A hydraulic retarder and control composed of an accumulator, for rapid filling of the retarder; a pulse valve, for controlling fluid flow to and from the accumulator; a regulator valve, for limiting the inlet pressure to the retarder; and a pair of check valves, for preventing fluid flow from the retarder to a pressure source and from the retarder to the accumulator. The pulse valve is controllable to provide rapid filling of the retarder, while the regulator valve will direct fluid from a secondary source to the retarder and control the pressure at the retarder inlet. The accumulator is filled from the main pressure source, between retard requests, at a rate that does not disturb the main transmission pressure level. One of the check valves and the pulse valve prevent the fluid in the accumulator from returning to the system other than when a retard request is present.

This invention relates to hydraulic retarders and controls therefore, and more particularly, to controls for filling an accumulator while the retarder is operative or inoperative, for preventing fluid reduction in the accumulator between retard requests, and for limiting the inlet pressure at the retarder.
The prior art hydraulic retarder and control mechanisms utilize an accumulator and a friction device simultaneously. The friction device initiates retardation, thereby compensating for the fill time required to dump the accumulator to the retarder. These devices permit uncontrolled fluid flow from the accumulator to the retarder, and therefore, substantially empty the accumulator with each retard operation, thereby requiring that the accumulator be completely refilled between retard operations. As a general rule, to accommodate the accumulator dumping and filling process, the displacement of the control pump for the transmission is increased.
As an alternative, retarder systems have employed a secondary pump, generally driven by the transmission output to provide pressure for the retarder and refilling of the accumulator. The secondary pump is usually in continuous flow with the retarder during the retarding operation. In either event, the requirement of increased oil supply from the control pump reduces the overall efficiency of the transmission. Also, due to the time lag between retard request and retard operation, a friction device is necessary for complete retarder control. This, of course, adds to the overall cost and complexity of the hydraulic retarder.


A conveyor system for transitioning articles between an external intermittent conveyor and an external continuous conveyor system includes an upper conveyor and lower conveyor. Each conveyor includes an infeed arm movable toward and away from the intermittent conveyor. Each infeed arm defines an infeed end that is movable along a common arc and rotatable about a common pivot point. With the infeed ends traveling along a common arc, each infeed end is easily moved to the same optimal receiving position for receiving articles from the intermittent conveyor. Each conveyor may switch between a continuous mode, wherein articles are continuously discharged onto the continuous conveyor, and an intermittent mode, wherein articles are intermittently received from the intermittent conveyor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to conveyor systems and more specifically to apparatuses and methods for transferring product from a press to an oven.
2. Description of Prior Art and Related Information
To mass produce food products which require flattening and heating, food assembly lines are often provided with a press and an oven. For example, flour tortillas are made from dough balls which are carried through a press. Since a press commonly consists of plates which compress against the food products on a conveyor belt, the conveyor of the press travels in an intermittent mode. This stop-and-go motion allows for plates of the press to come together to flatten the products when the belt is stationary, and then for the flattened products to be transported to the oven while a new batch of dough balls are carried in.
Conveyors in ovens, however, travel in a continuous fashion. Furthermore, continuous conveyors in ovens travel at a constant speed which is generally slower than the maximum speeds reached by intermittent conveyors. An intermittent press conveyor cannot be directly linked to a continuous oven conveyor without overloading food product onto the continuous oven conveyor. Therefore, a discharge system is generally required for transitioning food products from the intermittent conveyor of the press to the continuous conveyor of the oven.
A common discharge system includes a conveyor having both an intermittent and continuous mode of motion. The discharge conveyor travels in the intermittent mode when receiving a batch of product from the press, and then in the continuous mode when discharging the batch onto the oven conveyor. Since the discharge conveyor cannot switch back to the intermittent mode until the carried batch is entirely transitioned onto the oven conveyor, the discharge conveyor is thus precluded from receiving any new batch until the old batch is unloaded. This results in gaps along the oven conveyor, leading to suboptimal efficiency.
The prior art includes a discharge system with two conveyors. Each conveyor includes an infeed arm adapted to receive product from the press, and an outfeed arm adapted to discharge product onto the oven conveyor. Each infeed arm in the prior art system is independently pivotal, with the infeed end of each infeed arm traveling in its own arc. With each infeed arm traveling in its own arc, a greater degree of complexity is involved in configuring the system such that the arms are movable to the optimal position adjacent to the press conveyor for receiving product.
The prior art discharge system usually requires one infeed arm to be substantially longer than the other in order for it to reach the press conveyor. Even with such differing lengths, however, it is difficult for both the infeed arms to travel to the optimal position for receiving product, which position is generally a fraction of an inch in front and a fraction of an inch below the outfeed end of the press conveyor. Such misalignment results in various problems. The products may become deformed as while being transferred to infeed arms of the discharge system.
Furthermore, another major disadvantage with the prior art system lies in the complexity caused by the independent pivoting motion of each infeed arm. With each independently pivoting infeed arm traveling in its own arc, the prior art system requires a great degree of calculation in attempting to design both infeed arms to travel to the optimal receiving position. With the dimensions of the infeed arms being large while the optimal receiving position is precise, any slight miscalculation can lead to a defective system which may require expensive and time consuming adjustments.
The present invention provides structures and methods which overcome the deficiencies in the prior art.
As used herein, words such as xe2x80x9cfrontxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9crearxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cinfeedxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9coutfeedxe2x80x9d are used to describe directions referring to the direction in which a product travels, namely, from an intermittent conveyor to a continuous conveyor. Thus, the xe2x80x9cfrontxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9coutfeedxe2x80x9d direction is toward the continuous conveyor and away from the intermittent conveyor. In contradistinction, xe2x80x9cinfeedxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9crearxe2x80x9d refer to a direction toward the intermittent conveyor and away from the continuous conveyor.
In one aspect, a discharge conveyor system is provided for use in transitioning product from a first conveyor to a second conveyor having different modes of movement. The discharge conveyor system comprises a first infeed arm having a first input end and a second infeed arm having a second input end. The first input end and the second input end are movable along a substantially common arc. The first infeed arm comprises a first output end, and the second infeed arm comprises a second output end. The system further comprises a fulcrum to which the first infeed arm and second infeed arm are coupled, the first output end and the second output end being rotatable about the fulcrum.
The system further comprises a first arcuate guide disposed above the fulcrum and a second arcuate guide disposed below the fulcrum. The first infeed arm comprises a first follower configured to travel along the first arcuate guide. The second output arm comprises a second follower configured to travel along the second arcuate guide. The system further comprises a sidewall. The first arcuate guide comprises a first arcuate slot defined on the sidewall, and the second arcuate guide comprises a second arcuate slot defined on the sidewall. A lifting mechanism is coupled to the first input end and the second input end. The system further comprises a first output arm adjacent to the first infeed arm and a second output arm adjacent to the second infeed arm.
In another aspect, a food processing system is provided. The food processing system comprises a press with an intermittent conveyor, an oven with a continuous conveyor, and a discharge system disposed between the press and the oven. The discharge system comprises a first infeed arm with a first input end and a second infeed arm with a second input end. The first infeed arm is movable between a first near position adjacent to the intermittent conveyor and a first far position away from the intermittent conveyor. The second infeed arm is movable between a second near position adjacent to the intermittent conveyor and a second far position away from the intermittent conveyor. The first input end and the second input end are movable along a substantially common arc.
The discharge system further comprises a first outfeed arm disposed between the first infeed arm and the continuous conveyor, and a second outfeed arm disposed between the second infeed arm and the continuous conveyor. The first infeed arm comprises a first output end that is movable between a first forward position when the first infeed arm is in the first far position, and a first rearward position when the first infeed arm is in the first near position. The second infeed arm comprises a first output end that is movable between a second forward position when the second infeed arm is in the second far position and a second rearward position when the second infeed arm is in the second near position.
A method is provided for transporting food product from a press to an oven. The method comprises moving a first infeed end of a first infeed conveyor along an arc toward the press, receiving a first batch of food product from a press conveyor with a first infeed conveyor, moving the first infeed end along the arc away from the press, discharging the first batch of food product onto an oven conveyor, moving a second infeed end of a second infeed conveyor along the arc toward the press, receiving a second batch of food product from the press conveyor with a second infeed conveyor, moving the second infeed end along the arc away from the press, and discharging the second batch of food product onto the oven conveyor.
The step of receiving a first batch of food product from a press conveyor with a first infeed conveyor comprises the step of intermittently receiving the first batch of food product with the first infeed conveyor. The step of receiving a second batch of food product from a press conveyor with a second infeed conveyor comprises the step of intermittently receiving the second batch of food product with the second infeed conveyor. The step of discharging the first batch of food product onto an oven conveyor comprises the step of continuously discharging the first batch of food product onto the oven conveyor. The step of discharging the second batch of food product onto an oven conveyor comprises the step of continuously discharging the second batch of food product onto the oven conveyor. The step of moving a first infeed end of a first infeed conveyor along an arc toward the press may occur simultaneously with the step of moving the second infeed end along the arc away from the press. The step of moving a second infeed end of a second infeed conveyor,along the arc toward the press and the step of moving the first infeed end along the arc away from the press may also occur simultaneously. The step of discharging the first batch of food product onto an oven conveyor and the step of receiving a second batch of food product from the press conveyor with a second infeed conveyor may occur simultaneously.
A method is also provided for transporting product from an intermittent conveyor to a continuous conveyor. The method comprises providing a first conveyor with a first infeed arm and a first infeed end, providing a second conveyor with a second infeed arm and a second infeed end, rotating the first infeed end about a fulcrum to move the first infeed end toward and away from the intermittent conveyor, rotating the second infeed end about the fulcrum to move the first infeed end toward and away from the intermittent conveyor, intermittently receiving a first batch of product from the intermittent conveyor with the first conveyor, continuously discharging the first batch of product onto the continuous conveyor, intermittently receiving a second batch of product from the intermittent conveyor with the second conveyor, and continuously discharging the second batch of product onto the continuous conveyor.
The method further comprises the step of coupling the first infeed end to the second infeed end such that moving the first infeed end toward the intermittent conveyor moves the second infeed end away from the intermittent conveyor and moving the second infeed conveyor toward the intermittent conveyor moves the first infeed conveyor away from the conveyor.
In summary, a conveyor system for transitioning articles between an external intermittent conveyor and an external continuous conveyor system includes an upper conveyor and lower conveyor. Each conveyor includes an infeed arm movable toward and away from the intermittent conveyor. Each infeed arm defines an infeed end that is movable along a common arc and rotatable about a common pivot point. With the infeed ends traveling along a common arc, each infeed end is easily moved to the same optimal receiving position for receiving articles from the intermittent conveyor. Each conveyor may switch between a continuous mode, wherein articles are continuously discharged onto the continuous conveyor, and an intermittent mode, wherein articles are intermittently received from the intermittent conveyor.
The invention, now having been briefly summarized, may be better appreciated by the following detailed description.


