Particulate compositions of rare earth oxides wherein the particles are present in the form of single crystals of homogeneous size and morphology, the dimensions of which are less than or equal to 10 .mu.m and greater than approximately 0.05 .mu.m and that at least 80% of the particles have dimensions varying within a range of x.+-.0.2 x, x being the mean dimension of the particles of the composition under consideration, with the understanding that the variation of the range of .+-.0.2 x is not less than .+-.0.1 .mu.m.

It is known that the obtention of high purity oxides in a finely divided form constitutes an important research objective in different technical fields, to prepare for example ceramics, abrasives, catalyst supports, etc. . . .
It is known that rare earths are present in numerous minerals and constitute by-products of the preparation of various metals. Their utilization poses difficult technical and economic problems. In effect, the conventional methods of the processing of oxide particles generally employ either precipitation processes or those of the sol-gel type. In precipitation methods, the addition of the precipitating agent leads to contamination and thus a change in the purity of the oxide obtained. In the sol-gel methods, processing is generally long and the basic products used are expensive.
Furthermore, the calcination processes which generally represent the final stage in the obtention of oxides introduce the risk of additional pollution by the environment and lead to particles the surface whereof are less than favorable for certain applications.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,098,708, the obtention of particles of oxides of thorium and uranium by a hydrothermal process consisting of heating an acid solution such as a hydrochloric or sulfuric acid solution of oxides of these metals to a temperature of 170.degree. to 250.degree. C., under a pressure of 100 to 400 psi (approximately 6.5.times.10.sup.5 to 2.6.times.10.sup.6 Pa), is described. In this patent, it is indicated that the process is of interest in particular because the rare earths potentially present do not precipitate during the carrying out of this hydrothermal process.

Particulate compositions of rare earth oxide and method of making same


A fusion bonding process for polymeric components and welding heads for use in the process are described. Methods and devices can be utilized to weld polymer-based structural components to one another by use of an enhanced friction stir welding technology that combines heating, pressure, and polymer agitation to form a highly secure joint between polymeric structural components and a short fiber reinforced thermoplastic connection element.

Polymers can generally be categorized as either thermoset polymers or thermoplastic polymers. Thermosets include polymers that are highly crosslinked and while they may exhibit some softening upon heating, they cannot be melted and reformed. The lack of recyclability of thermosets is a detraction as is the fact that components formed of thermoset compositions cannot be welded to other materials. However, thermoset components exhibit excellent physical characteristics including temperature and chemical resistance and dimensional stability as well as being very cost effective. Thermoplastic polymers exhibit a melting temperature and as such are capable of welding and recycling. In addition, they can exhibit higher impact resistance than thermosets and can also be highly resistant to chemical degradation. Unfortunately, thermoplastic polymers, particularly thermoplastic engineering polymers, can be quite expensive.
Structures formed of thermoplastic polymer compositions have several advantages over thermoset composites. For instance, joints between thermoplastic parts can be made by relatively simple fusion bonding or welding, creating cohesive joints that are in many ways preferable over the adhesive and mechanical joints used for assembly of thermoset polymer structures. Industrial applications have shown that thin-walled shells formed of thermoplastic compositions can be built effectively using manual lay-up or fiber placement followed by autoclave-based consolidation and joints between skins, spars and ribs of structures can be created effectively using induction welding. However, wider application of welded thermoplastic constructs to practical structural applications is hampered by the cost of the polymers compared with thermoset materials. Moreover, co-consolidation costs (e.g., tooling and equipment), as well as high cost and lead-time for current applied induction welding techniques prevent wider use of thermoplastic compositions in many structural applications.
What are needed in the art are structure formation methods and systems for thermoplastic polymer composites that can decrease costs and time involved in formation. For instance, improved welding methods and devices for use with polymeric compositions would be of great benefit in structural applications. Moreover, methods and materials that could be utilized in forming low cost hybrid thermoset/thermoplastic composites that exhibit the dimensional stability and resistance of thermosets while exhibiting the fusion welding capability of thermoplastics would be of great benefit.

Welding head and method for use with polymeric components


The present invention provides an hermetic electric compressor capable of stably supplying oil to a compression chamber with a low noise level. The hermetic electric compressor has a closed vessel, an electric element, a compressing element that is disposed over the electric element and driven by the electric element, and an oil reservoir. The hermetic electric compressor also has an oil supply mechanism for supplying the oil from the oil reservoir to the compressing element in the closed vessel, and a suction muffler that communicates with a refrigerant suction part for sucking a refrigerant into the compressing element and is formed of a box body having a predetermined spatial volume. The suction muffler is positioned below the position where the oil is supplied into the closed vessel, and the box body has at least one oil suction port used for sucking a predetermined amount of oil.

An hermetic electric compressor including an electric element and a compressing element in a closed vessel is widely used as a compressor employed in an electric refrigerator or an air conditioner. For example, an hermetic electric compressor having a structure shown in FIG. 6 is disclosed as prior art in U.S. Pat. No. 5,228,843.
The conventional hermetic electric compressor will be described hereinafter with reference to FIG. 6. The upside and downside of the hermetic electric compressor are determined with reference to the state where the compressor is installed in the normal attitude.
FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the conventional hermetic electric compressor. Closed vessel 201 includes stator 202, electric element 204 formed of rotor 203, and compressing element 205 driven by electric element 204. Oil 207 is reserved in the lower part of closed vessel 201. Compressing element 205 will now be described in detail. Crankshaft 208 has spindle 209 pressed and fitted to rotor 203 and eccentric part 210 formed eccentrically to spindle 209. Oil pump 211 is disposed in spindle 209 so as to open in oil 207. One end of communication hole 212 disposed in eccentric part 210 opens at the upper end of eccentric part 210, and the other end communicates with oil pump 211 via oil groove 213 formed in the outer periphery of spindle 209. Cylinder block 214 has substantially cylindrical compression chamber 215 and bearing 216 for pivoting spindle 209, and is formed over electric element 204. Piston 217 is inserted into compression chamber 215, and is coupled to eccentric part 210 through coupling means 218. Valve plate 219 having a compressing valve and a suction valve is disposed on an end surface of compression chamber 215, and head 220 having a space partitioned to a discharge side and a suction side is disposed outside valve plate 219. Suction tube 221 is fixed to closed vessel 201 and connected to the low pressure side (not shown) of a freezing cycle so that refrigerant gas (not shown) is guided into closed vessel 201. Suction muffler 222 is disposed under cylinder block 214, and is grappled and hence fixed by valve plate 219 and head 220. One end of suction muffler 222 communicates with the suction side of head 220 and communicates with compression chamber 215 through the suction valve of valve plate 219. The other end of suction muffler 222 forms sound absorbing space 224 communicating with opening 223 formed near suction tube 221 disposed in closed vessel 201.
A series of operations in the structure discussed above are described. Rotor 203 of electric element 204 rotates crankshaft 208. Motion of eccentric part 210 is transmitted to piston 217 via coupling means 218, thereby reciprocating piston 217 in compression chamber 215. Refrigerant gas guided into closed vessel 201 through suction tube 221 is sucked from opening 223 of suction muffler 222, and is continuously compressed in compression chamber 215. By rotating crankshaft 208, oil 207 is sucked by oil pump 211, is guided upwardly from oil groove 213, passes through communication hole 212, and is sprayed from the upper end of eccentric part 210 into closed vessel 201. Sprayed oil 207 is sucked together with refrigerant gas from opening 223 of suction muffler 222, and provides lubrication and sealing between piston 217 and the inside of compression chamber 215.
However, the hermetic electric compressor has the following problems. In the conventional hermetic electric compressor, oil 207 sprayed into closed vessel 201 is indirectly sucked together with refrigerant gas from opening 223, so that an amount of oil 207 sucked into compression chamber 215 is widely dispersed by spraying oil 207. Therefore, when the amount of oil 207 is small, lubrication between piston 217 and the inside of compression chamber 215 is insufficient, thereby leading to the generation of abrasion of sliding parts, and sealing is incomplete thereby decreasing freezing capacity.
The present invention addresses the conventional problems, and aims to provide an hermetic electric compressor capable of stably supplying the right amount of oil into a compression chamber.

Hermetic electric compressor having a suction muffler


In a power supply apparatus, a charge-pump type step-up circuit is adapted to charge a step-up capacitor by a power supply voltage, step up a charged voltage of the step-up capacitor using a charge-pump operation, and discharge a stepped-up voltage to a smoothing capacitor. A regulator has a first comparator adapted to compare a voltage corresponding to an output voltage of the step-up circuit with a reference voltage to generate a comparison output signal and skip a clock signal in accordance with the comparison output signal, so that the output voltage of the step-up circuit is brought close to a target voltage. Discharging of the smoothing capacitor is carried out through a resistor with a predetermined time constant when the output voltage of the step-up circuit is between the target voltage and a voltage lower than the target voltage by a predetermined value.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a power supply apparatus including a charge-pump type step-up circuit and a regulator for regulating the output voltage of the charge-pump type step-up circuit.
2. Description of the Related Art
A typical power supply apparatus suitably used in a driver for driving a display panel such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel of a mobile phone or a personal digital assistant (PDA) includes a charge-pump type step-up circuit and a regulator for regulating the output voltage of the charge-pump type step-up circuit.
A prior art power supply apparatus is constructed by a charge-pump type step-up circuit having a single discharging (step-up) time constant of a smoothing capacitor, and a regulator formed by a voltage divider for dividing the output voltage of the step-up circuit to generate a divided voltage, a comparator for comparing the divided voltage with a reference voltage to generate a comparison output signal, and an AND circuit for supplying a clock signal to the step-up circuit in accordance with the comparison output signal (see: JP-2005-20971A). This will be explained later in detail.

