A sunshine shelter apparatus for window area of passenger transportation such as land vehicle, airplane or ship, includes a plurality of shelter assemblies mounted on the respective windows of the passenger transportation respectively. Each shelter assembly comprises a mounting device mounted on the framework of the respective window or windshield, a blind device having a plurality of slats mounting parallelly and rotatably on the mounting device, and an operating device equipped with the blind device for adjusting the disposing angle of each slat, extending the slats to cover the respective window area or gathering the slats. Whereby, the present invention can neither let the radiation of the sunshine attack the driver and the passengers nor hidden the field of vision of the passengers. The passengers can maintain their field of vision and shade the radiation of sunshine from reaching them by positioning the slats of the blind device horizontally.

The present invention relates to sunshine shelter, and more particularly to a sunshine shelter apparatus for window area of a passenger transportation such as vehicle, airplane, ship and ferry etc. The sunshine shelter apparatus of the present invention can prevent the radiation of sun shine from attacking the passengers without obstructing the passengers' field of vision.
It is well known that overmuch exposure under sunshine does no good to human health, for example it hurts human skin and eyes and even causes skin cancer. However, people the drivers or the passengers on other transportation such as trains, buses, ships, and airplanes are always inevitably disturbed or hurt by the radiation of sunshine. Most people complain about the radiation of sunshine because it does hurt to their skin and makes their skin aging and becoming rough and tanned with wrinkle.
Conventional method for reducing the shortcomings mentioned above is to tint all window glasses. However, it is illegal in most of the states in United States because the tinting may reduce the vision of the drivers and passengers, especially at night and cloudy weather. In mass transportation such as airplanes, ships, trains and buses, integral rigid curtains or cloth curtains are utilized to cover the entire window area for preventing the sunshine to disturb the passengers. But, in the meantime, the curtains would obstacle the whole field of vision of the passengers in the meantime.
When the vehicles are driven under sunshine, the strong sunshine may shine upon the drivers' faces and eyes that the drivers may be annoyed by those discomfort, uneasiness and inconvenience caused by the strong sunshine. It may affect the drivers' driving judgment and cause much hazard and unexpected danger during driving.
A pair of conventional shelter wings are mounted on an upper edge of a front windshield of a vehicle. The driver and the front passenger can swing the shelter wings toward the front windshield for shading the upper portion of the windshield to prevent the sunshine from shining directly upon the driver's and the front passenger's eyes. However, the shelter wings also obstacle portion of the windshield that reduces the field of vision of the driver that lessens the driving safety. Moreover, when the driver change the car's direction, he or she has to use one hand to re-adjust the position of the shelter wing from the front windshield to the side window. It may divert the driver's attention and cause accident. Besides, the faces, hands and the bodies of the driver and the front passenger are still exposed to the sunshine from most directions. The defectives caused by the sunshine to human skin are unavoidable.
Most drivers have such experience that when the vehicles park outdoor under the sunshine, the sun radiation may directly shine on the vehicles. The heat is conducted to the vehicles' interiors that may raise the interior temperature. The airtight interior of the vehicle will become hot and stuffy for re-entrance. Especially the steering wheel will be heated to become hand burning. The driver has to open the doors to enable air circulating for a while until the interior temperature decreases, and then starts the engine to run the air condition before the driver and the passengers get in the vehicle. It wastes much of time, so that to some impatient people, they may rush in the vehicle and drive. The extremely hot interior may affect the driving attention of the driver and the burning steering wheel is difficult to operate that may cause unexpected accident.
Two common devices are used currently to solve the aforesaid problems, which are a cardboard shelter and a twisted shelter for covering the entire front windshield of a vehicle. The cardboard shelter is made of hard cardboard paper and is foldable. The twisted shelter is made of nylon cloth with two circular springs mounted therein and is also foldable by twisting. Such conventional shelters are very troublesome that the driver has to unfold and extend it to cover the entire front windshield while parking. Before driving, the driver also has to refold and remove it from the front windshield. The folding and unfolding, as well as the installing and removing, operations are too troublesome and require much time since the interior space of a vehicle is too narrow for operating a shelter as large as the windshield. Moreover, we need to reserve some room for storing up the conventional extensible shelter when it is not used. The most essential shortcoming of such conventional extensible shelters is that since the space between the front windshield and the steering wheel and the back sight mirror is so narrow, every time when they are unfolded to cover or removed form the windshield, the back sight mirror may be bumped to move away from its original position. The driver has to reset the position of the back sight mirror before driving every time.

Sunshine shelter apparatus for window area of passenger transportation


A simulated log siding for a cabin, house or other building is disclosed which can be constructed of tree heartwood, such as oak, or vinyl plastic. In the heartwood species, elongated planks are provided which have an outwardly bowed outer facing surface and a fiat inwardly facing surface. Each plank contains a notched inwardly facing lower edge and a rail extending along an upper edge of the outwardly bowed surface. The rail of a lower row of such planks inserts into the rabbet joint of an immediately adjacent upper row of such planks to provide a moisture barrier between adjoining rows. In the vinyl plastic species elongated planks are provided which also have an outwardly bowed outer facing surface. A flat panel is attached along an upper edge of the bowed surface which contains an outwardly projecting, downwardly opening catch channel or member. The base of each plastic plank is flat and contains an upwardly projecting flange which fits into the catch channel of an immediately lower row of such planks to provide an overlapping virtually water tight seal between such rows.

This invention relates to simulated log siding for cabins, houses and other buildings. More specifically, this invention relates to such siding when constructed of tree heartwood and of relatively rigid forms of vinyl plastic.
Broadly speaking, simulated log siding for buildings which is constructed of planks of tree heartwood has long been known in the prior art. See the half-log wall construction disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,012,876 issued to G. B. Grubbs on Mar. 22, 1977. One difficulty with this construction is the existence of an upwardly opening rabbet along an upper edge portion of each plank of siding into which moisture can readily penetrate to cause rotting of the wood and damage to insulation sheeting against which the log siding may be placed. Another simulated log siding is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,654,120 issued to C. A. Ewing on Dec. 27, 1927. Seepage of moisture between adjoining wood planks is also a problem in this type of construction, although the seepage of moisture between the planks and behind the assembly is avoided.
We are not aware of the existence in the prior art of simulated log siding employing vinyl plastic planks. However, an extruded plastic architectural tile which is intended to create the appearance of clay tiles and cedar-shake shingles is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,074,093 issued to D. F. Meadows on Dec. 24, 1991. But this structure does not give the appearance of or simulate log siding.
By means of our invention a simulated log siding is provided which substantially overcomes these and other difficulties encountered in the prior art.


A recycled polishing pad conditioner comprises a base plate and a reversed abrasive disc that is flipped over from its original configuration. The reversed disc comprises an exposed abrasive face having an unused abrasive face comprising abrasive particles. A bond face of the disc is affixed to the base plate, the bond face comprising a used abrasive face that was previously used to condition polishing pads. Also described is a pad conditioner having an abrasive face comprising exposed portions of abrasive particles, with at least about 60% of the abrasive particles having a crystalline structure with substantially the same crystal symmetry.

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a polishing pad conditioner and methods of manufacturing and recycling.
In the fabrication of the integrated circuits (ICs) and displays, chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP) is used to smoothen the surface topography of a substrate for subsequent etching and deposition processes. A typical CMP apparatus comprises a polishing head that oscillates and presses a substrate against a polishing pad while a slurry of abrasive particles is supplied to polish the substrate. CMP can be used to planarize dielectric layers, deep or shallow trenches filled with polysilicon or silicon oxide, and metal films. It is believed that CMP polishing typically occurs as a result of both chemical and mechanical effects, for example, a chemically altered layer is repeatedly formed at the surface of the material being polished and then polished away. For instance, in metal polishing, a metal oxide layer can be formed and removed repeatedly from the surface of the metal layer during CMP polishing.
However, during the CMP process, the polishing pad collects polishing residue containing ground-off particulate material and slurry by-product. Over time, the polishing residue clogs up the polishing surface of the pad resulting in a glazed polishing pad surface that does not effectively polish the substrate and can even scratch the substrate. For example, in oxide planarization, rapid deterioration in oxide polishing rates with successive substrates results from pad glazing because the polishing surface of the polishing pad becomes smooth and no longer holds slurry between its fibers or grooves, or pores of the pad become clogged with debris. This is a physical phenomenon on the pad surface not necessarily caused by any chemical reactions between the pad and the slurry.
To remedy pad glazing, the pad is periodically conditioned during CMP polishing to restore its original properties by removing polishing residues and re-texturizing the pad surface. A pad conditioner having a conditioning surface with abrasive particles, such as diamond particles, is rubbed against the used polishing surface of the polishing pad to condition the pad surface by removing polishing debris, un-clogging pores on the polishing surface, and forming micro-scratches in the surface of the pad to retain slurry. The pad conditioning process can be carried out either during a polishing process, i.e. known as concurrent conditioning, or after a polishing process.
However, conventional pad conditioners can vary in conditioning ability when the abrasive particles on the pad have physically different structures. For example, when the abrasive particles have different heights, they can cause uneven grooves to be formed on the polishing pad surface. Deeper grooves result in the retention of excessive slurry in the grooves which can cause the substrate portions exposed to those grooves to become excessively eroded. Abrasive particles have been sorted by sizes to reduce these effects, but they are still prevalent in many polishing pad conditioners. Thus it is desirable to have a pad conditioner with a polishing surface that provides uniform and repeatable polishing characteristics even after polishing a number of substrates.
Furthermore, as the pad conditioner is repeatedly used to condition the polishing pad, its effectiveness at reconditioning the polishing surface of the polishing pad gradually decreases because the abrasive particles become worn out and rounded. The abrasive particles of the used conditioner pad can also eventually loosen and fall out. When too many abrasive particles are lost from a region of the conditioning surface, the pad conditioner begins to condition the polishing pad unevenly. The loose abrasive particles can also become embedded in the polishing pad and scratch the substrate during polishing.
Once worn out, the abrasive face of conventional pad conditioners cannot be easily refurbished. The lost abrasive particles cannot be easily replaced with new particles because a relatively strong bond is required between the particles and surrounding matrix, which is difficult to achieve on a used conditioning surface. Thus, in time, when a substantial number of abrasive particles are either worn or lost, the conditioning ability of the pad conditioner so deteriorates that it must be replaced with a new pad conditioner, usually at significant cost. The worn or damaged pad conditioners also result in lower yields from the substrates being polished.
Accordingly, it is desirable to have a pad conditioner that provides more uniform and repeatable polishing characteristics from one polishing pad to another. It is also desirable to have pad conditioners with polishing surfaces that have controllable and reproducible abrasive properties. It is further desirable to be able to recondition the abrasive face of a used pad conditioner. It is also desirable to be able to reuse or recycle pad conditioners, especially when the abrasive particles are expensive or difficult to manufacture.

