then we are invited to decide if equalization is worth the trouble, or, if the eye diagram is marginal and stays that way, perhaps our present description of DDJ for the SUT is inadequate. That is, if there is not sufficient improvement for a ratty looking eye diagram, maybe we should try a more complex Template for DDJ, and do so BEFORE we commit resources to developing an equalization filter based on the discovered DDJ associated with that (suspect) Template. A third case is that a marginal eye diagram gets significantly better when DDJ is removed. Then we know that it is indeed worth the trouble to perform equalization, and also know what equalization to perform. We can also use such experimentation to ensure that we do not inadvertently use a Template that is more complex than needed, by trying increasingly more complex Templates and noting at what point an 'improved' understanding of DDJ fails to provide increased eye openings (i.e., this more complex equalization is not significantly better than this simpler one).
Now, how such models for virtual SUTs and eye diagram analyzers driven from data in a file actually work internally is not our present interest; that they do work is a matter of record supported by their presence in commerce. But how to convert our Original Acquisition Record into appropriate Equalized Acquisition Records for use as input for testing by such mechanisms is a set of interesting problems. Equalization of timing jitter or equalization of voltage jitter can each be performed as a sole type of equalization, and a technique is needed for each. An eye diagram evaluation could reveal that one or the other equalization has a pronounced effect, or has almost no effect. But as will become clear in due course, when both are used together, they interact. We can assess the consequences of such interaction if we create an Equalized Acquisition Record that mimics the interaction and then evaluate the result with an eye diagram. This could help us decide that we want a combined equalization scheme that uses more of one type and less of the other. How to model that interaction is yet another interesting problem.
So, we have issues concerning DDJ Template verification, DDJ equalization benefit verification, and concerning interaction between voltage and timing types of equalization for DDJ. All in all, quite a nice little nest of snakes. It would appear that suitable Equalized Acquisition Records would, if we but had them, give us a useful snake abatement tool. Currently, we have no such Equalized Acquisition Records, and after some thought we realize that any attempt to make them runs certain risks. A 'meat cleaver' cut and paste approach to moving edges for timing jitter reduction, for instance, may introduce apparent (and spurious) voltage discontinuities in the equalized waveform. We seek a genuine reduction in the magnitude of the snake situation, and not merely an exchange of one snake for another. Apparently, some sophistication is required in the creation of such Equalized Acquisition Records. What to do?

Method for equalizing a digital signal through removal of data dependent jitter


Electrochemical probes for corrosion monitoring in an environment that may cause the formation of electron conducting deposits and the method for making such probes were disclosed. The probes have exposed fingered electrodes. Except for the sensing areas at the tip sections, all surfaces of the exposed electrodes are coated with an inner electrically insulating coating or tubing and one or more additional coating(s) or tube(s). One of the additional coatings is ion conducting. The electrodes are spaced such that there are gaps between the outer surfaces of the neighboring electrodes to prevent the formation of a continuously distributed electron conducting deposits between the sensing surface of one electrode and the sensing surfaces of the other electrodes. These probes are especially suitable for applications in gas systems and oil-water mixtures containing hydrogen sulphide (H2S).