A constant temperature outlet structure is disclosed. A wall is disposed inside a housing of the constant temperature outlet structure. A cavity and an outlet pipeline are separated by the wall. A hose joint is disposed on the wall. A first hole of the housing is disposed corresponding to the outlet pipeline and a second hole is disposed at the wall. Two ends of the second hole are respectively connecting the cavity and the first hole. Thereby, the electroplating solution accumulated in the cavity surrounding the hose joint can be flowed downwardly from the second hole, through the first hole, and then discharged when the constant temperature outlet structure is slantwise hanged.

The traditional faucet is generally made by Cu or Zn because Cu and Zn are easily rusted while coming into contact with water. To keep the quality of water and extend the life time of the faucet, the components of the faucet are generally electroplated.
Please refer to FIG. 1, a constant temperature outlet 1 of the faucet comprises a housing 11 having a cavity 12 thereinside. The housing 11 are generally a streamline form having an end with larger caliber and the other end with smaller caliber. A wall 13 is disposed inside the end with small caliber and used for separating the cavity 12. A hose joint 14 is disposed on the wall 13 to connect a hose (not shown) for providing water. An outlet pipeline 15 is disposed at the other side of the wall 13 for discharging water. A first hole 16 is disposed at the housing 11 corresponding to the outlet pipeline 15 for providing a pull rod (not shown) with open/close functions to be passed through. In addition, a lug 17 is disposed at inner surface of the housing 11.
Please refer to FIG. 2, the lug 17 is hooked by a hanger 2 while electroplating the constant temperature outlet 1, so that the downward end of the pipeline 15 is immersed in the electroplating solution 30 of the electroplating tank 3 to perform the electroplating process.
After finishing electroplating process, the hanger 2 is raised and the constant temperature outlet 1 is lifted to leave the electroplating solution. Meanwhile, the electroplating solution remained at the cavity 12 and the pipeline outlet 15 is discharged downwardly, but a trough-shaped space (shown as FIG. 3) is formed by the wall 13 and the hose joint 14 and the accumulated electroplating solution will be passed to the follow-up process to contaminate the electroplating chemicals of the follow-up process and further to effect the yield rate. Moreover, each constant temperature outlet 1 takes 15˜20 ml of electroplating solution away. The loss of the electroplating solution results in the imbalance of the electroplating solution 30 in the electroplating tank 3 and needs to supplement additional main salt to keep balance that will increase additional costs. The taken-away electroplating solution will make the sewage treatment much harder and increase the treatment cost, and further increase the total costs.
After patent search, the issued utility model patent CN2384071Y has been disclosed a water outlet body for a water tap, which comprises casing. The inner part of the casing is provided with a downward, expanded and hollow pipeline zone, and a water pipe joint is arranged in the pipeline zone. A water outlet zone is formed on the upper side of the water pipe joint, and the adjacent side of the water outlet zone is a movable sheet installing zone of a switch. The utility model is characterized in that the point on the casing adjacent to the water pipe joint is provided with at least one through air exhausting hole, the air squeezed by electric base solutions is discharged on the solution face, and the whole is completely electroplated. But the through air exhausting hole is radially passed through the casing. If it is used for the constant temperature outlet hanged slantwise as mentioned before, the remained electroplating solution is not completely discharged and the deterioration of adhesion is caused between the casing and an electroplating layer formed on the casing. It will be easily rusted after long use. Therefore, the recent constant temperature outlet needs to be improved.
Therefore, the secondary objective of this invention is how to design a faucet with a mixed water control valve which is adapting to different arrangements of inlet pipes of cold water and hot water.


A semiconductor package includes a flexible film substrate including a chip mounting region and a cut-line interposed between an inner region and an outer region of the flexible film substrate, the cut-line partially surrounding the inner region. The semiconductor package further includes first interconnection lines extending in the inner region from a first side of the chip mounting region towards an edge of the inner region of the flexible film substrate, and second interconnection lines extending in the outer region from a second side of the chip mounting region towards an edge of the outer region of the flexible film substrate. The edge of the inner region and the edge of the outer region are located on the first side of the semiconductor chip.

Embodiments of the inventive concepts relate to semiconductor packages. More particularly, embodiments of the inventive concepts relate to chip-on-film (COF) packages and to package modules which include COF packages.
Chip-on-film (COF) packages are generally characterized by a substrate support formed of a flexible film. One or more semiconductor chips may be directly bonded to the flexible film substrate (e.g., by a flip-chip bonding) or may be connected to an external circuit through lead wires and the like. The use of COF is especially popular in portable devices, such as cell phones, smart phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), laptop computers, and display devices.

Semiconductor packages and package modules using the same


A method for exposing a pattern of a semiconductor device on an object comprises the steps of extracting block exposure data from design data the semiconductor device, extracting variable exposure data from the design data, extracting fine exposure data from the variable exposure data such that the fine exposure data comprises exposure data for fine elemental patterns that have a size smaller than a predetermined threshold size below which exposure by a variable shaped beam is difficult, extracting mask data indicative of a construction of a beam shaping mask used for shaping the beam based upon the block exposure data, variable exposure data and the fine exposure data, such that the mask data includes information about location, size and shape of apertures formed on the beam shaping mask for shaping the beam, fabricating the beam shaping mask based upon the mask data, and exposing the device pattern by selectively passing the beam through one of the block apertures, the variable exposure aperture and the fine aperture based upon block exposure data, the variable exposure data and the fine exposure data.

