This invention provides a solar simulator measurement method capable of high-accuracy measurements with fast-response photovoltaic devices as well as with slow-response photovoltaic devices, and a solar simulator for implementing the method. A flash having a pulse waveform with a flattened peak is generated from a xenon lamp. The flash is sensed by an irradiance detector, its irradiance measured, and the irradiance of the light source is adjusted to fall within a prescribed narrow range based on the detected irradiance value. Then, the flash with irradiance within the prescribed range irradiates photovoltaic devices under measurement, and the current and the voltage output by the photovoltaic devices are measured at multiple points while a load of the photovoltaic devices is controlled. This process is repeated with multiple flashes to obtain an I-V curve for the photovoltaic devices.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a measurement method using a solar simulator for high-speed, high-accuracy measurement of current-voltage characteristics (hereinafter also referred to simply as characteristics) of photovoltaic devices and the like and of photovoltaic devices panels.
2. Background of the Invention
The photoelectric conversion characteristics of photovoltaic devices, photo sensors and the like are measured by measuring the current-voltage characteristics of the photovoltaic devices under irradiance. In the measurement of the characteristics of photovoltaic devices, a graph is set up with voltage on the horizontal axis and current on the vertical axis and the acquired data is plotted to obtain a current-voltage characteristics curve. This curve is generally called an I-V curve.
As the measurement methods, there are methods that use sunlight as the irradiating light and methods that use an artificial light source as the irradiating light. Of the methods that use an artificial light source, methods that use a fixed light and methods that use a flash are described in, for example, Japanese Patent No. 2886215 and Laid-open Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-31825.
Conventionally, with the commercialization of photovoltaic devices, and particularly with photovoltaic devices with large surface areas, the current-voltage characteristics are measured under a radiation irradiance of 1000 W/m2, which is sunlight standard irradiance. Measured values are corrected mathematically by formula so as to compensate for when irradiation during measurement exceeds or falls short of 1000 W/m2.
In addition, measurement of the current-voltage characteristics of large-surface-area photovoltaic devices require irradiation of light with an irradiance of 1000 W/m2 to a large-surface-area test plane uniformly. As a result, when using an artificial light source, for example, a high-power discharge lamp capable of providing several tens of kilowatts per square meter of radiation surface is required. However, in order to make such a high-power discharge lamp provide a fixed light it must be provided with a steady supply of high power. As a result, a very large scale equipment is required, which is impractical.
In addition, with a solar simulator that uses a steady light, a xenon lamp, a metal halide lamp or the like for continuous lighting is used for the light source lamp. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the relation between irradiance and time for such lamps. As shown in this drawing, it usually takes several tens of minutes or more from the start of lighting of such lamps until irradiance stabilizes. Moreover, unless lighting is continued under the same conditions the irradiance does not reach saturation, and therefore a great deal of time is required until measurement is started. On the other hand, as the accumulated lighting time grows by long hours of lighting, the irradiance tends to decrease gradually, and thus the irradiance characteristics are not stable. In addition, the radiation of the light on the photovoltaic devices under measurement is conducted by changing shielding and irradiation of light with the opening and the closing of the shutter. Thus, the irradiation time required for the devices under test depends on the operating speed of the shutter, and often exceeds several hundred milliseconds. As the irradiation time lengthens the temperature of the photovoltaic devices itself rises, thus making accurate measurement difficult.
With a solar simulator that uses a fixed light, although it is necessary to maintain continuous lighting in order to stabilize the irradiance, doing so causes the temperature inside the housing that contains the light source to increase sharply. In addition, the parts inside the housing are constantly exposed to light, which causes the optical components (mirrors, optical filters, etc.) to deteriorate.
Further, once a fixed light source lamp is turned off and turned on again, it takes several tens of minutes for the irradiance to reach saturation. In order to avoid this, usually the fixed light source lamp is kept on and used as is. As a result, however, the accumulated lighting time of such fixed light lamps adds up easily, resulting in a tendency for such lamps to reach the end of their useful lives relatively quickly.
Therefore, when using a fixed light-type solar simulator in a photovoltaic devices module production line, the number of lamps that burn out is added to the running cost, which increases not only the cost of measurement but also the cost of production.
In addition, with a fixed light solar simulator, the length of time during which light from the light source irradiates the photovoltaic devices under measurement is relatively long. As a result, when I-V curve measurements are repeated for the same photovoltaic devices, the temperature of that photovoltaic devices rises. As the temperature of the photovoltaic devices rises its output voltage tends to decrease, and it is known that a rise in temperature also decreases maximum output Pmax.
In general, measurement of the photovoltaic devices current-voltage characteristics requires indicating standard test condition values. Here, the temperature of the photovoltaic devices in under standard test conditions is 25° C. and the radiation irradiance is 1000 W/m2. The measurement of the current-voltage characteristics of photovoltaic devices by a solar simulator is carried out with the temperature range of the photovoltaic devices in the range of 15° C.-35° C. The temperature is corrected to the 25° C. that is the reference temperature using the measured temperature of the photovoltaic devices. The correction formula used for this purpose is prescribed by industry standard.
However, measurement of the temperature of the photovoltaic devices has the following problems and is not a simple matter. Photovoltaic devices used to supply power to general houses have a laminated construction, with a glass surface beneath which are EVA (ethyl vinyl acetate), the photovoltaic devices cell, and more EVA, with a plastic backing sheet on the back of the photovoltaic devices. When the temperature of photovoltaic devices with this sort of laminated structure is measured on the production line, only the temperature at the surface of the back sheet or at the front glass surface is measured. Therefore, even when the photovoltaic devices cell accepts the light irradiated from the solar simulator and the temperature temporarily rises, it is extremely difficult to measure the temperature of the photovoltaic devices cell itself correctly. This situation makes it difficult to measure the temperature of the photovoltaic devices cell accurately, and also makes it difficult to correct for the temperature correctly.
Accordingly, a method that measures the current-voltage characteristics of large-surface-area photovoltaic devices using a flash instead of a fixed light has been proposed. More specifically, there are two measurement methods: one is a single-flash light measurement method that uses a single flash light with relatively long flash duration and another one is a short-pulse flash measurement method that uses multiple flashes with a short flash duration. In both cases, a xenon lamp is used as a pseudo sunlight light source that generates the flash.
With either flash-based measurement method for measuring the current-voltage characteristics of photovoltaic devices, the problem of a rise in the temperature of the photovoltaic devices during measurement that arises in fixed light measurement methods is substantially nonexistent, and therefore errors caused by a temperature rise in the temperature of the photovoltaic devices cell do not arise easily.
In addition, in a solar simulator that performs data acquisition using a flash the flash duration is reduced, which has the advantage of alleviating the deterioration of the optical components of the fixed light solar simulator described above, which makes the lamp life relatively long.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a single flash waveform. Single flash is a method of causing a xenon lamp to fire using a direct current power source capable of outputting a large current. At the beginning of the light pulse waveform there is a portion in which the irradiance fluctuates sharply, after which the irradiance is constant. In a measurement method that uses a single flash, during the time when the irradiance becomes constant in the pulse waveform, the output of the photovoltaic devices are measured by acquiring data on current and voltage output from the photovoltaic devices under measurement while controlling a load of the photovoltaic devices.
However, it is known that the irradiance of a xenon lamp flash is uneven, and the flash must have an irradiance that is within a permissible range of ±5 percent. The irradiance is then corrected for according to the irradiance during flash, but when the characteristics of the photovoltaic devices are unknown and the permissible range is large, measurement accuracy deteriorates.
In addition, in order to obtain I-V characteristics curves with a single flash by sweeping the load of the photovoltaic devices, it is necessary to create a long pulse exceeding 100 milliseconds. In order to generate such a long pulse flash, the rest interval between one flash and the next must be long as well. As a result, if in the first generation of the flash the irradiance is insufficient and cannot be completely corrected, a long wait must be endured until the next generation of the flash. In addition, in order to fire a long pulse the load of the lamp must be large, which in turn shortens the life of the lamp.
In a measurement method that uses multiple short pulse flashes, the load of the light source lamp needed to fire the flash is small, and thus the flash can be fired at short intervals. In addition, because the flash duration is short, there is little change in conditions inside the lamp (for example, temperature), and therefore peak irradiance stabilizes easily. The photovoltaic devices under measurement are subjected to a light pulse that is short, and therefore its temperature does not rise much, either.
However, this type of short pulse flash measurement has the following problems. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a waveform of a short pulse flash. As shown in this drawing, the waveforms of multiple flashes are mountain shaped with no flat part at their peaks (with the duration at the base of the mountain-shaped waveform being approximately 1 millisecond). As a result, in a single generation of a flash, only a single set of data (consisting of irradiance on the one hand and photovoltaic devices output current and voltage on the other) can be acquired. Further, when measuring a slow-response photovoltaic devices, the output response of the photovoltaic devices cannot track the irradiance waveform, which means that sometimes the measured output is lower than the true output.