Coupled multielectrode array sensors (CMAS) (see U.S. Pat. No. 6,683,463, U.S. Pat. No. 6,132,593, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,180,309) and other electrochemical sensors for corrosion monitoring are subject to the bridging effect of the formation of electron conducting deposits that causes the short-circuiting among the sensing electrodes [see S. Papavinasam, "Electrochemical Techniques for Corrosion Monitoring," in "Corrosion Monitoring Techniques," Lietai Yang, ed., Woodhead Publishing, Cambridge, UK (2008), pages 77-79]. These electron conducting deposits may be formed by the corrosion of iron in an environment containing hydrogen sulfide (H2S), because the corrosion products (such as FeS) are semiconductor materials. When the sensing electrodes are short-circuited, the corrosion current cannot be accurately derived by the current that is measured by the sensor instrument. Thus, the sensor instrument cannot effectively measure the corrosion rate. A CMAS probe with coated, fingered electrodes has been described for use in liquid systems containing hydrogen sulfide to avoid the bridging among the neighboring electrodes (see U.S. Pat. No. 8,298,390). In the probe with coated, fingered electrodes, the active sensing surface area of each electrode is physically separated from the sensing areas of neighboring electrodes by a long, coated surface. Such a long, coated surface makes it difficult to form a continuous layer of an electron conducting path among neighboring electrodes' sensing areas. However, such probes cannot be used in a system that cannot form an ion conducting path among the neighboring electrodes' sensing areas. Examples of such systems are untreated natural gases and oil-water mixtures that contain hydrogen sulphide. CMAS probes with closely packed electrodes on a small surface area have been used in oil-water mixtures (see Yang, et al 2005) and simulated natural gas systems (see Sridhar et al, 2006) that did not contain hydrogen sulphide. In the CMAS probes with closely packed electrodes on a small surface area, the sensing area of one electrode is close to the sensing areas of the neighboring electrodes and the ion conducting path can be easily formed by a layer of water adsorbed on the surface between the sensing area of one electrode and the sensing areas of other electrodes. This is in the case of natural gas when the humidity is above a certain point that would cause corrosion. The ion conducting path can also be easily formed by small sized water particulates in the case of oil-water mixtures. However, the probe surface where the sensing areas are can be easily covered by a layer of electron conducting deposits and such a closely packed CMAS probe is subject to the bridging effect.
This invention is related to a CMAS probe that has coated, fingered electrodes and has a mechanism to maintain the ion conducting path among the active sensing areas of the electrodes that are physically separated to avoid the formation of a continuous layer of electron conducting deposits along the path between any pairs of the electrodes.

Electrochemical probe with coated, fingered electrodes for corrosion monitoring in oil-water mixtures and gas systems containing hydrogen sulfide


To plan tumor treating fields (TTFields) therapy, a model of a patient's head is often used to determine where to position the transducer arrays during treatment, and the accuracy of this model depends in large part on an accurate segmentation of MRI images. The quality of a segmentation can be improved by presenting the segmentation to a previously-trained machine learning system. The machine learning system generates a quality score for the segmentation. Revisions to the segmentation are accepted, and the machine learning system scores the revised segmentation. The quality scores are used to determine which segmentation provides better results, optionally by running simulations for models that correspond to each segmentation for a plurality of different transducer array layouts.

Tumor treating fields (TTFields) is an FDA approved therapy for the management of Glioblastoma Multiform (GBM) and under study for multiple additional indications. See, e.g., Stupp, R., et al.: Effect of Tumor-Treating Fields Plus Maintenance Temozolomide vs Maintenance Temozolomide Alone on Survival in Patients With Glioblastoma: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 318, 2306-2316 (2017), which is incorporated herein by reference. TTFields are delivered to the tumor through the placement of transducer arrays (TAs) placed on the patient's scalp and delivery of an electric field to the tumor area. Larger electric field intensities or power densities within the tumor are associated with improved treatment outcomes. Both of these parameters directly depend on the location of the TAs.
One approach for determining where to place the TAs on a particular patient's head is to create an accurate model of the patient's head that includes a tissue-type (e.g., white matter, grey matter, CSF, etc.) for each voxel in the image; position simulated TAs on the model; apply simulated voltages to the TAs; and compute the electric field or power density at each tumor voxel in the model. But heretofore, the step of creating the accurate model of the patient's head that includes the tissue type for each voxel has been an extremely labor-intensive process.
Automated and semi-automated approaches for creating models of a patient's head exist, and these approaches are less labor-intensive. But the accuracy/quality of the models generated using these approaches can vary dramatically from image to image. And when a model with poor accuracy/quality is used to compute the electric field or power density at each tumor voxel in the model, the calculated electric field or power density can diverge significantly with respect to the actual electric field or power density. And this divergence can have clinical implications because when the actual electric field or power density is significantly lower than predicted, the patient may not receive the full benefit of his or her TTFields treatment.