Polishing pad conditioner and methods of manufacture and recycling


Among the embodiments of the present invention, are apparatus, systems, and methods for managing energetic charged particles emitted nearly isotropically from a fusion device. One apparatus of the present invention includes a fusion device in a container and an electric current carrying winding disposed about the container to provide a magnetic field to direct charged particles generated by the device. A pair of electric current carrying coils are positioned within the container to control the strength of the magnetic field in a region between these coils, such that effects on fusion plasma can be minimized. In other forms, charged particles provided from a fusion device are directed along a magnetic channel to an energy converter to provide electric power. One such form includes a magnetic expander and an electron-ion separator to provide a net electric current.

The present application relates to techniques involving plasma and/or charged particles, and more specifically, but not exclusively, relates to the management of particles generated by fusion devices such as those based on Inertial Electrostatic Confinement (IEC). Alternatively or additionally, it is envisioned the teachings of the present application can be applied to other areas of technology.
Inertial electrostatic confinement involves confining a plasma with electrically biased electrodes that accelerate ions of the plasma into a hollow cathode-grid. Inertial electrostatic confinement technology can be utilized in a number of different applications including the generation of plasma jets, the provision of charged particle beams, the formation of complex carbon molecules, and the promotion of various nuclear fusion reactions, to name just a few. Among the factors that make inertial electrostatic confinement and similar fusion techniques attractive is that fusion reaction products leave the hot plasma with no or little energy loss to the plasma, resulting in a fairly monoenergetic flux of high-energy ions. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,121,569 and 6,171,451 B1, and International Application No. PCT/US96/05185 (International Publication Number WO 95/30235) to Miley et al.; U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,258,402 and 3,386,883 to Farnsworth; U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,448,315 and 3,530,497 to Hirsch et al.; and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,826,646 and 5,160,695 to Bussard are cited as further sources of background information concerning various fusion devices, and are all hereby incorporated by reference.
Typically, charged fusion products are born with an isotropic angular distribution and then escape with a widely spread distribution of directions. However, for a variety of applications, such as propulsion, medical treatments, industrial processes, and some types of electrical energy conversion, a more organized charged particle beam is often desired. Thus, there is a demand for ways to control and manage escaping charged particles in general. Accordingly, an ongoing need exists for advancements in this area of technology.
One embodiment of the present invention is a unique technique involving charged particles. Other embodiments include unique apparatus, systems, and methods to control, manage, and/or direct charged particles generated by inertial electrostatic confinement.
A further embodiment of the present invention includes one or more inertial electrostatic confinement devices to provide charged particles and one or more energy converters to provide electric power from at least a portion of the charged particles. In one form, this embodiment utilizes an electrostatic converter that separates high-energy charged particles from low-energy charged particles. Such a converter facilitates processing of the separated, high- and low-energy components by different apparatus. This electrostatic converter can be arranged to produce electricity by collecting low-energy electrons and low-energy, positively charged ions with different collectors and another converter can be utilized to provide electricity from the high-energy particles.
In yet a further embodiment of the present invention, charged particles are generated with a fusion reaction device and are directed along a channel with a magnetic field. A pair of coils is operated in this magnetic field that are spaced apart from one another along the channel. These coils are operated to control strength of the magnetic field in a space between the two coils. The fusion reaction device can be based on inertial electrostatic confinement.
In still a further embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus includes an inertial electrostatic confinement device that comprises a container and one or more electrodes disposed within the container. A magnetic field is generated to direct charged particles emitted by this device. A pair of coils are also included in the apparatus that are positioned inside the container. The electrode(s) of the electrostatic confinement device is/are located between these coils. The coil pair is operable to control the magnetic field in the vicinity of the electrode(s). Such control can include the reduction or substantial elimination of the magnetic field in the central region of the electrode(s). The apparatus can further include a stabilizing coil positioned between the pair of coils and about the electrode(s).
Another embodiment of the present invention includes a source to provide charged particles, a winding to generate a magnetic field channel to direct the charged particles, a pair of spaced apart coils to control the magnetic field channel between these coils, and one or more charged particle collectors. The charged particle collectors are disposed adjacent the coil pair and about the magnetic field channel when generated with the winding. The one or more charged particle collectors are operable to separate low-energy charged particles from high-energy charged particles and/or convert the kinetic energy of at least a portion of the charged particles to electrical power. In one form, the lower energy electrons and lower energy, positively charged ions are collected with different collectors to provide electricity.
Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide one or more techniques to manage charged particles. These charged particles could be generated by fusion reactions. Another object of the present invention is to provide apparatus, methods, and/or systems to control, manage, or direct charged particles generated with inertial electrostatic confinement.
Further objects, embodiments, forms, features, advantages, benefits, and aspects of the present invention shall become apparent from the detailed description and drawings contained herewith.

Apparatus and methods for controlling charged particles


Disclosed is a delay locked-loop circuit comprising a phase detector for detecting a phase difference between an external clock signal and an internal clock signal, a delay unit controller for generating a control signal in response to output of the phase detector, and a variable delay unit for delaying the external clock in response to the control signal to synchronize the internal clock with the external clock, the variable delay unit comprising a first group of delay cells used at or above a predetermined frequency, a second group of delay cells used with the first group of delay cells at or below a predetermined frequency, switch transistors for connecting/disconnecting the first group of delay cells and the second group of delay cells to/from a first output line and a second output line of the variable delay unit, respectively, in response to the control signal, and a switch for connecting/disconnecting the first output line to/from the second output line in response to a delay use signal representing the use of one of the delay cells in the first group.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a semiconductor integrated circuit, and more particularly, to a delay locked-loop circuit for reducing the load of a variable delay unit at high frequency operation and stably locking an external clock signal.
2. Description of the Related Art
Synchronous DRAMs synchronize with a clock signal to input and output data to and from memory cells. The clock signal is typically input via a single input pin and then distributed to the synchronous DRAMs. A clock signal reaching a point relatively far from the input pin may be considerably delayed compared to a clock signal reaching a point adjacent to the input pin. This delay disrupts the synchronization of each component in a synchronous DRAM.
Delay locked-loop circuits are typically used to maintain synchronization and generate an internal clock signal synchronized with an external clock signal. A delay locked-loop circuit operates at almost the same speed as the operation speed of a synchronous DRAM. A delay locked-loop circuit must operate at or above a predetermined frequency (hereinafter, referred to as high-frequency operation) and at or below the predetermined frequency (hereinafter, referred to as low-frequency operation).
FIG. 1 shows a typical delay locked-loop circuit. A delay locked-loop circuit 100 comprises a phase detector 110, a delay unit controller 120, and a variable delay unit 130. The phase detector 110 detects a phase difference between an external clock signal ECLK and an internal clock signal ICLK. The delay unit controller 120 generates a control signal CNT that controls the delay time of the external clock signal ECLK input into the variable delay unit 130 in response to output of the phase detector 110. The variable delay unit 130 generates an internal clock signal ICLK that is synchronized with the external clock signal ECLK in response to the control signal CNT.
FIG. 2 shows the variable delay unit 130 shown in FIG. 1. The variable delay unit 130 comprises delay cells 201 through 208 and switch transistors 211 through 218. The delay cells 201 through 208 are each connected to one of the switch transistors 211 through 218, which are connected to an output line OL1 of the variable delay unit 130. The delay cells 201 through 208 delay the external clock signal ECLK.
The number of the delay cells 201 through 208 depends on the operation frequency of the delay locked-loop circuit 100. The number of delay cells 201 through 208 for high-frequency operation will be less than that for low-frequency operation. In the case of low-frequency operation, the switch transistors 211 through 218 are all turned on in response to the control signal CNT to connect the delay cells 201 through 208 to the output line OL1. Thus, the load of the output line OL1 is high. In the case of high-frequency operation, transistors 215 through 218 are not turned on and delay cells 205 through 208 do not affect the output line OL1, therefore the load of the output line OL1 is small.
The variable delay unit 130 has a line load proportional to the physical length of the output line OL1 and a junction load due to the switch transistors 211 through 218, which are turned off, even if the delay cells 205 through 208 are not connected to the output line OL1 for high-frequency operation. Thus, the variable delay unit 130 is inappropriate in the case of high-frequency operation. As a result, jitter is apparent in the internal clock signal ICLK that is generated in the delay locked-loop circuit 100 shown in FIG. 1 and a duty ratio becomes degraded. Thus, the synchronous DRAM does not operate properly.