Power supply apparatus including charge-pump type step-up circuit having different discharging time constants


Described is the preparation of sulfonated polyoxadiazole polymers with a high degree of sulfonation and good flammability properties. The polymers are useful in articles such as fibers.

Workers that can be exposed to flames, high temperatures, and/or electrical arcs and the like, need protective clothing and articles made from thermally resistant fabrics. Any increase in the effectiveness of these protective articles, or any increase in the comfort, durability, and dyeability of these articles while maintaining protection performance, is welcomed.
Polyoxadiazole polymers have unique properties and are useful in many fields, for example high performance fibers, such as flame retardant fibers. One method to improve flammability is to prepare sulfonated polyoxadiazole polymers. These methods have included the use of sulfonated monomers and post-sulfonation. Gomes et al. (US 20098/0318109, US2008/0193652, US2009/0203870) reacted hydrazine sulfate and aromatic dicarboxylic acids in phosphoric acid to form monosulfonated polyoxadiazole copolymers, and subsequently post-sulfonated the polymer. Another method is the use of oleum during polymerization to sulfonate the polymer as it is prepared. Lee et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 7,528,216 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,582,721) prepared random polyoxadiazole copolymers by reacting aromatic dicarboxylic acids with hydrazine sulfate in a limited amount of oleum, and prepared sulfonated random polyoxadiazole copolymers using sulfonated monomers (U.S. Pat. No. 7,528,217).
There is a need for an easy method to prepare polyoxadiazole polymers with a high degree of sulfonation that produce polymers with improved properties, such as flame retardancy, UV stability, and dyeability.

Preparation of sulfonated naphthalene polyoxadiazoles polymers


A temperature sensor for radiant heating units with a heating coil disposed in a cup includes a tube with a first end connected to a housing of a switch with a movable contact cooperating with stationery contacts in the housing. A two-section rod, which extends into the housing of the switch and operates the movable contact, is supported inside the tube. The tube and the rod have different thermal expansion coefficients. To prevent a shift in the switching point, the section of the rod that operates the contact terminates outside the hollow space of the cup, and the temperature-induced length changes of this section and of the housing are matched to each other.

The present invention relates to a temperature sensor, and more particularly to a temperature sensor for a radiant heating unit that can be used in a cooking stove.
A temperature sensor of this type is described, for example in European patent publication EP 0 141 923 B. Two separately controllable heating coils are arranged in a cup of the radiant heating unit. The cup has a wrap-around projection that extends from the bottom of the cup and separates the two heating coils. The temperature sensor has a tube that extends across both heating coils and a three-segment rod that is supported in the tube. The center section of the rod extends only across the region of the centrally located heating coil. The end faces of the two outer sections of the rod abut the center section of the rod and have a thermal expansion coefficient which corresponds at least to the thermal expansion coefficient of the surrounding tube. The tube is formed as one piece, whereas the thermal expansion coefficient of the center section of the rod is smaller than the thermal expansion coefficient of the surrounding tube.
In a different design, the thermal expansion coefficient of the center section of the rod is greater than the thermal expansion coefficient of the surrounding tube, and the outer sections of the rod have a thermal expansion coefficient that is no larger, and preferably smaller, than the thermal expansion coefficient of the surrounding tube.
With this arrangement, the exterior sections of the rod which are located in the regions of the outer heating coil, expand equally or more than the surrounding tube, which over-compensates the influence of the addible heating coil. The temperature sensor then measures essentially the temperature in the central region of the cup and hence the temperature in the region of the inner heating coil.
European patent publication EP 0141 923 B also describes a solution wherein the tube is likewise formed in three sections, and wherein the sections of the tube have essentially a one-to-one correspondence with the sections of the rod. The center section of the tube has here a greater thermal expansion coefficient than the outer sections of the tube; likewise, the outer sections of the rod have a greater thermal expansion coefficient than the center section of the rod. The outer sections of the tube and the rod, respectively, are arranged in the region of the outer heating coil. In this embodiment, the influence of the addible outer heating coil is also compensated.
With these conventional approaches, although the influence of the outer heating coil is compensated, the switching point of the temperature sensor is still shifted, because heat is necessarily transferred from the cup of the radiant heating unit into the heating space surrounding the radiant heating unit due to thermal conduction and radiation. The switch housing then also expands according to its thermal expansion coefficient and hence affects the switching point.
Conventional temperature sensors for radiant heating units with a continuous rod that is supported in a tube connected with a switch housing and extending into the switch housing also experience a noticeably drop in the switch actuation temperature when the switch housing heats up. Switch housings are mostly formed of steatite and are located outside the cup of the radiant heating unit. The switch actuation temperature therefore must be set high enough so as to sufficiently exceed the actual switch actuation temperature for a cold switch housing.
It would therefore be desirable and advantageous to provide a temperature sensor that does not require a disproportionate increase of the desired switch actuation temperature when the switch housing is cold, which obviates prior art shortcomings and is able to prevent an initial overshoot of the set cooking temperature.

Electrovac, Fabrikation elektrotechnischer Spezialartikel Gesellschaft m.b.H.


A sheet supply apparatus for supplying record sheets to an image forming apparatus, the sheet supply apparatus includes a sheet supply table for supporting the record sheets stacked thereon; vertically moving device for vertically moving the sheet supply table; sheet supply device provided above the sheet supply table and contacting a topmost record sheet of the record sheets for supplying the record sheets one by one from the topmost record sheet to the image forming apparatus; left and right movement instructing device for giving an instruction to move the sheet supply table in a direction orthogonal to a transfer direction of the print sheet; left and right moving device for moving the sheet supply table in response to an instruction from the left and right movement instructing device; and controller for executing a control of moving the sheet supply table downward by the vertically moving device when the left and right movement instructing device gives the instruction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sheet supply apparatus for supplying record sheet to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to a sheet supply machine having a vertically movable sheet supplying table supporting a plurality of record sheets stacked thereon in which an image forming position to the record sheet can be adjusted by moving the sheet supplying table right and left.
2. Description of the Related Art
An image forming apparatus for forming an image on record sheets, for example, record sheets for general use, uses the record sheets by loading the record sheets on a sheet supply table. Particularly, in the case of a stencil printing machine, high-speed printing can be carried out since printing operation is carried out by mounting a stencil sheet on a printing drum situated inside the machine and rotating the printing drum. In correspondence therewith, there is constructed a constitution in which a fairly large number of record sheets is loaded on the sheet supply table and the large number of the record sheets can be continuously supplied in a short period of time in correspondence with printing speed.
The sheet supply table is constituted such that the topmost record sheet disposed at sheet supply position is supplied to a print section situated inside the printing machine one by one. A scraper roller (sheet supply roller) of the sheet supply section is provided at the sheet supply position and record sheet can be continuously supplied to the inside of the apparatus by rotating the scraper roller.
Further, there is constructed a constitution in which the sheet supply table is controlled to elevate in correspondence with supply of the record sheet and the topmost record sheet is always brought into contact with the scraper roller.
According to the record sheet, a position thereof in the left and right direction (width direction orthogonal to a transfer direction) is made variable in supplying the record sheet from the sheet supply table to the print section to thereby enable to move an image forming position in the left and right direction on the record sheet. For example, in the case of a stencil printing machine, by making variable a transfer position in the left and right direction of the record sheet relative to the printing drum, a contact position of the record sheet relative to an image position of stencil sheet mounted to the printing drum can be made variable in the left and right direction, so that the image forming position on the record sheet can be moved in the left and right direction.
FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a sheet supply apparatus. A sheet supply table 50 loaded with the record sheets is provided with a dial 51 for moving the sheet supply table 50 in the left and right direction. By manually adjusting the dial 51, a screw shaft 52 is rotated, a nut portion 53 fixed to the sheet supply table 50 is moved in the left and right direction, thereby moving the sheet supply table 50 in the same direction. Thus, an image forming position on a record sheet P can be adjusted to move in the left and right direction.
The topmost one of the record sheets P loaded on the sheet supply table 50 is brought into contact with a scraper roller 57a of sheet supply means 57 provided above the sheet supply table 50 and the record sheet is supplied one by one from the topmost sheet to a print section by rotating the scraper roller 57a.
The sheet supply table 50 is constituted such that the sheet supply table 50 is controlled to elevate gradually in compliance with supply of the record sheet P and the topmost record sheet P is always brought into contact with the scraper roller 57a and can be supplied to the print section.
However, according to the above-described constitution, if the sheet supply table 50 is moved while the scraper roller 57a contacts the record sheet P for adjusting the image forming position on the record sheet P in the left and right direction, the record sheet P is supplied in an oblique direction by being rubbed with the scraper roller 57a, thereby causing sheet supply jamming in next printing operation. Further, the scraper roller 57a is also damaged. This accelerates deterioration in printing performance of the sheet supply apparatus.
Further, a conventional printer is constituted such that the left and right movement can be conducted regardless of printing operation. Therefore, if the sheet supply table is moved in the left and right direction during printing, conveying force may be exerted in an oblique direction on the record sheet, thereby causing record sheet jamming.
Then, it is possible that the sheet supply table is electrically moved in the left and right direction by means such as a motor instead of the manual operation stated above. However, the above-mentioned problems cannot be solved at all merely by adopting such constitution that the sheet supply table is moved in the left and right direction by motor power. Additionally, if the motor is energized while the scraper roller contacts the record sheet; excessive electric power is consumed due to friction between the scraper roller and the record sheet in comparison with the case where no friction occurs therebetween. This deteriorates electrical efficiency and leads to overheating and life-time deterioration of the motor