Evaluating quality of segmentation of an image into different types of tissue for planning treatment using tumor treating fields (TTFields)


The present invention provides a semiconductor device capable of being mass-produced and a manufacturing method of the semiconductor device. The present invention also provides a semiconductor device using an extreme thin integrated circuit and a manufacturing method of the semiconductor device. Further, the present invention provides a low power consumption semiconductor device and a manufacturing method of the semiconductor device. According to one aspect of the present invention, a semiconductor device that has a semiconductor nonvolatile memory element transistor over an insulating surface in which a floating gate electrode of the memory transistor is formed by a plurality of conductive particles or semiconductor particles is provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device having a semiconductor nonvolatile memory element, and more particularly a semiconductor device having a semiconductor nonvolatile memory element formed with thin films and a transistor. Further, the present invention relates to a semiconductor device such as an ID chip, a CPU, or a system LSI, having a semiconductor nonvolatile memory element.
2. Related Art
An EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory) or a flash memory is known as a typical memory of a semiconductor nonvolatile memory. Since these memories are nonvolatile, data is not lost even when power source is turned off in contrast with a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) or SRAM (Static RAM), each of which is volatile. In the case of comparing with a magnetic disk that is another typical nonvolatile memory, the EEPROM or the flash memory has advantages in integration density, impact resistance, power consumption, write/read speed, and the like (for example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-204000).
A nonvolatile memory formed by using a single crystalline semiconductor substrate has been put into practical use and offered in markets. Especially a nonvolatile memory having large memory capacitance, that is, high integration density is widely used.
On the other hand, a semiconductor device as typified by an ID chip capable of wireless sending and receiving data such as identification information has been put into practical use in various fields, and has been expected to increase in trade as a new form information-communication terminal. The ID chip is referred to as a wireless tag, an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tag, or an IC tag. An ID chip that has an antenna and an integrated circuit formed by using a semiconductor substrate is about to be put into practical use at present.
Illegal rewrite of identification information of the ID chip can be prevented by forming a nonvolatile memory which data is impossible to be rewritten in an integrated circuit in the ID chip.
However, it is required to manufacture a vast number of ID chips available for human, animals, merchandise, paper money, and the like at extremely low costs as non-contact type or contact type ID chips are spread, and so it has been required to realize a structure and a manufacturing process of an ID chip capable of being mass-produced at low costs.
In the existing circumstances, a method of forming a plurality of integrated circuits and dividing the plurality of integrated circuits by back-grind of the silicon wafer is used to manufacture an ID chip. However, the problem of high manufacturing cost cannot be avoided since the silicon wafer is removed by back-grind even though silicon wafers are expensive. Since the integrated circuit formed by the silicon wafer is thick, irregularities are generated on a surface of a product container in the case of mounting the integrated circuit to the product container itself, and so latitude of design selection is limited.
A semiconductor device as typified by a CPU or a system LSI is required to be mounted in a limited capacity of an electric appliance. Accordingly, it has been required to reduce a thickness of an integrated circuit of the semiconductor device in order to realize reduction in size and weight.

Semiconductor device with a floating gate electrode that includes a plurality of particles

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


A resilient vacuum relief valve 52 is urged tightly on the lid stem 44 engaging the lid bottom 42 while encircling the vent 46 preventing air passage through the vent 46. The vacuum relief valve 52 is also formed of a pliable, resilient thermoplastic such as silicon and is in an inverted hat shape or dish shape as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 and includes a circumferential outwardly extending rim 54 on top that has sufficient resilience to deform when exposed to negative pressure. This arrangement provides an air tight seal when the lid 38 is inserted into the canister body 22 and while it remains stationary, however, when the lid 38 is pulled upwardly, negative pressure within the canister 20 is created, forcing the valve 52 to break its seal and relieve the newly created vacuum within the canister 20 allowing it to be easier to dislodge the lid 38 and preventing dispersal of powdered contents out of the canister 20 during lid removal.

