A plasma CVD system has a processing chamber having a thin film forming section, and a transfer section communicating with the thin film forming section through a connecting opening. The system includes a thin film forming device, located in the thin film forming section, for producing plasma to form a thin film on a substrate at the connecting opening, a transfer device, located in the transfer section, for bringing a substrate holding member into and out of the processing chamber, and a heat transfer plate which does not project beyond the edge of the substrate when moved into abutment against a rear face of the substrate held by the substrate holding member to move the substrate from the substrate holding member towards the thin film forming section. The heat transfer plate also conducts heat to the substrate.

The present invention generally relates to a plasma CVD system, and more particularly to a plasma CVD system suitable for forming thin films onto relatively large substrates by the plasma CVD technique.
Conventionally, a plasma CVD system has been utilized to form a thin film for a relatively small substrate such as a silicon substrate for semiconductor devices. However, it is a recent trend to use the plasma CVD system to form a thin film to a substrate of a large area, e.g., a large-scale liquid crystal panel or the like. Moreover, although most of the conventional plasma CVD system is of a type processing for every predetermined number of substrates at one time in a so-called batch processing, such a system has been developed lately that automatically handles the substrates, that is, sequentially sends the substrates to a processing chamber to continuously perform a film forming process, a heating process as a pretreatment, and a cooling process as a posttreatment.
In FIG. 6 is shown the structure of a plasma CVD system used heretofore in the manufacture of large scale liquid crystal panels. A plurality of substrates 1 each formed of glass or the like are held by a pair of right and left trays 2. The substrate trays 2 are mounted to a conveyor 2a driven via a motor and a gear mechanism. The substrates 1 while mounted to the trays 2 are sequentially and continuously sent to a processing chamber 3 and sent out from the chamber 3 after the treatment is completed. A sheathed heater panel 4 is provided in the gap between the right and left trays 2 in the processing chamber 3, which heats the substrates 1 from the rear side. At the same time, a gas exhaust plate 5 serving also as an electrode is provided at the right and left outside of the substrate tray 2. The gas exhaust plate 5 is connected to a high frequency power source. Reaction gas is fed into the rear space of the gas exhaust plate 5. When the reaction gas is jetted out to the substrate 1 from the front side of the gas exhaust plate 5 as a voltage is impressed between the gas exhaust plate 5 and the substrate tray 2, a thin film is formed on the surface of the substrate 1.
Referring to FIG. 7, in the case where a plurality of processing chambers 3 are arranged side by side, the conveyor 2a is arranged in the form of a loop to circulate through the plurality of processing chambers 3. As indicated at the lower left in FIG. 7, the substrate tray 2 is suspended from the conveyor 2a after the substrates 1 are set on the substrate tray 2. When the conveyor 2a is started, the substrate tray 2 is passed through each processing chamber 3, where a predetermined treatment is performed to the substrates 1.
The conventional plasma CVD system of the above-described type accompanies an unfavorable problem that a thin film is formed on the substrate tray, drops and adheres to the surface of the substrate, thereby deteriorating the quality of the substrate surface.
More specifically, in the above plasma CVD system, a thin film is formed both on the substrate tray 2 and on the substrate 1. Since the substrate tray 2 is repeatedly used while circulating and moving in each processing chamber 3 and the external space, the tray is subjected to heating, vacuum heating, film formation, and cooling for every processing cycle and accordingly affected by the severe change of the temperature and atmospheric pressure. As a result, the thin film adhered to the substrate tray 2 is delaminated, i.e., scaling is caused. If the thin film detached from the substrate tray 2 adheres to the surface of the substrate 1, the surface quality of the substrate 1 is worsened. Moreover, a thin film is formed also on the surface of the structural member such as a transfer device, e.g., conveyor 2a or the like, and is slipped off as well.
Although it is good to remove the thin film adhered to the substrate tray 2 or the transfer device so as to prevent the adhesion of the delaminated thin film to the surface of the substrate 1, the removal requires considerably much time and labor, thus lowering the operation rate of the plasma CVD system and increasing the maintenance cost.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A method for growing strained Si layer and relaxed SiGe layer with multiple Ge quantum dots (QDs) on a substrate is disclosed. The method can reduce threading dislocation density, decrease surface roughness of the strained silicon and further shorten growth time for forming epitaxy layers than conventional method. The method includes steps of: providing a silicon substrate, forming a multiple Ge QDs layers; forming a layer of relaxed SixGe1-x; and forming a strained silicon layer in subsequence; wherein x is greater than 0 and less than 1.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a strained silicon substrate and the forming method thereof, more particularly, to a strained silicon substrate adapted for high-speed electronic and optical elements and the forming method thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
A strained silicon material is functioned as a substrate to various high-speed electronic elements or optoelectronic elements due to its higher electron mobility, i.e., higher carrier mobility. A strained silicon material is also applied as growing buffer layers for bonding III-V based semiconductors and IV based semiconductors, so as to integrate III-V elements (i.e. elements of group III or group V of periodic table) and IV elements (i.e. elements of group IV of periodic table) or to grow III-V elements on a silicon substrate. Since a strained silicon substrate can be integrated to grow III-V elements and IV elements to form semiconductor elements on a strained silicon-germanium epitaxy layer, and a strained silicon substrate generally replaces a silicon substrate as a substrate for growing high-speed electronics, it is commonly referred to a virtual-substrate.
Typically, a virtual-substrate is generally formed by forming a strained silicon layer over a silicon-germanium epitaxy layer on a silicon epitaxy layer. FIG. 1 is a view of a structure of the virtual-substrate. As shown in FIG. 1, the structure includes a Si substrate, a Si buffer 101, a graded silicon-germanium epitaxy layer 102, a silicon-germanium epitaxy layer 103 and a strained silicon layer 104 sequentially.
Generally, conventional silicon-germanium epitaxy layers are grown on a silicon substrate through component graded growing. The stress between silicon-germanium epitaxy layer and silicon layer is reduced by such a relaxed mechanism of component graded silicon-germanium epitaxy layer. However, when better-relaxed effect is needed, the growing time of silicon-germanium growth is too long and the thickness of a relaxed silicon-germanium epitaxy layer is too high. In addition, the alignment of pattern formation through lithography is difficult, too. Hence, no advantage in mass-production can be taken. Furthermore, a silicon-germanium epitaxy layer formed by such component-graded growth has high surface roughness, threading dislocation density and defective density, so that operation ability of electronic elements (or optoelectronic elements) to be grown completely is relatively weakened.
As cited, a heterogeneous graded epitaxy layer of thick silicon-germanium with low defective density grown by high temperature is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,221,413, which does not improve prior high thickness and long growth time as well as mass-production. In addition, the cited high roughness is improved by selecting special substrate materials (U.S. Pat. No. 6,033,803). However, mass-production of high-speed electronic elements or optoelectronic elements by improving high thickness, high roughness and long growth time at the same time does not present in current processes or products.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide an improved method to mitigate and/or obviate the aforementioned problems.

Strained silicon forming method with reduction of threading dislocation density

Industrial Technology Research Institute


A magnetic speed sensor is provided with a uniquely-shaped pole piece and is utilized in conjunction with a uniquely-shaped exciter ring. The sensor includes a magnet which is positioned at one end of the pole piece. In accordance with the present invention, the pole piece is provided with three sections, each of which are shaped and have a cross-sectional configuration designed to optimize the output of the speed sensor. In particular, the pole piece includes an inner end portion, and intermediate portion, and an outer end portion. The inner end portion of the pole member, which is positioned adjacent one end of the magnet, has a cross-sectional configuration generally corresponding to the cross-sectional configuration of the one end of the magnet. The intermediate portion of the pole piece has a cross-sectional configuration generally corresponding to the cross-sectional configuration of an aperture in an insulating bobbin which coaxially supports a coil around the pole piece. Finally, the outer end of the pole piece is designed with a rectangular cross-sectional configuration which is sized in accordance with the shape of the exciter ring teeth. The exciter ring is provided with a plurality of circumferentially spaced teeth members having an outer tip portion with a semi-cylindrical configuration.