Measurement method using solar simulator


Disclosed is a compressor. A lubrication surface, which has the same curvature as an inner circumferential surface curvature of a cylinder and which has a predetermined circumference length, is formed on an outer circumferential surface of a roller contacting an inner circumferential surface of the cylinder. With such a configuration, since the outer circumferential surface of the roller contacting the inner circumferential surface of the cylinder come in surface-contact with each other, an oil film is formed between the roller and the cylinder with a wide area. This can reduce a frictional loss.

Generally, a compressor may be classified into a rotary type compressor and a reciprocating type compressor according to a refrigerant compression method. In the rotary type compressor, a volume of a compression space is varied as a piston performs a rotary motion or an orbiting motion in a cylinder. On the other hand, in the reciprocating type compressor, a volume of a compression space is varied as a piston performs a reciprocating motion in a cylinder. As the rotary compressor, a rotary compressor for compressing a refrigerant as a piston is rotated by using a rotational force of a motor part is well-known.
The rotary compressor is configured to compress a refrigerant using a rolling piston which executes an eccentric rotary motion at a compression space of a cylinder, and a vane for dividing the compression space of the cylinder into a suction chamber and a discharge chamber by contacting an outer circumferential surface of the rolling piston.
Such a rotary compressor may be classified into a single rotary compressor and a double rotary compressor according to the number of compression spaces. The double rotary compressor may include a type for forming a plurality of compression spaces by laminating cylinders each having a single compression space on each other, and a type for forming a plurality of compression spaces at a single cylinder. In the former case, a plurality of eccentric portions are formed at a rotational shaft with height differences, and are configured to alternately compress a refrigerant at two compression spaces and to discharge the compressed refrigerant, while the eccentric portions perform an eccentric rotary motion at the compression space of each cylinder. On the contrary, in the latter case, as shown in FIG. 1, a refrigerant is simultaneously compressed at two compression spaces V1 and V2 and then is discharged, while a roller performs a concentric rotary motion at a single cylinder 3 provided with an oval-shaped roller 2 at a rotational shaft 1. In the latter case, since the refrigerant is sucked, compressed and discharged in the two compression spaces V1 and V2 with the same phase, gas forces transmitted to a central region of the rotational shaft 1 are attenuated. As a result, a repulsive force in a radial direction may almost disappear, and vibration noise of the compressor may be reduced.
However, the conventional rotary compressor having the oval-shaped roller may have the following problems.
As the roller 2 rotates together with the rotational shaft 1, an outer circumferential surface of wing portions 2a, 2b formed at two sides of the roller 2 consecutively contacts an inner circumferential surface (3a) of the cylinder 3. In this case, since contact ends 2a1, 2b1 of the wing portions 2a, 2b come in point-contact with the inner circumferential surface (3a) of the cylinder 3, an oil film may not be smoothly formed and a frictional loss may be increased.

Compressor having a lubrication surface formed on a roller thereof


A unit dose cleaning product for delivering a peroxide-containing bleaching agent, includes a peroxide-containing bleaching agent component containing a peroxide-containing bleaching agent and a first at least partially water soluble material encapsulating the peroxide-containing bleaching agent, a peroxide bleach activating agent component including a peroxide bleach activating agent, and having the peroxide-containing bleaching agent component dispersed therein forming a cleaning composition, and a pouch made of a second at least partially water soluble material enclosing the cleaning composition, wherein the first at least partially water soluble material of the peroxide-containing bleaching agent component exhibits a substantially longer dissolution time than the second at least partially water soluble material of the pouch.

Peroxide-based bleaching agents (e.g., hydrogen peroxide, sodium percarbonate, sodium persulfate, sodium perphosphate, urea peroxide, and sodium perborate) act as effective oxidizers for whitening substrates, removing stains, and disinfecting surfaces. Peroxide-based bleaching agents promote a bleaching effect on organic materials and thus are used with detergents in cleaning compositions, and are also used for bleaching textiles and paper, among other applications. The bleaching effect is particularly strong in washing and cleaning processes.
Generally, to clean a soiled substrate such as clothing, the substrate is treated with hydrogen peroxide or a substance capable of generating perhydroxyl ions (HOO—), such as inorganic or organic peroxides as exemplified above. Upon contact with the surface of the soiled substrate, the peroxide effectively removes common stains such as coffee or wine, while disinfecting the surface. Compared to more volatile hypochlorite-based bleaches, peroxide-based bleaching agents exhibit environmental benefits including enhanced safety and reduced pollution. However, peroxide-based bleaching agents do not perform at the same level of cleaning efficacy as hypochlorite-based bleaches.
Peroxide bleach activating agents, or bleach activators, such as, for example, acyl compounds (e.g., tetraacetylethylenediamene (TAED)) and ester compounds (e.g., isononanoyloxybenzenesulfonate (ISONOBS) and nonanoyloxybenzene-sulfonate (NOBS)), and the like, can be added to boost activity of peroxide-based bleaching agents. It has been found that the level of peroxide bleaching activity typically generated at 95° C. by peroxide alone can be achieved at 60° C. with the addition of bleach activators. The bleach activator reacts in the presence of the peroxide-based bleaching agent to generate peracetic acid, which is a more potent oxidizer than hydrogen peroxide.
Liquid formulations containing such bleach activators have met limited consumer success due to a lack of sufficient stability. When the liquid compositions are formulated with dissolved peroxide compounds, the resulting composition is especially unstable, and thus, prone to rapid loss of bleaching efficacy. To prolong stability, the cleaning composition containing peroxide and bleach activator is typically packaged with the actives physically segregated or in an anhydrous environment. This can be achieved by dispersing the actives either in a suspension segregating the peroxide and bleach activator in different liquid phases or blending them in a dry powder form.
Powder and dual-phase liquid formulations are generally less desirable especially for consumer use as compared to other forms of cleaning compositions. Even when maintained in an anhydrous environment (i.e., powder and dual-phase liquid), the bleach activator can still react with the peroxide. Over time, the bleach activator and peroxide degrade leading to reduced efficacy.
Accordingly, there is a need for a unit dose cleaning product for delivering a peroxide-containing bleaching agent that is formulated to alleviate the limitations described above and which prevents premature degradation of the peroxide-containing bleaching agent. There is a further need for a unit dose cleaning product for delivering a peroxide-containing bleaching agent comprising a cleaning composition of the peroxide-based bleaching agent and a peroxide bleach activating agent, having improved stability over time, while enhancing convenience and ease of use for the consumer. There is also a need for a unit dose cleaning product for delivering a peroxide-containing bleaching agent that promotes cleaning of substrates in a more environmentally-friendly manner.

Unit dose cleaning products for delivering a peroxide-containing bleaching agent


Through the use of an intermediate party, a first party is given the ability to communicate with a second party, with the communication appearing as if it originated with the intermediate party. Specifically, in a protected network system, the protected network is capable of acting as a conduit through which an entity, such as law enforcement, can communicate with an entity attempting an unauthorized access attempt unbeknownst to the entity attempting the unauthorized access attempt. This allows, for example, the detection and identification of the entity attempting the unauthorized access attempt.

1. Field of the Invention
In general, the systems and methods of this invention relate to protecting distributed networks. In particular, the systems and methods of this invention relate to protecting distributed networks through an intrusion detection and analysis system.
2. Description of Related Art
The nation's information infrastructure, based a large part on the Internet, has become an integral part of normal business and is becoming critical to the national security of many countries. The intrusion into public and private networks by unauthorized individuals is a major problem for many entities. Foreign powers, and a variety of hackers, i.e., individuals or entities who attempt to obtain unauthorized access to one or more networks, or portions of networks, to, for example, obtain information, continue to develop systems and methods that, for example, interrupt communications, damage files, damage computer network systems, gain access to private information, and the like. Many tools, such as firewalls, passwords and network security schemes have been developed in an attempt to provide protection to various aspects of distributed networks.

Systems and methods for distributed network protection


A thermal line printer in which characters or image data are printed on a recording paper using a thermal line head having an array of heat generating resistors is provided. A platen roller opposed to the thermal line head presses the recording paper between the platen roller and the thermal line head. A carriage roller which is provided in close proximity to the thermal line head. A drive motor rotates the carriage roller. A spring biases the platen roller with respect to the thermal line head and the carriage roller. The recording paper is pressed at a predetermined pressure between the platen roller and the thermal line head. The recording paper is fed to pass through a passageway defined between the thermal line head and the platen roller in accordance with the rotation of the carriage roller.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a thermal line printer in which characters are printed on a recording paper, using a thermal line head having an array of heat generating elements.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a known thermal line printer, an entire line is printed on a recording paper such as a heat sensitive paper, in a single operation by means of a thermal line head which is comprised of a line of heat generating elements (e.g., resistors). The structure of a known thermal line printer is shown in FIG. 7 by way of example.
In FIG. 7, a conventional printer 100 includes a thermal line head 101 which has a plurality of heat generating resistors arranged along a line parallel to the printing paper and substantially perpendicular to the feeding direction of the printing paper, and a platen roller 102 opposed to the thermal line head 101. The thermal line head 101 and the platen roller 102 are housed in a body casing 100a which extends in a direction substantially perpendicular to the surface of the recording paper.
The recording paper, which is inserted in the printer 100 through an insertion opening 103 formed at the upper portion of the printer body, pressed at a predetermined pressure by and between the thermal line head 101 and the platen roller 102 and thereafter advanced in accordance with the rotation of the platen roller 102.
To press the printing paper at a desired pressure for the printing operation, the thermal line head 101 is swingable or rotatable about a shaft 101b (indicated by a dotted line) and is continuously biased by a spring 107 toward the platen roller 102.
Attempts have recently been made to make the thermal line printer thinner to thereby enable a user to carry the same in a bag or a briefcase, etc. As can be seen in FIG. 7, since the platen roller 102 is opposed to the thermal line head 101 in the direction corresponding to the thickness of the printer body, it is necessary to reduce the diameter of the platen roller in order to make the thermal line printer thinner.
The platen roller 102 includes a rigid core and a resilient cover made of a rubber material or the like, which surrounds the core to obtain a frictional force necessary to convey the printing paper together with the thermal line head 101. Therefore, if the diameter of the platen roller 102 is reduced, the diameter of the core is also reduced. However, the decrease in the diameter of the core of the platen roller causes the platen roller to tend to deflect when it is pressed. Thus, the diameter of the platen roller 102 has a minimal size, making it difficult to make the thermal line printer thinner.