The present invention relates to a canister for storing dry powered goods in general. More specifically to a canister with a lid that incorporates a vacuum relief valve for relieving negative pressure within the canister when opening, precluding dispersing a portion of the uppermost contents away from the canister during lid removal.
Previously, many types of sealed lids have been used in endeavoring to provide an effective means to seal the contents within a storage vessel. In most cases a lid is used that contains a seal effectively sealing and securing the container, however, no provision has been included to prevent dispersing powdered contents away from the container during lid removal.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any patents that possess any of the novelty of the instant invention, however the following U.S. patents are considered related:
Letsch et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,754,888 discloses a carafe with an inner container surrounded by a casing. The inner container and the casing have an opening at the top which may be closed by a separate plug. The plug and opening in the container and casing are shaped such that it is possible to fill or empty the inner container while the plug is still in the opening. The plug and container both have mating grooves that provide opposed flow paths into and out of the container. The container also includes a basin around the top for receiving coffee from a coffee maker and the plug has openings to provide a flow path from the basin into the container interior.
Karp in U.S. Pat. No. 5,249,703 teaches a travel mug that includes a container and a lid in combination. The container has a handle and an annular lip that has an annulus capable of forming a seal with the top side of the annular lip. A cylindrical well in the lid has a vertical dividing wall such that the lid may be readily rotated by hand. The retaining arms extend from the underside of the lid and engage the underside of the annular lip to pull it into tight abutment. Diametrically opposed gaps in the lip act as passageway for the retaining arms. Similarly diametrically opposed notches in the lid align with the gaps to allow liquid to be poured from the container. A plug is used for closing the opening of the carafe that includes a lid with its lower rim serving as a seal against the bottom of the basin when it is screwed into the opening.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,918,761 issued to Wissinger is for an insulated container and cover combination that has an outer container shell terminating at an opening with a surrounding edge. An inner container shell is nested within the outer container shell and has an opening surrounded by a continuous edges in abutment with the surrounding edge. The inner container shell is spaced inwardly and is out of contact with the outer shell. A cover mounting assembly is attached to the outer shell adjacent to the opening. A single seal, made of elastomeric material, has a sealing surface disposed at the interface of the shells. Locating rings define the removable cover mounting assembly and locate the single sealing ring on the inner and outer shells.
For background purposes and as indicative of the art to which the invention is related reference may be made to the remaining cited design patents.
There are a myriad of different types of jars, containers, jugs, bottles, cans, and canisters used for storing various articles such as foodstuffs and the like. In order to provide some semblance of protection, most storage containers have some type of lid for closure and for protection of the contents from exposure to the environment. Particularly relevant to food, the container must be sealed, preferably incorporating an air tight seal which is the most desirable for prolonging the useful life of the contents. In order to secure the container sufficiently a seal is normally used which, if long term storage is required, may be a permanent lid that must be opened by piercing the top and removing the material such as in a metal can. Further bottles and jars are sealed by the use of a threaded lid with a resilient seal between the lid and the body that is compressed when installed.
Canisters have a different problem in that the material inside must be sealed to prevent atmospheric contamination but must be readily available to be used without special tools or prolonged twisting of lids or the like. Some canisters use compression latches and hinges to provide a tight seal and still have relatively easy access to the contents. Others like ceramic jar canisters simply use a compressible seal that is held in place by the weight of the lid itself
The optimum type of closure is a simple resilient gasket that compresses very tightly when inserted into the canister creating a completely air tight seal. There is however a down side to this approach in that if the seal is sufficient to completely block out any air it also creates negative pressure when it is removed which can be detrimental if a powered food stuff is stored inside such as flour, confectioners sugar, baking powder, corn starch and the like. The result is that if the container is full and the lid is removed the vacuum created within draws some of the powered substance along with the lid and spreads it out away from the canister and onto the surrounding area making an unnecessary mess that must be cleaned up and any contaminated material disposed of
It is therefore a primary object of the invention to add a vacuum relief valve to the lid to alleviate the negative pressure when removing the lid. As the lid is pulled upward the interior area of the canister is increased creating the vacuum which can pull the contents up at the same time, however, with the relief valve in place the valve outer fringes collapse and the negative pressure is released through the vents eliminating the problem entirely.
A secondary problem is also expunged in that as the vacuum created in the removal of a lid, with a tight seal, makes this type of lid detaching difficult. The better the seal the harder it is to remove the lid and it is important to have a secure seal to make the canister air tight. It may be clearly seen that the invention solves an important task which is appreciated by the user particularly when a powered substance is stored inside that may be spilled if one has to pull hard and all of a sudden the lid comes off easily loosing control of the canister entirely.
Another object of the invention is the ease of manufacture as once the injection mold incorporates the stem and vents it is easy to manually push the valve in place by hand which takes little effort and yet grips securely. The valve adds little to the overall cost of manufacture and assembly.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the preferred embodiment and the appended claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Air tight canister with vacuum relief valve


A RF transistor stack is described. The RF transistor stack comprises a first transistor having a T-gate layout configuration. The first transistor has a body region; a plurality of drain regions; and a plurality of source regions. A second transistor is provided which has a T-gate layout configuration. The second transistor has a body region; a plurality of drain regions; and a plurality of source regions. An interconnect operably couples the source regions of the first transistor with the source regions of the second transistor such that the distortion due to asymmetry in the division of RF voltage between the drain to source and the source to body terminals of first transistor is cancelled by reversing the asymmetry in the division of the RF voltage in the second transistor.

