A method of producing 3,5,5-trimethylcyclohexa-3-ene-1-one (.beta.-isophorone) by isomerization of 3,5,5-trimethylcyclohexa-2-ene-1-one (.alpha.-isophorone) in a liquid phase in the presence of a homogeneous or heterogeneous catalyst in which a mixture with a relatively low concentration of .beta.-isophorone is drawn off from the reaction container and the .beta.-isophorone isolated by vacuum distillation. .beta.-isophorone is an important synthetic structural element for the production of carotinoids, vitamins and pharmaceutical products.

.beta.-isophorone has great economic significance since it is an important synthetic structural element for the production of carotinoids, vitamins and pharmaceutical products. In particular, .beta.-isophorone is required as a precursor for ketoisophorone (2,6,6-trimethylcyclohex-2-ene-1,4-dione) and trimethylhydroquinone and therewith for the production of vitamin E. In addition, it is pivotably used in syntheses for odorous substances and natural compounds such as astaxanthine and abscisic acid and derivatives.
The production of isophorone is carried out by means of acetone trimerization under condensation of the C.sub.3 structural elements. The primarily formed isomer is .alpha.-isophorone since it has, in contrast to the .beta. isomer, a double bond conjugated to the keto function. For this reason the thermodynamic equilibrium is on the side of the .alpha.-isophorone; the .beta. concentration is only approximately 1-2% and the adjustment of equilibrium takes place very slowly.
Although there are basically two different methods of preparation for arriving at ketoisophorone, namely, the direct oxidation of .alpha.-isophorone (.alpha.-IP).fwdarw.ketoisophorone (KIP) and the indirect route via the isomerization .alpha.-isophorone.fwdarw..beta.-isophorone (.beta.-IP) in a primary step and subsequent oxidation of the .beta.-isophorone.fwdarw.ketoisophorone, the latter process is clearly advantageous. Scheme 1 presents these considerations for ketoisophorone synthesis in a clear manner. ##STR1##
Numerous methods for the isomerization of .alpha.-IP have been described in the course of time which, however, have significant disadvantages. Viewpoints such as consumption of chemicals, poor space/time yields and problems in the workup have prevented, up to the present, a practical processing reaction on a large scale.
A number of publications are concerned with the isomerization in the liquid phase. The more pertinent state of the art is represented by the following publications:
D1=A. Heymes et al., Recherches 1971, 18, 104 PA0 D2=FR-A-1,446,246 PA0 D3=DE-OS-24 57 157 PA0 D4=U.S. Pat. No. 4,005,145 PA0 D5=EP-A-0,312,735 PA0 D6=JP 87-33019 corresp. to HEI-1-175954 of Jul. 12, 1989.
D1 discloses the isomerization of .alpha.-IP to .beta.-IP with stoichiometric amounts of MeMgX (Me=methyl, X=halogen-) Grignard compound. 73% .beta.-IP is obtained with evolution of methane in the presence of catalytic amounts of FeCl.sub.3.
D2 relates to the isomerization of .alpha.-IP to .beta.-IP in the presence of catalytic amounts of p-toluene sulfonic acid and generally aromatic sulfonic acids, especially aniline sulfonic acid. The amount of the catalyst used is 0.1-0.2 % relative to the .alpha.-IP used. However, a low degree of conversion and a high accumulation of byproducts prevent an industrial application of the method of D2.
According to D3, the preparation of .beta.-IP takes place by means of boiling .alpha.-IP for several hours in triethanol amine, fractionation, washing the distillate with tartaric acid and sodium chloride solution. The consumption of chemicals is also considerable here.
In D4, acids with a pK=2-5 and a higher boiling point than .beta.-IP (boiling point .beta.-IP=186.degree. C./760 mm Hg) are used as catalyst. The following are named:
Aliphatic and aromatic amino acids, adipic acid, p-methylbenzoic acid, 4-nitro-m-methylbenzoic acid, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, 3,4,5-trimethoxybenzoic acid, vanillic acid, 4-trifluoromethylbenzoic acid, 3-hydroxy-4-nitrobenzoic acid and cyclohexane carboxylic acid and derivatives. The amount of catalyst used is 0.1-20 molar percent. The yield of .beta.-IP (relative to .alpha.-IP used) is 74.5%.
At a rate of decrease of 11 ml/h .beta.-IP and a simultaneous amount added of approximately 0.5 kg .alpha.-IP, the space-time yield and the production of .beta.-IP is Y=0.218 kg .beta.-IP/kg.sub.cat /h and is thus too low to find industrial application. These values correspond to a space-time yield of Y.sub.s-t =0.015 l.sub..beta.-IP /h/l.sub.solution.
A similar principle is followed in D5. Acetyl acetonates of transitional metals are used as .pi. bond displacement catalysts. Even Al (acac) displays catalytic activity. The use of the catalyst takes place in 0.01-10% by weight related to the starting weight of .alpha.-IP. Metallic catalysts of groups IVb (Ti/Zr/Hf), Vb (V/Nb/Ta), VIb (Cr, Mo, W), VIIb (Mn/Tc/Re), the entire group VIII and aluminum are patented. The primarily obtained distillate has a .beta.-IP content of 94%, a further Vigreux distillation enriches the .beta.-IP content to 99%. This result corresponds, relative to amount of catalyst used and the time, to a yield of Y--9.4 liters .beta.-IP per kilogram catalyst per hour. This corresponds, relative to the educt solution used, to a yield of Y.sub.s-t =0.0376 l.sub..beta.-IP /h/l.sub.solution.
According to D6, the isomerization takes place in the liquid phase at temperatures around 200.degree. C. Silica gels with or without the addition of alkyl-substituted imidazolines of the following formula are used as catalyst. ##STR2##
Typical experimental conditions: 300 g .alpha.-IP and 25.7 g SiO.sub.2 are distilled 52 h in the presence of refined steel; 230 g .beta.-IP (=76.6% yield) result with 99.9% purity. This result corresponds, relative to amount of catalyst used and the time, to a yield of Y=0.174 liters .beta.-IP per liter catalyst per hour.
Moreover, the procedure described is unfavorable and the absolute production of .beta.-IP low. The performance of isomerization and one-step distillation of the .beta.-IP in one step is especially disadvantageous. It can be demonstrated that the re-isomerization of .beta.-IP to .alpha.-IP occurs to a considerable extent on account of the high reaction temperature in the distillation apparatus.

Method of producing .beta.-isophorone by the isomerization of .alpha.-isophorone


An industrial process transmitter includes a main housing, a sensor body, and a flange member. The main housing contains transmitter circuitry and includes a first threaded portion. The sensor body includes a process sensor and a second threaded portion in threaded engagement with the first threaded portion. One of the first and second threaded portions includes a threaded cylindrical projection, and the other includes a threaded cylindrical bore. The flange member is received within a groove of the projection. Movement of the sensor body relative to the housing along an axis of the bore is restricted to an axial distance through engagement between the flange and the first or second threaded portion that includes the threaded cylindrical bore, and engagement between the main housing and the sensor body. Rotation of the sensor body relative to the housing about the axis is limited by the axial distance.

Industrial processes are used in many industries to process or transport various materials. Industrial processes are implemented in processing plants, such as, oil refineries, food manufacturing facilities, and paper pulp manufacturing facilities, for example.
Process control systems are used to monitor and control inventories of industrial and chemical processes, and the like. Typically, the control system performs these functions using field devices or process transmitters that are distributed at key locations in the industrial process. The term "process transmitter" refers to any device that performs a function in a distributed industrial control or process monitoring system, including all devices currently known, or yet to be known, that are used in the measurement, control, and/or monitoring of industrial processes.
Process transmitters typically include a main housing that encases transmitter circuitry. The transmitter circuitry enables the process transmitter to perform conventional field device tasks, such as process parameter monitoring and measurements using one or more sensors, and/or process control operations using one or more control elements. Exemplary sensors include pressure sensors, flow sensors, level sensors, temperature sensors, and other sensors used in industrial processes. Exemplary control elements include actuators, solenoids, valves, and other control elements.
Process sensors may be supported or contained in a sensor body, which is attached to the main housing. The sensor body may provide an interface between the process variable sensor and the process that is to be sensed or measured. Additionally, the sensor body may support or house sensor circuitry that conveys sensed process parameters to the transmitter circuitry.

Process transmitter having a rotatable coupling


A method performed by a first Radio Control Node (RCN) for handling a radio connection to be established in a second beam controlled by a second RCN for the UE served in a first beam controlled by the first RCN. When the radio connection of the UE, served in a first beam controlled by the first RCN, has been established in the second beam controlled by a second RCN, the first RCN obtains feedback from the second RCN. The feedback relates to information about the characteristics of the radio connection in the second beam resulting from measurements performed when the radio connection has been established between the UE and a second radio node providing the second beam. The first RCN then provides for the radio connection to be established in the second beam controlled by the second RCN for any UEs served in the first beam.