The present invention generally relates to fabrication of semiconductor devices, and more particularly to a method for exposing a semiconductor pattern on an object such as a semiconductor substrate by a charged particle beam.
In the fabrication of a submicron semiconductor device that has a pattern width typically in the order of 0.1 .mu.m, the charged beam exposure system that uses a high energy charged particle beam such as an electron beam is essential. In the electron beam exposure system, the device pattern is exposed on the surface of a semiconductor wafer by a finely focused electron beam and one can easily achieve a pattern size of less than 0.05 .mu.m with an alignment error of 0.02 .mu.m or less. On the other hand, a drawback of such a charged particle beam exposure system is in that the throughput of exposure is limited because of the fact that the device pattern is written by a single stroke of the focused charged particle beam, in contrast to the conventional optical exposure system that exposes a large area of the substrate by a single shot of the optical radiation.
In order to overcome the foregoing problem, the inventor of the present invention has previously disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,051,556, an electron beam exposure system that patterns the shape of the focused electron beam according to the elemental device patterns that form a part of the large and complex pattern of the semiconductor device. There, a mask called a block mask is provided in the electron beam exposure system in correspondence to optical path of the electron beam for shaping the electron beam upon passage therethrough, and the mask is provided with a plurality of apertures shaped according to the elemental device patterns. By deflecting the electron beam to hit one of these apertures, one can shape the electron beam according to the shape of the aperture and pattern having the shape of the selected aperture is on the surface of the wafer or substrate. By repeating the exposure of the elemental device patterns consecutively, one can obtain the desired large and complex pattern of the semiconductor device. Such a so-called block exposure system is particularly useful in the exposure process of device patterns that include a repetition of predetermined elemental device patterns, as in the case of semiconductor memories.
FIG. 1 shows the construction of the electron beam exposure system proposed previously by the inventors of the present invention.
Referring to FIG. 1, the electron beam exposure system includes an optical system 10 for carrying out the exposure by an electron beam and a control system 50 for controlling the exposure operation.
The optical system 10 includes an electron gun 14 that has a cathode electrode 11 for emitting thermal electrons, an anode electrode 13 for accelerating the electrons to form an electron beam and a grid electrode 12 for controlling the flow of the electrons from the cathode electrode 11 to the anode electrode 13. The electron beam produced by the electron gun propagates as a divergent beam generally in the direction of a target or object W, held on a movable stage 35.
The divergent electron beam thus produced is then passed through a shaping aperture formed in a plate 15 to have a desired cross section and directed to travel in coincidence with a predetermined optical axis O that extends from the cathode electrode 11 to the object W on which a pattern is to be written. Typically, the object W is a semiconductor substrate. In order to achieve the desired alignment of the electron beam with respect to the optical axis O, adjustment coils 36, 37, 38 and 39 are provided along the optical axis O.
The electron beam thus shaped by the aperture plate 15 is then focused on a point P1 located on the optical axis O by a first electron lens 16. A deflector 17, corresponding to the point P1, that deflects the electron beam in response to a control signal HS1 supplied, thereto that the electron beam hits a block mask to be such described later.
The electron beam is then received by a second electron lens 18 that has a focal point coincident with the point P1 and is converted to a parallel electron beam. This parallel electron beam is then passed through a block mask 20 on which a plurality of apertures for shaping the electron beam are formed. Upon passage through a selected aperture, it is possible to shape the electron beam such that the electron beam has a desired cross section.
In order to address the apertures on the block mask 20, a pair of deflectors 21 and 22 are provided above the mask 20 such that the parallel electron beam is initially deflected away from the optical axis O and then deflected back to travel in the direction parallel to the optical axis O. Further, in order to return the electron beam in coincidence with the optical axis O, another pair of deflectors 23 and 24 are provided below the mask 20. It should be noted that the deflectors 21-24 cause the foregoing deflection and hence the addressing of the selected aperture in response to deflection control signals PS1-PS4 that are supplied thereto.
The parallel electron beam thus returned to the optical axis O is then passed through a third electron lens 19 and focused at a point P2 located on the optical axis O. The electron beam is then passed through a demagnification optical system including a fourth electron lens 26 and another electron lens 29, and focused on the object wafer W by an objective lens 32. Thereby, the image of the selected aperture on the mask 20 is projected on the upper surface of the wafer W.
In the objective lens 32, various coils and deflectors such as a dynamic focusing coil 30 and a dynamic stig coil 31 are provided for focusing correction and astigmatic correction. Further, deflectors 33 and 34 deflect the focused electron beam on the object wafer W such that the electron beam moves over the object wafer W, wherein the deflector 33 causes movement of the beam spot within a maximum area of about 2 mm.times.2 mm, while the deflector 34 is used to deflect the electron beam within an area of about 100 .mu.m.times.100 .mu.m. Furthermore, a refocusing coil 28 for additional focusing control is provided above the electron lens 29.
In order to control the turning on and turning off of the electron beam on the object wafer W, a blanking aperture plate 27, provided between the fourth electron lens 26 and the fifth electron lens 29, which passes the electron beam through a blanking aperture 27a therein in coincidence with the optical axis O. The blanking aperture 27a has a reduced diameter and the blanking aperture plate 27 interrupts the electron beam when the electron beam is deflected away from the optical axis O. Thereby, the electron beam disappears from the surface of the object wafer W.
In order to effect such a turning-on and turning-off of the electron beam, a blanking deflector 25, provided between the lens 19 and the blanking aperture plate 27, deflects the electron beam away from the optical axis O in response to a blanking control signal SB supplied thereto.
Next, the control system 50 for controlling the optical system 10 will be described.
Referring to FIG. 1 again, the control system 50 includes a magnetic storage device 51 that stores various design data of the semiconductor device or integrated circuit to be formed on the object wafer W and a CPU 52 that controls the optical system 10. The CPU reads the pattern information of the semiconductor device such as the pattern data, the positional data indicating the location on the wafer W on which the pattern data is to be written, the mask information indicating the array of the apertures on the block mask 20, etc. The pattern information and the mask information thus read out from the storage device 51 are transferred on the one hand to a data memory 54 and on the other hand to a sequence controller 62 via an interface circuit 53.
The data memory 54 stores the pattern information and the mask information and transfers the same to a pattern generator 55 that generates deflection control data PD1-PD4 in response to the pattern information and the mask information supplied thereto. The deflection control data PD1-PD4 are sent to a D/A converter 57 where they are converted to the analog deflection control signals PS1-PS4. Thereby, the selection of the apertures on the mask 20 is achieved as already described. The pattern generator 55 further produces positional data SD3 indicative of the location of the object wafer W on which the exposure is to be made. The data SD3 is sent to a D/A converter 65 where it is converted to an analog signal S3 that drives the sub-deflector 34 in the objective lens 32.
The pattern generator 55 further produces correction data HD indicative of the difference in the desired pattern and the selected pattern on the mask 20 and supplies the same to a D/A converter 56 where the data HD is converted to a control signal HS1 that drives the deflector 17. In response to the control signal HS1, the electron beam is moved over the block mask 20 and additional shaping is achieved by offsetting the electron beam slightly from the selected aperture. For example, the variable shaping of the electron beam is achieved by the deflector 17. Further, the deflector 17 achieves the deflection of the electron beam at high speed and in a limited area typically having a size of 500 .mu.m.times.500 .mu.m. The deflectors 21-24 are used, on the other hand, for the deflection of the electron beam for a relatively large area typically the size of about 5 mm.times.5 mm, though with reduced speed. Typically, the deflector 17 is constructed with an electrostatic deflector while the deflectors 21-24 are constructed with electromagnetic deflectors.
Additionally, the pattern generator 55 produces control data MKD for moving the block mask 20 and supplies the same to a mask drive mechanism 58. The mask drive mechanism 58 moves the mask 20 in response to the control data MKD in a plane substantially perpendicular to the optical axis O. Thereby, the entirety of the apertures on the mask 20 can be addressed by the electron beam by moving the mask 20 such that the specified aperture moves into the area where the addressing can be achieved by the deflection of the electron beam. Further, the pattern generator 55 produces a control signal for driving the refocusing coil 28 and supplies the same to the refocusing coil 28 via a D/A converter 70. Thereby, the proper focusing on the surface of the object wafer W is maintained even when the electron beam is deflected by the deflectors 33 and 34.
The pattern generator 55 produces a timing signal T for indicating execution of the exposure or waiting for the exposure. The timing signal T is supplied to a clock control circuit, or generator (CLOCK GEN) 59 that in turn produces blanking control data BC for indicating the interruption of the exposure. The data BC is then supplied to a blanking control circuit 60, and the blanking control circuit 60 drives the deflector 25 via a D/A converter 61 that produces the blanking control signal SB described previously. The clock generator 59 further produces a system clock, running at a predetermined rate, that determines the throughput of exposure as will be described in detail later.
The sequence controller 62 detects the timing information transferred thereto from the interface circuit 53 and indicating the commencement of the exposure process, and controls the data memory 54 via the pattern generator 55 to output main deflection data MD that is supplied to a deflection control circuit 63. The deflection control circuit 63 produces main deflection control data SD2 in response to the data MD supplied thereto and supplies the data SD2 to a D/A converter 64 where the data SD2 is converted to a deflection control signal S2. This deflection control signal S2 drives the main deflector 33 in the objective lens 32. Further, the deflection control circuit 63 controls a stage position correction circuit 68 in response to the activation thereof by the sequence controller 62, and the stage position correction circuit 68 drives the deflector 34 via the D/A converter 56 that produces the drive signal S3 as described previously.
In cooperation with the deflection control circuit 63 and the stage position correction circuit 68, the sequence controller 62 activates a stage moving mechanism 66 for moving the stage 35 while monitoring the position of the stage 35 by a laser interferometer 67. Thereby, the exposure of a selected pattern on the mask 20 is made at any desired location on the object wafer W.
FIG. 2 shows the construction of the mask 20.
Referring to FIG. 2, it will be noted that the mask 20 is provided with a number of pattern areas E.sub.1 -E.sub.9 arranged in rows and columns and separated from each other by a pitch EL, wherein each pattern area may have a size of typically 5 mm.times.5 mm. Each area in turn includes a number of block areas B.sub.1 -B.sub.36, arranged in rows and columns as shown in FIG. 3, wherein each block area is separated from each other by a pitch BL and includes therein an aperture for shaping the electron beam. Typically, each block area has a size of 500 .mu.m.times.500 .mu.m.
FIG. 4 shows an example of the shaping apertures formed in the block areas B.sub.a -B.sub.d that are included in the foregoing block areas B.sub.1 -B.sub.36, wherein it will be noted that the block areas B.sub.a -B.sub.d contain apertures 20a-20g, wherein the pattern represented by these apertures require a plurality of shots when exposed by the rectangular beam. By deflecting the electron beam selectively by the deflectors 21-24, one can direct the electron beam to hit one of these block areas as indicated in FIG. 5, wherein the hatched region 71 represents the region illuminated by the deflected electron beam. In the illustrated example, the electron beam is shaped in accordance with the cross-shaped pattern corresponding to an aperture 72a. It will also be noted that FIG. 5 shows other block apertures such as apertures 72b-72d.
On the other hand, when it is necessary to write a pattern that is not included in the apertures on the mask 20, the electron beam 71 is directed to a large, generally square aperture 73a as indicated also in FIG. 5. There, by adjusting the overlap of the electron beam 71 with the aperture 73a, one can produce a shaped electron beam having a desired cross section. This process is known as the variable beam shaping. Such a variable beam shaping is used for exposing those patterns of which frequency of exposure is low and hence not provided on the mask 20 in the form of the shaping aperture.
When the variable beam shaping process is applied to the electron beam to produce a very fine, elongated beam shape with a pattern width of less than 0.1 .mu.m in the electron beam exposure process of FIG. 2, there arises a problem of decrease in the throughput of exposure. It should be noted a very high precision for the deflection of the electron beam is required to produce such a very fine beam shape, while such a high precision deflection requires a high precision D/A converter 57 for activating the deflectors 21-24. Associated with the use of the high precision D/A converter 57, the time needed for converting the deflection data PD1-PD4 to the corresponding analog signals PS1-PS4 increases substantially.
Further, it should be noted that such a variable beam shaping process, as applied to produce such a very fine elongated electron beam shape, causes a problem in that, while one of the elongated or principal edges of the beam thus obtained is shaped at the aperture 73a of FIG. 5, the other elongated beam edge is shaped by the shaping aperture provided in the aperture plate 15 of FIG. 1. Thereby, the focusing state of the electron beam may be different between the first principal edge and the second principal edge when the focusing action of the electron lens deviates from an ideal state. Further, because of the fact that the mask 20 interrupts most of the electron beam at the variable shaping aperture 73a, there is a tendency for a carbon deposit to accumulate on the upper major surface of the mask 20 during the operation of the system. As such a deposit of carbon accumulates asymmetrically on the one side of the aperture 73a that is illuminated by the electron beam, such a deposition modifies the distribution of the electric field in the vicinity of the variable shaping aperture and causes an unwanted distortion of the shaped electron beam. It should be noted that such a minute distortion of the beam shape can become detrimental to the device to be fabricated, particularly when the pattern to be exposed corresponds to a critical area of the device such as a gate region of a high speed MOS transistor or HEMT.