A digital broadcasting receiver tuner that demodulates excellently a digital signal by substantially reducing a second local oscillation signal that strays from a second frequency conversion stage to a first frequency conversion stage. The digital broadcasting receiver tuner comprises the first frequency conversion stage for frequency converting a received signal into a first intermediate frequency signal higher than the upper frequency limit the received signal, a first intermediate frequency filter for extracting the first intermediate frequency signal, the second frequency conversion stage for frequency converting the extracted first intermediate frequency signal into a second intermediate frequency signal having a predetermined band included in a frequency range extending from 0 to 30 MHz, a second intermediate frequency filter for extracting the second intermediate frequency signal, and a demodulation stage for demodulating the extracted second intermediate frequency signal, wherein the second frequency conversion stage comprises a frequency mixer of high isolation characteristics.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a digital broadcasting receiver tuner, and more particularly, to a double-conversion type digital broadcasting receiver tuner that is dedicated to receiving digital television broadcast, and performs high-performance digital demodulation with a reduced error rate.
2. Description of the Related Art
With advances in multi-media-related technology, analog broadcasting that uses analog signals as baseband signals is rapidly going to be replaced with digital broadcasting employing digital signals in the field of television broadcasting including ground television broadcasting, CATV (community antenna television) broadcasting, BSTV (broadcasting satellite television) broadcasting and the like.
In the television broadcasting, digital broadcasting is different from analog broadcasting not only in the signal format of the baseband signals but also in type of modulation. For example, digital broadcasting employs QPSK modulation or QAM modulation. For this reason, the television tuner for receiving both digital broadcast signal and analogy broadcast signal contains an analog signal demodulator circuit and a digital signal demodulator circuit to demodulate both the received analogy signal and digital signal, and the television tuner is thus a double-conversion television tuner.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an example of such a digital broadcasting receiver tuner, which is already disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 7-246323 filed by the applicant of this invention.
As shown in FIG. 5, a digital broadcasting receiver tuner 51 comprises an antenna input node 52, a wideband bandpass filter 53, a first frequency conversion stage 54, a second frequency conversion stage 55, a distributor 56, an analog signal demodulator 57, a digital signal demodulator 58, an analog signal output node 59, a digital signal output node 60 and a selector 61.
The first frequency conversion stage 54 comprises a first frequency mixer 62, a first local oscillator 63, a first phase-locked loop (PLL) 64 and a first intermediate frequency signal selecting bandpass filter 65, and the second frequency conversion stage 55 comprises a second frequency mixer 66, a second local oscillator 67, a second phase-locked loop (PLL) 68, and a second intermediate frequency selecting lowpass filter 69.
In the first frequency conversion stage 54, the first frequency mixer 62 is configured with its first input node connected to the antenna input node 52 via the wideband bandpass filter 53, with its second input node connected to an output node of the first local oscillator 63, and with its output node connected to a first input node of the second frequency mixer 66 in the second frequency conversion stage 55 via the bandpass filter 65. The first phase-locked loop 64 is configured with its input node connected to an output node of the first local oscillator 63, with its output node connected to a control input node of the first local oscillator 63, and with its control input node connected to an output node of the selector 61.
In the second frequency conversion stage 55, the second frequency mixer 66 is configured with its second input node connected to an output node of the second local oscillator 67 and with its output node connected to an input node of the distributor 56 via the second intermediate frequency selecting lowpass filter 69. The second phase-locked loop 68 is configured with its input node connected to an output node of the second local oscillator 67, with its output node connected to a control input node of the second local oscillator 67, and with its control input node connected to an output node of the selector 61. The analog signal demodulator 57 is configured with its input node connected to a first output node of the distributor 56 and with its output node connected to the analog signal output node 59.
The digital signal demodulator 58 is configured with its input node connected to a second output node of the distributor 56 and with its output node connected to the digital signal output node 60. In response to the control signal supplied by the second phase-locked loop 68, the second local oscillator 67 is switched so that it produces a second local oscillation signal at a first frequency when the baseband signal of the selected received signal is an analog signal, and so that it produces a second local oscillation signal of at a second frequency higher than the first frequency when the baseband signal of the selected received signal is a digital signal.
The digital broadcasting receiver tuner 51 generally operates as follows.
By operating the selector 61, a desired television broadcast signal is selected, and the baseband signal format of the selected broadcast signal is also selected. In the first frequency conversion stage 54, the output voltage of the first phase-locked loop 64 is changed in response to the selected broadcast signal, and the output voltage is used to control the frequency of the first local oscillation signal from the frequency-controlled, first local oscillator 63. In the second frequency conversion stage 55, the output voltage of the second phase-locked loop 68 is adjusted in response to the selected signal format, and the output voltage of the second phase-locked loop 68 is used to control the frequency of the second local oscillation signal from the frequency-controlled, second local oscillator 67, wherein the frequency of the second local oscillation signal is controlled to a first frequency when the baseband signal format of the selected broadcast signal is an analog signal, and is controlled to a second frequency higher than the first frequency when the baseband signal format of the selected broadcast signal is a digital signal.
When the broadcast signal received at an antenna comes into the antenna input node 52, the wideband bandpass filter 53 filters out unwanted components of the received signal, and the filtered signal is supplied to the first frequency conversion stage 54. The first frequency conversion stage 54 frequency-mixes the received signal and the first local oscillation signal, and feeds the resulting frequency mixed output to the first intermediate frequency signal selecting bandpass filter 65. The first intermediate frequency signal selecting bandpass filter 65 extracts the received signal selected by the selector 61 out of the remaining received signals, namely, extracts the received signal of a first intermediate frequency f.sub.IF1 as a first intermediate frequency signal and then feeds it to the second frequency conversion stage 55.
The second frequency conversion stage 55 frequency-mixes the first intermediate frequency signal and the second local oscillation frequency signal of the first frequency or the second frequency produced by the second local oscillator 67, and feeds the resulting frequency mixed output to the second intermediate frequency selecting lowpass filter 69. The second intermediate frequency selecting lowpass filter 69 extracts frequency-converted signal of the second intermediate frequency f.sub.IF2A or f.sub.IF2D as the second intermediate frequency signal and feeds it to the distributor 56.
The distributor 56 distributes the supplied second intermediate frequency signal to both the analog signal demodulator 57 and the digital signal demodulator 58. The analog signal demodulator 57 analog demodulates the second intermediate frequency signal when the baseband signal format of the second intermediate frequency signal supplied is an analogy signal, and outputs the demodulated signal at the analog signal output node 59. The digital signal demodulator 58 digital-demodulates the second intermediate frequency signal when the baseband signal format of the second intermediate frequency signal supplied is a digital signal, and outputs the demodulated signal at the digital signal output node 60.
As analog broadcasting today is expected to be rapidly replaced with digital broadcasting in television system, the demand on the television tuner is shifting from a television tuner provided with both an analog signal demodulator circuit and a digital signal demodulator circuit for receiving selectively analog broadcasting and digital broadcasting to a digital television broadcasting receiver tuner provided with a digital signal demodulator circuit only, dedicated to receiving digital broadcasting.
When the digital broadcasting receiver tuner dedicated to receiving digital broadcasting is of such a double conversion type digital broadcasting receiver tuner as the already described digital broadcasting receiver tuner 51, a unique problem associated with reception of the digital broadcast signal need to be solved.
More particularly, when the second local oscillation signal from the second oscillator is fed to the second frequency mixer in the second frequency conversion stage, the second local oscillation signal may appear at the first intermediate frequency signal input node of the second frequency mixer without being sufficiently attenuated through the second frequency mixer. The second local oscillation signal propagates backward through the bandpass filter, and reaches the first frequency mixer in the first frequency conversion stage where it is mixed with the first local oscillation signal output from the first local oscillator, and thus spurious component having the same frequency as the second intermediate frequency signal from the second frequency mixer is generated. The spurious component strays through the bandpass filter to the second frequency mixer, and as a result, the spurious component may be superimposed onto the second intermediate frequency signal. Furthermore the spurious component may stray through a power supply circuit to the second frequency mixer, and may be superimposed to the second intermediate frequency signal output from the second frequency mixer. The spurious component superimposed is of the same frequency as the second intermediate frequency signal while their phases are different, and thus performance in the demodulation of QPSK or QAM modulated digital signal will be degraded.
Although the above-described digital broadcasting receiver tuner 51 may be easily modified to a receiver tuner dedicated to receiving digital broadcasting by eliminating the analog signal demodulator circuit and its associated circuit, no consideration is given to resolving the unique problem associated with reception of the digital broadcast signal, and thus high performance is not expected in the demodulation of the digital signal.