In a typical wireless communication network, wireless devices, also known as wireless communication devices, mobile stations, stations (STA) and/or user equipments (UE), communicate via a Radio Access Network (RAN) to one or more core networks (CN). The RAN covers a geographical area which is divided into service areas or cell areas, which may also be referred to as a beam or a beam group, with each service area or cell area being served by a radio network node such as a radio access node e.g., a WI-Fi access point or a radio base station (RBS), which in some networks may also be denoted, for example, a "NodeB" or "eNodeB". A service area or cell area is a geographical area where radio coverage is provided by the radio network node. The radio network node communicates over an air interface operating on radio frequencies with the wireless device within range of the radio network node.
A Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is a third generation (3G) telecommunication network, which evolved from the second generation (2G) Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). The UMTS terrestrial radio access network (UTRAN) is essentially a RAN using wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) and/or High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) for user equipments. In a forum known as the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), telecommunications suppliers propose and agree upon standards for third generation networks, and investigate enhanced data rate and radio capacity. In some RANs, e.g. as in UMTS, several radio network nodes may be connected, e.g., by landlines or microwave, to a controller node, such as a radio network controller (RNC) or a base station controller (BSC), which supervises and coordinates various activities of the plural radio network nodes connected thereto. This type of connection is sometimes referred to as a backhaul connection. The RNCs and BSCs are typically connected to one or more core networks.
Specifications for the Evolved Packet System (EPS), also called a Fourth Generation (4G) network, have been completed within the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and this work continues in the coming 3GPP releases, for example to specify a Fifth Generation (5G) network. The EPS comprises the Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), also known as the Long Term Evolution (LTE) radio access network, and the Evolved Packet Core (EPC), also known as System Architecture Evolution (SAE) core network. E-UTRAN/LTE is a variant of a 3GPP radio access network wherein the radio network nodes are directly connected to the EPC core network rather than to RNCs. In general, in E-UTRAN/LTE the functions of an RNC are distributed between the radio network nodes, e.g. eNodeBs in LTE, and the core network. As such, the RAN of an EPS has an essentially "flat" architecture comprising radio network nodes connected directly to one or more core networks, i.e. they are not connected to RNCs. To compensate for that, the E-UTRAN specification defines a direct interface between the radio network nodes, this interface being denoted the X2 interface.
Multi-antenna techniques can significantly increase the data rates and reliability of a wireless communication system. The performance is in particular improved if both the transmitter and the receiver are equipped with multiple antennas, which results in a Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) communication channel. Such systems and/or related techniques are commonly referred to as MIMO.
As mentioned above, the 3GPP is currently working on standardization of the 5th generation of radio access system, which also is referred to as New Radio (NR). An evolved architecture for the RAN is foreseen, both for LTE Evolution and New Radio tracks of 5G. This includes a solution where radio base stations may be split into parts for radio control, packet processing, and Radio Nodes (RNs) with base-band processing and radio units. An example of the new architecture is shown in FIG. 1, indicating possible interfaces. A Radio Control Function (RCF) is in this example included in a Radio Control Node (RCN).
The following is presented in an NR context but may be valid also in other radio access networks.
The NR is connected to some network that provides non-access stratum functions and connection to communication networks outside NR, like the internet. This is here shown as a core network as specified by 3GPP.
Beamforming
One important property in NR is beamforming in both directions, meaning that transmissions between an RN and a UE may be done using narrow beams to for example improve the signal to noise ratio and thereby improve the bit rate.
One consequence of beamforming may be that one specific UE could be within the coverage of many different RNs at the same time. This means that the network can choose which RN that shall serve the UE when it is in a location that has overlapping beams since it can be served from one or the other RN. The problem with this is that there may be a lot of handovers of the UE to different RNs to optimize the channel quality for the UE, whereof some handovers are unnecessary and may give a handover ping-pong effect.

UE, first and second radio control node (RCN), and methods therein for adapting a process of changing radio connections


In a method of forming an oxide layer, ozone is generated by reacting an oxygen gas having a first flow rate with a nitrogen gas having a second flow rate of more than about 1% of the first flow rate. A reactant including the ozone and nitrogen is provided onto a silicon substrate. A surface of the silicon substrate is oxidized via the reaction of the reactant with silicon in the silicon substrate. The flow rate of the nitrogen gas is increased while ozone serving as an oxidant is formed by reacting the nitrogen gas with the oxygen gas. Thus, the oxide layer or a metal oxide layer including nitrogen may be rapidly formed on the substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of oxidizing a silicon substrate and a method of forming an oxide layer. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method of oxidizing a silicon substrate using a nitrogen gas to thereby form an excellent oxide layer on the substrate, and a method of forming an oxide layer or a metal oxide layer on a substrate.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, semiconductor devices include various circuit patterns electrically connected to each other. The semiconductor device may be operated by transmitting electric signals from one circuit pattern to another circuit pattern. As the integration degree of semiconductor devices has increased, the sizes of the circuit patterns may be greatly reduced and the circuit patterns may be highly stacked. That is, as the design rule of semiconductor devices decreases, the size and thickness of the circuit patterns also decrease.
In particular, the reduction of the design rule affects the dimension of a dielectric layer of the semiconductor device. The semiconductor device generally includes several dielectric layers such as a gate dielectric layer and a capacitor dielectric layer. A gate dielectric layer, for example, has a thickness of less than about 1 nm when the semiconductor device has a design rule of below about 100 nm. When the gate dielectric layer of less than about 1 nm is formed on a semiconductor substrate, leakage current may be generated from the gate dielectric layer due to a tunneling effect thereof. Since the leakage current may cause a failure of the semiconductor device, a dielectric layer having high dielectric constant to ensure a sufficient capacitance without the generation of the leakage current is desirable.
Dielectric materials having high dielectric constant, for example, include hafnium oxide (HfO2), zirconium oxide (ZrO2), aluminum oxide (Al2O3), rare earth metal oxide, etc. When a dielectric layer is formed using the dielectric material having a high dielectric constant, much leakage current may be generated from the dielectric layer although the dielectric layer may have high dielectric constant.
To reduce the leakage current of the dielectric layer, nitrogen may be incorporated in a metal oxide layer serving as the dielectric layer. Here, nitrogen may be incorporated in the metal oxide layer by nitrification of the metal oxide layer by a rapid thermal nitration (RTN) process or a plasma RTN process after forming the metal oxide layer. An additional annealing process should be performed to incorporate nitrogen into the metal oxide layer in the RTN process and the plasma RTN process. In addition, nitrogen may not be properly incorporated in the metal oxide layer by the RTN process or the plasma RTN process.
Recently, an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process has been widely used to form a thin oxide film having good uniformity on a substrate. According to the ALD process, the oxide film may be formed on the substrate by the atomic unit. There are drawbacks when the oxide layer is formed by the conventional ALD process such as greatly increased time for forming the oxide layer and deteriorated characteristics of the oxide film.

Method of oxidizing a silicon substrate and method of forming an oxide layer using the same


An improved ring display box is realized by providing a holding platform made from sheet material to which the ring is attached and which is unfolded as the ring box is opened. As the sheet is unfolded by the opening of the box, a folded surface to which the ring is attached is rotated upwardly out of the box and presented at an inclination to the viewer. The sheet is multiply folded by parallel sets of folds so that the surface to which the ring is attached extends outwardly and forwardly from the hinge of the box to make a visually forward projection to the viewer.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a jewelry display boxes, in particular to boxes in which the jewelry is moved into a position for presentation or display in the same action as opens the box.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The means by which jewelry, or in particular, rings are displayed were presented to the potential purchaser is an extremely important element in the marketing and perceived value of the ring itself. An expensive ring can appear to be cheap if poorly displayed. Similarly, a less expensive ring can have its perceived value substantially enhanced if it is well presented in a context of luxury and value. While the store environment is also an important element of the sales environment, the box or box, which is the immediate visual and physical surrounding of the displayed ring, is probably the most important portion of the sales environment.
Typically, prior art ring boxes are small cubic boxes a sufficient size to hold one or two rings which are attached to a mounting platform in the bottom of the box. When the top lid of the box is opened, the ring is displayed in an upright position so that its stone or face is held vertically upward. The band of the ring is attached to the inside lower surface of the box either by a clip or is inserted into a rolled tuck provided in a right holding piece disposed in the bottom of the box. The thickness of the box must therefore be equal to or greater than the diameter of the band and the stone or setting.
The customer thereby views the ring in the typical ring display box or box from a distance of three or four feet at a angle from the eye to table top height, thereby actually viewing the ring in three-quarter perspective while the ring is attached or nested into the bottom of the ring box. While this type of display provides a reasonable view of the face or setting of the ring, the ring is nevertheless placed in the bottom of a box or hidden in a roll and tuck having a depth very nearly equal to the diameter of the ring or at least half its diameter. Most jewelry is also designed to catch light to enhance its attractiveness. Retaining the ring in the box to at least half its depth keeps the ring out of a full lighted exposure that could give best advantage to its presentation.
Therefore, what is needed is some type of design for a ring box which can better display the ring when the ring box is opened than requiring the purchaser in excess to peer into the box to see the ring, but which does not add any height or thickness to the ring box in which may in fact allow for any thinner box thicknesses.

Low profile ring display box and method for displaying jewelry in the same


There is disclosed a system and method for providing a portable visual display device. The device, in one embodiment, can be worn over the head by a viewer in the manner of a helmet. The viewer then looks at a screen within the helmet and "sees" created images. The helmet is equipped with sensors which determine the geographical direction as well as the relative movement of the viewer. The images are stored in a processor as a series of objects, each having associated therewith physical characteristics, including both audio and visual.