Method for exposing a pattern on an object by a charged particle beam


A dual-camera face recognition device and method are disclosed. The device includes: a first camera, for capturing a face image; a second camera, arranged at a different position from the first camera, for capturing a face image; a face recognition processing unit, for receiving and recognizing the face image captured by the first camera and obtaining a first candidate set, and for receiving and recognizing the face image captured by the second camera and obtaining a second candidate set. The face recognition processing unit is also adapted to select from the first candidate set and the second candidate set a candidate object whose similarity complies with a predetermined rule as a recognition result.

Biometric recognition technology is known as one of the top ten technologies that bring revolutionary changes in human society. As the most convenient and secure identification recognition technology, the biometric recognition technology recognizes the human beings per se without any mark outside of the human beings. The biometric recognition technology performs identification by using physical characteristics and behavior of human, mainly including fingerprint recognition, face recognition, iris recognition, gait recognition and the like. Among other things, the face recognition is currently popular in the biometric recognition field. As compared with fingerprint recognition technology applied widely, it has many significant advantages, for example, it is intuitive, convenient, non-contact, friendliness and of high user acceptance and so on.
The existing face recognition technology can be divided into two-dimensional face recognition and three-dimensional face recognition. Three-dimensional face recognition is based on three-dimensional face images, however, there are several disadvantages such as the complexity of a capturing system and face reconstruction algorithms. For example, as seen mentioned in Application No. "CN 1595280A" and titled as "THREE-DIMENSIONAL HUMAN FACE REBUILDING SYSTEM ON ROTATING PLATFORM", No. "CN 1315092C" and titled as "THREE DIMENSION FACE RECOGNITION METHOD BASED ON POLAR SPECTRUM IMAGE", the existing three-dimensional face recognition is expensive and restrictive.
Two-dimensional face recognition is based on a single planar face image. In general, a two-dimensional face recognition method includes steps of capturing a planar face image by means of one camera, performing face detection, eye location and feature extraction, then comparing with a template library and making recognition decision. However, the recognition performance is poor since a recognition rate for a single face plane image captured by one camera is actually affected by ambient lights, capturing angels, postures, face expressions and the other factors.

Dual-camera face recognition device and method


An information processing apparatus is disclosed. The information processing apparatus includes a hard disk drive, an acceleration sensor, a determination section, and a threshold value setup section. The hard disk drive is capable of retracting a head to a data-free landing zone. The acceleration sensor detects acceleration. The determination section obtains high frequency components from acceleration information detected by the acceleration sensor, obtains a vibration level corresponding to the obtained high frequency components, compares the vibration level with a threshold value which has been set up, and determines whether or not there is a necessity to retract the head of the hard disk drive to the data-free landing zone. The threshold value setup section allows a user to change the threshold value and set up the changed threshold value.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus that has a built-in hard disk drive (HDD) and a head retraction processing method of the built-in hard disk drive.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a portable device such as a note-type PC, it is important to protect the device against shock if the device is mistakenly dropped or if the shock is applied from the outside when the device is carried by hand or normally used. In particular, in a magnetic disk drive such as a hard disk drive (HDD) used as a recording device, a magnetic head reads and writes data from and to a rotating magnetic disk. Thus, when the magnetic head collides with the magnetic disc due to shock or vibration applied to the device, the magnetic disk may be damaged and data recorded thereon may be destroyed. Although the HDD may have a built-in acceleration sensor, the HDD temporarily stops writing data on the disc in many cases. Even if the HDD retracts the head, it may not precisely control its operation.
To solve this problem, an acceleration sensor or the like may be built in the device. When the acceleration or an amount of its change that the acceleration sensor detects exceeds a predetermined level, the device may retract the magnetic head to a data-free landing zone.
In this related art, when the HDD is subjected to shock or vibration, the HDD temporarily stops writing data to the record medium. However, when the HDD stops writing data to the record medium, data may be prevented from being written to an incorrect address. However, since the head is placed immediately above the medium, if the head is subjected to strong shock or vibration, the head may contact the medium. As a result, the head may be damaged.
To solve such a problem, a sensor such as an acceleration sensor may be used to detect shock or vibration applied to the HDD. When the sensor detects shock or vibration, the HDD retracts the head to the data-free landing zone. In this related art for example Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-346840, it is determined whether or not the device is being dropped corresponding to acceleration for the X axis, Y axis, and Z axis. When this state is detected, the head of the HDD is retracted to the data-free landing zone.

Information processing apparatus and head retraction processing method of built-in hard disk drive thereof


A measuring system and method is configured to analyze numerous different types of interconnects having varying degrees of complexity. The measuring system and method characterizes an interconnect to be tested by a predefined reflection coefficient signature. Each specific interconnect is predefined by a reflection coefficient signature that is unique to that specific interconnect. Once the reflection coefficient signature is defined, a corresponding reflection envelope is defined which defines boundary limits about the reflection coefficient signature. Subsequent testing of the specific interconnect results in a measured reflection coefficient curve, which is compared to the corresponding reflection envelope. The specific interconnect under test is considered acceptable if the values of the measured reflection coefficient curve do not fall outside the reflection envelope. If one or more values of the measured reflection coefficient curve fall outside the reflection envelope, then the specific interconnect under test fails the test.

A time-domain reflectometer (TDR) is an electronic instrument that uses time-domain reflectometry to characterize a conductor or any other electrical transmission path. A TDR measures reflections along a conductor, such as a transmission line on a printed circuit board (PCB). In order to measure such reflections, the TDR transmits an incident electrical signal onto the conductor and measures a corresponding reflected signal. If the conductor is of a uniform impedance and is properly terminated, then there will be no reflections and the remaining incident electrical signal is absorbed at the far-end conductor termination point. Instead, if there are impedance variations on the conductor, then some of the incident electrical signal is reflected back to the source.
The reflection coefficient is a parameter that describes how much of the electrical signal is reflected by the impedance variation in the electrical transmission path. The reflection coefficient is equal to the ratio of the amplitude of the reflected signal to the incident signal. For example, in an electrical transmission line the reflection coefficient provides a measure of how much an electrical signal is reflected by an impedance.
The TDR measures the reflection coefficient at a given test point and calculates the characteristic impedance according to the measured reflection coefficient. The TDR is commonly used to determine the characteristic impedance of a transmission line, or interconnect, on a PCB. The characteristic impedance is measured to verify the proper manufacturing of the transmission lines on the PCB. In high performance PCBs, the transmission line interconnects must have a proper characteristic impedance Z0, and the characteristic impedance Z0 should be a specific value, such as 50 ohms, depending on the particular design. The TDR measures the reflection coefficient ρ and calculates the corresponding characteristic impedance Z0 of the transmission line according to the conversion formula:Z0=50(1+ρ)/(1−ρ)  (1)The constant value "50" in equation (1) may be different depending on the application. For example, the characteristic impedance of a differential transmission line can be calculated by replacing the constant value "50" with "100".
A PCB is made on a panel that also includes "coupons" which are conductive traces on the surface of the panel, made to mimic the transmission lines, where the characteristic impedance measurements are made. In the manufacturing environment, when the PCB is built, the characteristic impedance is measured at one or more coupon locations, the measurement being made by a TDR.