Thermal line printer with carriage roller contacting the platen


Methods and computer readable media for recognizing and identifying items located on the belt of a counter and/or in a shopping cart of a store environment for the purpose of reducing/preventing bottom-of-the-basket loss, checking out the items automatically, reducing the checkout time, preventing consumer fraud, increasing revenue and replacing a conventional UPC scanning system to enhance the checking out speed. The images of the items taken by visual sensors may be analyzed to extract features using the scale-invariant feature-transformation (SIFT) method. Then, the extracted features are compared to those of trained images stored in a database to find a set of matches. Based on the set of matches, the items are recognized and associated with one or more instructions, commands or actions without the need for personnel to visually see the items, such as by having to come out from behind a check out counter or peering over a check out counter.

The present invention generally relates to methods for checking out merchandise and, more particularly, to methods for automating the checkout of merchandise based on visual pattern recognition integrated with discrete product identification.
In many retail store environments, such as in grocery stores, department stores, office supply stores, home improvements stores, and the like, consumers typically carry selected items in a shopping cart and utilize a checkout stand to pay for the selected items. A checkout stand, or equivalently point-of-sale (POS), can be arranged in many configurations. In general, the checkout stand, often referred to as a lane, includes one or more belts, or merely has a stationary surface, generally supported by a counter or cabinet. A bar code scanner is typically recessed into the counter or cabinet. Also included at the checkout stand are the register, cash drawer, a keyboard, a credit card machine, a receipt printer, monitor or display, telephone and other such accessory equipment.
One goal within the retail industry has been to design the checkout stand in a manner that can expedite the checkout process and provide convenience to the customers and the cashier. However, at times, the experience level of the cashier becomes the major factor that limits the checkout speed. Also, during busy hours, the customer may have to wait in a line to pay for the selected items regardless of the experience level of the cashier, and, in some cases, walk away from the store without purchasing the items they selected. In addition, from time to time, the cashier may need to manually input the price information of items via the keyboard if the scanner fails to read the UPC barcode or the item is sold by weight, which can further slow down the checkout process.
In addition to the checkout speed limitation, the retail industry has another problem to resolve, commonly referred to as "bottom-of-the-basket" (BoB) loss. A typical shopping cart includes a basket that is designed for storage of the consumer's merchandise. At times, a consumer will use the lower shelf space located below the shopping cart basket as additional storage space, especially for relatively large and/or bulky merchandise. On occasion, when a consumer uses the lower shelf space to carry merchandise, the consumer can leave the store without paying for the merchandise. This may occur because the consumer inadvertently forgets to present the merchandise to the cashier during checkout, or because the consumer intends to defraud the store and steal the merchandise. In both cases, the cashier and other store personnel have also failed to identify the BoB items and include them in the transaction. Another source of BoB loss is due to cashier fraud, which can occur when the cashier knows items are on the bottom of the basket and chooses not to ring them up or manually rings up an alternative, less expensive item. This practice is known as collusion or sweethearting.
Estimates suggest that a typical supermarket can experience between $3,000 to $5,000 of bottom-of-the-basket revenue losses per lane per year. For a typical modern grocery store with 10 checkout lanes, this loss represents $30,000 to $50,000 of unaccounted revenue per year. For a major grocery chain with 1,000 stores, the potential revenue recovery can reach in excess of $50 million dollars annually.
Several efforts have been undertaken to minimize or reduce bottom-of-the-basket losses. These efforts generally fall into three categories: process change and training; lane configuration change; and supplemental detection devices.
Process changes and training is aimed at getting cashiers and baggers to inspect the cart for BOB items in every transaction. This approach has not been effective because of high personnel turnover, the requirement of constant training, low skill level of the personnel, lack of mechanisms to enforce the new behaviors, and lack of initiative to track and prevent collusion.
Lane configuration change is aimed at making the bottom of the basket more visible to the cashier, either by bring the cart on a separate side of the lane from the customer, or by using a second cart that requires the customer to fully unload his or her cart and reload the items onto the second cart. Changing lane configuration is expensive, does not address the collusion, and is typically a more inconvenient, less efficient way to scan and check out items. Furthermore, heavy items on the bottom of the basket will be required to be lifted for checkout causing time delay and sometime physical injury from heavy lifting.
Supplemental devices include mirrors placed on the opposite side of the lane to enable the cashier to see BoB items without leaning over or walking around the lane; infrared sensing devices to alert the cashier that there are BoB items, and video surveillance devices to project an image to the cashier. Infrared detection systems, such as those marketed by Kart Saver, Inc. <URL: http://www.kartsaver.com> and Store-Scan, Inc. <URL: http://www.store-scan.com> employ infrared sensors designed to detect the presence of merchandise located on the lower shelf of a shopping cart when the shopping cart enters a checkout lane. Disadvantageously, these systems are only able to detect the presence of an object and are not able to provide any indication as to the identity of the object. Consequently, these systems cannot be integrated with the store's existing checkout subsystems and instead rely on the cashier to recognize the merchandise and input appropriate associated information, such as the identity and price of the merchandise, into the store's checkout subsystem by either bar code scanning or manual key pad entry. As such, alerts and displays for these products can only notify the cashiers of the potential existence of an item, which cashiers can ignore or defeat. Furthermore these systems do not have mechanisms to prevent collusion. In addition, disadvantageously, these infrared systems are relatively more likely to generate false positive indications. For example, these systems are unable to distinguish between merchandise located on the lower shelf of the shopping cart and a customer's bag or other personal items, again causing cashiers to eventually ignore or defeat the system.
Another supplemental device that attempts to minimize or reduce bottom-of-the-basket losses is marketed by VerifEye Technologies <URL: http://www.verifeye.com/products/checkout/checkout.html>. This system employs a video surveillance device mounted in the land and directed at the bottom of the basket. A small color video display is mounted by the register to aid the cashier in identifying if a BoB item exists. Again, disadvantageously, this system is not integrated with the POS, forcing reliance on the cashier to scan or key in the item. Consequently, the system productivity issues are ignored and collusions are not addressed. In one of the VerifEye's systems, an option to log image, time and location is available. This configuration nonetheless does not recover the lost items.
As can be seen, there is a need for improved systems and methods that automatically detect and recognize items, either on the belt of a counter or in the shopping cart of a checkout lane, and replace or supplement a conventional UPC scanning and manual checkout process to increase the checkout speed and eliminate bottom-of-the-basket loss.

Method of merchandising for checkout lanes


The present disclosure provides a system. The system may include a medical device, a couch, one or more imaging devices, and a control device. The medical device may include a cavity. The couch may be configured to support a subject. The one or more imaging devices may be configured to acquire image data. The image data may indicate at least one of a target portion of the subject or posture information of a user. The control device may be configured to control a movement of the couch based on at least one of position information of the target portion of the subject or the posture information of the user.

A medical imaging technique, e.g., magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is widely used for the diagnosis and/or research of an anatomical structure and/or function of a healthy body and/or a sick body. During an imaging process, a medical system (e.g., an MRI system) usually uses one or more laser lights for positioning a subject (e.g., a patient) to be scanned in a scanning region of the medical system. When the subject (e.g., a patient) enters the scanning region of the medical system, the subject (e.g., a patient) needs to be instructed to avoid the laser. After a target portion of the subject is moved to a position in the scanning region where the laser lights correspond, a scan may be performed, which may involve a risk of laser damage, and time-consuming. Therefore, it is desired to provide systems and methods for positioning a subject more efficiently and safely.

Systems and methods for magnetic resonance imaging

SHANGHAI UNITED IMAGING HEALTHCARE CO., LTD.


One aspect of the disclosure relates to a surgical instruments and surgical instrument guides, and associated methods. The surgical instrument may include: an elongated body having a distal end; a housing disposed at least partially within the elongated body and pivotably coupled to the elongated body; and an actuator engaged with a proximal end of the elongated body and operably associated with the housing such that the housing pivots about a pivot point upon actuation of the actuator. In another embodiment, the surgical instrument may include: an elongated body having a segmented distal tip; a guide barrel extending longitudinally within the elongated body, the guide barrel being substantially aligned with a bore within the segmented distal tip, wherein the segmented distal tip is configured to transition between an unexpanded configuration and an expanded configuration.