It is often desired to provide systems for viewers which create for the viewer an artificial environment such that the viewer can be presented with created images, for example, of a particular geographical location. This type of system is known as an artificial, or virtual, reality system.
The main idea is to build three-dimensional models of different types of objects, such as buildings, architectures, wiring diagrams, frames of things, military installations, computer chips, and view these three dimensional models on a graphics display. The display can be helmet mounted with a heads-up display or could be an LCD display or could be projected on glasses. The main point being that the viewer's field of vision is limited to only the presented three-dimensional model. The viewer can only see a certain area, and if the viewer turns his/her head right, then the view of the model changes right. If the viewer looks left, then the view shifts to the left. This creates an artificial reality around the viewer.
Such systems exist, usually for military simulation networks and aircraft training. However, typically such systems are controlled by very powerful computers and processors which, in a typical system, can cost $250,000 each. In addition to being costly, such systems are not mobile and the user is confined to a stationary, or nearly stationary, position, in proximity to the controlling system.
The relative position and altitude of a person or object is important to monitor for many reasons. For example, in an artificial reality system, it is necessary to continually determine the direction a viewer is facing, the viewer's motion and the speed of the viewer's movements.
In the past, such measurements have been made using expensive, typically bulky, equipment.
In portable artificial reality systems, light weight and economy are mandatory since, in one embodiment, the viewer wears the directional sensor on a helmet, and in other embodiments carries the directional sensors in his/her hand.
Typically, such sensors are flux gate compasses, cameras, radio wave detectors and sensors, spring loaded acceleration devices, and other sophisticated devices, usually relying on magnetic flux detection or visual imaging. Also, usually such sensors require calibration each time a user begins a session using the device.
There are many situations in which full wrap-around sound is desirable for presentation to a listener. One such system is in artificial reality systems where an artificial environment has been created for a user. This environment would typically contain scenes that are created surrounding the viewer, and as the viewer moves in any plane relative to the environment, the scene changes as it would if the viewer were moving in a real environment.
In some situations sound is presented to the viewer in conjunction with the projected images such that as the viewer (or sound source) moves closer or further away, the sound will increase or decrease in volume and frequency. At times the sound would appear to come from directly behind, over or below the listener.
Conventional stereophonic speakers which are placed over each ear can only approximate the direction of the sound from one side or the other. These speakers are expensive and do not satisfy the requirement that the listener actually hear the sound coming from behind, above, below or from one side.
Currently, surround sound or holographic sound or what is called 3-D sound, is generated by using powerful digital signal processors which are basically stereo earphones tricking the ear into perceiving that the sound is coming from behind, around, or from different distances.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an artificial reality system which is self-contained and portable.
There is a further need in the art for such an artificial reality system which can provide created images depending upon the direction the viewer is facing and the movement of the viewer.
There is a still further need in the art to provide such a portable artificial reality system with images which are changing depending upon the direction the viewer is facing at any instant in time and also dependent upon the viewer's motion.
There is a still further need in the art for such a system which also provides sound keyed to the displayed image. Thus, there is a need in the art for a positional sensor which is self contained, light weight and economical to manufacture.
There is a further need in the art for such a sensor which allows for positional determination and velocity calculations while still remaining portable and reliable.
There is still a further need in the art for such a sensor which requires no calibration upon initial use and which is without mechanical moving parts.
Thus, a need exists in the art for a speaker system which is lightweight, inexpensive and yet which can create the illusion of sound coming from an omnipresent direction.
There is a further need in the art for such a system which can be created and controlled by an artificial reality system and is portable and generatable under processor control.

Method and apparatus for providing a portable visual display


A digital video broadcast (DVB) receiver and methods are provided for processing Internet data. The DVB receiver receives at least one announcement message mapping an Internet protocol address to a transport stream packet identifier. Using the information, the DVB receiver may configure a demultiplexer to filter service components according to an Internet protocol address.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to digital video broadcasting. More particularly, the invention relates to transmitting Internet protocol packets on a digital video broadcasting network.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventional digital video broadcast (DVB) services transmit Internet protocol (IP) data to end-users via a transport stream. A DVB compliant transport stream contains one or more DVB services. Each DVB service consists of one or more component streams called DVB service components. Each service component consists of transport stream packets identified by a packet identifier (PID) value that is assigned by a service provider and is unique within a particular transport stream. Each service component is also uniquely identified within a transport stream by the combination of the service identifier and component tag values assigned by the service provider. Unicast IP data and multicast IP data are identified by a limited number of packet identifiers. For example, all unicast IP data may be identified by a single packet identifier and all multicast IP data may be identified by a second packet identifier. The use of a limited number of packet identifiers requires extensive processing by the DVB receivers that receive the transport stream. In particular, when receiving unicast IP data, a DVB receiver must process all of the data transmitted under the single or limited number of unicast IP packet identifiers. This data includes not only the data addressed to the DVB receiver, but also includes data addressed to all or several other DVB receivers.
Some proposed solutions to this problem have involved using new protocols to provide digital video services. One drawback of these solutions is that they require modifying the hardware or software components of existing DVB receivers.
Therefore, there exists a need in the art for systems and methods for transmitting IP data over DVB service networks that require reduced processing by DVB receivers and that do not require extensive modifications to existing DVB receivers.

Internet protocol address to packet identifier mapping


An integrated optoelectronic module comprising: a semiconductor substrate; a single-mode optical waveguide comprising a semiconductor with a signal input section at a first end; a multi-mode optical waveguide comprising a semiconductor connected to a second end of the single-mode optical waveguide; and a photodiode disposed on and adjacent to the multi-mode interferometer waveguide and having at least one optical absorption layer section, wherein the single-mode optical waveguide, the multi-mode optical waveguide, and the photodiode being stacked on the semiconductor substrate, wherein the multi-mode interferometer waveguide comprises a reflection section formed by partly grooving the multi-mode interferometer waveguide, and an optical signal having propagated through the multi-mode interferometer waveguide is reflected by the reflection section and focused on the optical absorption layer section.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an integrated optoelectronic module, and more specifically, to an integrated optoelectronic module that is used for a high-frequency photodiode.
2. Description of the Related Art
A photodiode intended for high frequency operations within a THz frequency range of 0.3 THz to 3 THz needs to have a small device capacitance and thus requires a reduced junction area. This is because the level of degradation of responses associated with an RC time constant increases consistently with frequency and because the width of a depletion layer inevitably needs to be reduced in order to make intrinsic responses of the photodiode faster, that is, to shorten an internal carrier transit time, leading to an increase in capacitance per unit area. A basic constraint in this case is that a reduced device size decreases an upper limit on a possible operating current for a photodiode according to the junction area.
Thus, a large number of photodiodes each with a very small junction size needs to be arranged in an array to combine power from the individual photodiodes to increases general power (power combiner). Several methods are available for inputting optical signals into the arrayed photodiodes. However, when the photodiode has a reduced junction size, the conventional technique involves many problems with a packaging technique for the arraying, an optical coupling technique required for the arraying, and the like.


Methods and apparatus are provided for measuring the performance of a read channel. A number of detection techniques, such as SOVA and maximum-a-posteriori (MAP) detectors, produce a bit decision and a corresponding reliability value associated with the bit decision. The reliability value associated with the bit decision may be expressed, for example, in the form of log likelihood ratios (LLRs). The reliability value can be monitored and used as a performance measure. The present invention provides a channel performance measure that generally correlates directly to the BER but can be collected in less time.

A magnetic recording read channel converts an analog read channel into an estimate of the user data recorded on a magnetic medium. Read heads and magnetic media introduce noise and other distortions into the read signal. As the information densities in magnetic recording increase, the intersymbol interference (ISI) becomes more severe as well. In read channel chips, a Viterbi detector is typically used to detect the read data bits in the presence of intersymbol interference and noise.
The Soft Output Viterbi Algorithm (SOVA) is a well known technique for generating soft decisions inside a Viterbi detector. A soft decision provides a detected bit with a corresponding reliability. These soft decisions can be used by an outer detector to improve the error rate performance of the overall system. For a more detailed discussion of SOVA detectors, see, for example, J. Hagenauer and P. Hoeher, "Viterbi Algorithm with Soft-decision Outputs and its Applications," IEEE Global Telecommunications Conference (GLOBECOM), vol. 3, 1680-1686 (November 1989).
Various parameters of a magnetic recording read channel are typically adjusted to improve the Bit Error Rate (BER) performance. While measuring the BER provides the most accurate measure of performance, the BER measurement is unduly time consuming. A number of techniques have been proposed or suggested for obtaining performance measures based on the mean squared error or other derivatives of an error term derived from decoding the bit sequence and then re-creating the ideal pattern. Although these techniques are generally fast, they are not guaranteed to correlate directly with the BER.
A need therefore exists for an improved method and apparatus for obtaining performance measures without measuring the BER. A further need exists for a method and apparatus for obtaining performance measures in a read channel that are directly correlated to BER but takes much less time to collect.