RF switches are a key building block in wireless systems and find many uses in applications such as mobile phones and wireless LANs. The act of switching radio frequency signals in an integrated circuit is carried out by an RF switch circuit. Many technologies exist for the design of integrated RF switch circuits.
An RF switch may comprise multiple switching elements which control the flow of RF power between different points in the particular application. Switching elements are comprised of transistors that are stacked. The number of transistors in a stack is determined by the maximum RF voltage that can be developed across the complete stack and the maximum voltage that can be tolerated across an individual transistor without introducing limitations to either reliability or linearity performance of a device. RF integrated circuits (ICs) are subject to stringent linearity specifications which require tight limits on the level of distortion that a device can introduce on an RF signal. Linearity requirements may be expressed by specifying different parameters such as harmonics generation, intermodulation distortion (IMD2, IMD3) or intercept points, (IP2, IP3). Irrespective of how requirements are specified the linearity performance is determined by distortion introduced on the RF signal by RF transistor stacks. Adoption of 4G/LTE standards places ever increasing demands on linearity requirements of components such as RF switches. The RF transistor stack is becoming a limitation in achieving the required linearity performance on SOI CMOS process that must be overcome.
There is therefore a need to provide an RF transistor stack which addresses at least some of the drawbacks of the prior art.

Radio frequency transistor stack with improved linearity


A method of fabricating a semiconductor device structure, includes: providing a substrate, providing an electrode on the substrate, forming a recess in the electrode, the recess having an opening, disposing a small grain semiconductor material within the recess, covering the opening to contain the small grain semiconductor material, within the recess, and then annealing the resultant structure.

Mobility enhancements are important to future semiconductor, e.g. CMOS device technologies. Performance improvements from conventional process technologies are becoming extremely difficult to achieve. Methods to stress Si channels include: using SiGe which imparts stress from the bottom of the channel; different shallow trench isolation (STI) material choices which impart stresses from various sides, and SiN etch stop layers which also impart longitudinal stress from the sides. Drawbacks from the SiGe buffer layer or implanted-anneal-buffer approach with a strained Si cap layer are well known. Drawbacks include dislocations that impact yield severely, along with significant difficulty controlling As diffusion enhancements. Further, the process is quite complicated and costly. The STI approach is less costly but is not self-aligned to the gate and has RX size sensitivity. The less costly approach of using nitride etch stop layers to create stress does produce some benefit, but the benefit is believed to be relatively marginal.

Stressed semiconductor device structures having granular semiconductor material

International Business Machines Corporation


Device for fulfilling sex αcf comprising α prosthesis placed, at least partially, around the male-member, at the base thereof, characterized by comprising means for retaining in place said prosthesis around the member, and in that said prosthesis is inflatable.

Sex devices are known that are used to aid the fulfilling of sex act by persons who suffer of the afore mentioned malfunction.
Particularly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,488,541 describes a sex device comprising a prosthesis placed around the male member, at the base thereof, and means to retain said prosthesis in position around the member.
Also U.S. Pat. No. 1,216,099 and FR 2687063 describe a sex device similar to that described in the United States document, wherein the connection between the prosthesis and the retaining means is respectively realized by reciprocally engagement or by Velcro, instead of by realizing the prosthesis and the retaining means as a whole.
However such devices are not free of drawbacks. Indeed, apart from being definitely embarrassing for shape and dimensions, they are not handy too. Such a latter drawback rises from the fact that the user, in case wherein he would be able to reach an erection during the sex act, could not cast off the device without being forced to suspend the sex act itself. Such a suspension could be detrimental because it may reduce the user excitement, and thereby hold down his stimuli.
Object of the present invention is to realize a device for fulfilling the sex act that could be put on without particular problems of psychological nature, and used without interruption during the whole sex act also in case of a complete erection of the user member. One more object of the present invention is to realize a device for fulfilling the sex act that allows not only the man, but the women too, to fulfill the sex act in presence also of serious erectile malfunctions of the man.