Guides are tools that may be used in orthopedic surgeries to assist surgeons with the placement of bone screws or fasteners in attaching surgical bone plates to a bone. A guide is configured to accommodate various tools that may be inserted therein for preparation of the bone for the bone screw. Additionally, Guides aid in the alignment of the tools relative to a desired bone screw trajectory and protect the surrounding anatomy during use of such tools. An example of a procedure which a guide may be used includes an anterior cervical fixation procedure which may follow, for example, a discectomy and/or corpectomy.
During such a procedure, an anterior cervical plate (ACP) is placed alongside vertebral bodies of adjacent cervical vertebrae to provide spinal fixation and stability. ACPs include fixation apertures for the placements of bone screws therethrough such that the ACP is attached to the vertebral body of each of the desired cervical vertebrae. Once the plate is in the desired position, a drill, tap, and screw (DTS) guide may be positioned within or aligned with the fixation aperture in the ACP. Where desired, an awl may be inserted into the barrel of the DTS guide for perforating the anterior cortex of the vertebra. Thereafter, a drill of the desired drill size may be inserted into the barrel of the DTS guide to drill a bore of a desired length into the bone. Subsequently, a tap may be optionally inserted into the DTS guide to thread the bore formed within the bone by the drill. Alternatively, a combination drill and tap tool may be used to form the bore and thread into the bone. Once the bone screw is prepared, the DTS guide is removed and the bone screw is placed via a driver. This process is repeated for each fixation aperture within the ACP until the ACP is appropriately secured.
Conventional DTS guides for anterior cervical procedures typically have a large profile which can interfere with the surgeon's view and/or patient tissue.

Surgical instruments and related methods


The present invention relates to a dishwasher for washing fruits and vegetables with less water and minimum energy use. The dishwasher (M) comprises main body; first basket (S); bottom area (1) in which there are provided two-way valve (1a), first channel (1b) and second channel (1c); washing compartment (2) comprising third channel (2a), first water outlet (2b), second water outlet (2c) and drainage connection unit (2d); fruit and vegetable washing apparatus (F) located on the first basket (S) and comprising chamber (4) in which fruits and vegetables are washed, carrying member (2) providing connection to the first basket (S) and one side of which is connected with lower side of the chamber (4), first water inlet (7) through which water reaching the first water outlet (2b) is transmitted into the carrying member (2), second water inlet (8) transmitting water from the second water outlet (2c) into the chamber (4); and control unit which controls operation of the valve (1a) such that water is transmitted to the second channel (1c) for washing fruits and vegetables or to the first channel (1b) for washing dishes inside the dishwasher (M), in response to the user-selected washing program of the dishwasher (M).

Currently, fruits and vegetables are washed by the users either when they are desired to be used, or they are grouped and washed at once and stored in a household appliance. Washing process can be repeated several times by the user in order to clean fruits and vegetables completely. This causes considerable amount of water to be consumed during the washing processes. In addition, washing process for fruits and vegetables requires a lot of time. Therefore, users generally prefer to wash fruits and vegetables when they need to use them.
Various applications for solving said problems are included by the known art, wherein one of these applications is explained in the published patent document no. KR20080033366A. Application in said patent document discloses a device for washing fruits and vegetables. Said device comprises a washing cage; at least one spray element for spraying water into the washing cage; a rotation mechanism for rotating the washing cage; and at least one water pump. However, the device requires an energy source to operate. This causes additional energy consumption. Another application is disclosed in the published patent document no. CN108552792A. Application in said patent document discloses a dishwasher comprising a fruit and vegetable washing compartment. The dishwasher allows washing both fruits and vegetables, and dirty kitchen utensils with a single energy source. However, during the washing process, dirty water from vegetables and fruits may come into contact with the washed kitchen utensils. Similarly, washing water of the dishwasher containing chemicals may contact fruits and vegetables. This can cause both kitchen equipment to be damaged and vegetables and fruits to be exposed to chemicals, thus causing the health of the users to deteriorate.

Dishwasher comprising a fruit and vegetable washing apparatus

Vestel Beyaz Esya Sanayi ve Ticaret Anonim Sirketi


Disclosed herein are compositions, having nanosized droplets, wherein the nanosized droplets may contain a cannabinoid oil, a dietically acceptable carrier oil, a surfactant, and water. Also disclosed herein are methods of making and using the same.

The following description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
All publications identified herein are incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application were specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference. Where a definition or use of a term in an incorporated reference is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply.
There are many ways to administer medical and recreational cannabis. One common problem with currently available cannabinoid compositions and methods of administration is that cannabinoids are not water soluble and therefore only a small percentage of the consumed cannabinoid content is absorbed by the human body. Moreover, because cannabinoids are not water soluble, it is difficult to put it in common foods and drinks. Finally, the low aqueous solubility also contributes to lower potency and slower onset of action in lower doses.
Nanoparticles comprising cannabis are one way to improve solubility. For example, US20180296493A1 to Richard Clark Kaufman teaches a nanosphere compositional structure comprising encapsulated cannabinoid. PCT/US2017/049219 discloses a cannabinoid nanoemulsoin made from surfactant Vitamin E TPGS. US20120202891A1 discloses a gel comprising cannabis nanoparticles, and US20170265494 discloses a chewing gum having a liquid center and the liquid center comprises "nanozome" encapsulated cannabinoid. However, in each of the above methods, the stability of such nanoparticles disclosed is less than desirable, especially upon dilution in an aqueous carrier. Moreover, at least some nanoparticle formulations tend to suffer from particle aggregation. Finally, the taste of the cannabinoid nanoparticles also remains unknown.
Thus, there remains a need in the art for new compositions of cannabinoid that remain dispersed in water and thereby leads to higher potency, faster onset of action, and have a pleasant taste such that it can be easily added to common foods and drinks.


Maintenance entities may be defined between customer and provider flow points to allow performance management to take place on an Ethernet network. The maintenance entities may be defined for access link, intra-domain, and inter-domain, and may be defined on a link or service basis. Performance parameters, including availability metrics, may be collected for the maintenance entities. The provision of such availability metrics in an Ethernet based solution to facilitate consistency of service management and operations for carriers transitioning to the Ethernet solution.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to communication networks and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for providing availability metrics for use in managing Ethernet Services.
2. Description of the Related Art
Data communication networks may include various computers, servers, nodes, routers, switches, bridges, hubs, proxies, and other network devices coupled together and configured to pass data to one another. These devices will be referred to herein as "network elements." Data is communicated through the data communication network by passing protocol data units, such as frames, packets, cells, or segments, between the network elements by utilizing one or more communication links. A particular protocol data unit may be handled by multiple network elements and cross multiple communication links as it travels between its source and its destination over the network.
The various network elements on the communication network communicate with each other using predefined sets of rules, referred to herein as protocols. Different protocols are used to govern different aspects of the communication, such as how signals should be formed for transmission between network elements, various aspects of what the protocol data units should look like, how packets should be handled or routed through the network by the network elements, and how information associated with routing information should be exchanged between the network elements.
Ethernet is a well known networking protocol that has been defined by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) as standard 802. Conventionally, Ethernet has been used to implement networks in enterprises such as businesses and campuses, and other technologies have been used to transport network traffic over longer distances. Specifically, network providers such as carriers were reluctant to deploy networks based on Ethernet technology, since Ethernet is designed to provide best efforts service and doesn't support Operation, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM) functions desired by the network providers. Since network providers need to be able to guarantee connectivity, Ethernet was felt to be inappropriate for deployment in these types of networks. When two Ethernet networks were to be connected over a network provider's network, the Ethernet frames would be converted to protocol data units using a transport protocol such as ATM, and carried over the network using the carrier's transport protocol. The Ethernet frames would then be recovered at the other side of the network provider's network and passed onto the second Ethernet network.
As the underlying networks have evolved and more and more Ethernet networks are being connected together, it has become more desirable to transport Ethernet frames in native form over the network provider's networks. Unfortunately, although it may be possible to overcome the limitations associated with the best-efforts nature of the Ethernet technology, other aspects of the Ethernet protocol still remain to be solved. For example, Ethernet does not enable certain Operation, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM) operations to take place to manage and diagnose problems on the network. Accordingly, it is difficult to determine whether the Ethernet networks satisfy the recommended availability objectives for constant bit-rate digital links specified in ITU G.827, or the end-to-end performance objectives set forth in ITU G.826. It would be desirable to identify a method and apparatus for collecting performance parameters that can be used to determine whether the network is standard compliant.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and apparatus for providing availability metrics for measurement and management of ethernet services


An apparatus and a system for automatically tracking data speed are disclosed. An embodiment of the invention provides a transmitting apparatus for automatically tracking data speed that includes: an encoder configured to convert parallelized input data according to a preset signal rule into a first signal and a second signal, where the input data is inputted as a unit of n bits, the encoder outputs the first signal and the second signal such that, if the input data includes identical bit values consecutively, one of the first signal and the second signal is converted to include transition information instead of following a differential rule with respect to the other signal; a serializer configured to serialize the first signal and the second signal; and a transmitting part configured to transmit the serialized first signal and second signal.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an apparatus and a system for automatically tracking data speed, more particularly to an apparatus and a system that enables a receiving apparatus to recover a clock and input data without a reference clock.
2. Description of the Related Art
An apparatus for automatic data speed tracking is an apparatus for recovering a clock without a reference clock or a reference clock transmission line. The performance, transmission speed, complexity, etc., of the apparatus may vary according to the recovery method used.
One of the automatic data speed tracking methods most used in the related art is the clock embedded method, in which a clock is sent in regular intervals instead of data, so that a clock matching the data speed can be recovered at the receiving end by using the clock transmitted at regular intervals.
This method provides the advantage that the transmission speed of the data can be found easily, but since a clock is sent at regular intervals instead of data, the transmission speed is limited.
The number of bits added thus is referred to as overhead, and several methods for reducing overhead have been developed.
Another method of automatically tracking data speed is to recover a clock by finding the regularity of the data. With this method also, however, transition information is required for finding the regularity, so that a method such as 8B10B encoding is used which adds overhead. Moreover, this method may result in a large area and high power consumption for finding the regularity.