Delay locked-loop circuit for reducing load of variable delay unit at high-frequency operation and locking external clock signal stably


Embodiments are provided for implementing control plane functionality to configure a data plane at a plurality of network nodes. A software defined topology (SDT) component is configured to determine a data plane logical topology indicating a plurality of selected nodes and a logical architecture connecting the selected nodes. The data plane logical topology enables traffic delivery for a service or virtual network for an end-customer or operator. A software defined networking (SDN) component is configured to interact with the SDT component and map the data plane logical topology to a physical network. The mapping includes allocating network nodes including the selected nodes and network resources which enable communications for the service or virtual network and meet QoS requirement. A software defined protocol (SDP) component is configured to interact with the SDN and define data plane protocol and process functionality for the network nodes.

Software-defined networking (SDN) provides a mapping between logical topology requirements and physical infrastructure resources. Radio coordination is part of SDN for radio access networks (RANs). The SDN in RAN generally manages routing and traffic engineering (TE) to provide a forwarding path and required bandwidth or rate for traffic flow over each link over the path (multiple routes are also possible). The SDN in RAN also manages radio coordination to provide on-demand configuration of radio node specification, including the access link/backhaul link and the carrier. The on-demand configuration may include selecting built-in components with different specifications. The on-demand configuration can also include coordinating the mapping/allocation of the 5-tuple wireless resource (time/frequency/code/power/spatial) to active flows. However, as radio nodes functionality and RAN or other integrated network in general evolve, managing the control plane, such as in term of SDN framework, becomes challenging. There is a need for an improved control plane reference model and architecture for such networks including radio nodes and other nodes.

System and method for a control plane reference model framework


An improvement relating to an infinitely variable ratio transmission having a pair of oppositely oriented variable diameter torque input and output pulleys is disclosed wherein the conical surfaces of the pulleys include a multiplicity of axially and circumferentially movable sprocket bars to accommodate the fixed length of an inextensible drive belt or chain wrapping about the pulleys.

The present invention generally relates to a power transmission whereby the input speed, from a constant velocity, prime mover, such as an automotive engine, or any other suitable power source, may be reduced to a desired output speed by the internal workings of the transmission.
More specifically the present invention relates to an infinitely variable ratio drive mechanism, of the endless belt type, having a pair of radially adjustable V shaped pulleys configured to rotate on a pair of parallel axes.
An endless, inextensible, belt or chain encircles and drivingly engages both pulleys whereby power may be transmitted from one pulley to the other. A variable speed reduction, between the pulleys, is obtained by selectively moving at least one sheave of each pulley toward or away from the other whereby the effective diameter of the pulleys are controllably varied.
It is well known to use opposing, variable pulleys as the driving member and the driven member in power transmissions as evidenced by the following sampling of U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,433,594; 5,011,461; 6,095,942; 6,135,916; 6,254,503.
In studying variable pulley transmission drive mechanisms it becomes apparent that the variable pulley drive mechanism merely emulates the dual cone variable drive transmission as described in the parent application. Rather than moving the drive belt, or chain, radially along the conical members of the dual cone configuration whereby the operating diameter of the conical members is varied to obtain a desired input to output RPM reduction, the axial distance between the sheaves of the variable pulleys is adjusted thereby emulating the action of the dual cone drive mechanism taught in the parent application.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Drive system for an infinitely variable drive transmission


Apparatus (10) for denitrification of a liquid, such as water, comprises a vertical processing tank (11) including: a bottom section (20) partially filled with activated sludge (22), bottom section (20) having a bottom (12) having a concave upward facing inner surface (13); a horizontal filter (40) spanning tank (11) above sludge (22); an anaerobic process section (50) including a denitrifying biomass section (54); and an oxidation section (60) including a diffuser (61). The method comprising the steps of: injecting impure water (90) into sludge (22) so as to travel helically upward to mix with sludge (22); filtering with filter (40); denitrifying with denitrifying biomass (54); and oxidizing the effluent water from anaerobic biomass (54) in oxidation section (60) including bubbling air from diffuser (63). Water (90) effluent from tank (11) is sterilized with an ozonation device (86).

For at least 25 years, municipal wastewater treatment plants have been aware of the need to reduce or eliminate nitrogen compounds from their discharged effluent. Typically, they use a scheme of oxidizing ammonia to nitrate, then convert the nitrate to nitrogen gas. Microbiological processes are usually used for both steps of the process.
Since nitrate compounds are very soluble and mobile in water, they are found naturally only in arid climates. In the United States, though, nitrates are a common contaminant of groundwater in agricultural areas. Run-off from fertilized fields and from locations where animals, such as cattle, pigs and chickens, are raised in high concentration, such as dairy farms and animal feed operations, often contains enough nitrate to affect nearby water wells.
Installations to treat municipal wastes are complex systems. The several types of microorganisms employed to treat ammonia, nitrate, phosphate, and other classes of waste are generally sensitive to their environment, and do not thrive and perform their functions if conditions of Ph, oxidation or reduction potential, nutrient content, and other factors are not within the acceptable range.
Municipal sewage varies widely in these conditions. Sometimes, compounds toxic to microbial life appear suddenly. Sewage treatment plants, thus, must constantly monitor the incoming waste stream and the processes used for treatment. Technicians adjust the process conditions frequently to keep the microbial and other systems running efficiently. Failure to do so can result in release of insufficiently-treated effluent, or shutdown of the plant until the microorganisms are nursed back to health.
Municipal sewage treatment systems are made up of many tanks, covering a few acres of land. The piping, valves, access ports between tanks provide many opportunities for leaks and must be inspected daily, at least. Many of the systems require frequent backflushing and other maintenance of filters.
By comparison, agricultural well water in a given location has a simple composition, which does not fluctuate quickly. The impurities are relatively dilute and readily water-soluble.
Therefore, there has been a need for a simple nitrate removal system for rural agricultural areas that can have optimal operating conditions designed into it. Such a system should be robust, require little adjustment and maintenance, use as little electricity as possible, and be easy to transport to the site and install.

Method and apparatus for denitrification of water


A device for emission of polarized light and its detection including a light emitter configured to generate an outgoing light beam directed along an optical emission axis, a light receiver configured to detect an incoming light beam directed along an optical detection axis, and a polarization unit positioned in the optical emission axis and optical detection axis and configured to polarize the outgoing light beam and the incoming light beam. To allow a compact assembly, the device, by reducing the number of its constituent parts and by providing a good detection reliability of the device, the optical emission axis and the optical detection axis are angled with respect to one another such that they include an intersection point and the polarization unit includes a polarizer configured to deflect light from at least one of the incoming light beam towards the optical detection axis and the outgoing light beam away from the optical emission axis, the deflected light being defined by a polarization state produced by the polarizer.

Such a device is known from publication no. EP 2 508 920 A1. As further described in this publication, the light emitter of the device emits light to a retroreflector reflecting the light back to the light receiver. Substantially no light stemming from any diffusing matter, such as white paper, or from any reflecting matter apart from the retroreflector shall be detected by the device. In order to reduce the detection of such diffused and reflected light to a large extent, the polarization unit of the device is equipped with two polarizers, wherein the emitted light is polarized by one polarizer and the light to be detected is polarized by the other polarizer. Both polarizers yield a differing polarization of the light passing through. The retroreflector causes a depolarization of the arriving light and emits it back in the same direction.
An application of the device is a detection of objects crossing the light path in between the retroreflector and the light receiver, in particular of objects comprising a section that is transparent or translucent in the visible light spectrum. The detection is based on an output signal generated by the device in dependence of light detected or not detected by the light receiver indicating the absence or presence of an object within a monitoring area.
The previously disclosed device, however, has a number of shortcomings. On the one hand, the polarization unit includes two different polarizers respectively accounting for a polarization of the outgoing light beam and a differing polarization of the incoming light beam. A twofold supply of those components represents a considerable cost factor, even more so when the components must match to a desired ultraviolet wavelength range. It also leads to a rather complex composition and manufacturing of the device. The provision of two polarizers arranged at different positions in the device can also negatively affect the detection reliability.

Device for emission of polarized light and its detection having a polarizer with brewster's angle to produce polarization state in deflected light


A fluid accumulator includes a tank, a piston, and a valve. The piston is movably disposed within the tank and divides the tank volume into a first fluid volume and a second fluid volume. The valve is coupled to the tank and includes a valve body, a valve element, a valve spring, a piston contact element, and a load limiter spring. The valve element is disposed within the valve body and is movable between an open position and a closed position. The valve spring has a first spring constant and supplies a force to the valve element that urges the valve element toward the open position. The piston contact element is spaced apart from, and is movable relative to, the valve element. The load limiter spring engages the valve element and the piston contact element, and has a second spring constant that is greater than the first spring constant.