A control system and method for operating an articulating header of a combine harvester in a failsafe mode. The method includes monitoring the articulating header, alerting a user when a fault condition is detected in the articulating header, and converting the articulating header to a non-articulating header in response to the fault condition so that the combine harvester may be operated in a failsafe mode.

As is generally disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 10,143,136, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety, the present invention concerns a multi-section header with several frame sections that are joined with each other for articulation and each form a partial working width of the header, wherein outer lateral frame sections are connected with a central frame section with each other by means of an adjustable relief element. A header of the aforementioned kind may be referred to in the art as an articulating header. Such an articulating header is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,675,568, which is also incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
More particularly, an articulating header generally comprises a central frame section (also referred to herein as a center section) and two outer lateral frame sections (also referred to herein as lateral sections) joined for articulation thereto. Since the ground of a field across the total working width of the header does not remain flat, but can exhibit elevations and depressions, the lateral sections with their partial working widths are configured to adapt to the uneven soil contour by means of their articulated connection with each other. In particular, the lateral sections with their free ends can pivot up or down relative to the center section in order to adapt in this way to a ground contour that is ascending or descending in a lateral direction relative to the transverse axis of the central frame section.
Although not necessarily disclosed in those patents, an elevation sensor may be used to determine the distance between the center section and the ground beneath, and an angular sensor may be used to determine the pivot angle of a particular lateral section with respect to the center section. The sensors provide feedback to the control system to ensure that the center section and the lateral frame sections are positioned at the proper elevations during a harvesting operation.
If, for any reason, the elevation sensor, the angular sensor, or any other component of the articulating header fails, then it would be beneficial to provide a failsafe mode so that the articulating header can continue to be used during a harvesting operation.

Failsafe mode for articulating harvesting header


Provided is a method of reconstructing a three-dimensional (3D) model of an object. The method includes sequentially performing, by a camera module, first and second object scanning processes of scanning the same object, reconstructing, by a processor module, a 3D object model, based on a first object image obtained through the first object scanning process, performing pose learning on an object to generate learning data, based on data obtained through a process of reconstructing the 3D object model based on the first object image, and reconstructing, by the processor module, a final 3D object model, based on a second object image obtained through the second object scanning process and the learning data.

Recently, as mobile phones equipped with a consumer-level small camera such as a depth sensor are popularized, interest in three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction technology for reconstructing a 3D model of a real object in the mobile phones is increasing.
The 3D reconstruction technology is technology which scans a real object with a small camera to generate image scenes, and reconstruct a 3D model of the real object by using the generated image scenes.
In order to reconstruct a 3D model of a real object, it is very important to stably and completely scan a whole shape of the real object. However, it is very difficult to stably and completely scan the whole shape of the real object by using a small camera equipped in a mobile phone. For example, in a state where one hand grasps the real object and another hand grasps the mobile phone, if the real object is scanned while moving the small camera equipped in the mobile phone in several directions, a region hidden by at least one of the hands occurs, and due to this, it is unable to completely scan the whole shape of the real object.
As described above, a scanning operation performed in an unstable pose causes drift and jittering to reduce an accuracy of the scanning operation. For this reason, an accuracy of tracking a pose of a real object in a 3D reconstruction process of reconstructing a 3D model of the real object is reduced, causing the display quality of the reconstructed 3D model.
Moreover, due to the low performance of a small camera equipped in a mobile phone, apertures or cavities are seen in a 3D model image reconstructed from image scenes obtained from the small camera. This denotes a reduction in display quality of a 3D model.