A wallboard fastening member and methods of using the same which is adapted to be positioned as a wall stud or joist between existing studs or joists present in a walls and ceilings of residential, commercial and industrial structures. The wallboard fastening member in accordance with the present invention is intended to be used where opposing ends of a piece of wallboard, such as gypsum drywall wallboard, are not aligned with an existing stud or joist to avoid the necessity of fitting up or cutting the wallboard and thus creating undesirable scrap. The preferred embodiment of a wallboard fastening member is a generally elongated member and preferably includes a stepped configuration on one side to permit the wallboard fastening member to fasten adjacent pieces of wallboard having different sizes by using the side having a stepped configuration or to fasten adjacent pieces of wallboard of the same size by using the flat side. In addition, if desired, wallboard fastening member can include score lines or perforations to permit the length of wallboard fastening member to be easily and quickly adjusted.

The present invention relates generally to a new and novel wallboard fastening member and methods of using the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to a new and novel wallboard fastening member which may be utilized to facilitate the installation of wallboard, such as interior gypsum drywall wallboard and exterior sheetrock, such as GYPROCK.RTM., a product manufactured by United States Gypsum in Chicago, Ill., in residential, commercial and industrial structures during both new construction and renovation and methods of using the same.
When installing wallboard, such as gypsum drywall wallboard, in residential, commercial and industrial structures, it is generally desirable to attach or fasten at least two (2) opposing edges of the wallboard to studs or joists present in the walls and/or ceilings of the structure as framed. Attachment of pieces of wallboard to the studs or joists is typically made using mechanical fasteners, such as nails or threaded screws, although adhesives may also be used. Studs or joists present in the walls and/or ceilings of a structure are normally placed a relatively constant predetermined distance apart, typical distances being twelve (12) inches, sixteen (16) or twenty four (24) inches from the centerline of one stud or joist to the centerline of the next stud or joist. Furthermore, pieces of wallboard, such as gypsum drywall wallboard, are normally fabricated to a predetermined size, typical sizes varying from four (4) or four and one half (41/2) feet in width by eight (8), ten (10), twelve (12) feet, fourteen (14) and sixteen (16) in length.
In practice, variations are present in the sizes and positioning of studs or joists due to, for example, material tolerances and expansion, contraction, bending and/or warpage of the studs or joists, as well as mismeasurement and/or mislocation of the studs or joists during framing of the structure. In addition, significant dimensional variations are often present in pieces of wallboard due to manufacturing tolerances, as well as material expansion, contraction and/or warpage. Accordingly, opposing edges of the wallboard often do not align with the stud or joist as desired. Therefore, it is currently customary practice for an installer to select particular pieces of wallboard for installation in particular locations or, if the pieces of wallboard are oversize, cutting the wallboard pieces to size. This not only takes significant time, but results in additional waste or "scrap" since the entire piece of wallboard is not being utilized. Furthermore, it is customary practice to place cut edges, when possible, into corner joints and to use factory cut edges in interior joints. However, this is not always feasible and, particularly when multiple cuts are made to the wallboard pieces, situations occur when the cut edges are used in an interior wall or ceiling joint. This typically requires additional time and effort in achieving a smooth and straight cut and, even so, may result in a less than desirable match-up between adjacent wallboard pieces in an interior joint.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is the provision of a wallboard fastening member and methods of using the same which is inexpensive to fabricate, easy to use and which facilitates the installation of wallboard in residential, commercial and industrial structures.
These and other objects of the present invention are attained by the provision of a wallboard fastening member and methods of using the same which is adapted to be positioned as a wall or ceiling stud or joist between existing studs or joists present in the walls and ceilings of residential, commercial and industrial structures. The wallboard fastening member in accordance with the present invention is intended to be used when opposing sides of a piece of wallboard, such as gypsum drywall wallboard, are not aligned with an existing stud or joist to avoid the necessity of fitting up or cutting the wallboard to size, thus saving time and reducing the extent of undesirable scrap. One preferred embodiment of a wallboard fastening member is a generally elongated member which preferably includes a flat configuration on one side and a stepped configuration on another side to permit the wallboard fastening member to fasten adjacent pieces of wallboard having the same thickness using the side having the flat configuration and adjacent pieces of wallboard having different thicknesses by using the side having a stepped configuration. In addition, if desired, wallboard fastening member can include score lines and/or perforations to permit the length of wallboard fastening member to be easily and quickly adjusted.
Other advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Wallboard fastening member and methods of using the same


Various embodiments are generally directed to techniques for increasing the amount of information conveyed per graphical object in graphical presentations of data. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium includes instructions, that when executed, cause a computing device to determine a major range of values occurring during a major period, the major period including a shorter minor period; and generate a vector graph including a graphical object and an axis indicating a scale. The graphical object may include a major period line parallel to the axis and indicating the major range; and a minor period arrow overlying and pointing in a direction parallel to the length of the major period line, the point and base of the minor period arrow overlying the major period line at locations indicating values at an end and at a start, respectively, of the minor period. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

With the creation and processing of ever larger data sets comes an accompanying challenge of presenting ever larger amounts of information from such data sets in a way that is compact and also easily understandable. Compactness is an especially useful attribute of devices with limited screen size or resolution, such as tablet computing devices or smart phones. Tables and prose (e.g., text phrases or sentences) have long been used to present information, but reading text takes typically longer than viewing a graphical presentation of information. Various approaches to graphically presenting information have been devised, but typically employ graphical objects that convey relatively little information per graphical object. Thus, a relatively high quantity of graphical objects are typically required to convey larger amounts of information, leading to a cluttered presentation that takes longer to view and understand.


A self-locking curtain clip for slidably suspending, with like clips, a curtain on an overhead curtain rod, includes a pair of substantially rigid legs defining top ends and bottom ends, the legs being configured and dimensioned to extend cooperatively around a curtain rod and through an aperture in a curtain for suspending the curtain from the rod. A connector pivotally secures the legs together adjacent the top ends, and a spring biases the bottom ends towards one another. Automatic fasteners are provided for locking the bottom ends together when the clip suspends a curtain and for unlocking the bottom ends when the clip is not suspending a curtain, as are manually operable wings for overcoming the biasing spring to spread the bottom ends apart when the bottom ends are not locked together.

The present invention relates to a self-locking curtain clip for slidably suspending, with like clips, a curtain on an overhead curtain rod, and in particular to a self-locking shower curtain clip for slidably suspending, with like clips, a shower curtain on an overhead shower curtain rod.
Curtain clips for slidably suspending, with like clips, a curtain on an overhead curtain rod are well known in the curtain art. In general, such clips comprise a pair of legs defining top ends and bottom ends, the legs being configured and dimensioned to extend cooperatively around the curtain rod and through a respective aperture in a curtain for suspending the curtain from the rod.
In one well-known type of clip, the legs are resiliently flexible and joined together at the top ends. The bottom ends may be forcibly separated in order to allow placement of the clip on a curtain rod and entry of at least one of the bottom ends through a respective aperture in the curtain. This type of curtain clip works well initially, but over time (and these clips may be used for many years) the resilient flexibility of the legs (and in particular legs of plastic) turns to rigidity, and it becomes difficult to remove the clip from the curtain rod or even to open the clip sufficiently to enable replacement of the curtain.
In another well-known type of clip, the legs are substantially rigid. In this case, means are provided adjacent the top ends for securing the top ends of the legs together and for biasing the bottom ends of the legs towards one another. Means are preferably provided for manually locking the bottom ends together and for manually unlocking the bottom ends. Manually operable means (such as wings) allow the user to overcome the biasing means and spread the bottom ends apart when the bottom ends are not locked together.
Clips of the second type have not proven to be entirely satisfactory in use. Typically, the person using the clip must take separate actions to lock the bottom ends together (for example, for ordinary use when the clip suspends a curtain from a rod) or to unlock the bottom ends (for example, in order to suspend a curtain from the clip or to place the clip on a curtain rod). In extreme cases, two-handed operation is required, with one hand unlocking the bottom ends in order to enable the bottom ends to be separated and the other hand operating the means for overcoming the bias and spreading the bottom ends apart. As this two-handed operation frequently occurs over the head of the user, it is difficult and tiring to perform for each of the clips being used in unison. Thus the need remains for a clip of the second type which does not require a separate motion on the part of the user to lock or unlock the bottom ends.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention in one embodiment to provide a self-locking curtain clip for slidably suspending, with like clips, a curtain on an overhead curtain rod.
Another object is to provide in one embodiment such a curtain clip which is self-unlocking.
A further object is to provide in one embodiment such a curtain clip which is simple and economical to manufacture, use and maintain, the clip being possessed of a long useful life.
It has now been found that the above and related objects of the present invention are obtained in a self-locking curtain clip for slidably suspending, with like clips, an aperture curtain on an overhead curtain rod. The clip comprises a pair of substantially rigid legs defining top ends and bottom ends, the legs being configured and dimensioned to extend cooperatively about a curtain rod and through an aperture in a curtain for suspending the curtain from the rod. Connecting means pivotally secure the legs together adjacent the top ends. Automatic means are provided for locking the bottom ends together when the clip suspends a curtain and for unlocking the bottom ends when the clip is not suspending a curtain. Manually operable means are provided for spreading the bottom ends apart when the bottom ends are not locked together.
In a preferred embodiment, one of the bottom ends defines first engaging means, preferably a hook, and the other of the bottom ends defines second engaging means, preferably an eyelet. Biasing means bias the bottom ends towards one another. The biasing means acts to inter-engage the first and second engaging means without locking the bottom ends togetherxe2x80x94in other words, simply by causing the hook to enter the eyelet. However, the hook, when bearing the weight of its proportional share of a curtain suspended therefrom, engages the eyelet in a locked orientation to preclude easy manual separation of the hook and the eyelet, and, when not bearing such weight, engages the eyelet in an unlocked orientation to enable easy manual separation of the hook and the eyelet.
Preferably, the hook is pivotally secured to the one bottom end for movement in a vertical plane relative to the one bottom end such that in a locked orientation the hook is locked together with the eyelet, and in an unlocked orientation the hooked is unlocked and releasable from the eyelet. The hook is pivotal from the unlocked orientation to the locked orientation by the weight of its proportional share of a curtain suspended therefrom. Thus a free end of a hook is movable a vertically extending distance between an upper unlocked orientation and a lower locked orientation. Preferably the hook is resiliently flexible and, in the absence of pressure thereon, maintains the upper unlocked orientation.
The present invention is particularly useful as a shower curtain clip for slidably suspending, with like clips, a shower curtain on an overhead shower curtain rod.
The present invention additionally encompasses, in combination, the clip, a curtain, and a curtain rod.