Many fluid systems include one or more fluid accumulators. A fluid accumulator may provide, for example, load topping when fluid power demand exceeds fluid supply or regulating system capabilities, and/or may maintain suitable fluid pressure in the event of a momentary fluid power drop-out, and/or may reduce pressure ripple, and/or provides damping for pressure transients and water hammer.
Fluid accumulators come in a variety of styles, depending upon the element that separates the working fluid, such as hydraulic fluid, from a pressurizing fluid, such as a gas. For example, the accumulator styles include bellows style, bladder style, diaphragm style, and piston style accumulators. Some accumulator styles are heavier than others, some are more expensive than others, and some are limited in size. One advantage of the piston style accumulator is that it is relatively lightweight and inexpensive, and spans a relatively large pressure range.
Unfortunately, the piston style accumulator also exhibits a drawback. The drawback is that it can exhibit gas-to-fluid leakage across the piston seal when the working fluid is expended and gas pressure remains. As may be appreciated, gas in the working fluid is typically undesirable.
Hence, there is a need for a piston style accumulator that does not exhibit gas-to-fluid leakage across the piston seal when the working fluid is expended and gas pressure remains. The present invention addresses at least this need.


A method and device for displaying, on a single display surface, two different images. Each picture element on the display surface transmits information about the two displayed images. The viewer wears polarizing spectacles having cross polarized lens. The device uses polarizing filters and LCDs to rotate the polarized light and bring this polarized light in a predetermined angle so as to present an independent intensity to each eye of the viewer.

Depth is perceived when the two eyes of a viewer see slightly different images of a three-dimensional (3-D) scene because they are spaced apart from one another. The brain analyses these two slightly different images and extracts information relating to the depth of the 3-D scene viewed.
The prior art is replete with techniques for producing 3-D images from two-dimensional (2-D) displays. These techniques may be generally divided into two major classes: the auto-stereoscopic class which produces 3-D images which may be viewed freely without wearing spectacles, and the binocular stereoscopic class which produces 3-D images which require the viewer to wear spectacles.
The auto-stereoscopic systems, while being interesting since no spectacles are necessary, suffer a major drawback; the position of the eyes of the viewer must remain in a predetermined position, relative to the display device in order to provide the 3-D effect. An example of such system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,953,949 issued on Sep. 4, 1990 to William J. DALLAS.
The binocular stereoscopic systems may be sub-divided in two categories: one using active spectacles, the other using passive spectacles.
Binocular stereoscopic systems using active spectacles operate on a relatively simple principle. Two slightly different images necessary to create a 3-D effect are successively projected by a 2-D display device. The spectacles are synchronized with the display device so that, when the first image is projected, one of the eyes may see it and, when the second image is projected, the other eye may see it. If the repetition rate is sufficiently high, the retinal persistence of the eyes will give the impression that both images are seen at the same time and the brain will interpret these two images as if they were two different views of a 3-D scene as usually viewed by the eyes, thus reconstructing the depth of the 3-D scene.
Binocular stereoscopic systems using passive spectacles have a different principle of operation. One of the images displayed is polarized along a first direction and the other image displayed is polarized along a second direction, usually perpendicular to the first direction. The spectacles comprise one lens having a polarizing filter along the first direction in front of one eye, and another lens having a polarizing filter along the second direction in front of the other eye. Thus, the right eye sees only one of the two projected images and the left eye sees only the other projected image. Again, the brain will interpret these two images as if they were the normal visualisation of a 3-D scene by the eyes.
Many methods for displaying two images on a display device have been developed for binocular stereoscopic systems using passive spectacles.
The two images may be projected by two cathode ray tubes (CRT), filtered with opposite direction polarizing filters and combined through a half-reflective mirror. This technique is expensive and the viewer must be at a specific location to perceive the 3-D effect.
The two images may be projected successively on a CRT display having a LCD shutter installed in front of it. When the first image is displayed, the LCD allows the light, which lies in a first direction, to pass through. When the second image is displayed, the LCD allows the light, which lies in a second direction, to pass through. The second direction is usually perpendicular to the first direction. The passive spectacles have one lens having a polarizing filter along the first direction and the other lens having a polarizing filter along the second direction. Each eye will see a different image and the brain will combine them as previously discussed. The drawback of this technique is the high costs associated with the LCD shutter that must be at least of the same size as the display surface and must have a fast response time between each change of polarization directions.
Another method to display two images on the same screen while using passive spectacles to separate them consist in producing, on a display device, a single composite image formed from the two slightly different images. The method of formation of this composite image may vary. One example of formation of the composite image consists in slicing the two images into narrow strips and forming the composite image by the successive side-by-side concatenation of these narrow strips. Polarizing filters are placed in front of the display surface to polarize the strips coming from the first image along a first direction and to polarize the strips coming from the second image along a second direction, usually perpendicular to the first direction. One problem with this technique is that the resolution of each of the images is, at best, one half of the resolution of the display device, leading to images of lesser quality or to expensive display devices having a higher resolution. An example of such system may be found described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,050,961 issued on Sep. 24, 1991 to Daniel S. VENOLIA.

Stereoscopic displaying method and device


A low cost, reliable and simplified mechanism is disclosed for maintaining a set of rotating shelves in a display cabinet level and stable at all ponts on their circular path of travel. The display cabinet can be heated or refrigerated where perishable goods are being displayed.

The present invention relates to improvements in display cabinets of the type employing a plurality of rotating shelves to carry goods to and from a viewing window in one side of the cabinet. More particularly, the invention seeks to simplify and reduce the cost of manufacturing of a drive mechanism which maintains the rotating shelves level at all times and stabilizes them, so that they will not tend to swing on their suspension pivots during rotation. By means of the invention, the above objectives are fully realized without the need for close machining tolerances or expensive mechanical components. The mechanism is also compact and practically maintenance-free.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art during the course of the following description.

Display cabinet with stabilized rotating shelf mechanism


A memory is described that includes a main memory array having a plurality of main memory locations and a redundant memory array having a plurality of redundant memory locations. A main decoding circuit is coupled to the main memory array for decoding an address received from an external circuit to access a selected one of the plurality of main memory locations. A storage circuit is provided for pre-storing the address of the selected one of the plurality of main memory locations when the selected one of the plurality of main memory locations is defective. A redundant comparison circuit is coupled to the redundant memory array and the storage circuit for comparing the external address with the address stored in the storage circuit in order to access a selected one of the plurality of redundant memory locations. A static decoding circuit is coupled to the storage circuit and the main select circuit for decoding the address received from the storage circuit and for disabling the main select circuit from accessing the selected one of the plurality of main memory locations such that when the redundant comparison circuit accesses the selected one of the plurality of redundant memory locations, the main select circuit has already been disabled from accessing the selected one of the plurality of main memory locations.

One type of prior art non-volatile computer memory is the Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory ("EPROM"). The EPROM can be programmed by a user. Once programmed, the EPROM retains its data until erased. Ultraviolet light erasure of the EPROM erases the entire contents of the memory array. The memory array may then be reprogrammed with new data.
The prior EPROM typically includes a decoding circuit to address the memory array of the device. The decoding circuit receives addresses from address input pins of the EPROM. Data stored in the EPROM at the applied address can then be read via the output pins of the EPROM.
The prior EPROM also typically includes redundant memory cells. The redundant memory cells are used to replace defective cells of the main memory array. The redundant memory cells are also arranged into rows and columns and are therefore referred to as redundant memory array. When a memory cell in a column or row of the main memory array is found defective, a redundant column or row of the redundant memory array is used to replace the defective column or row in the main memory array.
In order to replace a defective memory column or row in the main memory array with a redundant memory column or row, the defective column or row needs to be disconnected from being accessed when addressed. FIG. 1 illustrates one prior art scheme of disconnecting the defective column or row in the main memory array.
As can be seen from FIG. 1, each of the memory elements (i.e., memory row or column) of main memory array 11 of EPROM 10 is connected to a main select circuit 13 via one of fuse elements 17 through 18n. When one memory element in main memory array 11 is found defective, its associated one of fuse elements 17-18n will be blown with a laser beam such that the access to the defective memory element in main memory array 11 is disabled. For example, when the memory element that is connected to fuse element 17 is found defective, fuse element 17 will then be blown to disable the access to that defective memory element from main decoder 15 and main select circuit 13.
Disadvantages are, however, associated with this prior an scheme. One disadvantage is that the fuse elements typically require relatively large die space in the EPROM. This is due to the laser alignment requirements. In addition, the use of laser beam to blow the fuse elements typically causes the fabrication cost of the prior EPROM to increase significantly. Moreover, the fuse elements typically introduce parasitic resistance in the access path of the memory cells.
A prior solution to solving this problem is to dynamically disable the main decoder or the main select circuit for the main memory array whenever the defective memory element is addressed. FIG. 2 illustrates one such prior scheme of dynamically disabling the main select circuit whenever the defective memory element of the main memory array is addressed.
As can be seen from FIG. 2, prior EPROM 20 includes a main decoder 25, a main select circuit 23, and a main memory array 21. Prior EPROM 20 also includes a redundant memory array 22, a redundant select circuit 24, and a redundant decoder 26. Redundant decoder 26 includes in addition to other circuitry, a number of storage circuits 26a through 26n, each being used to activate one redundant element of redundant memory array 22 to replace a defective memory element of main memory array 21 . Each of storage circuits 26a-26n includes (1) a number of nonvolatile storage elements to store an address of a defective memory element of main memory array 21 and (2) a comparator for comparing the external addresses applied with the address stored in the nonvolatile storage elements of that storage circuit.
When a defective memory element in main memory array 21 is discovered, a redundant memory element is activated to replace the defective memory element. This is done by storing the address of the defective memory element in the nonvolatile storage elements of a storage circuit associated with that redundant memory element. A comparison with the stored address is made every time EPROM 20 is addressed to determine whether the defective memory element is addressed. If so, the comparator generates an enable/disable signal to cause redundant select circuit 24 to activate the associated redundant memory element. In addition, the enable/disable signal is also applied to main select circuit 23 to disable the entire main select circuit. Main select circuit 23 includes an AND gate for each of the memory elements of main memory array 21 and a NOR gate 29 coupled to receive the enable/disable signal from each of storage circuits 26a-26n. When any one of storage circuits 26a-26n generates the enable/disable signal, the entire circuit of main select circuit 23 is disabled from accessing main memory array 21.
One disadvantage of this prior scheme is the slower access to the EPROM when a defective memory element is addressed. This is due to the fact that the access to redundant memory array 22 has to wait until the entire circuit of main select circuit 23 is disabled. This typically requires NOR gate 29 to have relatively large driving capability in order to disable the entire circuit of main select circuit 23. The larger the driving capability the NOR gate is required to have, the slower the circuit is. In addition, the relatively large driving ability of NOR gate 29 also requires the NOR gate to be made large, thus occupying relatively large die space within the prior EPROM.