Method and apparatus for reconstructing three-dimensional model of object

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


A disposable protector containing splashes in a clogged toilet during plunging. A frame includes a non-continuous hoop allowing to the hoop to sealingly conform to just below the rim of the clogged and a handle having a pair of arms generally conforming to, and capturing, the rim of the clogged toilet. A portion of each arm criss-cross each other so as to allow the hoop to decrease in size when the handle is squeezed for insertion into the clogged toilet just below the rim of the clogged toilet. The shield removably receives the hoop and includes upper and lower sheets attached to each other at their peripheries, except for a portion thereof that is sufficient in length to allow insertion of the hoop into the shield and removal therefrom when the handle is squeezed and the size of the hoop is reduced.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a protector for engaging a clogged toilet and containing splashes in the clogged toilet occurring during unclogging of the clogged toilet by a plunger. More particularly, the present invention relates to a disposable protector for engaging a clogged toilet and containing a splashes in the clogged toilet occurring during unclogging of the clogged toilet by a plunger.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous innovations for toilet plunger shields have been provided in the prior art that will be described. Even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, however, they differ from the present invention.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,458,368 to Webb teaches a device for clearing obstructed soil pipes without splashing water from a sink or toilet bowl which comprises an elongate handle having a plunger member at a lower end and an anti-splash shield having a central passage to receive the elongate handle. The shield has a curvilinear circumference and includes an expandable resilient means at the outer edge thereof for transforming the shield from a folded condition to an expanded condition. Thus, the outer edge of the shield can sealingly engage the inner surface of the sink or toilet bowl to prevent water from splashing as the plunge is operated.
Another example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,831,669 to Edwards teaches a splash guard for the open upper end of a toilet bowl to prevent water or similar liquid material for splashing out of the toilet bowl when unclogging the toilet by the use of a plunger, generally known as a "plumber's helper." The splash guard includes a generally flat plate sufficiently large to cover the open upper end of the toilet bowl and includes a flexible central diaphragm provided with an opening to receive and allow movement of a plunger handle whereby vertical movement of the plunger will not result in water splashing out of the open upper end of the toilet bowl.
Still another example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,099,527 to Roose teaches a splash deflector for plungers or the like for deflecting splashes having a disc with a circumferential lip on one side thereof. A plurality of stiffening ribs and anti-tearing ribs and openings may be provided on the disc. The top surface of the disc may bear indicia thereon, such as advertising. The disc is positioned on a handle and attached thereto via flap formed by selectively slitting the disc. An installation apparatus is also provided for alternating the direction of flap displacing forces, providing an even tighter gripping force to a force-cup handle or the like.
Yet another example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,706,528 to Broback teaches a system for containing the splashing produced when using a toilet plunger to unclog a flush toilet which is comprised of a substantially flat stiff splash plate that covers the upper opening of a toilet bowl when the plate is rested on the toilet bowl rim. The plate is visually transparent and has a central aperture for a plunger handle to freely pass through. A gasket is interposed between the plate and the toilet bowl rim and is formed of an absorbent paper material that may be disposed of by flushing it down the toilet drain after use. A method of using the splash plate and the gasket utilizes the transparency of the splash plate and the disposability of the gasket. The splash plate may optionally have stiffness enhancing features including a contoured portion and a perimeter flange. A kit of equipment has a splash plate, a gasket and a reclosable envelope for holding the splash plate and gasket.
Still yet another example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,860,170 to Witt teaches a shield for use in preventing water from splashing from a toilet bowl when using a plunger in attempting to unplug a clogged toilet or toilet drain. The shield is a resilient single piece construction having at the outer rim a flat portion providing a positioning surface against the upper rim of a toilet bowl; the central portion is dome shaped presenting a concave surface to the inside of a toilet bowl; intermediate the positioning surface and the dome is an annular rim extending downwardly from the positioning surface toward the toilet bowl interior and adjacent to the interior of the upper rim of the toilet bowl and thence upwardly to form the dome. An aperture is positioned generally centrally in the dome with the aperture accepting the handle of a toilet plunger; the aperture forming a frustrum or truncated conical passage way, for the toilet handle, extending downwardly from the dome. The positioning surface provides a foundation against the toilet rim and a sealing function against splashing water. The annular rim and dome shaped central portion direction splashing water toward the center of the dome and away from the rim. The downwardly extending frustrum complements the dome in reducing access passage ways for the escape of water from the toilet bowl when operating the toilet plunger. The operator may secure the apparatus in place with his or her foot while operating the plunger thus increasing the sealing effect of the positioning surface and stability the apparatus while plunging.
It is apparent that numerous innovations for toilet plunger shields have been provided in the prior art that are adapted to be used. Furthermore, even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, however, they would not be suitable for the purposes of the present invention as heretofore described.

Disposable protector for engaging a clogged toilet and containing splashes in the clogged toilet occurring during unclogging of the clogged toilet by a plunger