Apparatus and system for tracking data speed automatically

Korea University Research and Business Foundation


A fluid controller (15) of the type which controls the flow of fluid to an unequal area steering cylinder (25), wherein the controller is of the load reaction type. The controller (15) includes valving (27) which, when it is in neutral (FIGS. 1 and 5), defines a load reaction fluid path (LR) permitting fluid communication between the control fluid ports (21, and 23) through the fluid meter (29) in response to an external load imposed on the cylinder (25). In accordance with the invention, the valving (27) includes a fluid path (97,95,99,71,75) between the load reaction fluid path (LR) and the return port (19), when the valving is in neutral. When the rod end chamber (A) is contracting, fluid is drawn from the return port into the load reaction fluid path (LR), preventing cavitation, and when the head end chamber (B) is contracting, fluid flows from the load reaction fluid path (LR) to the return port (19), preventing pressure intensification.

The present invention relates to fluid controllers for use in vehicle steering systems, and more particularly, to such controllers which are to be used with unequal area steering cylinders.
Conventionally, many vehicles utilizing full fluid linked steering systems have included a pair of steering cylinders, arranged so that, for either direction of steering, fluid would be ported to the head end of one cylinder and to the rod end of the other cylinder, i.e., there would be the same ratio of steering movement to fluid flow for either direction of steering. Unfortunately, such an arrangement is expensive because of the two cylinders and all of the associated plumbing. On some vehicles, it is possible to use a single steering cylinder, but which is of the double rod end type, such that there is inherently the same ratio of steering movement to fluid flow for either direction of steering.
There are now a number of vehicles which utilize full fluid linked steering systems, including fluid controllers of the type to which the present invention relates, wherein it is considered desirable to utilize only one steering cylinder, having only a single rod, and thus referred to as an "unequal area" steering cylinder. An unequal area cylinder is one having only a single rod extending from the cylinder, such that the cylinder has a "rod end" having a particular cross-sectional area subject to fluid pressure ("flow area"), and a "head end" having a relatively larger cross-sectional area ("flow area"). In many vehicle applications, the use of a single, unequal area cylinder is desirable because the linkage arrangement and overall installation is simplified, and therefore, less expensive than is the case for even a double rod end cylinder.
As a separate issue, many vehicle manufacturers prefer to use fluid controllers of the type having "load reaction", a feature whereby, when the fluid controller is in neutral, the control fluid ports (i.e., the ports connected to the steering cylinder) are in fluid communication with the opposite sides of the fluid meter (typically a gerotor gear set). Thus, any external load imposed on the steered wheels will impose a reaction load on the fluid meter which, in turn, will be felt by the vehicle operator through the steering wheel.
Although load reaction is considered a very desirable feature, at least in a number of vehicle applications, there have been many occasions, prior to the present invention, in which vehicle manufacturers have been told that their steering system could not include both load reaction and a single, unequal area steering cylinder. A primary reason has been that the load reaction flow to and from the unequal area cylinder would be greater to and from the head end of the cylinder than it would be to and from the rod end of the cylinder. As a result, with the cylinder communicating to the opposite sides of the fluid meter, there would be pressure intensification occurring while the head end is contracting, and there would be cavitation occurring while the rod end is contracting. In either case, the performance of the controller would not be acceptable. While the pressure intensification could result in burst hoses, and other pressure related problems, cavitation could result in a potential loss of steering control because of voids in the fluid "column".
An additional disadvantage of the prior art load reaction and unequal area cylinder combination is that there is no position of the cylinder corresponding to a neutral position of the vehicle. The unequal area of the head end and rod end, and the balanced forces acting on the rod, mean that the pressure in the rod end is higher than that in the head end, resulting in flow from the rod end to the head end, in the absence of a steering input. This flow causes continual drift of the vehicle and rotation of the steering wheel, a condition which is not acceptable to the vehicle operator.

Load reaction steering unit for unequal area cylinder


A blowout preventer transport and handling system for a blowout preventer on a well rig. The system includes a skid for a receipt of a blowout preventer. A pair of trolley beams parallel to the skid are moveable between a lowered storage position and a raised use position. A trolley hoist mechanism is provided on each of the trolley beams. At least one cylinder moves the pair of trolley beams between the lowered storage position and the raised use position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a transportation, storage and handling system for a blowout preventer for a subterranean well rig. In particular, the present invention is directed to an integrated system to store and transport a blowout preventer and to install, handle and support a blowout preventer during use on a well rig.
2. Related Art
Blowout preventers are known assemblies of valves used to control subterranean wells. Blowout preventers prevent uncontrolled flow or pressure during drilling, production or service operations. Blowout preventers will be utilized to confine well fluids to the well bore and, in addition, shut in the well and severe casing or drill pipe during emergencies.
Blowout preventers may be located and may be placed in various locations over the well center line. In some operations, the blowout preventer is located over the well center line above a sub base structure of the well rig and below a spaced drill or rig floor.
Periodically, it may be necessary to disassemble the entire rig and move all of the components, including the blowout preventer, to a new drilling, production or service location.
It would be desirable to provide an integrated system to retain a blowout preventer during transportation and storage.
It would also be desirable to provide a system to rotationally move a blowout preventer between a horizontal storage and transportation position and a vertical, in use position and then move the blowout preventer over a well center.
It would be further desirable to provide a transport and handling system to move a blowout preventer horizontally into position over a well center.
It would also be desirable to provide a blowout preventer transport and handling system that would be connected to the well rig and remain in place during operation of the well.
It would be further desirable to provide an integral system for rotating a blowout preventer between horizontal and vertical positions and for moving the blowout preventer horizontally with a hoist mechanism.
It would be further desirable to provide a blowout preventer transport and handling system that would require no external equipment for moving the blowout preventer into or out of position.
It would be further desirable to provide a blowout preventer transport and handling system that includes a pressure test mechanism to pressure test the blowout preventer prior to installation on a well rig.

Blowout preventer transport and handling system


A ceramic precursor, and ceramic filter prepared therewith, with 35-70 wt % refractory aluminosilicate; 10-30 wt % colloidal silica; 0-2 wt % modified bentonite; 0-35 wt % fumed silica; 0-10 wt % pore formers and liquid.

The present invention is related to an improved ceramic foam filter. More particularly, the present invention is related to a ceramic foam filter for molten iron with sufficient mechanical properties for use in capturing and retaining high FeO liquid slags, other metal oxide slags, and other entrained particulates.
A significant portion of iron foundries use pressed or extruded mullite strainers. A ceramic foam filter is expected to perform better than a strainer due to its tortuous fluid flow path, but mullite strainers perform better than would be expected in ductile iron applications considering the strainers straight-through flow configuration. It is hypothesized that liquid slag in the molten ductile iron wets the surface of mullite better than it wets SiC. Mullite filters may better retain liquid slag during filtration but mullite foam filters for foundry applications have been unavailable.
Slag retention is difficult in strainer-type filters. Liquid inclusions, even though they readily wet the mullite strainer material, are very easily deformable by the flowing molten iron and simply flow down the filter wall to the exit. Oftentimes strainers act to coalesce numerous small slag inclusions (non critical size) and release them back into the flowing iron as a larger inclusion.
The state of the art for silica-bonded SiC foam filters used for molten iron filtration is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,663,776. The filter described therein produces the highest high temperature strength commercially known for this particular type of filter. There are many companies that manufacture silica-bonded SiC filters for the iron industry because it is fairly easy to make a relatively robust filter of this type. During firing, the SiC grain in the body is believed to partially oxidize to silica glass. The silica glass allows the SiC grain to bond well with the silica binder matrix thereby creating a relatively robust foam. In the pouring of iron castings, particularly ductile iron, a high FeO liquid slag is formed. The high FeO slag does not wet SiC foam filters due to a carbothermic reaction between the carbon constituent of SiC grain and the graphite impurities in the SiC. The FeO slag reacts and CO gas forms at the slag-filter interface, preventing the slag from wetting and adhering to the filter.
Substituting SiC with mullite has proven to be elusive and proper design of the binder for formulation of a filter with the appropriate mechanical properties at both room and high temperature has not been previously discovered. Thus, one could fairly easily make an acceptable SiC filter even when using a substandard matrix design, but not with mullite.
A mullite filter with sufficient strength for liquid iron filtration has heretofore alluded researchers.