The present invention relates generally to a variable reluctance magnetic transducer and, in particular, to a passive-type magnetic transducer especially suited for sensing the speed of a rotating object.
Passive-type variable reluctance magnetic transducers are well known and have been widely used as speed sensors in electric control circuits for monitoring the speed of an associated rotating object such as, for example, a gear. Typically, the transducer includes an outer housing which contains a permanent magnet, a pole piece constructed of a ferrous material and having one end positioned adjacent the magnet, and a coil surrounding the pole piece for sensing changes in magnetic flux through the coil. The opposite end of the pole extends outwardly from the housing and is adapted to be spaced from a projecting ferrous element which is attached to and rotates with the rotating object. For example, the projecting ferrous element or elements can be the teeth of a rotating gear. The coil is connected to generate an output signal to an associated electronic control circuit. An example of a prior art passive-type magnetic speed sensor can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,890,517.
In operation, a magnetic field extends from the magnet through the pole piece and out into the air space at the end of the pole piece. The return path of the magnetic field is from the air space to the other end of the magnet. As a ferrous element approaches the tip of the pole piece, the reluctance of the magnetic circuit decreases, thus increasing the magnetic field. As the ferrous object passes away from the pole piece, the magnetic field decreases. When the magnetic field decreases, it induces a voltage in the coil in one direction and, when it increases, it induces a voltage in the coil in the opposite direction. The passage of one ferrous object (such as one gear tooth) induces one cycle of AC voltage. The AC voltage is proportional to the rate of change of magnetic flux in the magnetic circuit, and is generally proportional to the speed of the ferrous objects passing the pole piece, at least up to a predetermined speed. The frequency of the AC signal is directly proportional to the number of ferrous objects passing the pole piece per unit of time.
The output voltage of the speed sensor is typically an important design criteria, i.e., the speed sensor must generate a sufficient output voltage at the lowest speed of interest. The output voltage of the speed sensor depends on a wide variety of factors, some of which include the surface speed of the gear teeth passing the pole piece, the gap between the pole piece and the gear teeth, the size and shape of the gear teeth, the spacing between the gear teeth, the load impedance connected to the speed sensor, and the particular configuration of the pole piece.
Generally, in order to obtain the highest output from the speed sensor, the pole piece should be located as close to the gear as the particular application will permit. The output voltage of the speed sensor is significantly affected by changes in the air gap and is almost inversely proportional to the square of the air gap.
Changes in the configuration of the pole piece can also affect the speed sensor output voltage. Generally, when sensing a rotating gear, sensors are provided with a cylindrical projecting portion having a diameter which is less than or equal to the width of the top surface of the associated gear tooth. However, when using a gear of finer than optimum pitch, it has been found desirable to use a pole piece having an outer tip shaped to a chisel, and which is oriented perpendicular with the rotational axis of the gear.


Method and apparatus for selecting an access technology in a multi-mode terminal are provided. Information is exchanged between a multi-mode terminal and at least one base station using a first access technology, the multi-mode terminal being capable of exchanging information with the at least one base station using a number of access technologies. The type of information exchanged is identified, and at least a second access technology is determined, different from the first access technology, that is capable of exchanging information of the identified information type. The first and at least second access technologies form a set of compatible access technologies. A determination is made as to the minimum radiated power level needed to exchange the information with the at least one base station for each of the compatible access technologies. An optimal access technology requiring a lowest amount of battery energy among the set of compatible access technologies is selected to maintain the minimum radiated power level needed to exchange the information between the multi-mode terminal and the at least one base station.

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for selecting an access technology in a multi-mode terminal. In particular, this invention relates to a method and apparatus for selecting an access technology that requires a minimal amount of power in the multi-mode terminal to achieve a maximum transmission duration capability.
Several access technologies exist today to facilitate the transmission of voice and data information over mobile radio communications systems. Examples of these technologies include: wideband code division multiple access (W-CDMA), enhanced data rates for global evolution (EDGE) classic and compact, global system for mobile communication, advanced mobile phone service (AMPS), and others. These technologies operate over different frequency bands and utilize various signaling approaches in order to transmit information over a communication network. As a result of these variations, several different access technologies may be used within a single coverage area, such as a cell, microcell, or picocell. Each of the access technologies generally utilizes a respective radiating power level. This, in turn, requires a battery of a terminal operating within the communication network to be capable of supplying a current that is proportional to the radiating power level of the technology used to access the network.
As the number of access technologies has increased, it has become desirable to design terminals to have the capability of transmitting information using more than one access technology. General aspects of such terminals are known in the art, as described by U.S. Pat. No. 5, 845,215 to Henry et al., entitled xe2x80x9cOperating Mobile Stations of Wireless Communication Systems in Multiple Modes by External Controlxe2x80x9d, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference.
These so-called xe2x80x9cmulti-modexe2x80x9d terminals allow users to choose the technology used to access the communication network depending on a number of factors. Typically, this choice involves balancing the cost of network access against the amount of services that may be available within the network for a given access technology. For example, the W-CDMA and EDGE access technologies may offer services such as voice mail or Internet access capability that are in addition to the services offered by the GSM or AMPS technologies operating within the same coverage area of the network. However, these added services may require a user to incur additional charges to access the network in comparison to access technologies that do not offer these services.
In addition to allowing users to choose a particular access technology, it is desirable to have multi-mode terminals that are capable of automatically selecting an access technology based upon a set of input parameters in order to achieve a desired functionality. One such terminal is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,999,829 to Chun et al. (xe2x80x9cChunxe2x80x9d). Chun""s terminal is capable of automatically selecting between CDMA and frequency division multiple access (FDMA) access modes depending on a received electric field signal strength. As described by Chun, if the received signal strength for the CDMA mode exceeds a predetermined threshold level, the terminal accesses the communications network via the CDMA access technology. Otherwise, FDMA signaling techniques are used to access the network. Like many other conventional systems, Chun""s terminal is biased towards selecting the CDMA signaling mode over the FDMA mode because of the added services available to the users of terminals that utilize the CDMA technology.
A disadvantage associated with these systems, however, is that such biasing in favor of a particular access technology (such as CDMA in the system of Chun) precludes the automatic selection of an access technology for a given terminal type that is optimal for some other function, such as maximizing the transmission duration capability of the terminal. Maximizing the transmission duration capability is often of particular importance, e.g., when sending an emergency voice message or transferring critically needed data over the communication network at a time when the energy stored in a terminal""s battery is low.
As discussed above, each of the different access technologies utilizes a respective radiated power level, requiring a corresponding respective battery supply current to power the device. Access technologies utilizing higher radiated power levels require higher supply currents, while those technologies utilizing lower radiated power levels require lower supply currents. In addition, these radiated power levels may be reduced if the received electric field strength is strong enough to sustain a communication link with the network for a given type of information transfer. Also, the supply current requirements needed to sustain the different radiated power levels can vary from terminal to terminal. Moreover, certain access technologies may be capable of supporting only a particular type of information transfer (e.g., AMPS is not capable of receiving data from the Internet). If these factors could be evaluated by a terminal device, such that the access technology requiring the minimum battery supply current to sustain the desired network connection could be determined, then the transmission duration for that network connection could be maximized.
Thus, there is a need for determining, in a multi-mode terminal device, an optimal network access technology so as to maximize the transmission duration capability of the device.
It is therefore an object of the invention to select an access technology that requires a minimal amount of power in a multi-mode terminal to achieve a maximum transmission duration capability. It is yet another object of the invention that the selected access technology be capable of transmitting the type of information being exchanged before the selecting has occurred.
According to the invention, these and other objects are met by a method and apparatus for selecting an access technology in a multi-mode terminal. Information is exchanged between a multi-mode terminal and a base station in a communication network using a first access technology, the multi-mode terminal being capable of exchanging information with the base station using a plurality of access technologies. The type of information exchanged is identified, and at least a second access technology is determined, different from the first access technology, that is capable of exchanging information of the identified information type. The first and the at least second access technologies form a plurality of compatible access technologies. A determination is made as to the minimum radiated power level necessary to exchange the information with the base station for each of the compatible access technologies. An optimal access technology, e.g., one requiring a lowest amount of battery energy among the compatible access technologies to maintain the minimum radiated power level, is selected to exchange the information between the multi-mode terminal and the base station.
According to an exemplary embodiment, determination of the minimum radiated power level is accomplished by measuring a received signal strength of signals received at the multi-mode terminal for each of the compatible access technologies. A minimum radiated power level is computed for each compatible access technology based on the corresponding received signal strength measurements.
According to another exemplary embodiment, selecting an optimal access technology is achieved by creating a table having table entries that include battery power levels required to operate the multi-mode terminal at a plurality of radiated power levels for each of the access technologies. A compatible access technology having the lowest battery power level for the determined minimum radiated power level is selected from the various table entries.


A PLL circuit comprises a phase frequency detector (PFD), a charge pump (CP), a low pass filter (LPF), a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), a frequency divider (FD) and a reset module. The PFD receives a first and a second input signals, and outputs a first and a second adjustment parameters according to phase and frequency difference between the first and the second input signal. The CP is coupled to the PFD, generates a current according to the first and the second adjustment parameters. The LPF is coupled to the CP, and generates a voltage according to the current. The VCO is coupled to the LPF, and generates an oscillation frequency according to the voltage. The FD receives and divides the oscillation frequency, and generates the second input signal. The reset module generates a reset signal to feed to the FD, wherein the reset module receives the first signal.

A phase locked loop or phase-locked loop (PLL) is a control system that generates an output signal, also called a F_N clock, whose phase is related to the phase of an input "reference" signal, also called a F_ref clock.
After a PLL is powered on, the F_ref clock has initial phase error with the F_N clock, which ranges from 0 to 2π. The PLL can only start a locking operation after the phase error has been cancelled.