Method and apparatus for evaluating performance of a read channel


An ECG controller for an ECG device is connectable to a base ECG lead system (e.g., a 12-lead system) whereby the ECG controller implements an ECG waveform morphology based and ECG lead redundancy based detection and classification of any cable interchange (e.g., a limb cable interchange or a precordial cable interchange) between the ECG controller and the base ECG lead system. Alternatively, the ECG controller is further connectable to a sub-base ECG lead system (e.g., a limb only-lead system or a limited precordial-lead system) whereby the ECG controller implements an ECG waveform morphology based detection and classification of any cable interchange (e.g., a limb cable interchange or a precordial cable interchange) between the electrode interface and the sub-base ECG lead system.

Generally, accurate placement of electrocardiogram ("ECG") electrodes is vital for both a standard lead system (e.g., a conventional 12-lead system) and a non-standard lead system (e.g., a Mason-Likar reduced lead system). Sometimes the ECG electrodes are placed on the correct anatomical locations, but one or more electrode lead-wires are erroneously connecting ECG electrode(s) to wrong terminal(s) at an ECG device (e.g., a right arm electrode is mistakenly connected to the left arm lead-wire of the ECG device). An erroneous connection of ECG device lead-wire to the wrong patient electrode is known as "cable interchange" in the art, and a cable interchange typically generates an erroneous waveform during any ECG reconstruction and/or an erroneous diagnosis during an ECG analysis.
More particularly, forty (40) million ECGs are recorded annually in the United States. The standard 12-lead ECG is obtained using ten (10) electrodes, including four (4) limb electrodes and six (6) precordial electrodes. The four (4) limb electrodes include right arm (RA), left arm (LA), right leg (RL) and left leg (LL), while the six (6) precordial electrodes (V1-V6) are placed on anatomically referenced landmarks on the anterior chest. Electrode placement is considered one of the most important factors that determine ECG signal quality, and electrode misplacement tend to produce incorrect ECG abnormalities and thus generate erroneous diagnostic reports. ECG cable interchange is one of the most common electrode placement errors. Consequently, the American Heart Association recommends including cable interchange detection algorithms in all ECG devices.
To this end, researchers have proposed several criteria and methods to detect ECG cable interchange. In terms of automatic detection algorithms, most methods fall into one of two (2) categories. The first category of automatic detection algorithms involves morphology-based methods which extract a set of measurements from P, QRS, and T-waves and use these measurements to derive detection criteria. The second category of automatic detection algorithms implements redundancy-based methods which use redundant information contained in the eight (8) independent leads of a standard 12-lead system. Such methods use the transformation or reconstruction of ECGs from the original lead system to an approximation, and cable interchange is detected by comparing the original ECGs with transformed or reconstructed ECGs.
More particularly, existing methods for detecting ECG cable interchange were designed for resting diagnostic ECG devices which use standard 12-lead system with limb electrodes placed at standard positions. However, for a wide range of ECG devices, other non-standard lead systems are often used. For example, in monitoring or exercise ECG devices, the Mason-Likar lead system is often used. In the Mason-Likar lead system, modified limb electrode positions are often used whereby the arm electrodes are placed at the infraclavicular fossae and the LL electrode is placed on the left lower abdomen. As another example, in telemetry ECG devices, reduced-lead systems (e.g., lead system recording limb lead only or limb lead plus limited precordial leads) are often used.
As with the standard 12-lead system, a detection of ECG cable interchange is necessary for ECG devices with non-standard lead systems. For example, in the monitoring/exercise ECG device, the accurate placement of ECG electrode is important during ST-segment monitoring. As such, detection of an ECG cable interchange could help prevent false alarms during ST-segment monitoring. While some ST-segment deviation is normal, the amount and polarity depends on the electrode position. In that way, the same magnitude and polarity of ST deviation may be normal in one combination of electrodes, but abnormal in another set of electrodes. Additionally, in the reduced-lead systems, a 12-lead ECG may be reconstructed from the reduced-lead recordings and a misconnection of lead-wires could generate erroneous 12-lead waveforms.

Automatic detection/classification of ECG cable interchange for different ECG lead systems


A system for printing a liquid toner is provided comprising a liquid electrographic toner composition comprising a liquid carrier having a Kauri-Butanol number less than about 30 mL and a plurality of charged toner particles dispersed in the liquid carrier, wherein the toner particles comprise a polymeric binder. The system also comprises a charge control adjuvant having limited solubility in the liquid carrier. The charge control adjuvant preferably is present in the liquid carrier in an amount in excess of the solubility of the adjuvant in the liquid carrier. Alternatively, the charge control adjuvant may be dispersed in a matrix having limited solubility in the liquid carrier or encapsulated within a matrix to form microcapsules having limited solubility in the liquid carrier. The charge control adjuvant in any of the above forms may be provided in a number of formats for release into the toner composition as needed.

In electrophotographic and electrostatic printing processes (collectively electrographic processes), an electrostatic image is formed on the surface of a photoreceptive element or dielectric element, respectively, with a toner. In electrostatic printing, a latent image is typically formed by (1) placing a charge image onto a dielectric element (typically the receiving substrate) in selected areas of the element with an electrostatic writing stylus or its equivalent to form a charge image, (2) applying toner to the charge image, and (3) fixing the toned image. An example of this type of process is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,262,259. In electrophotographic printing, also referred to as xerography, electrophotographic technology is used to produce images on a final image receptor, such as paper, film, or the like. Electrophotographic technology is incorporated into a wide range of equipment including photocopiers, laser printers, facsimile machines, and the like.
Electrophotography typically involves the use of a reusable, light sensitive, temporary image receptor, known as a photoreceptor, in the process of producing an electrophotographic image on a final, permanent image receptor. A representative electrophotographic process involves a series of steps to produce an image on a receptor, including charging, exposure, development, transfer, fusing, cleaning and erasure.
In the charging step, a photoreceptor is covered with charge of a desired polarity, either negative or positive, typically with a corona or charging roller. In the exposure step, an optical system, typically a laser scanner or diode array, forms a latent image by selectively discharging the charged surface of the photoreceptor in an imagewise manner corresponding to the desired image to be formed on the final image receptor. In the development step, toner particles of the appropriate polarity are generally brought into contact with the latent image on the photoreceptor, typically using a developer electrically-biased to a potential opposite in polarity to the toner polarity. The toner particles migrate to the photoreceptor and selectively adhere to the latent image via electrostatic forces, forming a toned image on the photoreceptor.
In the transfer step, the toned image is transferred from the photoreceptor to the desired final image receptor; an intermediate transfer element is sometimes used to effect transfer of the toned image from the photoreceptor with subsequent transfer of the toned image to a final image receptor. In the fusing step, the toned image on the final image receptor is heated to soften or melt the toner particles, thereby fusing the toned image to the final receptor. An alternative fusing method involves fixing the toner to the final receptor under high pressure with or without heat. In the cleaning step, residual toner remaining on the photoreceptor is removed.
Finally, in the erasing step, the photoreceptor charge is reduced to a substantially uniformly low value by exposure to light of a particular wavelength band, thereby removing remnants of the original latent image and preparing the photoreceptor for the next imaging cycle.
Two types of toner are in widespread, commercial use: liquid toner and dry toner. The term "dry" does not mean that the dry toner is totally free of any liquid constituents, but connotes that the toner particles do not contain any significant amount of solvent, e.g., typically less than 10 weight percent solvent (generally, dry toner is as dry as is reasonably practical in terms of solvent content), and are capable of carrying a triboelectric charge. This distinguishes dry toner particles from liquid toner particles.
A typical liquid toner composition generally includes toner particles suspended or dispersed in a liquid carrier. The liquid carrier is typically nonconductive dispersant, to avoid discharging the latent electrostatic image. Liquid toner particles are generally solvated to some degree in the liquid carrier (or carrier liquid), typically in more than 50 weight percent of a low polarity, low dielectric constant, substantially nonaqueous carrier solvent. Liquid toner particles are generally chemically charged using polar groups that dissociate in the carrier solvent, but do not carry a triboelectric charge while solvated and/or dispersed in the liquid carrier. Liquid toner particles are also typically smaller than dry toner particles. Because of their small particle size, ranging from about 5 microns to sub-micron, liquid toners are capable of producing very high-resolution toned images.
A typical toner particle for a liquid toner composition generally comprises a visual enhancement additive (for example, a colored pigment particle) and a polymeric binder. The polymeric binder fulfills functions both during and after the electrophotographic process. With respect to processability, the character of the binder impacts charging and charge stability, flow, and fusing characteristics of the toner particles. These characteristics are important to achieve good performance during development, transfer, and fusing. After an image is formed on the final receptor, the nature of the binder (e.g. glass transition temperature, melt viscosity, molecular weight) and the fusing conditions (e.g. temperature, pressure and fuser configuration) impact durability (e.g. blocking and erasure resistance), adhesion to the receptor, gloss, and the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,547,449 to Alexandrovich, et al. discloses liquid electrographic developers comprising an electrically insulating liquid carrier, toner, a charge-control agent and a charging agent. The charge-control agent is a carrier-soluble, addition copolymer of a quaternary ammonium salt monomer, a monomer having —COOH, —SO3H or —PO3HR acidic function wherein R is hydrogen or alkyl, and a solubilizing monomer. The charging agent is a carrier-soluble, addition polar copolymer. The disclosed developers are stated to exhibit improved replenishability as evidenced by reduced buildup of charge in the developers during the course of use and repeated replenishment. Specifically, this patent noted that the prior art exhibited drawbacks relating to the stability of their charge as they are used through a number of copy sequences. In particular, the charge of the developer per unit of mass of dispersed toner of the prior art increases, indicating that the quaternary ammonium charge-control copolymer deposits on an electrostatic image at a lower rate than the toner. This uneven depletion rate and consequential increase in charge per unit mass in the developer presents difficulty in developer replenishment and causes nonuniform image density from copy to copy. The invention as described therein is asserted to stabilize the charge of the developer per unit mass of toner is so that, after a period of use, the buildup of charge per unit of mass is significantly reduced. Such stability is stated to be achieved when the quaternary ammonium salt charge-control polymer in the developer composition contains an insolubilizing monomer having an acidic function selected from the group consisting of —COOH, —SO3H or —PO3HR acidic function wherein R is hydrogen or alkyl.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,018,636 to Caruthers discloses an imaging system wherein changes in toner developability of toners in a liquid toner system are determined and compensated for by sensing the toner concentration and liquid toner volume in a tank, based on changes in the toner concentration and toner mass in the tank. Based on measurements made of the toner and/or a test printed image, adjustments can be made, such as creating a new voltage differential or adding toner and/or liquid carrier material to the tank.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,722,017 to Caruthers discloses a liquid developing material replenishment system wherein an apparatus for developing an electrostatic latent image with a liquid developing material includes a liquid developing element for providing a supply of operative liquid developing material to the developing apparatus, and a liquid developing material supply is coupled to the liquid developing material element for providing a supply of liquid developing concentrate to the liquid developing material element for replenishing the supply of operative liquid developing material in the liquid developing element. A developed image having a large proportion of printed image area or having substantially a single color will cause a greater depletion of marking particles and/or charge director in the liquid developing material supply tank as compared to a developed image with a small amount of printed image area or of a single color. This patent explains that                while the rate of the replenishment of the liquid developing material may be controlled by simply monitoring the level of liquid developer in the supply element 116, in advanced systems the rate of replenishment of the liquid carrier, the marking particles, and/or the charge director components of the liquid developing material is controlled in a more sophisticated manner to maintain a predetermined concentration of the marking particles and the charge director in the operative solution stored in the supply element 116. One exemplary replenishment systems of this nature include systems which measure the conductivity of the operative liquid developing material and add selective amounts of charge director compound to the element as a function of the measured a conductivity, as disclosed in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 4,860,924, incorporated by reference herein. Another system of this nature is disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/551,381, also incorporated by reference herein, which describes control of the amount of carrier liquid, charge director and/or marking particles in a liquid developing material element in response to the amount of each component depleted therefrom as a function of the number of pixels making up each developed image.See column 14, line 48 to column 15, line 3.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,860,924 to Simms, et. al. discloses a copier wherein charge director is supplied to a liquid developer in response to a conductivity measurement thereof. Toner concentrate deficient in charge director is supplied to the liquid developer in response to an optical transmissivity measurement thereof. Conductivity is measured by a pair of spaced electrodes immersed in the developer and through which a variable alternating current is passed. A variable capacitor neutralizes the inherent capacitance of the electrodes. A phase sensitive detector is provided with a reference voltage having the same phase shift as that caused by capacitive effects. The conductivity measurement is corrected in response to a developer temperature measurement.