Ceramic foam filter for better filtration of molten iron


A heat pipe type cooling apparatus for a semiconductor, comprises a plurality of first copper pipes, each of the first pipes having a plurality of V-shaped grooves formed in an inner surface thereof and arranged in a circumferential direction thereof, and a plurality of second copper pipes, each of the second pipes having a plurality of second grooves formed in an inner surface thereof, each of the second grooves having an opening narrower than an inner part thereof. A plurality of ceramic pipes connect the first pipes and the second pipes, through intermediate pipes made of a nickel-iron alloy. One end of each of the second pipes is inserted in a metal block on which a semiconductor is mounted.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a heat pipe type cooling apparatus for semiconductors.
2. Description of the Related Art
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Disclosure (Kokai) No. 60-57956 by the present inventors, a cooling apparatus for cooling power semiconductors such as a thyristor by using a heat pipe is already known. As shown in Figs. 1A and lB, in this heat pipe type cooling apparatus for semiconductors, fins 2, each of which is made of a metal, such as aluminum or copper, having a high thermal conductivity, extend from heat pipes 1, each of which is made of a metal, such as copper, having a high thermal conductivity so as to constitute a heat dissipation portion. The lower ends of the heat pipes are inserted in metal block 3 made of a metal, such as copper or aluminum, having a high thermal conductivity. With this arrangement, loss heat from semiconductor 4 such as a thyristor attached to the metal block is transferred to the heat pipes, and is cooled down naturally or forcibly by a fan through the fines, thereby increasing efficiency of the semiconductor. Terminal 5 for extracting a current is attached to the block as needed. Since a surface of a semiconductor such as a thyristor generally has a potential, a current flows to the heat dissipation portion through the metal heat pipes. Therefore, handling of the heat pipe type cooling apparatus is dangerous depending on operating conditions. Especially, since such an apparatus is often mounted in a vehicle such as a train and used as a cooling apparatus for an inverter thyristor, a problem of electrical safety is inevitably posed. For this reason, an insulating plate made of a ceramic material, such as aluminum nitride, having a relatively high thermal conductivity is arranged between the semiconductor such as a thyristor and the metal block so as to perform electrical insulation. However, the above aluminum nitride insulating plate poses problems in terms of thermal performance, withstand voltage function, mechanical strength, reliability, and the like.

Heat pipe type cooling apparatus for semiconductor


A mounting aid and a mounting method is provided for a cable pull adjustor (1) which includes a pull element (S) which can be connected to at least one cable pull (5, and a driver which can be connected to the actuating member (4) of the braking device (3) and which is intended for releasably driving along the pull element (8, and also a clamping element (9) which acts between the driver (7) and the pull element (S). The mounting aid comprises a securing element (10) which locks the clamping element (9) in a partially clamped position and automatically releases it through a movement of the actuating number (4) and/or the pull element (S).

It is known in practice that brake means, especially hand brake means for vehicles, are equipped with a sheathed cable adjusting means, which automatically compensates the wear occurring on the wheel brakes and in the sheathed cables. The problem with the mounting of the brake means and especially the suspension is related to the temporary bridging over or stress relief of the sheathed cable adjusting means. It is known for this in practice that a pulling element, which belongs to the sheathed cable adjusting means and is connected to the sheathed cables, is locked in a bridged-over position by a peg or the like, which is a rigid part of the housing and which is released after mounting. Furthermore, the brake means and the sheathed cables must again be tensioned and adjusted after mounting. Both require a corresponding accessibility of the peg and of the mounting aid formed hereby.


A fire extinguisher is shown and described. The fire extinguisher may include a housing, a vessel positioned within the housing, the vessel retaining a fire suppression agent therein, and a discharge port positioned in the housing and operatively coupled with the vessel, where the fire suppression agent is capable of being expelled from the discharge port. The fire extinguisher may include an electrical connector positioned on the housing, the electrical connector capable of operatively securing to an electrical outlet, where the electrical connector is rotatable relative to the housing.

Generally portable fire extinguishers are designed for fire suppression over specific areas. For example, each floor in a residence or commercial building will typically have one or two fire extinguishers. Portable fire extinguishers are relatively large devices and are not decorative in appearance. As a result, they are typically placed out of sight under counters, in storage cabinets and in garages and cellars. These locations are not always easily accessible when one needs the fire extinguisher. Furthermore, since the user does not have easy access to the fire extinguisher and thus does not see the fire extinguisher regularly, the user typically does not know whether the fire extinguisher is charged and ready for effective operation.
In addition, since the fire extinguisher is typically in storage for some time before it is needed, remembering the location of the fire extinguisher can be problematic. Consequently, the process of searching out, locating and retrieving a fire extinguisher may require additional time. In many cases the time that it takes to approach a fire, after the fire extinguisher has been located, may be undesirable under the circumstances allowing time for the fire to propagate.
Often, a decision is made not to attempt to return to the scene of the fire, considering the distance between the stored fire extinguisher and the location of the fire. In such cases the risk involved in obtaining the fire extinguisher is perceived to outweigh its potential benefit. Often, too, a fire may block access to the storage location of the fire extinguisher. In this situation the fire extinguisher is of little or no help.
Therefore, there is a need for a fire extinguisher that overcomes many of the shortcomings identified above. For example, there is a need for a compact and decorative fire extinguisher that may be operatively coupled to an electrical source, or operatively positioned on or in proximity to furnishings, appliances and the like or both. Further, there is a need for a fire extinguisher that may provide additional functionality and utility so that it is storable in an operative condition in a readily accessible location.


According to various exemplary embodiments of this invention, a method of producing a semiconductor structure is provided that includes providing a layered structure on a first substrate, the layered structure including a silicon layer that is provided over a first dielectric layer, a first dielectric layer that is provided over an etch-stop layer, the etch-stop layer provided over a buffer layer, the buffer layer provided over a sacrificial layer, and a sacrificial layer provided over a first substrate. Moreover, various exemplary embodiments of the methods of this invention provide for a second substrate over the layered structure, separating the first substrate and the sacrificial layer from the buffer layer, separating the buffer layer and the etch-stop layer from the first dielectric layer and providing a drain electrode and a source electrode over the layered structure. Moreover, according to various exemplary embodiments of the devices of this invention, a transistor device is provided that includes a substrate, a gate electrode over the substrate, a laser recrystallized polycrystalline semiconductor layer over the gate electrode and a source electrode and a drain electrode over the laser recrystallized polycrystalline semiconductor. Finally, according to various exemplary embodiments of the devices of this invention, a transistor device is provided that includes a substrate, a laser recrystallized polycrystalline semiconductor over the substrate, a source electric and a drain electrode over the laser recrystallized polycrystalline semiconductor and a gate electrode over the source electrode and the drain electrode.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to the manufacture of semiconductor thin-film, and more particularly to polycrystalline semiconductor thin-films formed on dissimilar substrates.
2. Description of Related Art
In general, polycrystalline thin-film transistors are fabricated on substrates that are capable of withstanding high temperature processes such as, for instance, processes that take place at temperatures higher than 500° C. However, unlike traditional amorphous silicon thin-film transistors, poly-silicon devices usually perform best only when a silicon oxide gate dielectric is used. Silicon oxide of high quality is generally obtained through a deposition process that takes place at high temperature, which precludes the use of substrate materials, on which the silicon oxide is deposited, that have low melting or decomposition temperatures or that would not withstand high temperatures. These substrates are, for instance, plastic substrates.
Accordingly, the conventional method of manufacturing polycrystalline silicon thin-film transistors on materials that do not withstand high temperatures such as, for instance, flexible materials or plastic platforms, generally involves using low temperature deposition process in order to deposit amorphous silicon, which is later re-crystallized in order to form polycrystalline silicon using, for instance, localized laser irradiation. The silicon oxide gate dielectric is then deposited on the flexible plastic platform using a low temperature deposition process. However, thin-film transistors formed in this manner generally exhibit poor performance because of the poor dielectric properties of the transistor.

Method of manufacturing and structure of polycrystalline semiconductor thin-film heterostructures on dissimilar substrates


Independently adjustable ladder extensions for use with folding, step, or extension ladders includes at least one pair of adjustable support legs slidably disposed within the channels of the side rails and having apertures that align with through holes on the side rails so that the support legs can be slidably adjusted within the channels and then locked in the desired position for stabilizing and leveling the ladder on an uneven surface. Locking pins insert into the through holes of the side rails and through the apertures of the support legs for locking the support legs in the position, and the locking pins include a flap member for holding the locking pins in position. A traction foot is pivotally mounted to a base member located at the lower end of each leg to facilitate ladder stabilization on uneven surface, and each traction foot is independently rotatably adjustable on the base member in parallel or sideways orientation relative to the sidewall of the structure while an extension member terminating with an eave catch is slidably disposed within the upper end of each side rail for supporting the ladder against a pitched roof.