Measuring complex PCB-based interconnects in a production environment


A user equipment (UE) including: a processor; a transceiver; and a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, controls the processor to: receive a communication request to communicate with a remote system; instantiate, in response to receiving the communication request, a UE virtual machine instance on the UE; generate a root certificate for the UE virtual machine instance; execute, on the UE virtual machine instance, an application for processing the communication request; transmit, through the transceiver and to an attestation server, the root certificate to attest to the execution of the application within the UE virtual machine instance; establish a communication link between the application and the remote system; and communicate, via the transceiver, with the remote system across the communication link.

Protecting users and their network devices from security breaches is an ever-present concern with computer systems. As computer system complexity and user reliance thereon increases, so to do the opportunities for security breaches and the risks associated therewith increase.
In the related art, encryption has been used to address some of these concerns. However, encryption as such presents a number of drawbacks. For example, encrypting data presents an overhead both when the data is encrypted, and anytime the data is used (as it must be decrypted) and modified (as the modified data must be re-encrypted). Moreover, encryption fails to protect sensitive data adequately in various circumstances. For example, encryption of data does not prevent spying when the computer system itself is compromised (e.g., compromised through a lack of data isolation). Thus, an application executing on user equipment (UE) can "eavesdrop" on information utilized by other applications. For instance, when one application decrypts data on the UE, other applications executing on the UE may copy or otherwise utilize the decrypted data. Additionally, even if you can guarantee the safety of your computer system, communicating with a third-party system leaves the data vulnerable to breaches in the third-party system.
Accordingly, there is a need for improved systems and methods for ensuring secure communication between remote devices. More specifically, a need exists for providing security that extends beyond encryption, and ensures communication endpoints are operating in a secure environment. Aspects of the present disclosure are related to these and other concerns.

Systems and methods for secure endpoint connection and communication


The composite liquid crystal composition contains a liquid crystal compound and a polymerizable compound. The liquid crystal compound includes a compound having a biphenyl skeleton including two or three rings, and two or more compounds other than the compound having the biphenyl skeleton. The composition includes polymerizable compound. The ratio of the content (mass) of the one or more compounds selected from the compounds represented by General Formulas (II-a1) and (II-a2) to the compound represented by General Formula (II-b) is 70:30 to 30:70. The total content of the liquid crystal compounds is 65% to 85% by mass, and the total content of the polymerizable compounds is 15% to 35% by mass.

Since a polymer dispersed liquid crystal display element does not need a polarizing plate, the display element has a merit that a bright display is achieved compared to a liquid crystal display element for a TN, STN, IPS, or VA mode, which uses a polarizing plate. Since the polymer dispersed liquid crystal display element has a simple element configuration, the display element is used for a light shutter such as a light control glass, and a segment display as a clock. Also, since the display element realizes a high definition display, it has been examined to use the display element for a projector, a reflective display, or the like in combination with an active driving element.
In this situation, in the case where it is considered that the polymer dispersed liquid crystal display element is used for mobile devices using active driving such as a mobile phone, a portable game console, and a PDA, it is required for the display element to maintain satisfactory display properties in a wide temperature range because the mobile devices need to be used outdoors. The polymer dispersed liquid crystal display element suitable for this purpose has been suggested (refer to PTL 1).
In addition, if this polymer dispersed liquid crystal display element can be driven at a low voltage, the liquid crystal device used herein is also suitable as a device constituent element of an electric field detector having high sensitivity.

Composite liquid crystal composition, display element and electric field detector


A system and method for injecting a node into a data description of an electronic form are provided. In one embodiment, the system comprises a request detector, an injection tool, a template module, and a storing module. The request detector may be configured to detect a request to include a new form object into an electronic form. The injection tool may be configured to determine that the data schema does not accommodate the new form object, and to automatically modify the data description by adding a node that is associated with the new form object. The template module may be configured to add the new form object into the electronic form to create a modified electronic form. The modified electronic form comprises the modified data description, while the data schema upon which the electronic form was originally based may remain unchanged.

The approaches described in this section could be pursued, but are not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
The eXtensible Markup Language (XML) Forms Architecture (XFA) provides a template-based grammar and a set of processing rules that may allow the implementing of interactive electronic forms. Form designers can choose to base an electronic form (referred to as merely "form") on a pre-defined data schema (e.g., the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) XML Schema) that describes the structure of an XML document in order to make sure that data saved by the form conforms to a particular data model. A data schema is effectively a contract shared by all generators and consumers of that data. If it is determined that a form should include an additional form object (e.g., a new data entry field), the data schema can be changed to accommodate the inclusion of a new form object.


A turbine (32) section of a turbocharger (30) includes a turbine wheel (37) disposed in a turbine housing (33), the turbine housing (33) defining a gas inlet (34), a volute configured to direct gas from the inlet (34) to the turbine (32) wheel, and a gas outlet. A rotary diverter valve (100, 200) is disposed in the gas inlet (34) upstream of the volute, and provides three modes of controlling exhaust gas flow about the turbocharger (30).

Turbochargers are provided on an engine to deliver air to the engine intake at a greater density than would be possible in a normal aspirated configuration. This allows more fuel to be combusted, thus boosting the engine's horsepower without significantly increasing engine weight.
Generally, turbochargers use the exhaust flow from the engine exhaust manifold, which enters the turbine stage of the turbocharger at a turbine housing inlet, to thereby drive a turbine wheel, which is located in the turbine housing. The turbine wheel is affixed to one end of a shaft that is rotatably supported within a bearing housing. The shaft drives a compressor impeller mounted on the other end of the shaft. As such, the turbine wheel provides rotational power to drive the compressor impeller and thereby drive the compressor stage of the turbocharger. Air is compressed within the compressor stage, and is then provided to the engine intake as described above.


A control system is provided for controlling the fueling system (402) of a combustion engine. The control system includes a sensing arrangement for measuring a plurality of engine and vehicle conditions (404, 406, 408, 410, 412) in real time. The control system also includes a fuel map that defines engine fueling parameters corresponding to engine operating conditions. The control system also includes a control module (102) that determines engine load from the sensed conditions, and controls the fueling parameters of the fueling system for optimized fuel consumption by selecting fueling parameters from the fuel map based on current engine load.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to engine control systems, and in particular to engine control systems for controlling the fueling system in a combustion engine.
2. Description of the Related Art
Engine control systems for controlling fueling in combustion engines often utilize fuel maps, such as shown in FIG. 1, which define the amount of fuel to be supplied for an engine operating condition. In FIG. 1, the bold line 100a represents the rated power (i.e., brake power) of the engine, and the contoured wave lines 100b represent the amount of fuel metered per horsepower (lbs/hp/hr). The curves 100a-100b are graphed against engine speed in revolutions per minute (RPS).
In a typical engine, the lowest fuel consumption occurs at point A. This is the optimum operation point for the engine under heavy engine load conditions. As can be seen, the contour lines below point A have increased fueling requirements. However, if engine load conditions are light, then the optimum operating point is point B. The difference between point A and point B can be upwards of an eight percent difference in fuel economy and is further illustrated by example below.
Until recently, software and hardware technology were not capable of adjusting fuel flow based upon actual operating conditions. Fixed point operation was necessary, either point A or point B or some other fixed point, with the inherent trade offs in performance under all other operating conditions. Engines offered in the industry are currently available optimized at either point A or point B. Point A configured engines perform best under heavy load, but poorly when lightly loaded. Point B configured engines perform best when lightly loaded, but have poor fuel consumptions when heavily loaded. Such, fuel maps are often optimized for different operating conditions.
Engine parameters (e.g., A/F ratio, amount of fuel, etc.) currently are set for average conditions under which they operate. In other words, the engine is optimized for the average conditions that are predicted for its service and not for actual usage. This leads to compromises in engine fuel efficiency. The tendency is to optimize the engine to work at or near full load, which is represented by the published engine horsepower and torque curves. See FIG. 2.
Operation around the full load line represents operating conditions such as heavy acceleration, high payload or traversing steep grades. However, conditions exist where light engine loads are encountered, such as some vehicle operations under less than full cargo, at low cruising speeds, or flat or downhill road grades. Under these conditions, fuel is wasted because the best operating point in the engine is not at the conditions the vehicle is experiencing. For example, the Mack® E7 ASET engine is optimized for operation at close to 100% load. Other engines, available in the Heavy Duty industry, may be optimized for partial load operation, such as when the vehicle is pulling less than a truckload of freight.
An engine using a fuel map that is optimized for 100% load operation may deliver better fuel economy under demanding conditions, such a mountainous terrain, than an engine using a fuel map optimized for partial load operation. Conversely, using a fuel map optimized for partial load operation may deliver better fuel economy over flat terrain than one would using a fuel map optimized for 100% load operation. The probability that an engine developed for one set of operating conditions would be mis-applied to another set of operating conditions, however, is high.
Fuel economy tests were run for two similar trucks under mountainous and flat operating conditions that illustrate this point. The first truck was a Mack® CH outfitted with an E7 engine optimized for 100% load operation, and the second truck was a competitor outfitted with a competitor engine optimized for partial load operation. In a first test, the Mack® and the competitor were operational under identical operating conditions on a mountainous route from Richmond, Va. to Lexington, Ky. along U.S. Interstate 64. During this test, the Mack® achieved 6.5 miles per gallon (mpg) while the competitor achieved 6.27 mpg—3.5% lower fuel consumption than the Mack®.
In a second test, the Mack® and the competitor were operational under identical operating conditions on a flat route from Richmond, Va. to Atlanta Ga. along U.S. Interstate 95. The engines of each of the trucks were running at partial load during this test, outputting only approximately 150 horse power (hp) out of a maximum rated output of 350 hp. During this test, the Mack® achieved 6.95 miles per gallon (mpg) while the competitor achieved 7.32 mpg—5.3% higher fuel economy than the Mack®.
As can be clearly seen from the experiment, the first and second trucks respectively out performed each other in the first and second tests. Thus, there is a need for improved engine control that does not depend upon a single fuel map or is not optimized for a single set of operating conditions.