Charge adjuvant delivery system and methods

Abstract: The charge control adjuvant is released into the toner composition as needed to provide charge control relative to the bulk conductivity of the toner composition and/or the charge per unit mass of the toner particles.


A method of designing a supercharger that yields a high isometric efficiency based on a fixed pressure ratio, a plurality of rotor leads and a plurality of rotor operating speeds is provided. An efficiency map is generated of rotor lead versus rotor operating speeds for the fixed pressure ratio. A rotor lead value is determined based on the fixed pressure ratio and rotor speed combination from the efficiency map that yields a high isometric efficiency. A supercharger is provided having the determined rotor lead and that is configured to operate with the fixed pressure ratio and the determined rotor operating speed.

Rotary blowers of the type to which the present disclosure relates are referred to as "superchargers" because they effectively super charge the intake of the engine. One supercharger configuration is generally referred to as a Roots-type blower that transfers volumes of air from an inlet port to an outlet port. A Roots-type blower includes a pair of rotors which must be timed in relationship to each other. Typically, a pulley and belt arrangement for a Roots blower supercharger is sized such that, at any given engine speed, the amount of air being transferred into the intake manifold is greater than the instantaneous displacement of the engine, thus increasing the air pressure within the intake manifold and increasing the power density of the engine. In some examples it may be difficult to optimize peak efficiency of a supercharger based on a given application.
The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.

Method of optimizing supercharger performance


An automated matrix removal module is configurable to automatically withdraw a portion of sample containing an interferent. The module is further configurable to mix the portion of sample with a precipitating reagent selected to react with the interferent to form a precipitant and then filter mixture of sample and precipitant reagent through a filter. Finally, the module is further configurable to flush the precipitant from the filter.

Automated systems for measuring the concentration of analytes in a sample have been developed using a number of analytical techniques such as chromatography or mass spectrometry. For example, co-assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/094,394, entitled "A Method and Apparatus for Automated Analysis and Characterization of Chemical Constituents of Process Solutions," filed Mar. 8, 2002, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety, discloses an automated in-process mass spectrometry (IPMS) apparatus for identifying and quantifying chemical constituents and their reaction products in process solutions.
One type of process solution which the IPMS apparatus in the above-mentioned application may analyze is a copper electroplating bath for the deposition of copper structures on semiconductor wafers. The bath comprises a relatively concentrated acidic aqueous copper sulfate solution. Plating topology is controlled by organic plating solution additives within the copper sulfate solution that function to either suppress or accelerate the plating process. These additives experience electrochemical breakdown during the plating process and can be lost by drag out or by becoming trapped within the film. However, the achievement of void-free plating in the vias and trenches of sub-micron high-aspect-ratio structures requires very tight control of additive levels. Unlike indirect measurement methods such as cyclic voltametric stripping (CVS) that monitor the effectiveness of the plating solution, the IPMS apparatus discussed above allows a user to directly measure the additive concentration plus the breakdown products in the electroplating bath to ensure a defect-free deposition process.
High sensitivity quantification of the organic additives and their breakdown by-products in the electroplating bath is hampered by the relatively high concentration of sulfuric acid and copper sulfate matrix within the bath. These relatively high concentrations of sulfuric acid, plus sulfate and copper ions obscure the detection and quantification of the organic additive ions because ionization of the higher concentration ions is statistically more likely in the ionization source of the mass spectrometer. Thus, the copper sulfate should be removed from the sample and/or the pH adjusted to quantify the organic additive concentration. Similarly, other metrology techniques such as flow injection analysis and chromatography often require the removal of chemical constituents that may hamper the quantification of an analyte of interest.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for automated systems for the removal of chemical interferents prior to a chemical analysis.


A movable reading apparatus includes antennas, a controller, a reader, and a processor. The antennas perform transmission/reception of signals for communicating with wireless tags while the reading apparatus is moving at a prescribed moving speed. The controller switches operations of a combination of one or more antennas selected from the antennas. The reader reads identification information of the wireless tags from the signals received by the antennas. The processor sets an upper limit value of the moving speed of the reading apparatus based on a first value obtained by dividing a width of a reading range per one of the antennas by the number off combinations of the antennas.

In a business operation site, such as a warehouse and a retail store, in which a large number of items (products and commodities) are handled, it is required to manage such items placed or displayed on shelves and the like. For example, inventory work, is one of the management jobs for such items and is carried out, regularly. However, it takes time and labor to perform inventory work in which the number of items to be managed are precisely counted and confirmed, and thus such inventory work is one of the jobs with a heavy burden for workers and store clerks.
To reduce such burden, several inventory systems have beer, proposed. For example, in one inventory system, a navigation system and an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) reader are mounted on an autonomous traveling carriage (robotic truck), and the robotic truck is guided by the navigation system to automatically carry out inventory work by reading RF tags (also referred to as wireless tags) attached to the items.

Movable reading apparatus with a plurality of antennas


An encapsulation method for sensitive composition is provided in which a film, in particular a plastic film, is laminated over the entire surface of an arrangement having a component mounted on a carrier in a flip chip construction. For additional sealing and mechanical stabilization, a plastic compound in liquid form is subsequently applied and hardened so as to surround the chip. Optionally, before the application of the plastic compound, the film can be removed in the area of structuring lines in such a way that the plastic compound can come into contact both with the carrier and with the chip surface.