A tractor bed system for allowing a driver to sleep while another driver drives a tractor includes the present invention meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a base being coupled to a floor of a sleeper cab. A frame is attached to the base and is positioned in a spaced relationship above the base. The frame receives a mattress and is configured to support a person in a prone position when the person is sleeping. A plurality of shock absorbers is coupled between the base and the frame. Each of the shock absorbers absorbs shocks passing from the base to the frame to inhibit disturbing the person on the mattress when the tractor is traveling over a rough surface.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to bed suspension systems and more particularly pertains to a new bed suspension system for allowing a driver to sleep while another driver drives a tractor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of bed suspension systems is known in the prior art which typically teaches the use of arms that are rigidly mounted to a frame a support surface to allow vertical movement to be transferred to the frame and thereby a mattress on the frame.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the need remains for a system that has certain improved features that allow for vertical shocks to be absorbed and reduced swaying of a bed to enhance the comfort of a driver sleeping in a tractor being driven along an uneven surface.


A device for grilling small pieces of food is described which is a basket made of a perforated metal. The device fits inside of conventional grills even when the lid of the grill is closed and can be easily removed for shaking and turning over of the small pieces of food without their falling out. The basket has upper and lower portions each with two outwardly extending flaps. When the upper portion is placed over the lower portion the flaps interface so that the basket may be easily shaken or turned over. Furthermore, when the upper portion is placed inside the lower portion stacking during shipping and storage is facilitated.

Various attempts have been made to develop devices for cooking or grilling specialty food items, particularly for use with outdoor barbecue grills. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,510,855 to Avner describes a secondary grilling apparatus which comprises a flat sheet of metal with rectangular openings which clips onto the bars of conventional barbecue grills. The sheet provides a secondary surface for grilling with smaller openings. However, the device cannot be easily taken out of the barbecue grill when hot and does not permit easy turning over of food items.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,069,196 to Schlosser et al. describes a pivoting auxiliary rack which attaches to the perimeter of a barbecue grill and can be pivoted from the side attachment over the surface of the grill or off to the side for easy retrieval of cooked food items. The pivoting rack comprises a circular flat grill with a rail around the edge to prevent food from falling off. The circular flat grill is similar to the main grill of the barbecue, but is held above the main grill by means of a pivot. The device suffers the same problems that a regular grill with longitudinal bars in that small food items easily slip through. Also, the device cannot be easily lifted out of the grill and shaken to turn over food items.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,846,941 to Goodwin discloses a barbecue basket which fully encases food items and is mounted on a spit, permitting one to easily turn cooking food items over for cooking on both sides. The device cannot be easily removed from the grill because it is mounted on a spit. Also, the device would not be suitable for small food items because the longitudinal bars create lengthwise openings through which small food items would fall out.
Other devices include the PLATINUM GRILLING WOK.TM. (sold by Charcoal Champion) which comprises a square bottom with trapezoidal sides that flare outward from their attachment to the square bottom. The wok contains some small circular openings to allow circulation of heated air and smoke. However, the wok contains no lid that permits shaking of food items to easily turn them over. In addition, the limited number of openings does not allow full circulation of heated air and smoke which are important for achieving optimum grilling flavor.
Still another device is the BARBECUE GRILLING GRID.TM. (sold by Charcoal Champion) which comprises a flat sheet with diamond-shaped openings and an upturned edge on one side. The grid cannot be easily lifted off of the grill, nor can it permit shaking of food items to turn them over without their falling out. It is essentially one-sided.

Device for cooking or grilling small pieces of food and method of use


A method of presenting an analysis of enterprise wide business data. In response to a user request to a web site operable to access enterprise wide business data and to provide statistical analysis, a six sigma enabled BIS transfers an electronic document to the user. The electronic document allows the user to select dimensions to specify which data to analyze for a given performance measure. Then, in response to a request from the user for a statistical analysis, the six sigma enabled BIS performs a statistical analysis of the performance measure and transfers an electronic copy of the statistical analysis to the user. In one embodiment the document comprises a histogram. The histogram has an overlay indicator of the statistical mean, as well as a target limit. In this fashion, the user may view the variance in the data, and see how much data are outside the target range.

To survive today companies must continuously improve quality and reduce the variability in every process throughout the organization. Access to data and the capability to analyze that data are the keys to reducing defects and increasing customer satisfaction, thus leading to increased productivity and greater top and bottom line growth.
Conventional business intelligence systems (BIS) allow a company to view and analyze performance measures across a business enterprise. These systems have useful functions such as: an ability to view data in a graphical or tabular format, to drill down to lower levels of data, and to alert the user if a performance measurement goes outside a target value. Some conventional systems are web-based and provide a configurable home page. Some conventional systems may have a library of performance measures or key performance indicators to benchmark actual performance against multiple targets. However, these conventional systems do not have the capability to present complex statistical analysis in a user friendly format, which is crucial to reducing defects and improving processes.
Referring to FIG. 1, a typical BIS report offers a view of a given performance measure, for example, book-to-ship cycle time. It provides a standard bar or line graph 170 to view the actual data 150 and user defined targets 152. The variance, however, is only listed in the table 160 below the graph 170, which also includes sums or averages of each column. To allow the user flexibility, there are many dimensions 154 (e.g., time, geography, etc.) by which to filter and view the report.
Viewing performance measures with line graphs, bar charts, pie charts, etc. provides a standardized way of analyzing data, but in many scenarios is not enough to get a complete and thorough understanding of the actual process capability. Often, more advanced statistics are required to understand the entire issue or discover opportunities that would normally be overlooked. For example, because the average is within the target range, the data may appear acceptable. However, many data points may actually be outside of the target range. Thus, problem data may be overlooked.
There also exist conventional ad-hoc statistical software packages; however, these packages have limitations as well. Such statistical software packages may be able to assist in measuring the quality of a given process or product. For example, they may calculate a sigma value, which is a statistical parameter that corresponds to a standard deviation on a bell curve. The number of deviations between the statistical mean and the customer defined limits of acceptability provides a quantifiable measurement of process performance. As the process capability increases, so does the sigma level of the process. A process that performs at the six sigma level has six standard deviations between the mean and the customer defined limits, and corresponds to 3.4 defects per million, assuming a normal distribution.
However, to perform a six sigma analysis ideally requires involvement of the entire organization, and hence requires access to information relative to a practical measure (e.g., book-to-ship cycle time), which may be distributed across an organization. Unfortunately, these conventional ad-hoc statistical systems do not generally have access to enterprise wide data, without having to download the data to the ad-hoc statistical software package. Downloading such data is often complex, as it may be stored across many databases across the world, and may be in different formats. Thus, the data may also need to be re-formatted before an analysis may be done. Additionally, some conventional statistical packages require the user to have a considerable knowledge of statistics to be able to produce a usable report. Furthermore, the statistical programs themselves may need to be loaded on each computer upon which an analysis is to be run, which is time consuming and costly.