Memory with minimized redundancy access delay


A system for magnetic detection, includes a magneto-optical defect center material comprising a plurality of magneto-optical defect centers, a radio frequency (RF) excitation source, an optical detector and an optical light source. The RF excitation source is configured to provide RF excitation to the material. The optical detector is configured to receive an optical signal emitted by the material. The optical light source is configured to provide optical light to the material, and includes a readout optical light source and a reset optical light source. The readout optical light source is configured to illuminate light in a first illumination volume of the material. The reset optical light source is configured to illuminate light in a second illumination volume of the material, the second illumination volume being larger than and encompassing the first illumination volume. The reset optical light source provides a higher power light than the readout optical light source.

Many advanced magnetic imaging systems can operate in limited conditions, for example, high vacuum and/or cryogenic temperatures, which can make them inapplicable for imaging applications that require ambient conditions. Small size, weight and power (SWAP) magnetic sensors of moderate sensitivity, vector accuracy, and bandwidth are valuable in many applications.
Atomic-sized nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond have excellent sensitivity for magnetic field measurement and enable fabrication of small magnetic sensors that can readily replace existing-technology (e.g., Hall-effect) systems and devices. The sensing capabilities of diamond NV (DNV) sensors are maintained at room temperature and atmospheric pressure, and these sensors can be even used in liquid environments (e.g., for biological imaging). DNV sensing allows measurement of 3-D vector magnetic fields that is beneficial across a very broad range of applications.

Selected volume continuous illumination magnetometer


In a preferred embodiment, the present invention is an asymmetric data processing system having two or more groups of processors that have attributes that are optimized for their assigned functions. A first processor group, which may be SMP machines, are responsible for interfacing with applications and/or end users to obtain queries, and for planning query execution. A second processor group consists of many streaming record-oriented processors called Job Processing Units (JPUs), typically arranged as an MPP structure. The JPUs carry out the bulk of the data processing required to implement the logic of a query, running autonomously and asynchronously from other processors in the system. The JPUs preferably use a multi-tasking operating system that permits multiple tasks to run at a given instant in time, in either an absolute-priority-based or a weighted-priority-based demand scheduling environment.

This invention relates to distributed data processing systems that use multiple processing unit groups, and in particular to an asymmetric architecture that allows for autonomous and asynchronous operation of processing units in at least one group.
With continued development of low cost computing systems and proliferation of computer networks, the world continues to see an exponential growth in the amount and availability of information. Indeed, the Massachusetts-based Enterprise Storage Group has observed a doubling of information every few months. Demand for easy and efficient access to this ever-growing amount of digital information is another certainty. For example, World Wide Web traffic increased 300% in 2001 according to Forrester Research. Included among the applications that continue to make the greatest demands are systems for processing:                financial transactions;        "click stream" data that encapsulates the behavior of visitors to web sites;        data relating to the operational status of public utilities such as electric power networks, communications networks, transportation systems and the like;        scientific data supporting drug discovery and space exploration.
Greg Papadopolous, the Chief Technical Officer of Sun Microsystems, Inc., has observed that the demand for access to decision support databases, referred to as the Input/Output (I/O) demand growth, doubles every nine months. To put this in context, Moore's Law predicts that Central Processing Unit (CPU) power doubles only about every 18 months. In other words, the demand for access to information is growing at least twice as fast the ability of a single CPU to process and deliver it.
In a typical general purpose data processing system, data is stored on one or more mass storage devices, such as hard disk drives. One or more computers are then programmed to read data from the disks and analyze it—the programs may include special database software written for this purpose. The problem with a general purpose system architecture, however, is that all the data must be retrieved from the disk and placed in a computer's memory, prior to actually being able to perform any operations on it. If any portion of the data retrieved is not actually needed, the time spent fetching it is wasted. Valuable time is thus lost in the process of retrieval and storage of unnecessary data.
The speed at which the data analysis can be performed is typically limited to the speed at which the entire set of data can be transferred into a computer's memory and then examined by the CPU(s). Usually, the aggregate data transfer rate of the disks does not govern the speed at which the analysis can be performed. Disks are inexpensive, and as such, data can be spread across a large number of disks arranged to be accessed in parallel. The effective data transfer rate of a set of disks, collectively, can therefore be almost arbitrarily fast.
The bandwidth of an interface or communications network between the disks and the CPUs is also typically less than the aggregate data transfer rate of the disks. The bottleneck is thus in the communications network or in the CPUs, but not in the disks themselves.
It has been recognized for some time that achieving adequate performance and scalability in the face of vast and rapidly growing data thus requires some kind of system architecture that employs multiple CPUs. The three most prevalent classes of so-called multiprocessing systems today include:                Symmetric Multiprocessing (SMP)        Asymmetric Multiprocessing (ASMP)        Massively Parallel Processing (MPP)But even these approaches have weaknesses that limit their ability to efficiently process vast amounts of data.
SMP systems consist of several CPUs, each with their own memory cache. Resources such as memory and the I/O system are shared by and are equally accessible to each of the processors. The processors in an SMP system thus constitute a pool of computation resources on which the operating system can schedule "threads" of executing code for execution.
Two weaknesses of the SMP approach impair its performance and scalability when processing very large amounts of data. The first problem results from a limited ability to actually provide information to the processors. With this architecture, the I/O subsystem and the memory bus are shared among all processors, yet they have a limited bandwidth. Thus, when the volume of data is too high, the speed of the processors is wasted waiting for data to arrive. A second problem with the SMP approach is cache coherence. Within each processor is typically a cache memory for storing records so that they may be accessed faster. However, the more that processors are added to an SMP system, the more that time must be spent synchronizing all of the individual caches when changes are made to the database. In practice, it is rare for SMP machines to scale linearly beyond about 64 processors.
Asymmetric Multiprocessing (ASMP) systems assign specific tasks to specific processors, with a master processor controlling the system. This specialization has a number of benefits. Resources can be dedicated to specific tasks, avoiding the overhead of coordinating shared access. Scheduling is also easier in an ASMP system, where there are fewer choices about which processor to assign to a task. ASMP systems thus tend to be more scalable than SMP systems. One basic problem with asymmetry is that it can result in one processor being overloaded while others sit idle.
Massively Parallel Processing (MPP) systems consist of very large numbers of processors that are loosely coupled. Each processor has its own memory and devices and runs its own operating system. Communication between the processors of an MPP system is accomplished by sending messages over network connections. With no shared resources, MPP systems require much less synchronization than SMP and ASMP systems.
One weakness of the MPP model is that communication among processors occurs by passing messages over a network connection, which is a much slower technique than communication through shared memory. If frequent inter-processor communication is required, then the advantages of parallelism are negated by communication latency. Another problem with the MPP approach is that traditional programming models do not map cleanly onto message passing architectures. Using approaches such as Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA), which are designed to handle message passing, are considered awkward by some designers.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, several database machine architectures were proposed to move database processing closer to the data, and to offload other work from CPUs. A common theme of these machines was special hardware for performing database functions, integrated tightly with a disk. David DeWitt of the University of Wisconsin proposed a categorization scheme for these machines according to whether they had a processor per track (PPT), a processor per head (PPH), or a processor per disk (PPD).
The Content-Addressable Segment Sequential Memory (CASSM) machine was designed as a complete database engine, with a proprietary query language, and a processor per track (PPT). The CASSM processors could perform aggregation functions and had a bit-mapping scheme to process field-based searches.
The Rotating Associative Relational Store (RARES) was a selection and sorting machine, in which record data was laid out across disk tracks (rather than within disk tracks), which allowed it to examine the different fields of a record in parallel.
The DIRECT machine used a symmetric two-tier MPP system. The first tier compiled queries into packets, which could be distributed to processors in the second tier to balance the load. The processors in the second tier used a crossbar switch that allowed them to access data from any storage unit. The present invention also uses a two-tier MPP approach, but unlike the DIRECT machine, the present invention assumes an asymmetric approach, in which each back-end processor is the exclusive "owner" of its data. This avoids time spent in load balancing and in coordinating access to data among multiple processors. By tightly coupling processing with a set of data, the cost and complexity of the DIRECT crossbar switch can be avoided.
So-called Intelligent Disks ("IDISKs") are a package including disk drive, power, CPU, memory, and network interface, running a full and standard operating system. They are intended to offload computation from desktop machines. Intelligent disks are typically positioned as commodities for use in various applications, supporting file systems and directories, database, Internet, and mail. One goal of Intelligent Disks is to allow the incremental addition of capacity by plugging in new slices and choosing a personality (such as "file system" or "mail") to extend.
In the Magi system (Notre Dame), Kendall and Freeh describe a programming model in which applications apply modular stream-oriented operations to data. They discuss the use of IDISKs for intelligent caching, data compression, and database search.
Bill Bridge (Oracle) explains that, for purposes of database processing, Intelligent Disks can help allocate storage at a block level, but space within a block must be controlled by the application access method, and Intelligent Disks cannot get involved at this low level.
Like Intelligent Disks, so-called Active Disks bundle processing power, memory, and network connectivity with a disk to offer performance and functionality enhancements. Erik Reidel (CMU), a leading proponent of Active Disks, cites the following advantages of the technology:                Ability to execute application code on disks (disklets)        Parallel processing across lots of disks yields performance and scalability        Less saturation of I/O bandwidth        Scheduling ("a little bit of computation goes a long way")
Mustafa Uysal (University of Maryland) stresses the importance of a restricted execution environment for application disklets, controlled by a thin disk operating system (DiskOS), which manages scheduling, memory management, and communications. Along with Acharya (UCSB) and Saltz (UMD), Uysal notes that, while disklets can be written in any language, they should not be allowed to initiate I/O, allocate or free memory, or determine the source or destination of a stream of data. These characteristics differentiate Active Disks from Intelligent Disks. Where the former has a thin special-purpose operating system, the latter uses a general OS like Linux. Where the former allows disklets to be written in any programming language, with execution restrictions, the latter provides special stream-processing primitives, and does not impose execution restrictions.
In a performance simulation, Uysal found limited benefit to having more than 32 megabytes of memory available to the Active Disk. Instead, Uysal's simulation indicated the value of processing intermediate results as they arrive (to reduce memory usage and synchronization), and of forwarding partial results on to other processors when out of memory.
Several researchers focus on the use of Active Disks for non-database applications. For example, Lim (University of Minnesota), Kapoor (Valicert), and Wighe (Wind River Systems) use Active Disks to implement a scalable file system.