A method for the hermetic encapsulation of a component is known, for example, from International Patent Publication No. WO 99/43084. There, components, in particular surface acoustic wave devices, are applied, using the flip chip technique, on a carrier that is provided with solderable terminal surfaces. The component is soldered on the carrier over bumps (solder balls), with a clearance from the carrier element, in such a way that the surface having the component structures is oriented towards the carrier.
For hermetic encapsulation of the components situated on the carrier, the components are finally covered and glued or laminated from the rear with a metal foil or a metal-coated plastic film on the carrier. Here, the film seals tightly between the components and seals tightly with the carrier around them, so that a hermetic encapsulation for the component structures results.
It has also been proposed to further stabilize and further hermetically seal the encapsulation by pressure application of, for example, a thermoplastic material, or through casting, for example with epoxy resin. Subsequently, the components can be separated by dividing the carrier plate.
It has turned out that the use of a metal foil, as well as the use of a metal-coated plastic film, for direct application on the rear side of a component involves problems, and can result in components whose hermetic sealing is not satisfactory. In addition, problems occur during the lamination process, because, in particular in the case of surface acoustic wave devices, the components have sharp edges, so that high demands are made both on the film and also on the laminating process for the manufacture of a hermetically sealed encapsulation. In particular, up to now it has been possible to carry out the method only by using thick and expensive special films.

Method for encapsulating an electrical component


A freezer drawer support assembly is provided for a refrigerator including an upper fresh food compartment and a lower freezer compartment having a rearwardly tapering liner. The support assembly includes a pair of side adapters which compensate for the tapering of the liner, while defining both channels for the attachment of extensible drawer slides, to which a freezer door and a slidable basket is attached, and ledges for slidably supporting another basket. Preferably, the side adapters mate with groove and ledge structure formed into the liner to enhance the transfer of weight from the baskets, while enabling a refrigerator liner designed to directly support one or more slidable baskets to indirectly support multiple baskets which can be slid relative to each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the art of refrigerators and, more particularly, to a support arrangement for a pull-out freezer drawer.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
There exist various styles of refrigerators on the market. Most common are side-by-side, top mount, and bottom mount models. In a side-by-side model, fresh food and freezer compartments are arranged laterally adjacent one another. A top mount refrigerator includes an upper freezer compartment and a lower fresh food compartment. Finally, bottom mount models have the fresh food compartment located above the freezer compartment.
In bottom mount models, it is known to employ both pivoting freezer doors and freezer doors which slide between open and closed positions. In a bottom mount style refrigerator including either a pivoting or sliding door, it is known to employ one or more sliding baskets to store food items within the freezer compartment. More specifically, in connection with a bottom mount refrigerator including a pivoting freezer door, it is known to thermoform a freezer compartment defining liner with integral side rails upon which one or more baskets can be directly slidably supported. In bottom mount refrigerators employing sliding doors, it is common to mount elongated support members to the opposing side walls of the freezer compartment through the use of mechanical fasteners, and then to support one or more baskets, either directly or indirectly, upon the support members. Typically, in this case, at least the support for one of the baskets is also connected to the door such that, as the door is slid relative to a cabinet of the refrigerator, the basket shifts into and out of the freezer compartment. Most commonly, these types of bottom mount refrigerators employ metal liners into which mechanical fasteners in the form of screws are secured to attach the support members.
Given construction and assembly variations between these different types of bottom mount refrigerators, completely different liners are required depending on whether a pivoting or sliding door arrangement is desired. Therefore, it is not possible to simply change a bottom mount refrigerator designed for use with a pivoting door to employ a sliding door arrangement. Based thereon, it would be beneficial to provide a supplemental adapter assembly which would enable a bottom mount refrigerator cabinet to be used with either pivoting or sliding doors and their associated basket arrangements.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Embodiments of the present invention provide a system for implementing multi-turn dialogs. The system performs a method that includes receiving a series of user utterances, generating a series of responsive system utterances, and labeling the series of responsive system utterances to generate training data for training a dialog management policy. The labeling includes executing a reward function at each turn of a dialog, in which for each turn of the dialog the reward function is configured to output a reward value that is based at least in part on an accuracy of the responsive system utterance of the turn and on number of dialog turns elapsed.

The present invention generally relates to computer-based communications systems, and more specifically, to the use of dialog agents or conversational agents to conduct task-oriented computer-based communications.
A dialog system/agent or a conversational system/agent (CA) is a computer system intended to converse with a human in a structured manner. Dialog systems have employed text, speech, graphics, haptics, gestures and other modes for communication on both the input and output channel. Task-oriented dialog systems generally provide a computer-based interface for explaining information in a repository (e.g., database) to a user via a "dialog" that is conducted between the system and the user. Some example dialog systems include chat systems, spoken dialog systems, chat agents, digital personal assistants, and automated online assistants.

Dialog agent for conducting task-oriented computer-based communications

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


The invention relates to a cardiopulmonary bypass pump that can be used with medication to put the heart into asystole or near asystolic status. The patent describes equipment used in conjunction with medication to temporarily replace the function of the heart and to allow the heart to survive with minimal oxygen supply for hours or days, and for the heart to recover from ischemic or other insult or other damage without being subjected to a heavy working load. The invention provides a means to stop blood flow to the heart for a relatively long period of time, thereby allowing the performance of certain procedures that require coronary artery blockade. It also allows the heart to stop contracting, which may result in safer and easier performance of some procedures. A medication is given to the patient while the device is in use in order to stop the heart or slow the heart rate to a minimal level to decrease cardiac oxygen requirements without significant hemostasis in the pulmonary circulation.

Previous inventions were designed to provide cardiac-pulmonary bypass as an assistance to the heart and allow the heart to work continuously even there is significant compromise of blood supply to the heart, or to replace the function of the heart when it fails to function. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,540,399 to Litzie discloses a cardiopulmonary bypass machine. It allows a physician to control the speed of the pump to maintain blood pressure at a certain level. U.S. Pat. No. 5,879,316 to Safar also discloses a cardiopulmonary bypass machine, which provides differential perfusion of different organs including the heart. It considers selective perfusion of the heart as a part of resuscitation and allows the heart to stop for one to two hours. However, it requires a complicated procedure.
A design of a pump was made public (Tokano H. et. al, World J. Surgery 9:78-88, 1985), which has EKG gating and left arterial pressure feed back to control work load on the heart. The left arterial pressure is used to determine the work load on the heart and, therefore, to control pump activity for unloading volume from the left ventricle. It is also a left ventricular assistant device and allows the heart to continue to contract and to assume a central role in circulation.
A number of inventions have disclosed cardiopulmonary bypass machines for open-heart surgery. They require insertions of a catheter into the heart chambers and the great blood vessels surgically and extensive technical support.
If a machine can maintain blood pressure, a physician can put the heart into asystole, or near asystole, without significant compromise to the function of the organs. Patients can survive without the heart's functioning, and the heart survives until a definitive treatment takes place. The heart has enough time to recover from a transient myocardial insult.