Phase locked loop circuit and a method in the phase locked loop circuit


An extension unit is used in conjunction with wrench-type hand tools, such as socket and ratchet wrenches. One form of the unit includes a handle and an extension arm that has a plurality of spring-loaded balls thereon at distances that are spaced apart from each other along the longitudinal axis of the extension arm by increments that are uniform. A further extension element is attached to the handle and a bayonet coupling is used to properly align the further extension element with respect to the handle. A second form of the unit includes a spring loaded catch and spring loaded anchors.

As is well known, a wrench is a hand tool used for holding and turning elements such as nuts, pipes, spark plugs, and the like. There are many kinds of wrenches, including monkey wrenches, single-ended wrenches, double-ended wrenches, box wrenches, and the like. Two common wrenches are the socket wrench which combines an offset handle with a male drive piece having a spring-loaded bearing lock on various sized sockets, and a ratchet wrench which is a socket wrench having a ratchet mechanism which controls the direction of applied torque.
Wrenches are used by mechanics in all sorts of applications, and in all sorts of conditions. For example, an automobile mechanic may e required to apply a ratchet wrench to various elements in an automobile engine. However, if such elements are in difficult-to-reach locations, proper application of torque can be difficult. This problem is especially apparent if the ratchet wrench is not long enough to properly reach the desired element.
Heretofore, it has not been possible for a hand tool such as a wrench to be easily extended to the precise length required for a particular job. Either the tool could not be extended far enough or it could only be extended to a length which was so great that the extended tool was either too cumbersome to use in an efficient manner or could not properly fit into the work space available.
Therefore, there is a need for an extension unit which can be used on a hand tool, especially on a socket or ratchet wrench, to efficiently extend the reach of such hand tool to a length which is exactly what is required for a particular job.

Extension element for use with wrench-type hand tools


The embodiments include an error correction processing unit and an error correction history recording unit. The error correction processing unit performs an error correction process based on data read from a non-volatile semiconductor memory and a second-step error correction code corresponding to the data. The error correction history recording unit records error correction history indicating whether first error correction is successful through the first error correction process, in association with unit data. When error correction history of target unit data to be read indicates that correction is not successful, the second error correction process is executed without executing the first error correction process.

In recent years, semiconductor memories are used everywhere, for example, for the main memories on large computers, personal computers, electric appliances for home use, and mobile phones. Particularly, flash memories are getting most of the attention. Flash memories (Flash EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory) type non-volatile memories) are used for many information units, such as mobile phones or digital cameras. This is because data do not disappear even if the power is OFF, and the memories have a configuration suitable for high integration.
The flash memories mainly include NOR and NAND flash memories. In the NOR flash memories, high-speed "Read" operations are possible. The number of possible "Read" times is approximately 1013. Thus, the NOR flash memories are used as instruction code memories of mobile units. However, the NOR flash memories are not suitable for file storage, because the Write bandwidth is narrowed.
On the other hand, the NAND flash memories can be more highly-integrated than the NOR flash memories. For "Read", the access time is approximately 25 microseconds, so is very slow, but enables Burst Read operations. Further, the NAND flash memories have wide bandwidth. For "Write", the "Program" (writing) time is approximately 200 microseconds, and "Erase" (deleting) time is approximately 1 ms, thus are very slow. However, a large number of bits can be "Programmed" or "Erased" at one time. Thus, a large number of bits can be "Programmed" in the unit of Pages at one time. Accordingly, the NAND flash memories can be highly-integrated, have wide bandwidth, and thus are used for memory cards, USB (Universal Serial Bus) memories, mobile phones, memories for portable music players. Recently, SSD (Solid State Drive) is for sale as replacement for the hard disk.

Memory system and control method thereof


A network system includes network relay devices including a master device for administrating the network system, and a member device to be administrated by the master device. When the master device receives an authentication request from an external terminal connected to the network system, the master device performs an authentication processing for authorizing or denying the authentication request. When the authentication request is authorized, one network relay device connected to the external terminal in the network system performs a communication-authorizing processing for authorizing a communication between the external terminal and the one network relay device, and performs a transmission processing for transmitting a communication authorization data to an other network relay device which is not connected to the external terminal in the network system. When the other network relay device receives the communication authorization data, the other network relay device performs the communication-authorizing processing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a network system.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a prior art, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-124673 (JP-A 2007-124673) discloses a switching system equipped with a stack function. Here, the "stack" function is a function for operating a plurality of switches connected to each other like a virtual single switch. In a single switch, the number of ports is limited. By adopting the stack function, it is possible to substantially increase the number of ports. Since it is possible to centrally administrate a plurality of switches, the administration property is improved as compared to the case of individually administrating a plurality of switches.


The housing includes a first cylinder part having a first end connected to a nozzle, a second cylinder part having a first end connected to a second end of the first cylinder part and forming a magnetic throttle part in at least a part of the second cylinder part in an axial direction, a third cylinder part having a first end connected to a second end of the second cylinder part, and a fuel passage formed inside the first cylinder part, the second cylinder part, and the third cylinder part so as to communicate with injection holes and guide the fuel to the injection holes. A yoke has a cylindrical shape, of which the first end side is connected to the first cylinder part and the second end side is connected to the third cylinder part, and is provided on a radially outer side of the housing such that an axial force is generated in the first cylinder part and the third cylinder part in a direction in which the first cylinder part and the third cylinder part approach each other.

Recently, there is a growing need for a fuel injection device that can inject a high-pressure fuel. Hence, the fuel pressure in a fuel passage tends to increase during use of the fuel injection device. In a fuel injection device described in Patent Document 1, a nozzle holder configuring part of a housing is press-fitted in a stationary core. The stationary core is joined by welding to the nozzle holder at a press-fitting position. The nozzle holder has a magnetic throttle part having a small thickness portion. The magnetic throttle part is press-fitted in the stationary core and is joined by welding to the stationary core.
In the fuel injection device of Patent Document 1, when the fuel pressure in a fuel passage in the device increases, a force, by which the stationary core separates from the nozzle holder in an axial direction, acts on a welded portion of the stationary core and the nozzle holder or on the thin magnetic throttle part. If the fuel pressure in the fuel passage in the device excessively increases, stress is concentrated on the welded portion of the stationary core and the nozzle holder or the magnetic throttle part, and thus the welded portion or the magnetic throttle part may be broken due to the stress concentration. If the welded portion or the magnetic throttle part is broken, the fuel in the fuel passage may leak to the outside. Consequently, the fuel injection device of Patent Document 1 is structurally difficult to inject high-pressure fuel.
In the fuel injection device of Patent Document 1, when the fuel pressure in the fuel passage in the device excessively increases, a position of the magnetic throttle part with respect to the stationary core is shifted in the axial direction, and the magnitude of magnetic attractive force, which is generated between the stationary core and the movable core, may be varied. This may reduce fuel injection accuracy.


The key collecting device comprises an upper and a lower housing each having a central base portion extending radially outwardly to form spaced spokes mutually opposite to the corresponding ones of themselves, every two of the spaced spokes opposite to each other form an operation space with the other two. The spokes have pairs of mutually opposite curved recesses mutually connected to form clamping channels for an annular ring with a notch. These housings further have a pair of mutually opposite recesses communicating with a corresponding one of the curved recesses for placing therein a slide-controlling member to be moved from outside to control closing and opening of the annular ring being movably positioned between these housings and controlled to rotate and moved into the interior of a pair of the spaced spokes opposite to each other, or to an operation space between two pairs of the mutually opposite spaced spokes. The device is more convenient for operation and its strength is increased when the annular ring is positioned.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to an annular key collecting device, and especially to an annular key collecting device making a larger operation space for mounting and detaching keys as well as increasing the entire structural strength of the annular key collecting device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Key collecting rings with two circles each made in the early stages are difficult and inconvenient in putting in and taking out keys; as a result, the key collecting devices used nowadays are mostly in the shapes of disks. Such a disk-like key collecting device basically is provided with an external peripheral groove in which at a specific position there is provided an access for keys in communication with the external peripheral groove, the access for keys can be controlled for closing or opening with a slide pin provided. By the fact that the access for keys is quite narrow, it is inconvenient generally for a finger to do a rather delicate handling action.
Thereby, some key collecting device has a rotatable ring mounted on the top end of the main body thereof, the ring is provided with a notch as an access hole for keys. The notch of the ring is moved by rotating into the main body normally to form a closing state, and can be exposed by rotating outwardly for putting in or taking out keys. However, the ring of quite a diameter and with an empty inner space extends out of the main body of the key collecting device quite roughly, this not only affects the entire esthetic appearance of the product, but also is subjected to damage by inadvertent collision.
The object of the present invention is to provide an annular key collecting device having an annular ring of a predetermined diameter, the ring is provided with a notch as an access for keys, and is positioned in a plurality of spaced curved recesses formed on an upper housing and a lower housing opposite to each other. A slide-controlling member is provided in the upper and the lower housings and has a front end at least having a width in coincident with that of the notch of the ring, the slide-controlling member normally latches the notch of the ring, and can contract to set the notch of the ring free by a force. In a preferred embodiment, the upper and the lower housings have a plurality of spaced spokes for movably clamping the annular ring, every two of the spaced spokes opposite to each other form a space for operation with the other two of the spaced spokes opposite to each other when the notch of the ring is exposed by rotating.
The present invention will be apparent after reading the detailed description of the preferred embodiments thereof in reference to the accompanying drawings.