Asymmetric data streaming architecture having autonomous and asynchronous job processing unit


An automatic system for temporal alignment between a music audio signal and lyrics is provided. The automatic system can prevent accuracy for temporal alignment from being lowered due to the influence of non-vocal sections. Alignment means of the system is provided with a phone model for singing voice that estimates phonemes corresponding to temporal-alignment features or features available for temporal alignment. The alignment means receives temporal-alignment features outputted from temporal-alignment feature extraction means, information on the vocal and non-vocal sections outputted from vocal section estimation means, and a phoneme network, and performs an alignment operation on condition that no phoneme exists at least in non-vocal sections.

Typically, in so-called "Karaoke" equipment, utterance (lyrics) and accompaniment sounds (accompaniments) are temporally synchronized and visually displayed when reproducing or playing back digital music data (music audio signals) recorded in a recording medium such as a compact disc (CD), especially digital music data comprising human voices (e.g. vocals) and non-human sounds (e.g. accompaniments).
In the existing Karaoke equipment, however, accompaniment sounds and vocals of a singer are not exactly synchronized. The lyrics of a song are merely displayed in order on a screen at a tempo or pace planned in the musical score. For this reason, actual timing of utterance often gets of alignment with timing of lyrics displayed on the screen. In addition, synchronization between the vocals and accompaniment sounds is manually performed, thereby requiring a considerable amount of human efforts.
As is typically represented by speech or voice recognition techniques, a technique that analyzes human utterance or speech is conventionally known. This technique is intended to identify uttered portions (lyrics) of digital music data that include vocals alone and do not include accompaniment sounds (which will be hereinafter referred to as "vocals without accompaniments"). With regard to such techniques, some studies have been reported. However, it is extremely difficult to directly apply such speech recognition techniques, which do not take account of the influence given by accompaniment sounds, to commercially available compact disc (CD) recordings or digital music data delivered via a telecommunication network such as the Internet.
One of the studies is directed to vocals accompanied by instrumental sounds and is described in "LyricAlly: Automatic Synchronization of Acoustic Musical Signals and Textual Lyrics" written by Ye Wang, et al. in the proceedings of the 12th ACM International Conference on Multimedia held on 10-15 Oct. 2004 (hereinafter referred to as Non-Patent Reference #1). In this study, the time length of each phoneme duration is learned and vocals are allocated to a plurality of sections (Refer to Non-Patent Reference #1). The technique described in this reference utilizes higher-level information such as beat tracking and detected chorus sections. However, the technique does not take phonologic features (e.g. vowels and consonants) into consideration. As a result, the accuracy is not so high. Due to tight restrictions to the beat and tempo, this technique is not applicable to many kinds of music.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 2001-117582 (hereinafter referred to as Patent Reference #1) discloses a technique of aligning a sequence of phonemes for singing voice or vocals of a user with a sequence of phonemes for vocals of a particular singer using alignment means in Karaoke equipment. However, Patent Reference #1 does not disclose a technique of making temporal alignment between vocal audio signals and lyrics.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 2001-125562 (hereinafter referred to as Patent Reference #2) discloses a technique of extracting a dominant sound audio signal from a mixed sound audio signal including vocals and accompaniment sounds by estimating the pitch of the most dominant sound including a vocal at each time. This technique allows extracting a dominant sound audio signal with reduced accompaniment sounds from the music audio signal.
Further, a technique of reducing accompaniment sounds as is disclosed in Patent Reference #2 is also disclosed in the document entitled "Singer identification based on accompaniment sound reduction and a reliable frame selection" written by Hiromasa Fujihara, Hiroshi Okuno, Masataka Goto. et al. in the Journal Vol. 47, No. 6 of Information Processing Society of Japan, in June 2006 (hereinafter referred to as Non-Patent Reference #2). This document also discloses a technique of extracting a vocal section and a non-vocal section from dominant sound audio signals, using two Gaussian mixture models (GMM) that have learned vocals and non-vocals. The document additionally discloses that LPC-derived mel cepstral coefficients are used as vocal features.
In order to display lyrics that are exactly synchronized with accompaniment sounds, based on the music audio signal comprising human voices (e.g. vocals) and non-human sounds (e.g. accompaniment sounds) as well as lyric information, lyrics having time information are required. In other words, lyrics must be accompanied by time information that indicates how many seconds have elapsed since the start time of music performance at the time that a particular word of the lyrics should be uttered. In the specification, it is referred to as "lyrics tagged with time information".
It is easy to obtain lyrics in a form of text data, or digital information in a text form. A technique has been demanded that allows fully-automated generation of "lyrics tagged with time information" using "lyric text data" and "music audio signal including vocals uttering the lyrics" (digital music data), with practical accuracy.
Speech recognition is useful in temporally aligning lyrics with a music audio signal including accompaniment sounds. However, the inventors of the present invention have studied and found that a section in which vocals are absent (hereinafter referred to as "non-utterance section" or "non-vocal section") has adverse influence, thereby significantly reducing the accuracy of temporal alignment.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic system for temporal alignment between a music audio signal and lyrics, which is capable of controlling the influence of the non-vocal section to reduce the accuracy of temporal alignment, and to provide a method of making the temporal alignment and a computer program used in the system for this purpose.

Automatic system for temporal alignment of music audio signal with lyrics

National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology


A magnetic coupling for a stirrer drive in a high pressure autoclave in which the magnet shaft is in the form of a sleeve-like bush fixed on the end of the stirrer shaft. A portion of the magnet shaft serves as a carrier of segmented permanent magnets on the outside. An inner coupling part, including the magnet shaft, is covered by a hood and the outer coupling part comprises a bell equipped with permanent magnets on the inside. The bell covers the hood.