One of the most common pieces of equipment for both household and work use is the ladder in its several embodiments: the extension ladder and the stepladder. Such ladders are used for tasks as diverse as painting, cleaning aluminum siding, cleaning gutters, changing lights and cleaning ceiling fans and stocking shelves. Since the work sites where such ladders are used are often irregular, uneven or sloping, care must be taken in properly setting up and deploying the ladders. Obviously placing a ladder on an uneven or irregular surface decreases the stability of the ladder; and this instability increases with the height or vertical extension of the ladder. Moreover, with the current issues of worker's compensation and personal injury liability, the improper deployment of a ladder by an employee can result in a physical injury for the employee and the possibility of legal damages and penalties against the employer for improper supervision of the work site.
Thus, in order to stabilize a ladder on an uneven or irregular surface the homeowner and employee resort to several common expedients. One expedient is to simply find a handy and available rock to wedge under the lowermost end of one of the side rails of the ladder to balance and level the ladder. Another expedient is to use shims, spacers or boards to level the ladder. However, in both cases the leveling is rough and approximate, and if the ladders needs repositioned, the leveling process must be undertaken anew. In addition, there is also an initial investment of time in searching for such spacers and levelers. And perhaps most importantly, such shims and spacers are not secured to the lower end of the ladder side rails, with the possibility of the ladder slipping off the shim or spacer with the individual falling off the ladder and sustaining serious injury.
The prior art discloses a wide variety of attachments and accessories for leveling and stabilizing ladders 9 on uneven and irregular terrain, surfaces and ground.
The Gilland patent (U.S. Pat. No. 3,414,082) discloses a ladder leveling apparatus that includes extensible mounting members that are pivotally attached to the side rails of the ladder.
The Hurwitz patent (U.S. Pat. No. 3,937,298) discloses a ladder leveling attachment that includes a transverse member attachable to the lower end of the ladder side rails, with the transverse member having opposed sockets for receiving therein adjustable legs for leveling the ladder.
The Larson et al. patent (U.S. Pat. No. 3,948,352) discloses a ladder leveler for extension ladders that includes a pair of sleeves each of which encompasses the lower end of the ladder side rails and is vertically adjustable and locks into place by a spring-biased pin.
The Fernandez patent (U.S. Pat. No. 4,143,742) discloses a ladder extension that includes a pair of l-shaped members that are bolted to each ladder side rail and are vertically adjustable along the lower portion of each side rail.
The Belt patent (U.S. Pat. No. 4,606,432) discloses an adjustable ladder leg that includes adjustable legs that are attached to each side rail by a clamping member and are slidably adjustable within channels that are also mounted to the clamping members.
The Huang patent (U.S. Pat. No. 4,671,383) discloses a ladder leveler that includes a pair of interconnected adaptors with each adaptor mounted to the bottom of each side rail, and an adjustable leg affixed to the underside of each adaptor for leveling the ladder.
The Katson et al. patent (U.S. Pat. No. 5,305,851) discloses an adjustable ladder leg for both a stepladder and an extension ladder.
The Dickerson et al. patent (U.S. Pat. No. 5,476,153) discloses a ladder leveling apparatus that includes a vertical support externally mounted to the lower end of each ladder side rail with each vertical support adjustable on the side rail and locked into place by a manually operable tightening member.
The Lovelady patent (U.S. Pat. No. 5,908,085) discloses a ladder leveling system that includes a pair of bands mounted to the lower end of each ladder rail for supporting a leg extension, and the leg extensions are interconnected for adjustment therealong by a spring loaded handle that extends between the ladder rails.
The McCrystal patent (U.S. Pat. No. 6,073,726) discloses an adjustable stepladder having adjustable legs and adjustable steps affixed to at least one pair of the side rails for leveling the ladder.
Nonetheless, despite the ingenuity of the above devices, there remains a need for a ladder leveling apparatus that is easily and quickly adjustable for leveling a ladder and is not cumbersome in use or weight when added to the ladder.

Independently adjustable extensions for leveling a ladder


An exemplary method lines the sidewalls of a first opening with a sacrificial material and then fills the first opening with a metallic conductor in a manner such that the metallic conductor contacts the substrate. Next, the method selectively removes the sacrificial material, to create at least one “second” opening along the metallic conductor within the first opening. The method selectively removes portions of the first insulator layer through the second opening to leave at least one air gap between the metallic conductor and the first insulator layer in the lower region of the second opening.

The present invention relates to forming electrical contacts within integrated circuit structures, and more specifically to forming conductive contacts through inter-dielectric layers and including air gaps next to the conductive contacts.
Gate-to-contact parasitic capacitances in integrated circuit (IC) structures contribute to increased power consumption and reduced device performance/speed. Typical spacers formed on gate sidewalls employ silicon nitride, but silicon nitride has a relatively high dielectric constant and thus results in high gate parasitic capacitances. Oxide spacers can reduce capacitance but do not stand up well to typical processing such as silicide (HF) precleans. Nitride spacers can also be used, and later removed following silicide formation, and replaced with lower-capacitance materials (oxide, or low-K materials).

Temporary etchable liner for forming air gap

International Business Machines Corporation


Methods improve state information retention when selecting a not-recently-used element in an array of N elements. A first method comprises the steps of subdividing the array of N elements into K groups, selecting a group from among the K groups, selecting an element that is set to a not-recently-used state from the elements in the selected group, and marking the selected element as recently-used. If all the elements in the selected group are marked as recently-used, the method preferably marks all the elements in the selected group, except the selected element, as not-recently-used. Alternately, the method simply marks all the elements in the selected group when all the elements in the selected group are marked as recently-used. The method also preferably cycles through the groups so that a different group is selected each time. A second method comprises the steps of selecting an element that is marked as not-recently-used from the elements in the array, marking the selected element as recently-used and marking all the elements in the array except the selected element as not-recently-used when all the elements in the array are marked as recently-used. A program that comprises components that execute the above methods is embodied on a computer readable medium.

The invention relates to digital electronic circuitry. More particularly, the invention relates to digital electronic circuitry implementing a not-recently-used algorithm.
Typically, a microprocessor""s translation look-aside buffer (TLB) does not contain enough entries to map all currently active virtual addresses to their corresponding physical addresses. Instead, the TLB attempts to cache those mappings which are most likely to be used in the near future. When a memory reference misses the TLB and must install a new TLB entry, the TLB must choose which existing entry should be replaced. The system will have fewer total TLB misses (and therefore higher performance) if the TLB always replaces those entries which will not be referenced for the longest time into the future.
Unfortunately, since the TLB cannot know a program""s future behavior, its best guess usually comes from the program""s recent history. One method which typically exhibits very good behavior is the least-recently-used (LRU) method, in which enough status information is stored so that the TLB always knows which entry was referenced the least recently. By extrapolation, that entry will probably not need to be referenced for the longest time into the future, and so is the best candidate for replacement. However, the LRU method""s complexity and storage requirements grow even faster than the number of entries in the TLB; so for large TLBs, the LRU method""s cost can be prohibitive.
Other solutions have been devised which are nearly as effective as the LRU method, but have significantly less cost. One such method is the not-recently-used (NRU) method, in which only one bit of status is kept for each TLB entry. When an entry is referenced, it is marked recently used. When all of the TLB entries have been marked recently used, they are all again reset to the not-recently-used state. When a replacement is needed, any one of the not-recently-used entries may be chosen. This method is simpler than the LRU method, its complexity grows only linearly with the size of the TLB, and it typically has good performance. However, searching for a replacement choice across all of the TLB entries can still be difficult in a large TLB. Also, all history is lost whenever all of the entries become recently used, and poor replacement choices (entries very recently used, or even just newly inserted) may be made at those times. This not only has a negative impact on system performance, but can also (in extreme situations) prevent forward progress.
In one respect, the invention is a method for improving state information retention when selecting a not-recently-used element in an array of N elements. The array may be one dimensional or multidimensional. The method comprises the steps of subdividing the array of N elements into K groups, selecting a group from among the K groups, selecting an element that is set to a not-recently-used state from the elements in the selected group, and marking the selected element as recently-used. If all the elements in the selected group are marked as recently-used, the method preferably marks all the elements in the selected group, except the selected element, as not-recently-used. Alternately, the method simply marks all the elements in the selected group when all the elements in the selected group are marked as recently-used. The method also preferably cycles through the groups so that a different group is selected each time.
In another respect, the invention is a method which comprises the steps of selecting an element that is marked as not-recently-used from the elements in the array, marking the selected element as recently-used and marking all the elements in the array except the selected element as not-recently-used when all the elements in the array are marked as recently-used.
In yet another respect, the invention is a computer readable medium on which is embedded a program. The embedded program comprises components that execute the above methods.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate these and other advantages and benefits of various embodiments of the invention upon reading the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment with reference to the below-listed drawings.

Retaining state information of an array of elements by subdividing the array into groups of elements


Hydrocarbon lube boiling range stock of high Pour Point may be catalytically hydrotreated to yield a product of high viscosity index and reduced Pour Point which is suitable as a lube base oil.