No. 8, Lane 42, Sec. 2, Nan-Kan Road, Lou-Choo Hsiang


A supply of sheet stock material for use in a cushioning conversion machine is disclosed. The supply of stock material includes at least one ply of sheet stock material rolled or folded into a compact configuration such as a roll of wound stock material or a stack of fan-folded stock material. The ply has disposed on a leading or trailing end thereof, a pressure sensitive adhesive layer and a removable release liner covering the pressure sensitive adhesive layer. When a supply of sheet stock material is almost spent, a succeeding supply of stock material may be spliced to the almost spent supply by removing the release liner to expose the adhesive and then applying the leading or trailing end, having the adhesive thereon, to a trailing end of the almost spent supply of stock material or leading end of the succeeding supply of stock material.

The present invention relates to machines for converting sheet stock material into a dunnage product and, more particularly, to a method and stock material supply which greatly facilitates splicing of a succeeding supply of stock material to an almost spent supply of stock material.
Cushioning conversion machines convert sheet stock material from a supply thereof into a cushioning dunnage product. The sheet stock material is usually supplied in the form of a roll from which the sheet stock material is payed off for conversion by the machine into the dunnage product. When the roll is spent, a new roll is loaded in place of the spent rolland the leading end of the new roll is inserted into the machine. One way of accomplishing this is to splice the leading end of the new roll to the trailing end of an almost spent roll. When the machine is once again operated, the trailing end of the almost spent roll will pull the leading end of the new roll through the machine.
Two techniques heretofore have been used to splice a succeeding supply of stock material to an almost spent supply of stock material. One way was to use several strips of tape to attach a leading end of the succeeding supply of stock material to a trailing end of the almost spent supply of stock material. To facilitate splicing, some conversion machines were provided with a splicing plate on which the trailing end is held while the leading end is spliced thereto. Another way by which splicing has been accomplished was by spraying a liquid adhesive on the trailing end of the almost spent supply and then pressing the leading end of the succeeding supply to the adhesive covered trailing end. The adhesive functions to bond the trailing end and leading end together.
While the above methods of splicing have proven to be feasible, they are not without drawbacks. For example, if the almost spent and succeeding supplies of stock material are to be spliced by taping then the machine operator must have a supply of adhesive tape handy. Otherwise, delays in productivity may ensue. Also, the prior art taping process was somewhat tedious, particularly when multi-ply stock rolls were used as normally was the case. Additionally, if incorrectly applied, the tape may become dislodged and jam the machine or otherwise affect the converting of the stock material.
In regard to the spray adhesive, the adhesive may be oversprayed on the stock material or on parts within or in close proximity to the conversion machine. If the adhesive is sprayed on unintended areas of the stock material then the stock material may jam the conversion machine or otherwise deleteriously affect the quality of the dunnage product. Overspray on parts of the machine may affect the operation of those parts, in particular, if the parts require movement.
The inventor of the present invention appreciated a need for a supply of stock material and a means for splicing the same which would solve the above problems.
The present invention provides an improved splicing method and supply of sheet stock material which simplifies splicing a succeeding supply of stock material to an almost spent supply of stock material. According to the present invention, a supply of sheet stock material includes at least one ply of sheet stock material rolled or folded into a compact configuration, such as a roll of wound material or a stack of fan-folded material. The ply of stock material has disposed on a leading or trailing end thereof, a pressure sensitive adhesive layer and a removable release liner covering the pressure sensitive adhesive layer.
According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of converting sheet stock material into a cushioning dunnage product, comprising the steps of operating a cushioning conversion machine to produce one or more dunnage pads from a supply of sheet stock material until the supply of sheet stock material is almost spent, removing a release liner to expose a pressure sensitive adhesive layer on a leading end of a succeeding supply of sheet stock material or on the trailing end of the almost spent supply of stock material, applying the leading end of the succeeding supply of stock material to the trailing end of the almost spent supply of stock material such that the pressure sensitive adhesive layer bonds the ends together, and operating the cushioning conversion machine to produce one or more additional pads.
In an embodiment of the invention, the step of removing the release liner includes removing the leading end of the succeeding supply of stock material and the pressure sensitive adhesive thereon from an adjacent layer of the succeeding supply of stock material or removing the trailing end of the almost spent supply of stock material and the pressure sensitive adhesive thereon from an adjacent layer of the almost spent supply of stock material. The step of removing the release liner may include removing a paper strip release liner from the leading end of the succeeding supply of stock material or from the trailing end of the almost spent supply of stock material.
In an embodiment of the invention, the leading end of the succeeding supply of stock material is placed over the trailing end of the almost spent supply of stock material. Alternatively, the trailing end of the almost spent supply of stock material may be placed over the leading end of the succeeding supply of stock material. In the case of a multi ply stock material, the step of removing the release liner and the step of applying the leading end to the trailing end is repeated for each ply.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a supply of sheet stock material for use in a cushioning conversion machine. The supply of stock material includes at least one ply of sheet stock material rolled or folded into a compact configuration. The ply of sheet stock material has on a leading or trailing end thereof a pressure sensitive adhesive layer and a removable release liner covering the pressure sensitive adhesive layer.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the removable release liner comprises an adjacent layer of the sheet stock material. The adjacent portion may include on its surface facing the adhesive layer a surface treatment for permitting removal of the adhesive layer from the adjacent portion. The pressure sensitive adhesive layer and the release liner may extend substantially across the width of the ply of sheet stock material, although the adhesive layer and liner may be narrower in width than the stock material to provide tolerance in applying the adhesive layer.
In an embodiment of the invention, the pressure sensitive adhesive layer may form a plurality of adhesive layer portions. The adhesive layer portions may, for example, be transversely spaced across the width of the ply of sheet stock material to form a discontinuous strip of adhesive that extends across the width of the sheet stock material. A single release liner may be provided to cover the multiple adhesive layer portions so that, when released, it exposes all of the adhesive layer portions simultaneously. Alternatively, multiple release liners may be used to cover the respective multiple adhesive layer portions, in which case the release liners are independently released.
The pressure sensitive adhesive layer may be disposed on the outer or inner surface of the leading or trailing end of the ply of sheet stock material. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, multiple plies of stock material each have a pressure sensitive adhesive layer on a leading or trailing end thereof and respective release liners covering the same. The trailing or leading edges of the plies of sheet stock material may be coterminous or longitudinally offset from one another. The trailing or leading edges of the pressure sensitive adhesive layer may also, or alternatively be longitudinally offset from one another. In an embodiment, the trailing or leading edges of the pressure sensitive adhesive layer may be longitudinally offset from trailing or leading edges of the plies.
In an embodiment of the invention, the pressure sensitive adhesive layer forms a strip. The strip is attached to the ply on a leading or trailing end thereof. The strip enables the pressure sensitive adhesive layer feature to be retrofitted with an existing supply of stock material.
In an embodiment of the invention, the pressure sensitive adhesive layer comprises a reduced strength adhesive, enabling a release liner to be cleanly and easily removed from the adhesive layer to expose the adhesive layer, which exposed adhesive layer can then be removably adhered to the sheet stock material. Also, the adhesive layer may include separate adhesive layer portions including, for example, a permanent bond type adhesive layer where it is desired to keep the adhesive layer intact once spliced, and a reduced strength adhesive layer where it is desired to be able to easily remove and/or reposition the stock material.

Method of loading a cushioning conversion machine and sheet stock material supply useful therein


An improved climbing exercise machine which has hand grips and foot pedals mounted to reciprocating separate sliding trucks which move within a track structure, wherein the sliding trucks are connected to each other by chains for mechanically providing co-ordinated leg and arm movements that simulate a vertical climbing action in a "homolateral pattern" and a "cross crawl pattern". A change from a "homolateral pattern" to a "cross crawl pattern" is easily facilitated by a longitudinal opening provided along the center of the track structure whereby the chains linking the right handle to the right foot pedal and the left handle to the left foot pedal, respectively, are interconnected via the longitudinal opening.