The invention concerns a permanent magnet type stirrer drive for a high pressure autoclave, where the inner coupling part comprises the magnet shaft equipped with permanent magnets on the outside, the inner coupling part being covered by a hood, the outer coupling part comprising the magnet bell equipped with permanent magnets on the inside, the magnet bell covering the hood.
Such a stirrer drive is known and described by German GBM Pat. No. 1,897,029. The autoclave is closed at the top by a tubular pressure housing. The stirrer shaft bearing is arranged in the housing. In order to meet the requirement of a minimum possible gap between inner and outer magnets, the annular inner magnets are segmented upon the upward stirrer shaft extension and enclosed by the tubular housing which is thin-walled by virtue of its small diameter. In this type of arrangement, the average ratio of the ring magnet diameter to the stirrer shaft diameter is smaller than, or equal to 2.5, while the ratio of the total annular magnet width to the stirrer shaft diameter is larger than 8.
The annular magnets lined up on the stirrer shaft constitute a long shaft-like magnetic coupling for industrial stirrer drives. A bearing must necessarily be provided in the tubular housing for the upper end of the stirrer shaft segmented with magnets, since the shaft would otherwise come into contact with the tubular housing as a result of a possible unbalance and vibrations.
The driving motor is arranged above the magnetic coupling. Due to the length of such a coupling type, the tubular housing will not exhibit great rigidity. In order to avoid undesirable vibration, the motor housing must be attached to the cover of the high-pressure autoclave via supports.


A controller of a liquid discharge apparatus is configured to, in response to receipt of a second signal after receiving a first signal, assign a fixed value to at least one of a liquid amount Vc in a cartridge chamber, a liquid amount Vs in a chamber of the tank, and a total liquid amount Vt being a sum of the liquid amount Vc and the liquid amount Vs.

A known inkjet printer includes a detachably attachable main tank, a sub tank for storing ink supplied from the main tank attached to the inkjet printer, and an image recording unit for recording an image by discharging ink stored in the sub tank. An internal space of the main tank and an internal space of the sub tank each communicate with outside air. Therefore, in response to attachment of the main tank to the inkjet printer, ink moves such that a surface of ink stored in the main tank and a surface of ink stored in the sub tank become at the same level due to a hydraulic pressure difference between the internal space of the main tank and the internal space of the sub tank.


After a polishing process of polishing a glass substrate with an abrasive containing lanthanoid oxides, the glass substrate is subjected to the first and second washing processes. In the first washing process, the polished substrate is washed with a washing solution containing acid and a reducing agent, wherein the acid includes at least nitric acid. In the second washing process, the washed substrate is treated with an aqueous solution of an alkaline detergent. The substrate is suitable for a recording medium.

The present invention relates to a method for cleaning a glass substrate and, more particularly, a glass substrate for use in a magnetic recording disc or a liquid crystal display, to which a high level of cleanliness is required.
In a multi-component glass substrate which is used as glass substrate for a magnetic recording disc or a liquid crystal display, a glass substrate is polished subsequent to formation process of the substrate, with using abrasive such as cerium oxide in order to ensure a high smoothness.
However, when the aforementioned glass substrate is polished with the abrasive, abrasive grains often remain sticking on the substrate surface firmly, which causes problems such as pinhole formation in subsequent processes. The abrasive grains firmly sticked to the substrate surface are very difficult to be removed by washing with water or neutral detergent. Consequently, the substrate has been washed with a liquid agent having etching ability, such as hydrofluoric acid (Japanese patent publication S50-45465A).
However, the hydrofluoric acid described in the above 50-45465 publication is still inadequate for giving a sufficiently clean glass substrate. This is because the glass substrate has a property to be positively charged in hydrofluoric acid solution, while various contamination particles including abrasive grains have a property to be negatively charged in hydrofluoric acid. Therefore, once removed contamination including abrasive grains can be adsorbed again onto the glass substrate, resulting in the glass substrate with insufficient cleanliness.
It is described in xe2x80x9cOptical Glass (by Tetsuro Izumiya, published by Kyoritsu Shuppan) P. 165xe2x80x9d that, when a glass substrate is washed with commercial alkaline detergent only, the contamination by the abrasive grains remains on the substrate surface, while complete removal of contamination accompanies glass corrosion, resulting in the rough substrate surface.
When the glass substrate with the rough surface, or with remaining abrasive grains, is layered with a magnetic film or a conducting film, the resulting disc may have difficulties in reading-out and writing-in, or it may give lettering errors due to discharging.
A magnetic recording device has been reduced in a distance between a magnetic head thereof and the substrate in pursuit of higher recording density, so that the contaminant particles on the substrate surface or the rough surface of the substrate possibly cause a head crush, that is, the head possibly collides with the particles or protrusions on the substrate surface during reading-out/writing-in operation. As a result, the demand for the cleanliness and smoothness of the substrate surface has increased.
Japanese patent publication H9-22885A describes a method to remove abrasive grains of cerium oxide on the substrate surface with using a washing solution containing sulfuric acid-hydrogen peroxide, hydrochloric acid-hydrogen peroxide, or nitric acid. In this method, the zeta-potential of the cerium oxide grains is changed by the above washing solution so that the remaining abrasive grains agglomerate to form larger particles which are easily removed in a subsequent scrubbing-washing process.
The purpose of the method described in the above 9-22885 publication is to agglomerate the cerium oxide particles by means of zeta-potential control in order to make them easily removable in the scrubbing-washing process. This is different from the purpose of the present invention in which cerium oxide removal is achieved by dissolution thereof by an action of a reducing agent and acid. Further, the scrubbing-washing process is not necessary in the method of a present invention, as the particles such as cerium oxide particles are removed by dissolution, while the scrubbing-washing process is indispensable in the method described in the 9-22885 publication.
In addition, the object of the present invention is in the cleaning of the glass substrate, while the object of the method described in the 9-22885 publication is in the cleaning of a semiconductor substrate, without any mention to the glass substrate.
It is an object of the present invention to solve conventional problems as described above, and to provide a method of cleaning a glass substrate of high cleanliness for use in a magnetic disc and in a liquid crystal display, without occurrence of latent flaws and residual contaminant on the substrate surface.
The glass substrate of the present invention has a lanthanoid oxides quantity of less than 50xc3x971010 molecules/cm2 remaining on the substrate surface.
The lanthanoid oxides include cerium oxide, lanthanum oxide, neodymium oxide, and praseodymium oxide. The lanthanoid oxides remaining on the substrate surface is particularly preferable in a range less than 0.5xc3x971010 molecules/cm2.
Such glass substrate having very small quantity of lanthanoid oxides remaining on the substrate surface is extremely preferable to be used as an information recording medium. Further, the substrate according to the present invention has a surface which is not excessively rough. This is also the reason why it is suitable as the information recording medium.
According to the method for cleaning the glass substrate of the present invention, the glass substrate polished with an abrasive containing lanthanoid oxides, and then the substrate is washed with a washing solution containing acid and reducing agent.
The glass composing the substrate of the present invention includes soda lime glass, aluminosilicate glass, borosilicate glass, aluminoborosilicate glass, and crystal glass from these kinds of glass. The aluminosilicate glass is preferable as a glass substrate for magnetic recording discs in respect of weathering property and cost. A preferable composition of aluminosilicate glass is as follows, expressed in molar fraction;
(The sum of MgO, CaO, SrO, BaO should be 2-12 mol %.)
The surface layer of the glass substrate may be modified. For example, the substrate may have a compression stressed surface layer formed by chemical strengthening treatment.
In polishing and washing processes which will be later explained in more detail, the substrate is finished to a surface roughness Ra less than 0.5 nm, and particularly less than 2.5 nm, and to an amount of lanthanoid oxides remaining on the surface of less than 50xc3x971010 molecules/cm2, and particularly less than 0.5xc3x971010 molecules/cm2. When Ra is greater than 0.5 nm, pointed protrusions called asperity are formed on the substrate surface. The substrate of the invention with the smooth surface and the very small quantity of lanthanoid oxides remaining on the surface is extremely preferable as an information recording medium.
In order to polish the substrate, an abrasive containing lanthanoid oxides is used. Examples of the abrasive include an abrasive containing cerium oxide as main component, and a powder abrasive which is produced by pulverizing calcinated natural ore bastnaesite consisting mainly of lanthanoid oxides (such as cerium oxide, lanthanum oxide, neodymium oxide, and praseodymium oxide).
There is no particular limitation in polishing method itself and various polishing apparatus can be used.
Subsequent to the polishing process, the substrate is washed with a washing solution containing acid and a reducing agent. There is no special limitation in the kind of acid, but in respect of dissolving ability to lanthanoid oxides, it is preferable to use at least one selected from nitric acid, sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, sulfamic acid, and phosphoric acid.
It is preferable to use one or more strong acids, particularly sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, or nitric acid. The acid concentration in the washing solution is preferably from 0.001 to 10 mol/L, more preferably from 0.001 to 0.5 mol/L. An acid concentration lower than 0.001 mol/L tends to give insufficient washing effect, and an acid concentration higher than 10 mol/L tends to cause an excessive etching of the substrate surface. It is particularly preferable to use nitric acid at a concentration from 0.001 to 0.5 mol/L, particularly from 0.1 to 0.5 mol/L. A nitric acid concentration lower than 0.1 mol/L may shorten the service life of the washing solution. Nitric acid is more preferable when it is used together with a reducing agent, because in this combination, the acid can rapidly dissolve lanthanoid oxides (such as cerium oxide, lanthanum oxide, neodymium oxide, and praseodymium oxide) which are the main components of the abrasive. In this case, a nitric acid with acid concentration as low as 0.1 N maintains a sufficient washing ability, which is preferable in respect of emission treatment.
Lanthanoid oxides can be dissolved to some extent in the washing solution which contains nitric acid, sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, sulfamic acid, or phosphoric acid without a reducing agent. However, when a reducing agent is added in the washing solution, lanthanoid oxides are reduced to become easily dissolvable. Nitric acid is particularly preferable in that the acid, which usually behaves as oxidizing agent, changes to nitrous acid by the action of reducing agent, to develop a full dissolving ability acting in synergism with the reduction of lanthanoid oxides, while the corrosion of stainless steel often used as washing tank material is kept low. The reducing agent preferably used for the present invention is at least one of such compounds as hydrogen, hydrogen peroxide, boron sodium hydroxide, hydroxylamin sulfate, hydroxylamin hydrochloride, sodium nitrite, sodium sulfite, sodium bisulfite, sodium bisulfate, sodium sulfide, ammonium sulfide, formic acid, ascorbic acid, oxalic acid, acetaldehyde, hydrogen iodide, sodium hydrogen phosphate, disodium hydrogen phosphate, sodium phosphite, ferrous sulfate, and tin(IV) chloride, as well as chelating agents (e.g. oxide of catechol genus) possessing reducing property. Ascorbic acid is particularly preferable, also acting as chelating agent.
Sodium sulfite, sodium bisulfite, and oxalic acid are preferable reducing agents next to ascorbic acid. An example of preferable chelating agent other than ascorbic acid is muconic acid.
The concentration of the reducing agent in the washing solution is preferably from 1 to 5 mol/L for hydrogen peroxide, and 0.0001 to 0.1 mol/L for other reducing agents.
In a system where hydrogen peroxide is used, a concentration of hydrogen peroxide lower than 1 mol/L gives too low dissolving ability, while a concentration higher than 5 mol/L causes severe bubbling during supersonic wave application due to decomposition of hydrogen peroxide, which decreases the washing effect. In systems where other reducing agents are used, a concentration of reducing agent lower than 0.0001 mol/L gives too low dissolving ability, while a concentration higher than 0.1 mol/L may cause sedimentation of undissolved reducing agent, or may shorten the service life of the washing solution.
In a method for washing the substrate using this washing solution, the substrate can be washed with pure water shower to remove loosely sticking foreign substance, before dipping the substrate into washing solution under application of supersonic wave. There is no special limitation in the temperature during the washing, but it is preferably higher than 20xc2x0 C. from the viewpoint of promoting the dissolving reaction of abrasive grains, and is preferably 20-80xc2x0 C. in consideration of evaporation of the solution and other factors.
Subsequent to the washing with this washing solution, the substrate can be washed with aqueous solution of an alkaline detergent. The preferable alkaline detergents are such compounds as sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, sodium carbonate, potassium carbonate, ammonia, and tetramethylammoniumhydroxide. The alkaline detergent solution can additionally contain such agents as surfactants and chelating agents.
Using only the washing solution containing acid and reducing agent, a sufficiently smooth surface of the substrate can be obtained. However, abrasive grains possibly embedded during the polishing process into the surface layer of the glass substrate can leave in minute recesses after the dissolution of the abrasive grains by the washing solution. Washing with alkaline detergent can exert a mild etching effect on the substrate surface to level the aforementioned minute recesses, achieving a higher smoothness. Further, such effects can be also obtained as an effect to increase the washing degree of the glass substrate due to an electrostatic repelling force acting between the glass substrate and foreign substance particles deposited on the surface, and an effect to remove a deteriorated surface layer called a weathering layer.
There are no particular limitations in the concentrations of alkaline detergent, surfactant and chelating agent. However, it is preferable that an alkaline detergents is used at a concentration from 0.0001 to 5 weight %. When alkaline detergent concentration is lower than 0.0001 weight %, pH value of the aqueous solution can come close to 7 under the influence of carbon dioxide gas in the atmosphere. An alkaline detergent concentration higher than 5 weight % is not only costly in itself, but it increases the effluent treatment cost. The surfactant concentration is preferably from 0.001 to 1 weight %, and the chelating agent concentration is preferably from 0.001 to 1 weight %.
This washing process with alkaline detergent can be followed by a washing process with an aqueous solution containing hydrofluoric acid or hydrosilicofluoric acid with a pH of 1 to 4, or an aqueous solution containing fluoride compounds adjusted to a pH of 1 to 7. By this washing process, even abrasive grains deeply embedded in polishing scratch can be completely removed. Hydrofluoric acid or hydrosilicofluoric acid solution has a sufficient etching effect against glass at a pH of 1 to 4, but its etching effect becomes insufficient over pH 4. Aqueous fluorides solution adjusted to pH from 1 to 7 can be preferably prepared by adding a pH adjusting agent to aqueous solution of hydrofluoric acid, ammonium bifluoride, or silicohydrofluoric acid, thus adjusting pH to a value between 2 and 7. As the pH adjusting agent, alkali compounds or fluoride compounds can be used. Alkali compounds preferably used are at least one of such compounds as tetramethylammoniumhydroxide, sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, sodium carbonate, potassium carbonate, or ammonia. Fluoride compounds preferably used are at least one of such compounds as sodium fluoride, potassium fluoride, ammonium fluoride, ammonium borofluoride, or ammonium silicofluoride. Addition of pH adjusting agents provides the washing solution with a sufficient etching ability against glass at a pH of 2 to 7, the glass etching effect becoming insufficient over pH 7.
As the pH adjusting agent, alkali compounds or fluoride compounds can be used. Alkali compounds preferably used are at least one of such compounds as tetramethylammoniumhydroxide, sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, sodium carbonate, potassium carbonate, or ammonia. Fluoride compounds preferably used are at least one of such compounds as sodium fluoride, potassium fluoride, ammonium fluoride, ammonium borofluoride, or ammonium silicofluoride. Addition of pH adjusting agents provides the washing solution with a sufficient etching ability against glass at a pH of 2 to 7, the glass etching effect becoming insufficient over pH 7.