Control system and method for improving fuel economy


A processor for calculating a convolution of a first input sequence of numbers with a second input sequence of numbers to generate an output sequence is provided. The processor includes multipliers, each multiplying two real numbers to generate an output; multiplexers to direct the numbers in the first and second input sequences or parts of the numbers to the multipliers; and control circuitry to control the multiplexers to direct the first and second input sequences of numbers to the multipliers dependent on whether the numbers are complex or real. An accumulator adds partial products from multiplications performed by the multipliers to calculate the convolution.

The present disclosure relates to efficient finite impulse response filters.
A digital signal processor (DSP) can perform many types of signal processing, such as processing audio and/or video signals, using algorithms that involve a large number of mathematical operations performed on a large set of data. Compared to general-purpose microprocessors, digital signal processors can perform a narrower range of tasks, but can execute signal processing algorithms more efficiently with a lower latency and lower power consumption. This makes digital signal processors suitable for use in portable devices, such as mobile phones. A digital signal processor may include program memory that stores programs, data memory that stores the information to be processed, and one or more computing engines that perform math processing based on the program from the program memory and the data from the data memory. Examples of signal processing that can be efficiently performed by digital signal processors include audio compression and decompression, image compression and decompression, video compression and decompression, filtering of signals, spectrum analysis, modulation, pattern recognition and correlation analysis.


A fan bearing retaining structure includes a base and a ring member. The base has a bearing cup projected from one side thereof, and the bearing cup internally defines an axial bore for receiving a bearing therein. The ring member is fitted around an outer side of the bearing cup and defines an opening, such that an inner side of the opening tightly contacts with the outer side of the bearing cup to apply a radially inward compression toward the axial bore. With these arrangements, a portion of the axial bore corresponding to the ring member fitted around the bearing cup has a reduced inner diameter to thereby effectively retain the bearing in the bearing cup, enabling a fan to be manufactured at reduced cost.

Many devices, such as fans, use a motor to achieve the purpose of transmission. Therefore, the quality of a motor plays a very important role in the performance of a motor-driven device. A motor failing to work stably would no doubt adversely affect the whole operation of the device. Among others, the bearing is one of the most important factors that have influence on the quality of a motor.
Conventionally, a fan is formed by injection molding a plastic material. In the manufacturing process of the fan, a central tube of the fan is integrally injection molded along with a bearing, so that the bearing is fixedly held in the central tube to allow stable operation of a motor of the fan. While the bearing can be held in the central tube when the fan is injection molded with a plastic material, the bearing is not held in the central tube in a desired condition good for stable motor operation. This is because the plastic material is subject to thermal expansion and cold contraction, and it is therefore difficult to control correct fitting tightness and required range of fitting allowance between the bearing and the central tube in the process of manufacturing the bearing and the central tube. That is, it is uneasy to achieve proper fit between the bearing and the central tube. For example, in the event the bearing is too tightly fitted in the central tube, it would result in the formation of shrinkage holes on the bearing. On the other hand, in the event the bearing is too loosely fitted in the central tube, it would not be able to effectively hold the bearing in place in the central tube and result in low fitting accuracy and poor fitting allowance. Thus, the conventional way of forming a fan through plastic injection-molding fails to effectively hold the bearing in place in the central tube, and it is uneasy to control the fitting accuracy between the bearing and the central tube in the manufacturing process. These drawbacks in turn cause unstable operation of the fan motor.
In another type of fan structure, the central tube is made of a metal material and is integrally formed with the frame of the fan through insert molding. The metal central tube is processed by machining and therefore has relatively high process precision, which enables proper fitting of the bearing in the metal central tube to overcome the drawbacks in the plastic injection-molded fan. However, the metal central tube involves relatively complicated structure and machining procedures. For example, the metal central tube must be additionally machined to provide a shoulder portion therein for supporting the bearing in the central tube. Therefore, the use of the metal central tube inevitably increases the overall manufacturing cost of the fan.
In brief, the prior art fan bearing retaining structures have the following disadvantages: (1) having low fitting accuracy and poor fitting allowance between the bearing and the plastic central tube; (2) failing to effectively hold the bearing in place to thereby cause vibration of motor; (3) requiring increased cost for manufacturing a metal central tube for stably holding a bearing therein; and (4) involving complicated manufacturing processes and accordingly increased labor and time.
It is therefore tried by the inventor to develop an improved fan bearing retaining structure to overcome the disadvantages in the prior art.


Disclosed are methods, systems, and computer-readable medium to perform operations including: receiving a real-time density log comprising bulk density readings of a subterranean formation, where a well is being drilled in the subterranean formation; aggregating density readings over a first threshold distance from a current drilling depth in the subterranean formation; calculating a minimum formation density and a maximum formation density in the aggregated density readings; calculating a difference between the maximum formation density and the minimum formation density; in response to determining that the difference is greater than a field threshold, determining whether a previous kick alert occurred at least a second threshold distance from the current drilling depth; and in response to determining that the previous kick alert occurred at least the second threshold distance from the current drilling depth, detecting a kick in the well.

Kick is a wellbore drilling problem that occurs during well drilling operations. Specifically, kick occurs when a formation pressure is greater than a drilling fluid hydrostatic pressure acting on a drilled surface of the formation. In this scenario, the greater formation pressure drives formation fluids into the wellbore. In some scenarios, a kick increases in severity and becomes uncontrolled, resulting in a "blowout." If the flow of formation fluids is controlled before a blowout occurs, then the kick is effectively "killed." Example causes of the imbalance between formation pressure and drilling fluid hydrostatic pressure that results in kicks include insufficient drilling fluid weight, swabbing, and lost circulation.

Kick detection using logging while drilling


A method for inducing a reaction in a reaction chamber of a reactive carrier having a first specific heat, on a reaction surface of a substrate. The method comprises the steps of supporting the substrate in the reaction chamber. Next, the substrate is heated to a reaction temperature, so that the reaction surface has an essentially balanced temperature distribution. The reactive carrier is mixed with an inert gas having a second specific heat to form a reaction mixture, wherein the second specific heat is lower than the first specific heat. Finally, the reaction mixture is supplied into the chamber so that it flows over the surface of the substrate. Because the inert gas has a lower specific heat than the carrier, the overall specific heat of the reaction mixture is reduced. With a lower specific heat, less heat is transferred from the wafer into the reaction mixture. This reduces convective heat loss and thermal gradients in the substrate. The technique is particularly applicable to rapid thermal processing of semiconductor wafers for epitaxial growth of silicon. According to this aspect, hydrogen is the reactive carrier, mixed with a chlorinated silicon source. The inert gas may be argon.

Rapid thermal processing of semiconductor wafers involves placement of a semiconductor wafer in a reaction chamber which is thermally isolated from the wafer. The wafer is rapidly heated to a reaction temperature, with a reactant gas flowing over the wafer to induce reaction at the heated surface of the wafer. The wafer is then cooled and removed from the chamber and transported to further processing.
In rapid thermal processing, it is very difficult to ensure that the temperature distribution across the reaction surface of the wafer is dynamically uniform. Non-uniformities in the temperature distribution result in dislocations when growing single crystal layers, or other non-uniformities in the process occurring at the reaction surface.
Accordingly, technology has evolved to provide for a reasonably uniform temperature distribution across the reaction surface, taking into account radiant and convective heat losses. However, when flowing a reactant gas across a thermally isolated semiconductor wafer, convective heat loss tends to aggravate the uneven distribution of temperature. In particular, the convective heat loss around the edges of the wafer is greater than that in the center.
Dislocations in the semiconductor wafer are formed due to radial temperature gradients from the edge to the center of the semiconductor wafer. If the magnitude of tensile stress induced by the temperature gradients exceeds the yield stress of the semiconductor wafer material at the reaction temperature, plastic deformation of the growing layer and the substrate occurs. This plastic deformation results in dislocations or slip lines in the substrate and the grown layers.
Accordingly, it is desirable to have a method for rapid thermal processing of a substrate which reduces the thermal gradients in the substrate induced by convective heat loss.

Method for high temperature thermal processing with reduced convective heat loss


A method of fabricating a polymer coated mat is disclosed to form a moisture barrier. The method includes moving a substrate mat along a processing path and heating the substrate mat to a predetermined temperature. A curtain of molten polymer is extruded through a slot die onto a surface of the heated substrate mat as the mat moves along the processing path to create a composite mat comprising a thin polymer film coating on at least one side of the substrate mat. The composite mat is then cooled in a controlled manner to cure and solidify the polymer film. The resulting composite mat may be used as a construction wrap, or it may be incorporated into other products such as an underlayment. A novel asphalt shingle may be fabricated using the composite mat in lieu of a traditional asphalt saturated mat or other substrate.