The present invention relates generally to the art of machine assisted exercise and more particularly to an improved climbing exercise machine for providing coordinated leg and arm movements to simulate a vertical climbing action.
The paramount importance of physical fitness in our society has created a continuing need for improved methods for indoor exercising involving machines specifically designed to provide varied exercising movements to enhance physical fitness. This need is partially fulfilled by the existence of various types of exercising devices such as bicycle and rowing devices that are commonly used in gymnasiums, recreation centers and rehabilitation centers. Current research has established that exercising the entire body simultaneously as opposed to in a serial fashion is considered to be the most efficient and effective approach to conditioning the body. Vertical climbing is one of the few forms of exercise that simultaneously involves all the major muscle groups of the body. Climbing, employing the use of both arms and legs, is the most complete exercise, surpassing all others such as running, cycling, rowing, swimming and cross country skiing. However not many people are willing to endure the rigors and dangers associated with the actual sport of climbing.
Some known devices for mechanically emulating a climbing motion are provided with handles and foot pedals which are adapted to move relative to one another to provide the exercising motion. Such devices generally comprise vertically extending tubular frame members which typically have two elongated reciprocating support members that are connected such that movement of one support member relative to the frame member causes movement of the other support member. A handle and a foot pedal is carried by each of the support members and extends horizontally outward from opposite sides of the frame member. Thus, when a downward force is applied to the handle and foot pedal carried by one of the support members causing it to move downward, the other support member moves upwards causing the attached handle and foot pedal to be forced upwards. Such devices implement a basic climbing motion, wherein the left arm and leg move upwardly at the same rate and the right arm and leg move downwardly at the same rate, maintaining the same distance from one another to establish a continuous rhythmic climbing motion that some people perform naturally. This particular approach to vertical climbing is referred to as the "homolateral pattern". However the same device may prove to be cumbersome for other people whose instincts naturally guide them through a climbing motion which assumes a pattern, wherein the right arm and right leg extend away from one another as the left arm and left leg contract moving towards one another and vice versa. Such an approach is referred to as the "cross crawl pattern".
Exercise devices mechanically implementing the action of vertical body climbing have taken several forms. One such device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,381,958 issued to Gulland and entitled "HAND AND FOOT EXERCISING DEVICE". The type of exercising device described therein provides co-ordinated leg and arm movements simulating a climbing motion wherein the right hand and right leg extend and the left hand and left leg contract associated with the "cross-crawl pattern". This type of a device has the disadvantage that the support members are placed one behind the other so that the handles and foot pedals do not move in the same plane. This makes it difficult to emulate a climbing motion in a comfortable and natural manner. Moreover, the device does not provide for homolateral climbing, and is thus particularly uncomfortable to a large portion of the population.
Another device is referred to as the "VERSACLIMBER" exercise machine. Such a device mechanically implements the motions of vertical, total body climbing wherein a right handle and a foot pedal are attached to and extend from the right hand side of one elongated reciprocating bar and a left handle and a foot pedal are attached to and extend from the left hand side of a second elongated reciprocating bar. The reciprocating bars are arranged for side by side reciprocating movement in a direction parallel to one another. Such an arrangement, while eliminating the problem of adjacent misalignment, since the reciprocating bars are arranged in a single plane, entails the disadvantage that the right handle and foot pedal remain the same distance apart at all times as do the left handle and foot pedal, thereby limiting its use to users comfortable with the "homolateral pattern" of simulated vertical climbing.


A semiconductor component including a stack of semiconductor chips, the semiconductor chips being fixed cohesively one on top of another, is disclosed. The contact areas of the semiconductor chips are led as far as the edges of the semiconductor chips and conductor portions extend at least from an upper edge to a lower edge of the edge sides of the semiconductor chips in order to electrically connect the contact area of the stacked semiconductor chips to one another.

One embodiment of the invention relates to a semiconductor component having a stack of semiconductor chips and a method for producing the same, the semiconductor chips having contact areas which are electrically connected via conductor portions in the semiconductor chip stack.
The increasing densification particularly in hardware for data storage arrangements and data processing requires semiconductor modules that are as compact as possible in conjunction with minimal space requirement. One possibility is afforded by the stacking of semiconductor chips and/or semiconductor components to form a semiconductor module stack. However, there is an optimization problem in the fact that the components of a stacked semiconductor module have to be wired among one another in space-saving fashion. The wiring solutions known to date work with flip-chip contact connections and/or with bonding connections which have a considerable space requirement. Further connection techniques provide rewiring plates between the components to be stacked in order to solve the wiring of a chip stack, with the result that the space requirement is likewise high. What is more, conventional solutions impose boundary condition and size condition on the components to be stacked, which impedes a freely selectable wiring and the stacking of semiconductor chips of arbitrary area sizes to form semiconductor components.
For these and other reasons, there is a need for the present invention.

Semiconductor component having a stack of semiconductor chips and method for producing the same


For well plug treatment to plug an abandoned well, a well plug additive including a dry mixture of water soluble crosslinkable polymer, a crosslinking agent, and a reinforcing material of fibers and/or comminuted plant materials. The method of forming a well plug fluid includes contacting the additive with water or an aqueous solution, with a method of plugging the well further including the step of injecting the fluid into the wellbore.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to well plug additives, to well plug treatment fluids made therefrom, to methods of plugging a well. In another aspect, the present invention relates to well plug additives comprising polymer and fibers or comminuted plant materials, to well plug treatment fluids made therefrom, to methods of plugging a well using such fluids.
2. Description of the Related Art
Wells employed in the production of oil and gas are abandoned inter alia because they reach the end of their useful life or they become damaged beyond repair. State and federal regulations require that abandoned wells be plugged to protect safety and environmental interests. The well is commonly plugged by pumping Portland cement into the wellbore and curing the cement in situ.
Formulation of Portland cement in the field is largely a product of trial and error by field personnel to meet irregularities in the cementing composition and the downhole environment. Cement quality control is difficult to achieve under such conditions. As a result, Portland cement cured in situ can exhibit cracking, shrinking, or poor adhesion to wellbore tubulars. An imperfect Portland cement plug can enable undesirable fluid flow through the wellbore via leaks along or through the cement.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,730,675, issued Mar. 15, 1988 to Wygant and Sydansk note that a process was then needed which employed a plugging material having a broad range of highly controllable and predictable set-up times providing ease of operation and design at a relatively low cost. Wygant and Sydansk further noted that a process was then needed employing a substitute material for Portland cement in conventional plugging processes which forms a more effective plug and seals the wellbore indefinitely.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,730,675 proposes the use of a water soluble carboxylate crosslinking polymer along with a chromic carboxylate complex crosslinking agent in the plugging of an abandoned well, and at column 1, lines 61-63, specifically teaches away from the use of solids in the plugging fluid injected into the wellbore.
Thus, while U.S. Pat. No. 5,377,760, issued Jan. 3, 1995 to Merrill discloses addition of fibers to an aqueous solution of partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide polymer, with subsequent injection into the subterranean to improve conformance, the performance requirements of conformance improvement treatment polymers are so different from those of polymers for plugging an abandoned well, that such would not necessarily work for well plug treatment. Furthermore, Wygant and Sydansk teach away from injection a solid containing polymer into the wellbore to plug an abandoned well.
Additionally, Merrill""s conformance treatment method of mixing the fibers with the polymer solution followed by injection, requires a multiplicity of storage and mixing tanks, and a metering system which must be operated during the operation of the well. Specifically, a first tank will store a water and polymer solution, a second tank will store a water and crosslinking solution, and a third tank will be used to mix fibers with polymer solution from the first tank to create a polymer/fiber slurry. This polymer/fiber slurry is then metered from the third tank and combined with crosslinking solution metered from the second tank to the well bore.
Thus, in spite of the advancements in the prior art, there still is a need for further innovation in the well plug additives.
There is need for further innovation for well plug additives utilizing a water soluble polymer.
There is another need for a well plug additive which would allow for simplification of the mixing equipment.
These and other needs in the art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon review of this specification, including its drawings and claims.
It is an object of the present invention to provide for further innovation in well plug additives.
It is an another object of the present invention to provide for further innovation for well plug additives utilizing a water soluble polymer.
It is even another object of the present invention to provide for a well plug additive which would allow for simplification of the mixing equipment.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon review of this specification, including its drawings and claims.
According to one embodiment of the present invention there is provided a well plug additive comprising a dry mixture of water soluble crosslinkable polymer, a crosslinking agent, and a reinforcing material selected from among fibers and comminuted plant materials. In preferred embodiments, the polymer is an a carboxylate-containing polymer and the crosslinking agent is a chromic carboxylate complex. In other preferred embodiments, the reinforcing material may comprise hydrophobic fibers selected from among nylon, rayon, and hydrocarbon fibers, and/or hydrophilic fibers selected from among glass, cellulose, carbon, silicon, graphite, calcined petroleum coke, and cotton fibers. The comminuted plant material is selected from the group of comminuted plant materials of nut and seed shells or hulls of almond, brazil, cocoa bean, coconut, cotton, flax, grass, linseed, maize, millet, oat, peach, peanut, rice, rye, soybean, sunflower, walnut, and wheat; rice tips; rice straw; rice bran; crude pectate pulp; peat moss fibers; flax; cotton; cotton linters; wool; sugar cane; paper; bagasse; bamboo; corn stalks; sawdust; wood; bark; straw; cork; dehydrated vegetable matter; whole ground corn cobs; corn cob light density pith core; corn cob ground woody ring portion; corn cob chaff portion; cotton seed stems; flax stems; wheat stems; sunflower seed stems; soybean stems; maize stems; rye grass stems; millet stems; and mixtures thereof.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method of forming a well plug fluid. The method generally includes taking the above well plug additive and contacting it with water or other aqueous solution.
According to even another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method of plugging a well. The method generally includes contacting the above described well plug additive with water or an aqueous solution to form a well plug fluid. The method then includes injecting the well plug fluid into the wellbore.
These and other embodiments of the present invention will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon review of this specification and claims.