Six sigma enabled web-based business intelligence system


Method and apparatus for managing temporary e-mail addresses is described. All e-mail sent to a temporary e-mail address is initially forwarded to an actual e-mail address. In some examples, the temporary e-mail address is automatically deactivated in response to an event such that no e-mail sent to the temporary e-mail address is forwarded to the actual e-mail address. A notification e-mail is sent to the actual e-mail address, the notification e-mail indicating that the temporary e-mail address has been deactivated and including one or more uniform resource locators (URLs) configured to manage the deactivation of the temporary e-mail address.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to computer systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for managing temporary e-mail addresses.
2. Description of the Related Art
Users of the Internet typically obtain an e-mail address for use in sending and receiving electronic mail (e-mail). When browsing the World Wide Web (WWW), a user may be required to submit an e-mail address to web services for various purposes, such as signing up for an account, ordering goods or services, etc. Users may find it undesirable to use their actual e-mail address for all such queries for fear of receiving unauthorized e-mail (e.g., spam e-mail). Thus, services have been developed through which a user can interact to receive a temporary e-mail address. The temporary e-mail address is dynamically provisioned (e.g., on demand when requested by a web site) and is associated with an actual e-mail address of the user. E-mail sent to the temporary e-mail address is forwarded to the actual e-mail address of the user. The temporary e-mail address is typically associated with bounding conditions, such as a term of use. After the term of use expires, the temporary e-mail address is deactivated. In this manner, the user can protect his or her actual e-mail address. The user may obtain many temporary e-mail addresses in this manner.
One disadvantage associated with the temporary e-mail address is the automatic deactivation thereof without notification. A user may be unaware that a temporary e-mail address has expired and still be relying on such temporary e-mail address to receive e-mail. However, once deactivated, the temporary e-mail address will no longer forward e-mail to the user's actual e-mail address. This creates the situation where the user never receives e-mail they desire to receive.
Accordingly, there exists a need in the art for a method and apparatus for managing temporary e-mail addresses that overcome the aforementioned deficiencies.

Method and apparatus for managing temporary E-mail addresses


This solar cell production method involves productively forming an antireflection film comprising silicon nitride, said antireflection film having an excellent passivation effect. In an embodiment, a remote plasma CVD is used to form a first silicon nitride film on a semiconductor substrate (102) using the plasma flow from a first plasma chamber (111), then to form a second silicon nitride film, which has a different composition than the first silicon nitride film, using the plasma flow from a second plasma chamber (112), into which ammonia gas and silane gas have been introduced at a different flow ratio than that of the first plasma chamber (111). The plasma chambers (111, 112) have excitation parts (111a, 112a) that excite the ammonia gas, and activation reaction parts (111b, 112b) and a flow controller (113).

The solar cell is a semiconductor device for converting light energy to electricity and includes p-n junction type, pin type and Schottky type, with the p-n junction type being on widespread use. When classified in terms of substrate material, the solar cell is generally classified into three categories, crystalline silicon solar cells, amorphous silicon solar cells, and compound semiconductor solar cells. The crystalline silicon solar cells are sub-divided into monocrystalline and polycrystalline solar cells. Since crystalline silicon substrates for solar cells can be relatively easily manufactured, the crystalline silicon solar cells are currently manufactured at the largest scale and will find further widespread use in the future. See JP-A H08-073297 (Patent Document 1), for example.
In general, output characteristics of a solar cell are evaluated by measuring an output current-voltage curve by means of a solar simulator. On the curve, the point where the product of output current Imax by output voltage Vmax, Imax×Vmax, becomes the maximum is designated maximum power point Pmax. The conversion efficiency η of the solar cell is defined as the maximum power point Pmax divided by the overall light energy (S×I) incident on the solar cell:η={Pmax/(S×I)}×100(%)wherein S is a cell area and I is the intensity of irradiated light.
For increasing the conversion efficiency η, it is important to increase short-circuit current Isc (output current value at V=0 on the current-voltage curve) or Voc (output voltage value at I=0 on the current-voltage curve) and to make the profile of output current-voltage curve as close to squareness as possible. It is noted that the degree of squareness of an output current-voltage curve is generally evaluated by the fill factor (FF) which is defined as:FF=Pmax/(Isc×Voc).As the value of FF is closer to unity (1), the output current-voltage curve approaches ideal squareness, indicating an increase of conversion efficiency η.
For increasing the conversion efficiency η, it is important to reduce the surface recombination of carriers. In the crystalline silicon solar cell, minority carriers photo-generated by incidence of sunlight reach the p-n junction mainly via diffusion before they are externally extracted as majority carriers from electrodes attached to the light-receiving surface and back surface to provide electric energy.
At this point, those carriers which may be otherwise withdrawn as current flow can be lost by recombination via the interfacial level available on the substrate surface other than the electrode surface, leading to a lowering of conversion efficiency η.
Thus, in high-efficiency solar cells, an attempt to improve conversion efficiency η is by protecting the light-receiving and back surfaces of a silicon substrate with insulating films except for areas in contact with electrodes, for thereby restraining carrier recombination at the interface between the silicon substrate and the insulating film. As the insulating film, a silicon nitride film is useful and used in practice. This is because the silicon nitride film has the function of an antireflective film for crystalline silicon solar cells and is fully effective for the passivation of the surface and interior of the silicon substrate.
In the prior art, the silicon nitride film is formed by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) processes such as thermal CVD, plasma-enhanced CVD, and catalytic CVD. Of these, the plasma-enhanced CVD is the most widespread process. FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a parallel plate type plasma-enhanced CVD apparatus which is generally known as direct plasma CVD. The CVD apparatus 10 in FIG. 1 includes a vacuum chamber 10c defining a deposition compartment 1. Disposed in the deposition compartment 1 are a tray 3 for resting a semiconductor substrate 2 in place, a heater block 4 for maintaining the tray 3 at a predetermined temperature, and a temperature controller 5 for controlling the temperature of the heater block 4. The deposition compartment 1 is also provided with a deposition gas inlet line 6 for introducing preselected deposition gas as reactant gas into the deposition compartment 1, a radio-frequency power supply 7 for supplying energy to the introduced gas to generate a plasma, and a pumping unit 8.
When an insulating film is deposited in the illustrated CVD apparatus, the preselected deposition gas is introduced into the deposition compartment 1 at the predetermined flow rate through the gas inlet line 6, and the radio-frequency power supply 7 is operated to create a radio-frequency electric field. This operation generates a radio-frequency discharge to excite the deposition gas into a plasma, whereupon an insulating film is deposited on the surface of semiconductor substrate 2 via plasma-induced reaction. For example, when a silicon nitride film is deposited, a mixture of silane and ammonia gases is introduced as the deposition gas into the deposition compartment 1 through the gas inlet line 6, whereupon a silicon nitride film is deposited utilizing decomposition reaction of silane in plasma.
The plasma-enhanced CVD process is often used in forming an insulating film for solar cells since a high deposition rate is achievable even when the process temperature is as low as about 400° C. However, since high-energy charged particles created in the plasma tend to cause damage to the film being deposited and the silicon substrate surface, the resulting silicon nitride film has a higher interfacial level density, failing to exert a satisfactory passivation effect. Thus, for improving the passivation effect, it is necessary to block a dangling bond with hydrogen or the like.
To address the above problem, for example, JP-A 2005-217220 (Patent Document 2) proposes a remote plasma-enhanced CVD process as the method capable of suppressing plasma damage. FIG. 2 schematically illustrates one exemplary apparatus. The remote plasma-enhanced CVD apparatus shown in FIG. 2 includes a cylindrical excitation compartment 93 for exciting a reactant gas introduced therein into plasma, and a reaction compartment (or treating compartment) 98 disposed below the excitation compartment 93 in fluid communication therewith. The excitation compartment 93 is provided at its top with an inlet port 93a for a carrier gas 91, and at its center with a radio-frequency introducing portion (or waveguide) 93c which is connected to a microwave power source 95 via a matching unit 94. A supply line for a reactant gas 97 for deposition is connected to the reaction compartment 98, and a substrate holder 99 for holding a substrate 99a is disposed in the reaction compartment 98. With the apparatus of such construction, first microwave is introduced into the excitation compartment 93 from the microwave power source 95 to excite the carrier gas 91, the excited carrier gas 91 is introduced into the reaction compartment 98 in accordance with a gas pumping stream, and the reactant gas 97 is introduced in the reaction compartment 98 where it is activated and contacted with the substrate 99a, whereby a film is formed on the substrate 99a. Using ammonia gas as the carrier gas 91 and silane gas as the reactant gas 97, for example, a silicon nitride film can be formed on the substrate 99a. Since the remote plasma-enhanced CVD apparatus is constructed such that the substrate is placed at a position remote from the plasma region 96, the plasma damage to the substrate may be mitigated to some extent.
Also, JP-A 2009-117569 (Patent Document 3) reports that the passivation effect is improved when plasma treatment using ammonia gas is carried out as pretreatment, prior to the deposition of a silicon nitride film by surface wave plasma. JP-A 2009-130041 (Patent Document 4) reports that the passivation effect is improved when treatment with a plasma generated using a gas mixture of hydrogen gas and ammonia gas is carried out, prior to the deposition of a silicon nitride film.
However, since the above-cited methods need an extra process separate from the insulating film forming process, there arise the problems of an increased production cost and difficulty to improve productivity.
Further, if the composition of a silicon nitride film formed by the plasma-enhanced CVD is shifted from the stoichiometry to a silicon rich side so as to form a positive fixed charge, band bending occurs. Near the contact interface between silicon substrate and silicon nitride film, an inversion layer in which electrons are rich on the silicon substrate side is formed. Utilizing this, the passivation effect on the n-type region side can be enhanced.
JP-A 2002-270879 (Patent Document 5) reports that conversion efficiency is improved by a two-layer structure which is constructed by forming a silicon nitride layer having a high refractive index as a first dielectric film, and then forming a silicon nitride layer having a low refractive index thereon as a second dielectric film. This method, however, needs separate processes for forming high and low refractive index silicon nitride layers. For example, a silicon nitride layer having a high refractive index is first formed, after which the flow rate of deposition gas, after which a ratio of flow rates of ammonia gas and silane gas is adjusted, and then a silicon nitride layer having a low refractive index is formed. The method results in an increase of production cost and is difficult to improve productivity.