In the construction industry, there are many uses for thin sheets or webs of material that can serve as a moisture barrier. Such moisture barriers may be used, for example, as house wrap, roofing underlayment, wrapping material, or it may be incorporated into other products such as roofing shingles. Many types of material have been used over the years as moisture barriers. For example, common roofing felt may be used as a roofing underlayment. Roofing felt generally comprises a mat made of non-woven organic fibers saturated with a bitumous material such as asphalt. Moisture barriers for low slope roofs and commercial buildings may comprise a web of polymeric material such as TPO. More recently, products such as house wrap and roofing underlayment have been formed of a substrate material, which may be a non-woven glass mat material, which is saturated with or bonded to a film of polymer that forms a moisture barrier. These types of moisture barriers have become more ubiquitous over the years.
With regard to the application of films to webs of substrate material, the prior art suggests continuously withdrawing a sheet of pre-extruded film from a prefabricated roll and merging the film with a moving web of shingle material as the web and the film are conveyed in a downstream processing direction. This works. However, certain problems are inherent in such a technique. For instance, in order for a pre-extruded film to be rolled onto a roll for use, the film must be strong enough to resist tearing, folding, sticking to itself, and other damage. Such damage can occur during the rolling process and during the process of applying the film to a web of substrate material.
The thickness of a polymeric film has to be sufficient to meet the strength and rigidity requirements. It has been found that a polymer film having a thickness of greater than about 12 microns is required. However, such thicknesses often are significantly greater than is necessary to provide the moisture resistance and other desired properties to webs. It has been found that a polymer film thickness on a substrate between about 5 and about 10 microns is sufficient to form a robust moisture barrier, but this is too then to be applied from a pre-extruded roll of film. Thus, a thicker film than is necessary must be applied, thus increasing the volume of polymeric film material and manufacturing costs. Also, the sourcing, storage, and manipulation of large rolls of pre-extruded polymeric film add extra complication and cost. Further, just as with rolls of substrate material, rolls of film must be monitored during manufacturing and mechanisms must be provided to replace rolls as they become empty without having to stop the manufacturing line.
A need exists for a method of applying films and other coatings to a moving web of substrate material during the manufacturing process that addresses and resolves the above and other problems and shortcomings inherent in traditional prior art methods. It is to the provision of such a method, and of construction products such as shingles produced by the method, that the present invention is primarily directed.

Method of extruding polymer film onto a mat and products incorporating the resulting composite mat

Building Materials Investment Coporation


The invention relates to a tube coupling device for connecting a tubular rigid stem to a flexible catheter tube which is adapted to be arranged around said tubular rigid stem, the flexible catheter tube having a proximal free end, the tube coupling device having a main axis, a wall, at least an inner lumen extending along said main axis, through the wall, and two opposite radially non-deformable distal and proximal free ends, said inner lumen axially widening out towards the proximal free end of the tube coupling device, so that the proximal free end of the flexible catheter tube radially expands in the widening when arranged around the tubular rigid stem, said widening being delimited, along the main axis, at a first end, by the proximal free end of the tube coupling device, and, at a second opposite end by an internal annular flange extending from the wall of the tube coupling device, at a location along the main axis which is intermediate between the proximal and the distal free ends of the tube coupling device, wherein the flange comprises slots, so that said flange is divided into different sectors.

1. The Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a medical tube coupling system between a tubular rigid stem and a flexible catheter tube.
Nowadays, different coupling systems of that type are known, for example for connecting an injection needle and a medical catheter.
A privileged application of the invention is relative to the connection between elements adapted to be entirely implanted within a human body, under the skin.
2. Background Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,656, FR-A-2 703 793 and FR-A-2 750 055 disclose different embodiments for coupling a flexible catheter tube to the rigid stem of a port catheter system adapted to be subcutaneously implanted in a human body.
Drawbacks remain in the prior art embodiments.
Some of the prior art systems are not easy to manipulate by the practitioner. These systems often comprise too many elements which have to slide one relative to the other. Their respective clearance and imperviousness are sometimes not appropriate or induce too high costs.

Tube coupling device for connecting a tubular rigid stem to a flexible catheter tube


A rear squeegee linkage for surface cleaning equipment, which uses a pair of compliant bushings for improved shock absorption. The actuator is mounted with a pair of clevis pins and cotter pins, and may be replaced if needed without screwing or unscrewing any bolts or screws, or resetting any springs.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to surface cleaning equipment, and more particularly to a squeegee linkage for surface cleaning equipment.
2. Description of the Related Art
Surface maintenance vehicles and cleaning devices have a long history subject to gradual innovation and improvement toward improved and oftentimes automated performance in removing debris and contamination from floors. These vehicles and devices may be self-powered, towed, or pushed, and/or manually powered and may carry a human operator during cleaning operations. Such vehicles and devices include scrubbers, extractors, sweepers and vacuums, as well as combinations thereof, intended for cleaning, scrubbing, wiping and/or drying a portion of a substantially flat surface both indoors and outdoors. Many such vehicles and devices employ a squeegee assembly for wiping dry a floor which has been cleaned by application of a cleaning solution of water and a detergent in conjunction with scrubbing action of one or more moving brushes. Accordingly, the squeegee assembly of such prior art cleaning vehicles often mounts at or near the rear of the surface maintenance vehicle to direct the solution to a removal location where the solution (including suspended dirt, particles and contaminants) is removed. In this disclosure, the term "loaded cleaning solution" shall apply to such a cleaning solution after application thereof to a floor or other surface to be cleaned. The cleaning solution is typically supplied to the floor surface through or near rotary scrub brushes operating from a lower portion of the vehicle. The squeegee assembly may include a squeegee supporting member with a squeegee blade affixed to the supporting member to promote consistent contact with the surface to be cleaned and wiped. Alternately, the squeegee assembly may include more than one squeegee blade.
The squeegee blade and squeegee supporting member are attached to the frame of the vehicle by a squeegee linkage. Often the squeegee is a trailing type, used to collect any fluids which get past the cleaning/treating apparatus and provide a way to do a final clean up. This technology is applicable however to a leading or side retractable collector/surface treatment element (including a squeegee) and the claims should be interpreted as such. As the vehicle moves to clean a portion of a floor, the squeegee linkage should generally provide a constant downward force on the squeegee blade so that the blade remains uniformly engaged with the floor. In addition, the squeegee linkage should be able to retract the squeegee blade when the vehicle moves without cleaning, so that the blade does not damage the floor. Further, because the squeegee blade may protrude beyond the extent of the vehicle wheels, and the operator may inadvertently knock the blade into an immovable object, the squeegee linkage should be able to sustain a side impact without damage.
A prior art squeegee linkage, known as a "four bar" linkage, is used in a rider vehicle, model 7100, commercially available from the Tennant Company. In the four bar linkage, two parallel rods, horizontally spaced apart, are vertically pivotably attached to the frame of the vehicle at their first ends, and are vertically pivotably attached to the squeegee supporting member at their second ends, so that the squeegee supporting member may translate in the vertical direction. Additionally, two more parallel rods, located vertically adjacent to the first two rods, are similarly fastened to both the vehicle frame and the squeegee support member, so that when the squeegee supporting member translates, it maintains its angular orientation with respect to the vehicle frame. A tension spring provides a downward force on the squeegee supporting member, and an actuator is capable of raising the squeegee supporting member when required. The four bar linkage is relatively complicated, is relatively expensive, requires frequent adjustments, and provides relatively little shock absorption against horizontal impacts. Furthermore, if the actuator is damaged, a significant effort is required to access and replace the damaged part. A variation of the four bar linkage uses spherical rod bearings, which also provide for limited rotation in the horizontal plane. This allows for some side-to-side motion of the squeegee (such as under impact), but it also requires centering springs to consistently return the squeegee to its normal operating position, and spherical rod bearings add significantly to the cost of the system.
Another prior art squeegee linkage, known as a "pivoting plate" linkage, is used in a walk-behind vehicle, model 5400, also commercially available from the Tennant Company. The entire linkage is located on one side of a horizontal pin, and may be raised and lowered by an actuator by pivoting about the horizontal pin. Adjacent to the horizontal pin is a plate, which may pivot vertically about the horizontal pin, but has no horizontal adjustments. The plate is slidably fastened to a chuck at two locations—at a fixed slot, about which the chuck may pivot horizontally with respect to the plate, and at a pin, which freely slides horizontally along a generally horizontal slot located in the plate. The plate and the chuck move vertically as one unit, so that the entire linkage may be raised and lowered by an actuator. Because the pivoting plate linkage is designed for a walk-behind vehicle, in which the steering is done primarily from the rear wheels, the linkage is designed to swing freely from side-to-side, in order to ensure that the loaded solution is properly picked up during turns of the vehicle. This side-to-side motion is typically not required from a rider vehicle, in which the steering is generally done from the front wheels. Although simpler than the four bar linkage, the pivoting plate linkage is complicated, is fairly expensive, and provides only limited shock absorption. Likewise, if the actuator is damaged, a significant effort is required to access and replace the damaged part.
Accordingly, there is a need for a simplified (and therefore less expensive) squeegee linkage, with improved shock absorption, and with a quick release mechanism that improves access to a potentially damaged actuator.