A fixing device includes: a fixing belt member configured to be endless and rotatable; driving force transmission members that are disposed on respective ends of the fixing belt member, and transmits a rotational driving force to the fixing belt member; and a pressing member that is disposed to push an outer surface of the fixing belt member and forms a fixing nip part between the pressing member and the fixing belt member, wherein each of the driving force transmission members is fixed to the fixing belt member over an entire peripheral area of the corresponding end of the fixing belt member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to fixing devices which fix a toner image on a recording medium in image forming apparatuses using, for example, an electrophotographic method.
2. Description of the Related Art
In image forming apparatuses, such as copying machines and printers, which use an electrophotographic method, a photosensitive body (photosensitive drum) formed in the shape of, for example, a drum is uniformly charged and the photosensitive drum is scanned and exposed with light controlled on the basis of image information so that an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum. The electrostatic latent image is then turned into a visual image (toner image) with toner. Then, the toner image is directly transferred to a recording medium from the photosensitive drum, or the toner image is primarily transferred to an intermediate transfer medium and secondary transferred to a recording medium from the intermediate transfer medium. Thereafter, the toner image is fixed on the recording medium by a fixing device.
The fixing device used for such image forming apparatuses is composed of, for example, a fixing roller in which a heating source is disposed within a cylindrical core bar, and which is formed such that a heat-resistant elastic layer and a release layer on an outer peripheral surface of the elastic layer are laminated on the core bar; and a pressing roller which is disposed in pressure contact with the fixing roller parallel thereto and formed such that a heat-resistant elastic layer, and a release layer, made of a heat-resistant resin film or a heat-resistant rubber film, on an outer peripheral surface of the elastic layer are laminated on a core bar. Also, a recording medium having an unfixed toner image carried thereon is caused to pass between the fixing roller and the pressing roller so that heating and pressing is performed on the unfixed toner image, thereby fixing the toner image on the recording medium. Such a fixing device is called a two-roller fixing method and it has generally been widely used.
Meanwhile, in such a conventional fixing device using fixing rollers like the two-roller fixing method, the fixing rollers have their own large heat capacity. Therefore, there is a problem in that even when supply of power to the fixing devices is started simultaneously when a power source of the image forming apparatus is turned on, considerable time is required until the fixing rollers rise in temperature from normal temperature to a fixable temperature (warm-up). Because of the characteristics of the fixing rollers that quick start is difficult as such, when the image forming apparatus is in a standby state, it is also necessary to keep the temperature of the fixing rollers always constant to prepare for the start of the image forming operation. Therefore, there is also a problem in that electric power consumption of the fixing device is large.
In order to solve such problems, fixing devices using an endless fixing belt member have been developed instead of the configuration using the fixing roller. Since the fixing belt member has its base member made of a film-like heat-resistant resin or the like, it has advantages in that the heat capacity is small and the warm-up can be performed in a short time, as compared to a roller-shaped member such as the fixing rollers. Moreover, since the quick start is easy, the electric power consumption of an image forming apparatus in a standby state can also be reduced.
As an example of conventional techniques related to the fixing devices using the fixing belt member, the following technique is suggested (for example, see JP-A-2003-223064). According to this technique, the fixing device is configured such that a halogen heater is disposed in an inner space. The fixing device also is composed of a heating film (fixing belt member) rotatably supported by a support member, and a pressing roller member disposed in pressure contact with the heating film to form a fixing nip and to drive the heating film so that the heating film follows the pressing roller member. Infrared rays emitted from the halogen heater are converged on the fixing nip to heat the heating film in the nip part, thereby forming a toner image on a recording medium passing through the fixing nip on demand.
In such a fixing device using the fixing belt member, generally, the fixing belt member is adapted to follow the pressing roller member. However, in such a configuration in which the fixing belt member is caused to follow the pressing roller member, the rotational speed of the fixing belt member may change under the influence of a change in surface velocity of the fixing belt member caused by thermal expansion of the pressing roller member. Further, since the fixing belt member rotates with a frictional force from the pressing roller member, if the sliding resistance between the fixing belt member and a supporting member supporting the fixing belt member increases, slip is caused between the fixing belt member and the pressing roller member. Therefore, the rotational speed of the fixing belt member may be reduced. Accordingly, when a recording medium passes through the fixing nip part, there is a probability that disturbance may be caused in a fixed image on the recording medium or wrinkles are created in the recording medium.
As a method for suppressing such a change in the rotational speed of the fixing belt member, the following technique is also suggested (for example, see JP-A-7-281549). According to this technique, gears are respectively disposed at positions corresponding to an end of a fixing belt member and an end of a pressing roller member, and both the fixing belt member and the pressing roller member are rotated while the gears are caused to mesh with each other, or a recess (or protrusion) and a protrusion (or recess) are respectively disposed at positions corresponding to the end of the fixing belt member and the end of the pressing roller member, and both the fixing belt member and the pressing roller member are rotated while the recess (or protrusion) is caused to engage the protrusion (or recess), thereby suppressing a speed difference between the fixing belt member and the pressing roller member.
Meanwhile, since it is necessary to give a fixed image an appropriate degree of gloss in the fixing device composed of the fixing belt member and the pressing roller member, a predetermined pressure (a nip pressure) is required to be applied to the fixing nip part between the fixing belt member and the pressing roller member. As described above, if gears are allowed to engage each other between the fixing belt member and the pressing roller member between in order to suppress the reduction in rotational speed of the fixing belt member that follows the pressing roller member, a pushing force between the fixing belt member and the pressing roller member is limited by an engaging portion between the gears. Therefore, a problem may occur that it becomes difficult to apply a predetermined nip pressure to the fixing nip part. Accordingly, in order to stabilize the rotational speed of the fixing belt member, it is preferable to employ the configuration in which gear members are mounted on both ends of the fixing belt member, respectively, and the gear members are connected to a driving source to be driven thereby rather than the configuration which the fixing belt member indirectly receives a driving force from the pressing roller member to follow the pressing roller member. In this configuration, even when the pressing roller member thermally expands or the sliding resistance between the pressing roller member and the supporting member increases, the rotational speed of the fixing belt member can be stabilized. Further, since an engaging portion between gears exists between the fixing belt member and the pressing roller member, the pressing roller member can be brought into pressure contact with the fixing belt member with a desired pressure, and a predetermined nip pressure can also be set.
However, in a case in which an object to be rotatingly driven is made of a material having a high strength or rigidity like, for example, a metallic cylindrical body, a groove or a hole is formed in the cylindrical body and a protrusion corresponding the groove or the hole is formed in each gear member. Then, the cylindrical body and the gear member can be combined together by making the groove or the hole in the cylindrical body fit with the protrusion in the gear member. By this combining method, a rotational driving force can be easily transmitted to the cylindrical body without causing breakage, such as deformation or rupture, in the cylindrical body. In contrast, if an object to be rotatingly driven is a thin-walled fixing belt member having a low strength or rigidity, and the above-described general method of fitting the groove or the hole with the protrusion and of then partially combining the fixing belt member and the gear member together at a fitting portion between the groove or hole and the protrusion is used, stress may be concentrated on the fitting portion, which makes it impossible for the fixing belt member to endure the stress at the fitting portion only with its own strength. As a result, breakage such as rupture readily occurs in the fixing belt member. Therefore, there is a significant problem in that not only a driving force cannot be efficiently transmitted, but also breakage of the fixing belt member is finally caused, which makes the functions of the fixing device disabled.

Fixing device in image forming apparatus and image forming apparatus with fixing device


A sun visor with extending shields, which include a forward member (30) configured for attachment to a support rod (32). An extending shield actuator (46) is disposed within a recess (38) in the forward member and is attached to a lower glare shield (60). A left and right horizontal glare shield (64) and (70) are slidably attached to an extending column projecting from the actuator including a post (52), spacer (56) and lever (58). A back member (76), with a stepped indentation (78), is attached to the forward member thereby forming a hollow visor. When the lever is manually pulled down through a slit (80) in the back member, the extending column on the actuator interfaces with diagonal slots (66) and (66') in the horizontal shields, thus extending them outward in an opposite direction while simultaneously extending the lower shield. Shield corners (72) rotate downward by gravity as they are pivotally attached to the corners of the horizontal shields, thus completing the shielded beneath and on both sides of the visor.

Previously, many types of sun shields have been used to provide an effective means for shading a vehicle's driver and Passengers from the direct rays of the sun or other reflective sources. It is a fact that nearly all automobiles and trucks in today's market contain opaque sun visors that are included as standard equipment. Prior art has attempted to extend the utility of these sun visors by appending a transparent auxiliary glare shield or screen beneath or at the side of the existing visors. The reason for this addition is that while most visors generally perform adequately, it is often desirable to Posses a tinted transparent shield through which a driver may see but that also reduces the intense light and bright glare that emanates from many ambient objects.
Attempts to achieve this utility in the past include, clip on glare screens that pivot or slide downward beneath the visor or that swing down from a rotating joint that extends to the desired distance and held in place by friction of the joint. Other devices position a screen inside the visor which can be pulled down or add a side section that can slide horizontally from the visor. These basic attempts fill the need in a rudimentary manner however, they are for the most part unsightly or too complex in construction and operation to be satisfactory to the vast majority of users.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any patents that read directly on the claims of the instant invention, however the following U.S. patents are considered related:
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. INVENTOR ISSUED ______________________________________ 2,134,414 Norcross 25 October 1938 2,733,763 Nygaard 7 February 1956 3,208,792 Martin 28 September 1965 3,410,602 Schuler 12 November 1968 3,853,370 Barnhart 10 December 1974 4,323,275 Lutz 6 April 1982 5,472,255 Moore 5 December 1995 ______________________________________
Norcross in U.S. Pat. No. 2,134,414 teaches a glare screen inside a visor which is manually or electrically pulled down to extend beneath the visor.
Pat. No. 2,733,763 issued to Nygaard teaches basically the same structure and function as above in the manual mode with serrations on each side of a rod to retain the shield at a specific location.
Martin in U.S. Pat. No. 3,208,792 discloses a visor attachment that clips on and slides downward for use.
Pat. No. 3,410,602 of Schuler discloses a clip-on device with dual colors that slips downward and rotates to the desired position.
Barnhart's Pat. No. 3,853,370 employs a spring-loaded shield with an extension guide member which latches to a notch for positioning. An adjustable clamping base attaches the device to the visor.
Pat. No. 4,323,275 issued to Lutz teaches a housing attached to a visor with three auxiliary shield that may be withdrawn from slots in the visor.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,472,255 issued to Moore teaches a sun visor which has a retractable sun screen. The screen is folded or rolled up into the visor for deployment beside the front window as well as the windshield.
For background purposes and as indicative of the art to which the invention relates reference may be made to the remaining cited patents.
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. INVENTOR ISSUED ______________________________________ 1,958,934 Williams 15 May 1934 3,954,297 Linke, et al 4 May 1976 4,728,142 Gavagn 1 March 1988 4,828,314 Gavagn 9 May 1989 4,919,469 Aizawa 24 April 1990 4,988,139 Yamada 29 January 1991 5,478,131 Marks 26 December 1995 ______________________________________