Solar cell production method, and solar cell produced by same production method


A device for creating curved sausage links involves extruding an elongated sausage strand having linear protein fibers therein out of an elongated hollow meat emulsion extrusion tube. The flow of meat emulsion through the tube is partially restricted by a restrictor element within the tube which permits a portion of the meat emulsion to pass thereover in a substantially uninterrupted manner, but which requires a separate layer of meat emulsion to have its movement through the tube inhibited by engaging the restrictor element and having to move thereover to exit the tube. When the sausage strand is subjected to heat, the uninterrupted portion is inclined to have more lengthwise shrinkage in the presence of heat than the other layer, thus causing the sausage link to assume a curved configuration. The device has a stuffing tube with the restrictor element therein as described heretofore.

Curved sausage links, as compared to straight sausage links, have great appeal in certain sausage markets throughout the World. Efforts have been made to create a curved configuration in otherwise straight sausages by using mechanical forces or pre-curved casings. Other attempts have been made to create curved sausages by introducing two separate streams of meat-dough into a stuffing tube whereby the separate layers of sausage material will shrink in variable increments to induce a curve in the resulting link. However, introducing two different meat-dough materials into the casing is difficult and expensive. Other disadvantages of earlier inventions (e.g., EPO720816B1) is that the flow of material will be blocked by meat particles when producing sausage strands of smaller diameters.
It is therefore a principal object of this invention to provide a method and means for curving sausage links wherein only a single material can be introduced into the sausage extrusion or stuffing tube.
A further object of this invention is to provide a resistor element in the hollow sausage tube to allow a first portion of the sausage emulsion to flow freely through the tube while another portion of sausage material will be inhibited by the resistor element, thereby allowing the first portion to have linearly disposed protein fibers, which gradually progresses to a second portion comprised of interrupted sausage emulsion which will have sausage fibers disposed in a random orientation, thus causing a different shrinkage phenomenon between the two general portions when heat is supplied thereto.
These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.


A method of producing an authenticatable article. An overt feature is produced in the article using a fabricating technique which is selected based on a material of the article so as to produce the overt feature having predetermined, reproducible macroscopic characteristics as well as random, non-reproducible microscopic characteristics rendering the article physically unique. The overt feature including the microscopic characteristics are imageable using a predetermined imaging technology to produce an overt feature image. An authentication signature is generated based on the overt feature image and stored in a central database. The overt feature may alternatively be produced in an apparatus or means used to manufacture authenticatable articles such that the overt feature including the random, microscopic characteristics is reproduced in the articles. The overt feature and generated authentication code therefore corresponds to articles manufactured using that apparatus or means.

It is well known that articles of trade and commerce whose value depends upon authenticity are subject to counterfeit. Such articles include currency such as coins and banknotes, and investment commodities such as bullion coins and bars, but may also include luxury items such as designer apparel and accessories. In some cases, such as banknotes, substantially all of the value of the article may derive from its authenticity, that is the confidence that it is what it appears to be which may concern its materials, utility, or its source or conditions of manufacture.
Many methods and techniques have been developed to enable authentication of valuable articles and are generally directed to enabling a person to distinguish between authentic articles and counterfeit articles. In some cases, authentication undesirably requires alteration to the article being authenticated. For example, gold coins and gold wafers are an investment means which people buy either to invest or to save. Gold can be determined as real gold through traditional methods such as chemical assays, instrumental analysis assays, fire assays, stone assays, and so forth. All of these methods are destructive, however, and require equipment, expertise, know-how, experience, and time. In addition, the authentication services may not be easily accessible to the public where and when needed.
Alternatively, some methods do not require alteration of the article, but instead rely upon preexisting physicochemical characteristics of the article which may be measured and used to generate an identifier associated with the article and which is subsequently used in its remote authentication. For example, World Intellectual Property Organization International Publication Number WO 2012/145842 by the present inventors, and which is incorporated herein in its entirety, discloses a method wherein an image of an article, specifically a coin, is captured and a digital representation of an acquisition area of the coin including a feature is generated. The feature may include a first component common to more than one coin and a second component unique to the coin. The feature may be random, such as naturally occurring features resulting from handling or processing during manufacture, or may be deterministic such as an intentionally applied feature produced by known fabrication techniques. An identifier is generated based on the digital representation of the feature and is later used to authenticate the coin.
The above method suffers the disadvantage, however, that for certain materials such as dense metals like gold, the random, naturally occurring features are relatively fine-grained and not distinguishable at low magnification, e.g. about 20 times. Producing digital representations of such naturally occurring features in such a case which are sufficiently reliable for the purposes of authentication thus requires relatively expensive equipment which is not typically available to a wide variety of users. Accordingly, the method may not permit convenient implementation for such materials using inexpensive, ubiquitous equipment available to a wide variety of users.
While the above solutions enable a high level of security including authentication, further improvements are possible and desirable. In particular, it is desirable to provide a method which renders as difficult as possible any forgery or false authentication by a counterfeiter, but at the same time enables quick and reliable authentication without need for special expertise or equipment.

Unique identification of coin or other object


A method and computer program product for generating a warping effect in an image having a plurality of regions, each associated with a distortion vector. The method includes defining a path segment vector in response to user movement of a brush cursor; modifying one or more distortion vectors having originations covered by the cursor based on the path segment vector; and repeating defining and modifying to produce a warping effect.

The present invention relates to computer-implemented methods for brush-based warping including causing reflection effects in an image.
Computer painting programs allow the user to manipulate an electronic image with an onscreen "brush" controlled by an input device such as a mouse. One such program is Goo, available from MetaTools, Inc., 6303 Carpinteria Ave., Carpinteria, Calif., 93013.
The user may typically select from among a variety of brush shapes, e.g., circle, square, or single pixel. The user drags the brush along a "trajectory" from one location to another within the image, thereby defining an "envelope." Pixels within the envelope are affected by the operation of the brush.
One type of brush allows a user to "paint" colors and textures into the envelope. The paintbrush replaces the pixels in the envelope with the image of the brush.
Another type of brush allows the user to "move" portions of the image within the envelope, creating a warping effect. For example, a "sticky" brush moves pixels from the staring point of the envelope to its end. A "slipping" brush moves the pixels from the starting point a distance less than, but proportional to, the length of the trajectory. Other warping brush effects are bloat, pucker, and twirl.

Brush for warping and water reflection effects


A process is provided for fabricating a via 52 between bonded wafers without undercutting an organic bonding material 32. The process for forming the via 52 in a structure including a dielectric material 14 and an organic bonding material 32, comprises forming a resist material 42 on the dielectric layer 14 and etching through the dielectric layer 14 and the organic bonding material 32 with 60CF4/20Ar/60CHF3/20N2. The resist may then be removed with an anisotropic high density oxygen plasma.

Integrated circuits are formed with a multiple layering process involving a number of materials including semiconductors, conductors, and dielectrics. Transistors, capacitors, diodes and the like are formed within these layers and are interconnected to one another in a variety of ways known to those skilled in the art. A via, or vertical metal connector, may be used to connect these devices between layers, or to connect a device with an external pad.
There are many known methods of making a via in the fabrication of an integrated circuit. Using known pattern and etch techniques, a vertical opening is created in the materials and a metal, such as copper, is formed therein. Known processes of forming a via in inorganic materials are capable of providing high quality vias. However, many applications, such as optics, today utilize organic materials. One example is the use of an organic adhesive wafer bond when bonding a donor wafer to a host wafer. Known processes that etch the dielectric layers are destructive to the adjoining organic adhesive layer. Further, conventional wet etching to remove a photoresist used in the masking process can also be destructive to the organic layer.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a process for etching a dielectric layer overlying an organic layer without undercutting the organic layer. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the invention and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of the invention.

Plasma etch process for multilayer vias having an organic layer with vertical sidewalls


A self-centering jig for planar articles having a vertical and horizontal centerline, capable of centering in both the horizontal and vertical directions, is disclosed. The self-centering jig comprises a jig body a having a template section, a first pair of operatively connected arms extendibly mounted in the jig for uniform horizontal movement in opposite directions from a vertical centerline, and a second pair of operatively connected arms extendibly mounted in the jig body for uniform vertical movement in opposite directions from a horizontal centerline. The template section may be removable, and can be interchanged with other templates to permit drilling of different patterns using the same jig. The template section may also contain a plurality of holes for a plurality of patterns, such that a single template may be used to drill several patterns.