Simplified rear squeegee linkage for surface cleaning equipment


A power distribution backplane includes a pair of metal panels bonded to opposite sides of a dielectric spacer. One panel is for power and the other for ground, and each is painted a different color. Connectors are provided on each panel in connector areas, with some connectors being accessible from both sides of each panel, and busbars extend out from one end of each panel.

This application relates to the art of telecommunications power distribution and, more particularly, to a direct current power distribution backplane. Although the invention is particularly applicable for use in telecommunications and will be described with specific reference thereto, it will be appreciated that the invention has broader aspects and can be used for other power distribution requirements.
In accordance with the present application, a telecommunications direct current power distribution backplane acts as both the connection point for all battery and ground sources, and also as the interconnection point between two or more power and/or distribution bays.
A power distribution backplane in accordance with the present application includes a pair of copper panels laminated to opposite sides of an insulating panel. The two copper panels are painted two different colors to distinguish between positive and negative polarities. The copper panels are provided with connectors such as threaded nuts or studs for attaching busbars to distribute the two polarities to required devices.
Connector areas adjacent the periphery of the two copper panels are provided for attaching interconnect busbars or splice plates for carrying current between two or more bays. Busbars extend outwardly from the bottom ends of the two copper panels for delivering power to the backplane from power conversion units and then to other required devices.
It is a principal object of the invention to provide an improved telecommunications direct current power distribution backplane.
It is also an object of the invention to provide such a backplane having a plurality of connectors.
It is a further object of the invention to provide such a backplane having connectors that are accessible from both sides of each panel past the intermediate insulating panel.


A form is made out of a molded foam devoid of any surrounding rigid wall structure. About the periphery of the form a plurality of spaced elongated slots are formed from top to bottom. Elongated strips of material such as oriented strand board are inserted within the slots and fastened in place. The inventive form consists of a liner placed within an existing contractor form. Fasteners are fastened through the walls of the contractor form into the walls of the inventive form liner and through the elongated strips to thereby fasten the inventive form liner within the existing contractor form. No adhesive is required between the outer surfaces of the inventive form liner and the existing form nor is there any need for any intermediate plywood walls surrounding the inventive form liner.

The present invention relates to an improved form liner for fabricating non-linear shapes. In large construction projects such as in building large concrete supports for bridges, typically, the supports are formed out of reinforced concrete in place at the site of the construction. Concrete bridge supports have some sides and ends that may be linear and others that are arcuate or of other non-linear or complex shapes, depending upon the particular circumstances of the topography, geography, and specific location of the bridge supports. As such, non-standard shaped forms must be created in order to facilitate pouring concrete for the purpose of creating such bridge supports.
In the prior art, it is known to create complex forms to facilitate creation of bridge supports having complex shapes. Such, forms are often made of expanded polystyrene (EPS) or other foam materials. Such forms are fabricated as liners to accommodate to standard linear-sided forms already created by contractors and used over and over again.
With reference to FIG. 1, a typical contractor form is generally designated by the reference numeral 1 and is seen to include an end wall 2 and side walls 3 and 4 that are perpendicular thereto. FIG. 1 is looking down on the form from above. In order to facilitate creation of a bridge support having a non-linear shape, a prior art form liner is made having a periphery 5 typically made of plywood and adhered to an internal form shape 6 with a layer of adhesive 7. The form layer 6 is typically made of a material such as EPS.
As seen in FIG. 1, the form liner generally designated by the reference numeral 8 is configured so that the peripheral walls 5 match with the walls 2, 3 and 4 of the typical contractor form 1. The form liner 8 is removably attached to the form 1 through the use of screws 9 extending through the walls 2, 3 and 4 of the form 1 and into the walls 5 of the form liner 8.
Another way of attaching the form liner 8 to the contractor form 1 is to eliminate the wall 5 and directly adhere the EPS 6 to the form 1 walls 2, 3 and 4 using the adhesive layer 7. In the former case, including the walls 5 in the form liner 8 renders the form liner 8 extremely heavy, cumbersome, and expensive to manufacture. In the latter case, omitting the walls 5 and adhering the EPS foam 6 directly to the inner surfaces of the walls 2, 3 and 4 of the form 1 introduces an additional expense because it becomes labor intensive to remove the form liner 8 from the walls of the contractor form 1, requiring extensive scraping of the adhesive 7 off the inner surfaces of the walls 2, 3 and 4.
It should be understood that the forms 1 and liner 8 are often 20 to 30 feet tall or taller in some cases because they must be tall enough to receive reinforcing rebar and rods as well as all of the concrete necessary to create a bridge support that can be 20 to 30 feet tall or even taller in some cases.
As such, a need has developed for a form liner that reduces the weight of non-linear forms currently used, reduces the expense of their manufacture, and reduces the labor costs of their installation and removal. It is with these requirements in mind that the present invention was developed.

Form liner for fabricating non-linear shapes


To improve the heat exchange efficiency of a heat exchanger that includes an upstream heat exchange unit and a downstream heat exchange unit. When the heat exchanger functions as an evaporator, a gas outlet pipe is an upstream refrigerant outlet that is located adjacent to the other end of upstream flat pipes of the upstream heat exchange unit, and a gas outlet pipe is a downstream refrigerant outlet that is located adjacent to the other end of downstream flat pipes of the downstream heat exchange unit. First resistance to refrigerant flow in the upstream heat exchange unit and second resistance to refrigerant flow in the downstream heat exchange unit are adjusted in order that the degree of superheating of refrigerant at the downstream refrigerant outlet is smaller than the degree of superheating of refrigerant at the upstream refrigerant outlet.

Conventionally, a heat exchanger that is used in an air conditioner that conditions air by performing heat exchange using a vapor compression refrigeration cycle and that includes a flat pipe having a plurality of refrigerant channels is known. PTL 1 (Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2016-38192) describes a parallel-flow heat exchanger that is an example of such a heat exchanger. The parallel-flow heat exchanger includes an upstream heat exchanger, which is disposed upstream of the airflow and in which a plurality of flat pipes are disposed between two headers, and a downstream heat exchanger, which is disposed downstream of the airflow and in which a plurality of flat pipes are disposed between other two headers. When a heat exchanger includes such an upstream heat exchanger and such a downstream heat exchanger, air whose heat is to be exchanged exchanges heat twice while the air passes through the two heat exchangers.

Heat exchanger having first and second heat exchange units with different refrigerant flow resistances and refrigeration apparatus


An improved fountain toothbrush is provided that includes a toothpaste storage compartment in the handle and a rotary mechanism for enabling toothpaste in the toothpaste storage compartment to be urged through a conduit in a head directly to the bristles which is adapted to be disposable.

The instant invention relates generally to toothbrushes and more specifically it relates to an improved fountain toothbrush which provides a toothpaste storage compartment in the handle so that the toothpaste can be dispensed directly onto the bristles therefrom.
There are available various conventional toothbrushes which do not provide the novel improvements of the invention herein disclosed.


There is provided a power-supply circuit for supplying voltage to a load, having a power supply that generates power-supply voltage, an inverted outputting circuit having a positive voltage terminal for outputting positive voltage based on the power-supply voltage and a negative voltage terminal for outputting negative voltage generated based on the power-supply voltage and having different polarity from the positive voltage and outputting the positive and negative voltage while keeping the same direction in terms of directions of electric current flowing between the positive voltage terminal and the outside and of electric current flowing between the negative voltage terminal and the outside, a step-down output circuit for outputting predetermined step-down output voltage to the outside by connecting the positive and negative voltage terminals to the outside while switching them with a predetermined duty ratio and a step-up output circuit for supplying step-up output voltage whose absolute value is greater than that of the step-down output voltage by switching whether or not to connect the step-down output circuit to the load with a predetermined duty ratio.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a power-supply circuit and a test apparatus. More specifically, the invention relates to a power-supply circuit for supplying voltage to a load and a test apparatus for testing a device-under-test.
2. Related Art
Conventionally, there has been known a power-supply circuit for supplying predetermined voltage to a load by using a switching amplifying circuit (Takamasa Hori, Inter-University Power Electronics, First Edition, Ohmsha Ltd., December, 1996, pp. 85-102). Such power-supply circuit supplies the predetermined voltage to the load by switching, by means of a switch, a case of supplying the predetermined voltage to the load as power-supply voltage generated by a power supply accumulates electromagnetic energy in an inductance provided on a circuit and a case of supplying the predetermined voltage to the load by disconnecting the power supply from the load and by regenerating the current by using the electromagnetic energy accumulated in the inductance. Then, in such power-supply circuit, the voltage V0 supplied to the load may be represented by means of a duty ratio D between a first switch for connecting the power-supply voltage to the inductance and a second switch for regenerating the current by the inductance, and of the power-supply voltage Vs as V0=Vs×D.
Although the conventional power-supply circuit is capable of controlling the voltage V0 to be supplied to the load by controlling the duty ratio D, it has been unable to freely select positive voltage and negative voltage and to supply them to the load by using single power supply because polarity of the V0 is decided by polarity of the power-supply voltage Vs.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Power supply circuit, and testing apparatus