An image forming apparatus includes an image bearer; a charger to charge the image bearer; an electrostatic latent image former to form an electrostatic latent image on the image bearer; an image developer to develop the electrostatic latent image with a toner to form a visual toner image; a transferer to transfer the toner image on a transfer material; a toner concentration calculator to calculate a concentration of the toner; and an optical detector. At least a toner patch image is formed on the image bearer with an irradiation quantity set such that an irradiated part potential is larger than a developing condition, the toner patch image is read by the optical detector, and the charging condition is corrected on the basis of a difference between a toner concentration of the toner patch image and a target toner concentration.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as copiers, facsimiles and scanners.
2. Description of the Related Art
In electrophotographic image forming apparatuses, an image control method detecting toner adherence quantity with an optical sensor is widely used as an image density guarantee of produced images. This method includes changing image forming conditions (development potential or LD writing density) to form plural reference patches on a photoreceptor or an intermediate transfer belt, and irradiating infrared LED light to the reference patches. The method further includes detecting reflection light (regular or irregular reflection light) with an optical sensor such as photodiodes and phototransistors, and converting the detection results to toner adherence quantities of the individual tone patches. Then, the toner adherence quantity relative to the potential is plotted to do linear approximation. This slope of the line is development γ. An image density control controlling image forming conditions (development potential) to obtain a targeted adherence quantity using the approximation straight line is known.
Japanese published unexamined application No. JP-2005-308833-A discloses a method of detecting a halftone patch with an optical toner concentration sensor and a patch image area with an imaging apparatus to form an image without background fouling and blurred edge. Japanese published unexamined application No. JP-2000-147848-A discloses a method of correcting a charge bias based on information detected by a temperature and humidity sensor to optimally keep a background potential.
However, when a charging bias is determined so as to have a predetermined background potential after developing bias is determined so as to have a potential calculated as above, a correlation between the charging bias applied at a charging position and a charging potential remaining at a developing position changes when a surface potential of a photoreceptor varies due to time or an influence of environment. Therefore, when the charging bias is not properly set, the narrow background potential causes background fouling, and the wider background potential causes a blurred edge. A method of lowering the charging bias to the developing bias to form and detect a background fouling pattern and forecasting the background potential from the background fouling quantity is disclosed. However, the method forms background fouling on the whole surface of a photoreceptor in the main scanning direction, resulting in increase of toner consumption.
The method disclosed in Japanese published unexamined application No. JP-2005-308833-A forms plural patch patterns, and therefore insufficiently controls a toner field, does not disclose a method of precisely controlling the background potential with only a P sensor, and the imaging apparatus is expensive. The method disclosed in Japanese published unexamined application No. JP-2000-147848-A is difficult to grasp the surface potential properties of the photoreceptor with only an environment sensor, and the background potential is not properly maintained depending on the usage environment.

Image forming apparatus and image density control


A product is disclosed that may be used in a vehicle and may include a subwoofer speaker driver mounted in an enclosure which is attached to the vehicle's body. A volume of space may define an acoustic chamber in a closure of the vehicle. A duct may be provided between the enclosure and the acoustic chamber. The size of the enclosure may be minimized by using available space in the closure to serve as part of the bass chamber volume for the subwoofer.

Subwoofers provide a low frequency bass sound from an audio system. Subwoofers may be constructed with one or more speakers mounted in a rigid enclosure. The enclosure may be sealed or ported. Subwoofers may require a relatively large enclosure to optimize performance. When space is limited such as in a vehicle, the amount of space needed for subwoofers may pose challenges.

Split box subwoofer with body mounted driver


A mounting member for use in a vibration damping device equipped with a main rubber elastic body and a bracket, including: a fixing member configured to be fixed to the bracket; an anchoring member made of resin and configured to be anchored to the main rubber elastic body. The anchoring member is anchored to the fixing member and protrudes from the fixing member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vibration damping device to be used, for example, as engine mounts, body mounts, sub-frame mounts and the like on motor vehicles as well as to a mounting member for a vibration damping device constituting such device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there has been known a vibration damping device such as the one described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,964,456 as a kind of vibration damping coupling body or a vibration damping supporting body interposed between the members constituting a vibration transmission system. The vibration damping device has the structure where a first mounting member and a second mounting member are elastically connected by a main rubber elastic body.
Meanwhile, a bracket is attached to the first mounting member of the vibration damping device. The vibration damping device described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,964,456 has the first mounting member and the bracket overlaid and fixed on top of each other by a bolt.
However, since the structure described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,964,456 requires a fixing bolt to fix the first mounting member to the bracket, the number of parts is increased, posing a problem of structural complication, and at the same time, it requires to use a comparatively large fixing bolt to firmly fix the first mounting member to the bracket, which is likely to pose a problem of increased weight. Also, attaching the fixing bolt requires multiple rounds of screwing operations, which is cumbersome and time consuming, while posing another problem of difficulties in controlling the fixing power by the magnitude of tightening torque of the fixing bolt.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. JP-A-2010-048281 adopts the structure where a bracket is press-fitted in a first mounting member in a cylindrical shape covered with a rubber sheath layer along the inner peripheral surface. However, since the first mounting member in a cylindrical shape is formed by pressing a metal plate, the upper portion where the bracket is inserted into and the lower portion where the main rubber elastic body is fixed are made integrally, the upper and lower portions restrict the shapes of each other, posing a problem of lower degree of design freedom. That is, the first mounting member has the shape and size of its upper portion set in accordance with those of the bracket, whereas the shape and size of its lower portion is favorably set in accordance with the vibration damping properties and the like. However, in the structure where the upper and lower portions are integrally made, once the shape of the upper portion is determined in line with the bracket, it was difficult to freely design the shape of the lower portion to maximize the vibration damping performance since the shape of the lower portion is limited to the one moldable by press work corresponding to the upper portion. In addition, the amount of protrusion of the lower portion beyond the upper portion is limited to the range moldable by pressing a metal plate, which posed a risk of difficulties in fully meeting the need for a larger protrusion.
Also, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. JP-A-2013-108522 proposes a structure where the bracket is connected to the mounting member as if being embraced by it, by means of bending the plate portion (25) of the first mounting member (the second mounting fitting 5 in JP-A-2013-108522) along the surface of the bracket. However, according to this structure of JP-A-2013-108522, the bolt that fixes the first mounting member to the bracket is no longer needed, whereas there was an inevitable problem of increased size of the joint portion between the first mounting member and the bracket. In addition, by providing a large plate bent to embrace the outside of the bracket, there was a potential problem of increased size of the first mounting member itself.
Therefore, it was hard to say that any of the structures described in JP-A-2010-048281 and JP-A-2013-108522 was good for the first mounting member, which means that there was a room for improvement.

Mounting member for vibration damping device and vibration damping device using the same


An organic light emitting diode display includes: a flexible substrate configured to be bent at least once; a first display part on the flexible substrate and including a plurality of first light emitting elements; and a second display part on the flexible substrate and including a plurality of second light emitting elements. Each of a first light emitting element and a second light emitting element among the plurality of first and second light emitting elements includes a first electrode, an emission layer and a second electrode, the first electrode of the first light emitting element includes a transparent layer or a semi-transparent layer, the first electrode of the second light emitting element includes a reflective layer, and the second electrode of the first light emitting element and the second light emitting element, includes the transparent layer or the semi-transparent layer.

(a) Field
The invention relates to a flexible display device. More particularly, the invention relates to a flexible organic light emitting diode display including an organic light emitting element.
(b) Description of the Related Art
An organic light emitting diode display is a self-light emitting display that displays an image by using an organic light emitting diode that emits light. The organic light emitting diode display differs from a liquid crystal display as not including a separate light source, and having relatively small thickness and weight. Furthermore, as the organic light emitting diode display involves high quality characteristics such as low power consumption, high luminance and short response time, the organic light emitting diode display is spotlighted as a next generation display device for portable electronic appliances.
The organic light emitting element includes two electrodes and an emitting layer located therebetween, and excitons are generated by combining electrons provided from one of the two electrodes and holes provided from the other electrode at the emitting layer. Energy is output from the excitons when a ground state thereof is reached, to thereby emit light.
It is important for the organic light emitting element to have increased luminous efficiency and to simultaneously have an improved life-span.
To increase the life-span of the organic light emitting element, a structure of a plurality of deposited charge auxiliary layers such as an emission layer, a hole injection layer, and an electron injection layer to increase the magnitude of luminance for a current by two times or three times has been developed.

Organic light emitting diode display including bent flexible substrate and method of forming the same


A steam generator (1) for steam baths, in particular steam cubicles, with a column-shaped housing (2) has an electrically heatable water bath (3) acted upon by air in operation, so that the air surrounding the housing (2) is sucked through a ventilator (4) into the housing (2) and recirculated through the housing (2) and through the water bath (3). The housing has a second inlet for insertion of a container holding additives.

The present invention relates to a steam generator for steam baths, in particular steam cubicles.
A known steam generator for steam cubicles, as described in the literature in CH-636,263, 636,264 and 630,522, heats the evaporation liquid over an evaporation surface in the region of the cubicle floor. Here, the evaporation liquid is recirculated by means of a circulation pump between the collection container and the evaporation surface, and, if required, an additive container is also included in the circuit. The disadvantage of this system is that it requires a system-specific cubicle construction. Thus, this apparatus cannot be used either to combine simple, commercially available shower cubicles or to add to existing cubicles. For this reason, the system has too complicated a construction. Furthermore, it takes too long for the evaporation liquid to be brought to the boil, since after all the entire contents of the tank must be heated up. The system can thus be described as slow. The additive container intended for mixing in is susceptible to deposits and must be cleaned from time to time. A further disadvantage of this additive container is that it cannot be emptied with the means available. Thus, the problem is that the residues are used as a nutrient medium by bacteria, especially when the steam cubicle is not operated for a few days or the additive container is not included in operation. It remains unanswered whether this disadvantage is really avoided in operation by the action of high temperatures and the destruction of the bacteria, since the danger of disadvantageous effects is only reliably eliminated when there are no grounds at all for it.