The present invention relates to a self-centering jig for planar articles, such as, for example, cabinet drawer fronts. The self-centering jig may be used to accurately and precisely mark and/or drill such planar articles. The construction and operation of the present invention will be described in relation to the cabinetry making art, although those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize the invention has utility in other fields where highly accurate and repetitive marking and/or drilling is required.
One of the required tasks in the cabinetry making art is to accurately drill holes in a drawer front to permit the installation of drawer pulls or knobs. The location and number of holes will depend on the size of the drawer front and the number of pulls or handles to be fitted to the drawer front.
Manual location and drilling of such holes is dependent on the skill and care of the individual worker. Thus, the art has sought to ensure a minimum standard of accuracy is achieved by the use of various tools such as templates. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,203,992 to Lutz, which describes a template-type marking instrument for drawer pulls. Similar gauges and templates are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,545,424; 2,197,505; 2,582,606; 2,807,095; 3,197,874; 4,257,166; 4,270,276 and 4,791,732. Although such templates do improve the consistency of individual workers, these tools all depend on manual initial adjustment.
The problem of manual initial adjustment is partially addressed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,842,860 to Gray, which discloses an automatically horizontally centering drawer handle marking device. The device includes a horizontal support bracket adapted to receive the top edge portion of the drawer. Horizontally extending positioning arms engage opposite side edges of the drawer front. Movement of one arm causes automatic movement of the other arm such that the device will automatically be centered between the two sides. Selected openings are provided from which a punch can be inserted to mark the locations at which screws are to extend into the drawer.
A similar device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,583,823 to Eaton et al, which discloses an adjustable fixture for locating hole locations for various size draw pulls on various width drawers. The fixture has an elongated body with interconnected extendable arms having abutment means on the ends thereof for engaging the sides of a drawer to align the centerline of the fixture at the midpoint between the drawer sides. Guide apertures are formed in interconnected blocks that move uniformly in opposite directions to adjust the spacing between the guide apertures to accommodate various size drawer pulls. The adjustable fixture has an adjustable support means and distance scale for vertically positioning the fixture on a drawer face.
Both Gray and Eaton et al depend on manual vertical positioning of the apparatus, which provides a possible source of error and also reduces productivity by requiring additional operator time.
An object of the present invention is to provide a self-centering jig which automatically locates a point in both the horizontal and the vertical directions, thereby eliminating the influence of the individual artisan in the location of holes or marks on a workpiece.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a self-centering which improves productivity by reducing the time required for accurately marking and/or drilling operations.


An apparatus, system and method are presented for scanning items presented to an assisted hybrid optical code scanner where the scanner includes a handheld imaging scanner located on the customer side of the hybrid scanner. When docked with the hybrid scanner, the handheld imaging scanner is used with a fixed laser scanner to read optical codes. When undocked, the handheld imaging scanner is used to scan items not easily presentable to the hybrid scanner.

Any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such prior art is widely known or forms part of common general knowledge in the field.
Point of sale (POS) terminals are commonly used throughout the retail industry to process purchase transactions. A POS terminal typically includes a personal computer (PC) core and chassis, one or more displays, a fixed optical code scanner and weigh scale, a cash drawer, a magnetic stripe reader (MSR), keyboard and a printer. An assisted POS terminal has an operator that is trained to use the POS terminal and to process purchase transactions using the POS terminal.
In a typical purchase transaction, where an assisted POS terminal is used, a customer brings one or more items for purchase to the POS terminal and the operator presents each item to POS terminal, which scans and identifies the item. Some items are too large or heavy or inconvenient (non-presentable items) to be physically presented to the fixed optical code scanner for identification. For these types of items, some POS terminals have a second portable handheld optical code scanner. When the operator identifies a non-presentable item, the operator will physically take the handheld optical code scanner to the location of the item and manual scan the optical code on the item for identification. This process has several limitations. It is time consuming since the operator must move from the operator side of the POS terminal to the customer side in order to gain access to the item. Once the item is scanned, the operator must then return back to the operator side to continue the purchase transaction. In addition, since the handheld optical code scanner is mainly used to scan non-presentable items, it has limited functionally and a low duty cycle.
Therefore, there is a need for a hybrid optical code scanner that provides a more efficient use of a handheld optical code scanner.

Apparatus, system and method for a hybrid optical code scanner


The present invention provides compositions and methods for direct transfection of mitochondria and chloroplast DNA in living cells. More particularly, the present invention is based on the use of viral vectors that specifically bind to receptors uniquely found on the target organelle. In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a eukaryotic cell containing an organelle (1) that has been modified to express a viral receptor (2) on the organelle's surface is provided. A viral vector (6) comprising a desired recombinant DNA construct (3) is introduced into the cytosol of the cell, wherein the viral vector binds to its receptor and introduces the recombinant DNA into the interior of the organelle.

Mitochondria are the sole energy-producing organelles in all eukaryotic cells, and therefore play a critical role in maintaining proper cellular bioenergetics, homeostatic levels and cellular life cycles. Similarly, chloroplasts are also efficient ATP-producing machines that use light as the source of energy rather than sugars or fatty acids. Both mitochondria and chloroplasts contain multiple copies of organelle DNA that is replicated and transcribed in the organelles. In mammals, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is a circular, approximately 16.5 kilobase, intronless genome that encodes 13 electron transport chain (ETC) proteins, 2 ribosomal RNA's and 22 tRNA's. Most insights into mitochondrial genetics have come in yeast, where biolistic transformation allows for engineering of mitochondrial replicons. However, many features of mammalian mitochondrial gene expression and respiratory chain biogenesis are not reproducible in yeast.
In mammals, cytoplasmic fusion and microinjection are used to introduce donor mitochondria, but these techniques fail to provide a mechanism for the direct manipulation of mtDNA. In addition the uptake of exogenous DNA into mitochondria involving the protein import pathway has been reported from two laboratories. Vestweber and Schatz ([1989] Nature (London) 338:170-172) achieved uptake of a 24 bp both single-and double-stranded oligonucleotide into yeast mitochondria by coupling the 5′ end of the oligonucleotide to a precursor protein consisting of the yeast cytochrome c oxidase subunit IV presequence fused to a modified mouse dihydrofolate reductase. More recently, Seibel et al. (1995, Nucleic Acids Research 23:10-17) reported the import into the mitochondrial matrix of double-stranded DNA molecules conjugated to the amino-terminal leader peptide of the rat ornithine-transcarbamylase. Both studies, however, were done with isolated mitochondria, not addressing the question of how oligonucleotide-peptideconjugates will pass the cytosolic membrane and reach mitochondrial proximity. U.S. Pat. No. 6,171,863 discloses the use of dequalinium-DNA complexes as a vehicle for delivering DNA to the interior of cells and potentially to the mitochondria Because the DNA is associated with dequalinium, the resulting complex has a positive charge. The positively charged complex is attracted to negatively charged compartments. Thus, US Pat. No. 6,171,863 discloses delivery of DNA to negatively charged compartments, and does not disclose the specific delivery DNA to mitochondria or chloroplasts. Indeed, no technique has been disclosed for targeting specific organelles, for example the chloroplast or mitochondria, for the delivery of nucleic acids using a receptor:ligand mechanism.
Thus the inability to specifically manipulate the chloroplast and mitochondrial genome has hampered researchers' efforts to fully understand chloroplast and mtDNA replication, transcription, and translation processes. The ability to specifically manipulate mtDNA and introduce it into living cells would greatly enhance researchers'ability to fully investigate the function of individual chloroplast/mitochondrial genes and overall chloroplast/mitochondrial function.
Furthermore, the ability to manipulate the mitochondrial genome also provides a novel method of treating diseases associated with defective mitochondrial function. With age, the function of mitochondria decreases with a marked increase of mutations and large deletions of mtDNA. In particular, oxidative damage increases with age, often leading to a higher rate of mtDNA mutations. Aside from known mtDNA mutations, several forms of cancer and neurodegeneration are associated with mutations in mtDNA. For example, mutations in mitochondrial DNA are the suspected cause of a host of degenerative neurological diseases including Alzheimers, Parkinsons and adult-onset diabetes. These mutations result in decreased electron transport chain efficiency, and the build-up of mtDNA deletions due to free radical damage (aging).
In addition, given the bioenergetic functions of chloroplasts, the ability to introduce exogenous genes or otherwise manipulate the chloroplast genome could have a tremendous impact on increasing the vitality and yields of crops and other plants. For example, introduction of genes into chloroplast may lead to plants with increased viability in otherwise hostile environments and increased efficiency of photosynthesis. In addition, the expression of exogenous genes within the chloroplasts is believed to be significantly more efficient in chloroplasts relative the expression of exogenous genes introduced into the nucleus of the cell. Thus transfection of chloroplasts may allow for more effective biosynthesis strategies for commercial compounds.
Phylogenetically, mitochondria and chloroplasts resemble early bacteria As such, applicants recognized that bacterial viruses (e.g., bacteriophage lambda), could potentially be utilized to introduce DNA into these animal and plant organelles.

University of Virginia Patent Foundation