As is well known to those skilled in the art, suitable heavier hydrocarbons may be employed as charge stock for various products including lubricating oils, automatic transmission fluids, etc. Commonly, however, it is found that the charge stocks need considerable processing in order to make them suitable as a base oil for such uses. Various processes may be employed to convert these charge oils into base stocks characterized by decreased wax content, decreased pour point, decreased aromatics content, etc.
There is a large body of literature and patents which address this area. Typical of these are the following:
Bijward, H. M. J. et al The Shell Hybrid Process, an Optimized Route for HVI (High Viscosity Index) Lube oil Manufacture paper from Pet. Ref. Conf. of the Jap. Pet. Inst 27-28 Oct. 1986, p16;
Bulls, S. et al Lube oil Manufacture by Severe Hydrotreatment Proc. Tenth World Pet. Congress Vol 4, 1980 p221-8.
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. 3,268,439 U.S. Pat. No. 3,658,689 U.S. Pat. No. 3,764,516 U.S. Pat. No. 3,830,723 U.S. Pat. No. 4,547,283 U.S. Pat. No. 4,900,711 U.S. Pat. No. 4,911,821 EUR 0 321 299 EUR 0 321 302 EUR 0 335 583 BRIT 1,098,525 ______________________________________
Continuing studies are in progress in an attempt to improve the quality of base stocks so that they may be employed as premium motor oils, transmission fluids, etc. There is also a need to process sulfur-containing charge to prepare satisfactory product--without hydrotreating. It is also found that there is a need to treat charge stock such as slack wax, typically containing substantial content of sulfur (above 100 ppm) and paraffins in order to permit attainment of product oils (suitable for such desired uses) characterized by high viscosity index (typically 120-150) and reduced or low pour point at mid-range viscosity (typically .ltoreq.300 SUS @100.degree. F.).
It is an object of this invention to provide a process for treating a waxy hydrocarbon such as slack wax to convert it into a product oil containing decreased content of normal paraffins and increased content of isoparaffins. Other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.


One embodiment provides a network adapter. The network adapter includes a network adapter controller, a medium access controller (MAC) and a physical layer (PHY) including at least one port. The network adapter further includes optical communication logic to at least one of receive and/or acquire a local alert and generate a local alert message related to the local alert, the local alert message including an alert identifier (ID) and a network adapter ID. The network adapter further includes a first light emitting diode (LED) to convert the local alert message to a corresponding optical local alert message and to transmit the optical local alert message to an optical communication path.

In some applications, e.g., data centers, a number of computing systems may be grouped together in proximity to one another. Operation of the computing systems may be monitored by a system administrator using another computing system, e.g., a system management device. The system management device may be coupled to the computing systems by communication links and/or a network.
The system administrator, using the system management device, may monitor operation of the computing systems in order to detect and respond to any faults. Fault alerts may be transmitted from the computing systems to the system management device via the communication links and/or the network. A fault that affects a communication link may prevent transmission of the fault alert(s) to the system management device and, thus, the system administrator.
Although the following Detailed Description will proceed with reference being made to illustrative embodiments, many alternatives, modifications, and variations thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art.


A display device-integrated touch screen panel including an upper substrate and a lower substrate having a display region and a non-display region outside of the display region and including a first non-display region and a second non-display region at an outer side of the first non-display region, a plurality of sensing patterns on the upper substrate in the display region, a plurality of sensing lines located on the upper substrate in the non-display region, and coupled to the sensing patterns, a first guard ring pattern adjacent an edge of the first non-display region and surrounding the plurality of sensing lines, a sealing material between the upper substrate and the lower substrate in the non-display region, and a second guard ring pattern overlapping the sealing material in the non-display region, the second guard ring pattern being electrically coupled to the first guard ring pattern and including a transparent conductive material.

1. Field
Embodiments of the present invention relate to a display device.
2. Description of the Related Art
A touch screen panel is an input device capable of inputting a user's instruction by selecting content displayed on a screen of an image display device, or the like, with the user's hand or an object, such as a stylus.
To this end, the touch screen panel is located on a front surface of the image display device to use a contact position of the human hand or the object to produce an electric signal. Therefore, the content selected at the contact position is recognized as an input signal.
Since the touch screen panel may replace a separate input device connected to the image display device, such as a keyboard or a mouse, application of touch screen panels has been gradually extended.
As types of touch screen panels, a resistive-type touch screen panel, a photosensitive-type touch screen panel, a capacitive-type touch screen panel, and the like, have been known. Among them, the capacitive-type touch screen panel senses a change in capacitance between a conductive sensing pattern and a neighboring sensing pattern, ground electrode, or the like, when a human hand or an object contacts the touch screen panel, thereby producing an electrical signal corresponding to a contact position.
In general, the touch screen panel is separately manufactured and attached to the image display device, such as a liquid crystal display device or an organic light emitting display device. However, when a separately manufactured touch screen is attached to the display device, the entire thickness of a product is increased and manufacturing cost is also increased.
In addition, in the touch screen panel having the structure of the prior art as described above, a malfunction or damage to internal circuits may occur due to electrostatic discharge generated during manufacturing, transferring, or using the product.

Display device-integrated touch screen panel


An electrophotographic apparatus has a photoreceptor drum supported for rotation in one direction sequentially past a plurality of processing stations, a corona charger for electrostatically charging the photoreceptor drum, a developer hopper accommodating therein a mass of developing material used to form a visible toner image and a transfer charger for transferring the toner image onto a recording paper. The developer hopper has its bottom portion formed with an opening open so as to accommodate a portion of the photoreceptor drum, so that the developing material can be electrostatically deposited on the photoreceptor drum, including both non-image and image areas, to form a toner layer. The apparatus also includes an electrode member operable to electrostatically remove a portion of the toner layer covering the non-image area, thereby leaving the remaining portion of the toner layer in the image area to form the visible toner image.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrophotographic process and an electrophotographic apparatus which can be applicable in copying machines, printers and facsimile machines.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the practice of the electrophotographic process, a magnetizable developing material, or a developer mix, of a two-component type has been widely utilized, comprising toner particles and carrier beads mixed together in a predetermined proportion. For developing an electrostatic latent image into a visible powder image with the use of the developer mix, various developing methods have hitherto been suggested. However, of them, a magnetic brush developing method developed in 1953 is currently widely utilized for document copying because, as compared with a cascade developing method, the magnetic brush developing method can result in a reduction in size of the apparatus and also in a satisfactory reproduction of fine line images.
Hereinafter, the conventional developing method utilizing the developer mix will be discussed in detail with reference to FIG. 12. FIG. 12 schematically illustrates a prior art electrophotographic apparatus. The illustrated apparatus generally comprises a hopper accommodating therein a mass of the developer mix 1 consisting of a mass of toner material and a mass of carrier. A developing sleeve 2 accommodates therein and is magnet roll 3 therein and positioned inside the hopper. A photoreceptor drum has a photosensitive layer 4 on its outer peripheral surface and is supported for rotation in one direction. A corona charger 5 for electrostatically charges the photosensitive layer 4. A transfer corona charger 7 transfers a visible powder image onto a recording medium such as, for example, a recording paper, and a cleaning unit 8 removes residue toner material from the photosensitive layer 4 on the photoreceptor drum.
The electrophotographic apparatus has a plurality of sequential processing stations. These include a charging station at which the corona charger 5 is disposed. An exposure station projects an imagewise light signal 6 onto the photosensitive layer 4 to form an electrostatic latent image thereon. A developing station develops the electrostatic latent image into the visible powder image by means of the developing sleeve 2. A transfer station at which the transfer corona charger 7 is disposed effects the transfer of the visible powder image onto the recording paper. A separating station separates the recording paper bearing the visible powder image from the photosensitive layer 4 for conveyance towards a fixing unit (not shown), and a cleaning station has the cleaning unit 8 disposed thereat. The photoreceptor drum having the photosensitive layer 4 is moved sequentially past these processing stations during one complete rotation thereof.
As is well known to those skilled in the art, during the rotation of the photoreceptor drum, the photosensitive layer 4 is electrostatically charged by the corona charger 5 at the charging station and is subsequently exposed at the exposure station to the imagewise light signal 6 to form thereon the electrostatic latent image which is developed at the next succeeding developing station into the visible powder image by means of magnetic brushes of the developer mix 1 formed on the developing sleeve 2. This visible powder image is then transferred at the transfer station onto the recording medium.
While during the continued rotation of the photoreceptor drum the recording paper bearing the visible powder image is separated from the photosensitive layer 4 and is thereafter transported towards the fixing unit for permanently fixing the image on the recording paper, residue toner material left on the photosensitive layer 4 is removed therefrom at the cleaning station in readiness for the next cycle of image formation.
The prior art electrophotographic apparatus of the construction described above has a number of problems. In the first place, the developing unit, including the hopper, the developing sleeve 2 and the magnet roll 3, is bulky and complicated, rendering the electrophotographic apparatus as a whole to be complicated and bulky. Also, the length of time during which the magnetic brushes of the developer mix 1 operatively contact the photosensitive layer 4 then moving past the developing station is so small as to eventually result in a poor image quality.

Method and apparatus for removing a portion of a developing material deposited on a non-image area of a surface of a latent image carrier

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.