Well plug additive, well plug treatment fluid made therefrom, and method of plugging a well


A resource migration system includes a plurality of servers. A first (second) server includes a first (second) main memory and a first (second) memory data manager. The first memory data manager manages a set of first data segments formed by copying a plurality of segments of first memory data stored in the first main memory. The second memory data manager receives resource data regarding the first data segments from the first server, determines whether each first data segment is able to be replaced by any of second data segments formed by copying a plurality of segments of second memory data stored in the second main memory, receives from the first server some first data segments which have been determined to be unable to be replaced by any second data segment, and reconstructs the set of first data segments with received first data segments and some second data segments.

Conventionally, the information processing apparatus may run a plurality of virtual machines on a real machine of the information processing apparatus. The information processing apparatus may manage hardware resources and use application software for each virtual machine.
The information processing apparatus may migrate resources of one virtual machine to another virtual machine or another information processing apparatus so as to prevent centralization of load to the one virtual machine (refer to, e.g., Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2004-5113, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 9-26911, and C. Clark, et al., "Live Migration of Virtual Machines", 2nd USENIX Symposium on Networked Systems Design & Implementation (NSDI '05), pages 273-286, May 2005). FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating a conventional migration of resources. In a conventional resource migration method, all memory contents stored in a main memory of an information processing apparatus (referred to as a migration source) 4 is migrated to an information processing apparatus (referred to as a migration destination) 5, thereby reconstructing data regarding management and usage of the main memory of the migration source on the migration destination.
With conventional resource migration methods, migration time for the resources including the main memory becomes longer as amount of memory contents of the migration source becomes larger.

Resource migration system and resource migration method


Recognizing a stream of speech received as speech vectors over a lossy communications link includes constructing for a speech recognizer a series of speech vectors from packets received over a lossy packetized transmission link, wherein some of the packets associated with each speech vector are lost or corrupted during transmission. Each constructed speech vector is multi-dimensional and includes associated features. After waiting for a predetermined time, speech vectors are generated and potentially corrupted features within the speech vector are indicated to the speech recognizer when present. Speech recognition is attempted at the speech recognizer on the speech vectors when corrupted features are present. This recognition may be based only on certain or valid features within each speech vector. Retransmission of a missing or corrupted packet is requested when corrupted values are indicated by the indicating step and when the attempted recognition step fails.

Speech recognition has traditionally been performed using systems in which the transmission of speech data within the system is free of errors. However, the emergence of the Internet and of digital wireless technology has given rise to situations where this is no longer the case. In applications where speech is sampled and partially processed on one device and then packetized and transmitted over a digital network for further analysis on another, packets of speech data may be delayed, lost or corrupted during transmission.
This is a serious problem for current speech recognition technologies, which require data to be present even if it has additive noise. Existing Internet protocols for error free data transmission such as TM? are not suitable for interactive ASR ("Automatic Speech Recognition") systems, as the retry mechanisms introduce variable and unpredictably long delays into the system under poor network conditions. In another approach, real time delivery of data packets is attempted, ignoring missing data in order to avoid introducing delays in transmission. This is catastrophic for current recognition algorithms as stated above.
It would be desirable to have a class of recognition algorithms and transmission protocols intermediate the conventional protocols which are able to operate robustly and with minimal delays or incomplete speech data under poor network conditions. Ideally, the protocol would have a mechanism by which loss and delay may be traded off, either in a fixed manner or dynamically, in order to optimize speech recognition over lossy digital networks, for example in a client-server environment.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Timing of speech recognition over lossy transmission systems


The present invention is an apparatus for forming a fabric for an architectural opening covering. The apparatus comprises a joining section, an accumulator, a cutting station, and a stacker. The joining section is configured to join together first, second, third and fourth material strips into a fabric strip. The accumulator is configured to accumulate the fabric strip upon leaving the joining section. The cutting station is configured to sever the fabric strip into an upstream fabric strip and a first downstream fabric strip. The stacker is configured to join the first downstream fabric strip with a second downstream fabric strip to form the fabric.

Coverings for architectural openings such as windows, doors, archways, and the like, have taken numerous forms over a long period of time. Coverings might simply constitute a fabric draped across a rod or other support in a permanent position, but more popular coverings constitute retractable shades, fabrics, or the like.
A popular covering used in architectural openings is a Venetian blind wherein a plurality of horizontally disposed slats are supported on tape or cord ladders so they can be rotated about their longitudinal axes between open and closed positions or retracted and extended across the opening in retracted and extended positions. Vertical blinds are similar to Venetian blinds except the slats extend vertically rather than horizontally. More recently, cellular shades have become very popular, as they are not only aesthetically attractive but also insulative. Numerous forms of cellular shades have recently been developed and this has led to more interest in retractable fabric shades such as of the Roman Shade variety.
A variation of a Roman shade is disclosed in International Patent Application PCT/US2004/043043, which is of common ownership with the present application, was filed internationally Dec. 21, 2004, is entitled "Retractable Shade For Coverings For Architectural Openings" and is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. In that application, the covering for an architectural opening includes a fabric formed from a plurality of rigid or semi-rigid elongated slats or vane strips of arcuate transverse cross-section that are supported on a flexible support structure and suspended in an architectural opening for movement between extended and retracted positions.
In the extended position, the slats or vanes slightly overlap each other while presenting a multi-curved sheet-like appearance. In a retracted position, the slats or vanes are gathered on their supporting structure adjacent a head rail for the covering along the top of the architectural opening. The slats or vanes can be supported on various support structures which might be, by way of example, a sheet of sheer fabric, a plurality of vertically extended cords or micro fibers, or interconnected strips of flexible material (e.g., webbing) allowing the slats to hang or droop downwardly in a generally vertical plane.
There is a need in the art for an apparatus for forming the fabric used in the aforementioned covering. There is also a need in the art for a process of forming the fabric used in the aforementioned covering.

Apparatus and method for making fabric for coverings for architectural openings


The present invention is related to an image acquisition/output apparatus and a picture system for ophthalmic operation using the same. The picture system for ophthalmic operation according to the present invention includes a near-infrared microscope for irradiating an affect part through an objective lens with near-infrared ray emitted from a light source, and transmitting near-infrared images formed by the objective lens to a first and a second ocular lenses, an image acquisition apparatus for converting near-infrared images transmitted to the first and the second ocular lenses into a first and a second electrical image signals for output, and a display apparatus for receiving the first and the second image signals and outputting them in three-dimensional images.

In general, ophthalmic operations mean eyesight correction surgeries such as lasik, lasek, wavefront and excimer laser, and eye disease treatments such as operations on cataract and glaucoma.
For such ophthalmic operation, high precision and accuracy are required, since it is an important operation to treat human eyes and the size of an affected part is relatively small.
Accordingly, during this ophthalmic operation, there should be provided a picture system for ophthalmic operation to keep observation closely on the affected part and the progress made by the operation, and a microscope for ophthalmic operation is widely used among such microscope systems for ophthalmic operation.
FIG. 1 shows a microscope for ophthalmic operation according to the prior art.
As shown in FIG. 1, the microscope for ophthalmic operation comprises a light source 2, an optical cable 3 for guiding visible light that is emitted from the light source 2 and irradiating it to an affected part 20, an objective lens 4 for magnifying the affected part 20, and an ocular lens 5 for seeing the affected part 20 that is magnified by the objective lens 4 with the naked eye.
Visible light that is emitted from light source 2 is guided by optical cable 3 to be irradiated to the affected part 20, and the operator performs operation while observing the affected part 20 that is magnified by objective lens 4 through ocular lens 5.
However, there are several problems in this type of conventional microscope for ophthalmic operation as described in the following.
First, conventional microscope for ophthalmic operation uses visible light that is emitted from halogen light source as the illumination means to illuminate the affected part 20, but it has a problem in that the visible light may cause damage to the eye system, namely, the affected part 20, and long recovery time is required even when the operation has been finished.
In other words, in case where such visible light is used while performing ophthalmic operation, it may cause damage to the eyeball system, particularly to the retina. Thus, medical reports reveal that the incidence of retinal damages due to visible light from the microscope during operation actually occupies approximately 7˜28% of ophthalmic operations that have been conducted until now.
Furthermore, visible light being exposed brightly during operation may cause the patient to lose the sight for some time even when the operation has been finished, and therefore long recovery time is required. This could be compared to the case when a person feels it difficult to see if one looks at the upper beam from a vehicle for a long time and then sees another object.
Second, there is a problem in conventional microscope for ophthalmic operation that an operation is inconvenient and the progress made cannot be examined simultaneously by a plurality of surgeons, since an image of affected part 20 being obtained during the operation should be directly examined by the operator through ocular lens 5.
Moreover, even if an image of affected part 20 is displayed with a monitor, the image of the affected part 20 is merely displayed in two dimensions, thus lacking the real picture, and also there is a problem that it may cause difficulties in the operation for an operator lacking practical experience in ophthalmic operations with such a monitor.

Image acquisition/output apparatus and ophthalmology picture system using the same


The present invention relates to formulations for cleaning hard surfaces and leaving a glossy, streak-free finish thereon, the formulations comprising one or more liquid solvents, one or more film-forming polymers and one or more polymer surfactants comprising polymerized units derived from ethylene oxide and butylenes oxide.

Hard surfaces such as floors, counters, walls, tables, and other things made of laminate, ceramic, and plastic materials need to be cleaned periodically of accumulated dirt, oil, grease, and other contaminants. The appearance of such hard surfaces after cleaning is very important to consumers. More particularly, not only must hard surface cleaning formulations provide a clean surface, but the cleaned surface should also be visually appealing, which typically means having a glossy or shiny appearance. Most importantly, the shiny appearance must be free of streaking or surface anomalies that detract from the glossy appearance. Industry has worked to develop hard surface cleaning formulations which provide good shine performance with no streaking.
For example, it is known that the use of polymer surfactants which comprise ethylene oxide and propylene oxide in hard surface cleaning formulations provide good cleaning results. Tokkai 2004-107586 (Tokugan 2002-275634) describes floor polish formulations containing polymer surfactants which include units derived from ethylene oxide (EO) and propylene oxide (PO) units and which were developed to replace tributoxy ethyl phosphate compounds as leveling agents for floor polish formulations. The OE-PO-based surfactants used in the floor polish formulations of Tokkai 2004-107586 provide some gloss, but result in streaking on the cleaned surfaces.
United States Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0152425 describes coating formulations comprising water insoluble polymers with acid functional residues, as well as one more leveling agents, also comprising EO and PO, and having the following formula:R—O—(—CH2—CH2—CH2—O—)x—(—CH2—CH2—O—)y—H
where x=0.5 to 10, y=2 to 20, and R is a mixture of two or more linear alkyl moieties having an even number of carbon atoms between 4 and 20. The coating formulations described in US2011/0152425 also fail to provide streak-free coatings on cleaned hard surfaces.
Industry would welcome cleaning formulations for application to hard surfaces that provide clean, smooth, streak-free surfaces. It is important that such cleaning formulations spread evenly when applied to hard surfaces. It is also desirable that the cleaning formulations are clear and remain stable during storage.

Streak-free formulations for cleaning and coating hard surfaces


To judge whether there is roaming, a computer is caused to perform a position information acquisition procedure to acquire position information of the computer, a connection carrier information acquisition procedure to acquire connection carrier identification information for identifying a communication carrier of a communication network to which the computer is connected at the position where the position information was acquired, and a log information generation procedure to generate log information in which the position information and the connection carrier identification information are associated with each other.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a program and an information processing apparatus.
2. Related Art
A method is known for using a wireless communication terminal such as a mobile phone to measure line speed of a mobile communication network, such as shown in Patent Document 1, for example.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2003-249887
In recent years, due to cooperation among communication carriers, roaming service has come into use to provide the same service received when a terminal is located within a service area of the communication carrier of a user with whom the user has a contract even when this terminal of the user is located outside of the service area. However, there is no known method for efficiently acquiring a geographical distribution of information relating to roaming.

Program and information processing apparatus


A rotor of an induction machine includes a rotor core structure and a cage winding. The cage winding includes rotor bars in slots of the rotor core structure and end-rings connected to ends of the rotor bars. The ends of the rotor bars are attached to openings of the end-rings by expansion of the ends of the rotor bars in transverse directions of the rotor bars caused by axial press having been directed to the ends of the rotor bars. The material of the rotor bars is softer than the material of the end-rings. Thus, unwanted shape deformation of the end-rings can be avoided when the ends of the rotor bars are axially pressed. The material of the end-rings can be for example copper alloy with additions of chrome and zirconium, whereas the material of the rotor bars can be for example copper.

Rotating electric machines, such as motors and generators, generally comprise a stator and a rotor which are arranged so that a magnetic flux is developed between these two. A rotor of an induction machine comprises typically a rotor core structure, a shaft, and a cage winding. The cage winding comprises rotor bars and end-rings. The rotor bars are located in slots of the rotor core structure. The end-rings are connected to the ends of the rotor bars at the end-regions of the rotor core structure. The rotor core structure is typically a laminated structure composed of ferromagnetic steel sheets which are electrically insulated from each other and which are stacked in the axial direction of the rotor. However, especially in many high-speed induction machines, a rotor core structure is made of solid steel. The rotor core structure made of solid steel may constitute, together with the shaft of the rotor, a single piece of solid steel.
In many induction machines, the rotor bars and the end-rings are manufactured as separate pieces of electrically conductive material and the end-rings are attached to the ends of the rotor bars with electrically conductive joints. The material of the rotor bars and of the end-rings can be for example copper or aluminum. The rotor bars can be attached to the end-rings for example by soldering, welding, brazing, or pressing the ends of the rotor bars axially to expand the ends of the rotor bars in transverse directions to form tight fits with walls of openings of the end-rings through which the rotor bars are protruding. The above-mentioned attachment methods are not free from challenges caused by e.g. temperature variations and mechanical vibrations. Furthermore, a fit between the rotor bars and the slots of the rotor core structure needs to have a clearance to allow assembly. During operation, the rotor bars may move outwards on the rotor, depending on the rotational speed. Movement of the rotor bars will affect the balance of the rotor and possibly lead to increased mechanical vibration and damages to machinery.

Rotor of an induction machine and a method for assembling a cage winding of the rotor


A method of handling a first random access procedure on a Primary Cell (PCell) for a mobile device when a second random access procedure on a Secondary Cell (SCell) is ongoing or is about to start is disclosed. The method comprises selectively initiating the first random access procedure on the PCell according to a result of the second random access procedure after the mobile device completes the second random access procedure on the SCell, wherein the first random access procedure is triggered by a pending scheduling request of the mobile device and the second random access procedure is triggered by need of synchronization on the SCell.

1. Field of the Invention
The application relates to a method in a wireless communication system, and more particularly, to a method of handling a random access procedure on a Primary Cell for a mobile device when a random access procedure on a Secondary Cell is ongoing or about to start.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A long-term evolution (LTE) system, initiated by the third generation partnership project (3GPP), is now being regarded as a new radio interface and radio network architecture that provides a high data rate, low latency, packet optimization, and improved system capacity and coverage. In the LTE system, a radio access network known as an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) includes a plurality of evolved Node-Bs (eNBs) for communicating with a plurality of user equipments (UEs) and communicates with a core network including a mobility management entity (MME), serving gateway, etc for NAS (Non Access Stratum) control.
A long term evolution-advanced (LTE-A) system, as its name implies, is an evolution of the LTE system, considering relaying for cost-effective throughput enhancement and coverage extension. For example, a relay can be deployed at the cell edge where the eNB is unable to provide required radio quality/throughput for the UEs or at certain location where radio signals of the eNB cannot cover. The LTE-A system can support a wider bandwidth up to 100 MHz to satisfy requirement for peak data rate. Carrier aggregation (CA) where two or more component carriers are aggregated is employed for the LTE-A system to achieve wider-band transmission. An LTE-A specification supports carrier aggregation for both continuous and non-continuous component carrier (CC) with each component carrier limited to a maximum of 110 resource blocks. The carrier aggregation increases spectrum flexibility by aggregating the component carriers in the different frequency band (non-continuous spectrum).
When CA is configured, the UE only has one RRC connection with the network. At RRC connection establishment/re-establishment, one serving cell provides the security input (one ECGI, one PCI and one ARFCN) and the NAS mobility information (e.g. TAI). This cell is referred to as the Primary Cell (PCell). Depending on UE capabilities, Secondary Cells (SCells) can be configured to form together with the PCell a set of serving cells. The configured set of serving cells for a UE always consists of one PCell and one or more SCells.
A UE shall not perform any uplink transmission except the Random Access (RA) Preamble transmission if its uplink transmission timing is unsynchronized. A Random Access procedure is used to achieve uplink time synchronization for a UE which either has not yet acquired, or has lost, its uplink synchronization. The random access procedure comes in two forms, contention-based or non contention-based. In a contention-based random access procedure, a random access preamble signature is randomly chosen by the UE, with the result that it is possible for more than one UE simultaneously to transmit the same signature, leading to a need for a subsequent contention resolution process. Contention Resolution is based on either C-RNTI on PDCCH of the PCell or UE Contention Resolution Identity on a downlink share channel (DL-SCH). For the non contention-based random access procedure, the eNodeB has the option of preventing contention from occurring by allocating a dedicated signature to a UE, resulting in contention free access.
FIGS. 1A and 1B are diagrams showing two kinds of random access procedures in the prior art. As seen in FIG. 1A, the three steps of non-contention based random access procedures are: random access preamble assignment via dedicated signaling in downlink; random access preamble on random access channel in uplink; random access response on downlink shared channel (DL-SCH). The E-UTRAN needs to transmit an RA response (RAR) corresponding to the RA preamble to the UE. A MAC RAR usually consists of three fields: TA Command (Timing Advance Command)/UL Grant/Temporary C-RNTI. In FIG. 1B, the four steps of the contention based random access procedures are: random access Preamble on RACH in uplink; random access response generated by eNB on DL-SCH; first scheduled uplink transmission on uplink shared channel (UL-SCH); Contention Resolution on downlink. The UE can perform either contention-based or non contention-based random access procedure on PCell, but the UE can only perform non contention-based random access procedure on SCell.
So far, the UE does not need to support parallel random access procedures in order to avoid increasing the complexity in the UE implementation. However, if a random access procedure on a SCell triggered by need of SCell synchronization (e.g. triggered by a PDCCH order received on the SCell or on a scheduling cell of the SCell) is ongoing or is about to start, meanwhile, the UE also tries to initiate random access procedure on a PCell triggered by SR. In some situations, the UE may trigger an SR. When an SR is triggered, it shall be considered as pending until it is cancelled. As long as one SR is pending, for each transmission time interval (TTI), if the UE has no available uplink share channel (UL-SCH) resources in this TTI and the UE has no valid PUCCH resource for SR in any TTI, the UE will initiate a random access procedure and cancel all pending SRs. All pending SR(s) shall be cancelled when a MAC protocol data unit (PDU) is assembled and this PDU includes a buffer status report (BSR) which contains buffer status up to (and including) the last event that triggered a BSR, or when the UL grant(s) can accommodate all pending data available for transmission. Similarly, the UE may be requested by an eNB to perform a random access procedure during initiating another random access procedure on a PCell triggered by SR. In above cases, the UE will perform parallel random access procedures.

Method of handling random access procedure on primary cell when random access procedure on secondary cell is ongoing or about to start


Embodiments relate to a computer-implemented method of providing a transition between first and second regions within a virtual scene, where the first and second regions are rendered using different methods and being connected to one another along a border line. The second region features a sharply diminishing illumination from the border line. The method includes adding, an overlay of additional illumination to the first region as to make the illumination in portions of the first region that are close to the borderline similar to that of portions of the second region that are close to the border line. The method also includes shifting a position on which calculation of the illumination of the second region is based away from the first region.

1. Field
This application relates to the electronic rendering of images and movies in general and more specifically to the shading of translucent objects.
2. Related Art
Computer graphics are used in various fields, such as animation, computer games, etc. An important goal of computer graphics is the ability to generate virtual images that are realistic and/or esthetic. A major impediment to reaching this goal is the inherent computational limitations of existing computer systems.
More specifically, lighting continues to pose challenges in the field of computer graphics. Naturally, light is an important factor in how one perceives an image. An observer (e.g., a human eye or a camera) perceives an object by detecting light reflected from that object (in other cases the light may be passing (or transmitted) through the object or be refracted by the object instead). The light detected from an object may be classified in two types. Direct light is light that travels directly from a light source to the object and to the observer. Indirect light is light that does not travel directly from a light source to the object. For example, indirect light may be light that is reflected from another object before it reaches the object being observed. Alternatively, indirect light may be light that goes through a translucent object before reaching the object being observed.
In the real world, much of the light that we use to perceive the world around us is indirect light. Thus, we can usually see objects that are not directly exposed to a particular light source. For example, in a bright day, a room with a window is usually well-illuminated even if the sun does not directly shine through the window, because the sun's rays reflect from the surrounding scenery and pass through the window, thus illuminating the room.
Considering the above, a perfect computer graphics system would be able to track indirect light to ensure realistic illumination of objects. Unfortunately, for most situations, such a system would be impractical as it would require a very large amount of computing resources. In order to account for indirect light, one has to trace each light ray (or photon) from a light source and off of all objects from which it reflects (this is sometimes referred to as ray tracing). Considering the incredibly large number of light rays illuminating a scene, and the complex paths each light ray may take when being reflected of various objects in a scene, this is not practical.
For the above reasons, many current computer graphics systems are direct light systems. In other words, they usually only take into account light going directly from a light source to an observed object when calculating how that object should be displayed. While using a direct light system significantly reduces computational costs, these systems may, in certain situations, create images that are very unrealistic.
For example, direct light systems do not correctly render translucent objects, without further modifications. A translucent object is an object which allows light to pass through it and modifies the light as it passes through it. Thus, seeing a translucent object usually involves seeing at least some of the light that passes through the object. However, light that passes through an object is not considered direct light by the standard direct light models and is thus not rendered by systems employing these models. In other words, systems utilizing standard direct light models usually render translucent objects as being completely opaque. This is naturally undesirable.
Some direct light systems render translucent objects by performing some type of ray tracing for these objects. Thus, these direct light systems depart from the direct light model when rendering translucent objects, in order to correctly convey the translucency of these objects. This is done under the assumption that translucent objects are relatively rare, therefore the additional computational requirements for performing ray tracing for these objects would not be too high. However this method cannot be efficiently employed in scenes in which large numbers of translucent objects exist.
While the above discussion centers on the desirability of realism in computer graphics, it should be noted that in many cases realism need not be the over-riding goal of a computer graphics system. It is well accepted that an image created by a talented artist may be much more compelling than the real image the artist based his composition on. Many computer graphics systems are used to assist artists in creating images or video. Thus, while realism is always a desirable quality of a computer graphics system it is also often desirable that the system offer sufficient artistic control as to allow an artist to create compelling visuals even if these visuals are not strictly realistic.
What is needed is a scheme for rendering translucent objects that does not impose very high computational requirements, even if comparatively large numbers of translucent objects have to be rendered. Also needed is a system that renders translucent objects while providing an artist with sufficient artistic control.

Transitioning between shading regions on an object


A continuous tool rotation tool turret is comprised of a turret head, a plurality of spindles and a motor. The spindles are attached to the turret head. Each spindle is adapted to secure and rotate a cutting tool. The motor simultaneously rotates each spindle. The spindles rotate at an operational speed while the turret head is being indexed. A bevel gear operationally connected to the motor simultaneously rotates a bevel gear attached to each spindle. Air pressure separates the turret head from its rest surface during indexing. The turret head rotates around a manifold which supplies coolant and pressurized air to the turret head. Optionally, a mating wedge and wedge receptacle attached to the turret head and its housing provide for more precise indexing of the turret head. The continuous tool rotation minimizes the time needed to index the turret from one position to another.

Many automated machine tools use indexing tool turrets for machining work pieces. The tool turrets contain a plurality of cutting tools. The cutting tools are positioned upon the tool turret such that only one tool is in an operational position at a time. The remaining tools do not interfere with the machining operation. After a machining operation (or operations) is performed by the first tool, the tool turret is rotated or indexed to bring a second cutting tool into an operational position. The objective is to perform a series of machining operations upon a workpiece with a plurality of cutting tools in a minimal time period. In prior art tool turrets only the operational cutting tool rotates. The cutting tools on the tool turret which are not involved in that machining operation do not rotate. Thus, one of the steps involved in indexing the tool turret from one position to another involves stopping rotation of the operational cutting tool, indexing the second cutting tool into an operational position and bringing the second cutting tool up to an operating rotational speed. One of the objectives of an automated machine tool using a tool turret is to produce machined finished work pieces as quickly as possible with minimal wear and tear upon the machine parts. A significant time delay accompanies prior art tool turrets because of the time needed to start and stop the cutting tools between tool turret indexings. Additionally, the starting and stopping of the cutting tools causes unnecessary wear and tear upon the machine parts. What is needed is a tool turret having a plurality of spindles attached to cutting tools wherein the tools continuously rotate and thereby avoid the rotation start and rotation stop time delays. Also needed is a tool turret with minimal friction between the tool turret and the surface upon which it rests. This will provide for more precise positioning of the tool turret, the need for less energy to rotate the tool turret and less wear upon the tool turret and the surface upon which it rests. Additional desirable features of an improved tool turret include the supplying of coolant and pressurized air to the tool turret and more precise positioning of the tool turret. The coolant will allow turret spindles to rotate at a higher speed and lower temperature with less wear. The pressurized air can be used to prevent contaminants from entering areas between moving parts of the tool turret and to remove contaminants which have entered such areas. The continuous tool rotation tool turret described herein meets these needs.