An engine compression brake control device is disclosed. The control device is electronic and prevents activation of the engine compression brakes during operating states wherein undesirable conditions will result if the engine brakes are active. The electronic control device monitors various conditions and activates the engine brakes only if all of the following conditions are simultaneously detected: a valid gear ratio is detected; the driver has requested or enabled engine compression brake operation; the clutch pedal is out; the throttle is at a minimum engine speed position; and the electronic controller is not presently attempting to execute an electronically controlled final drive gear shift.

Engine compression brakes provide increased braking capability for heavy duty vehicles thereby decreasing stopping distances as opposed to those vehicles not having compression brakes. An engine compression brake is essentially an engine that, during operating conditions, is deprived of fuel and transformed momentarily into an air compressor. The deprivation of fuel to the engine produces additional drag on the power train and thus serves to supply additional braking capability over and above that available through the conventional vehicular braking system.
If an engine compression brake is included in a vehicle having sophisticated electronic control systems for control of clutch engagement, throttle position, gear shifting of a manual/automatic transmission and cruise control operation, certain operating conditions must be anticipated to prevent serious injury to the driver and persons within nearby vehicles. For example, during a normal, manual downshift process with the engine compression brakes activated, the engine compression brakes should be activated only when the control system senses the throttle lever is in a minimum engine speed position and the clutch is engaged (i.e., pedal out). Another example of an undesirable condition arises during an electronically controlled shift between two final drive gear ratios when the clutch pedal must be out and the throttle is electronically controlled by the control system. A typical engine compression brake controller of the prior art would activate the engine brake in response to the second set of conditions when an electronically controlled transmission gear shift operation is occurring.
Further difficulties encountered with electronic gear shifting occur if an electronic shift is unsuccessful and the transmission is placed in neutral. In addition, for an electronic control system to command the engine to synchronous rpm speeds during electronic controlled gear shifting, the engine brakes must be disabled else the engine is deprived of fuel.
Thus, a controller for monitoring operating conditions of a vehicle and disabling engine compression brake operation to prevent undesirable and hazardous results is needed for use with electronic vehicle control systems.

Method and apparatus for control of engine compression brakes before, during and after an electronically controlled gear shift


Disclosed is a personal care composition comprising turbostratic boron nitride, porous silica having a specific surface area of higher than 300 m2/g, and a cosmetically acceptable carrier.

Ageing brings with it many changes to the appearance of skin. Of particular concern to individuals wishing to maintain a youthful appearance is the reduction or elimination of skin imperfections such as wrinkles, age spots or general unevenness of skin tone.
Thus there has been considerable effort by the cosmetics industry to provide compositions which can mask or at least attenuate skin imperfections. Often this is achieved by creation of a matte effect using materials such as talc, silica, kaolin and other inorganic particulates. These inorganic particulates achieve a matte effect due to their optical properties.
An alternative approach is referred to as achieving blurring effect. Here the incoming light is distorted by scattering (lensing). Components of the cosmetic composition in this mechanism operate as lenses to bend and twist light in a variety of directions.
Traditional approaches, unfortunately, either hide imperfections in the absence of radiance or result in radiance and healthy glow but with aesthetically displeasing skin appearance, for example, through enhanced visibility of skin topography.
We have recognised that there remains a need to provide a compositions which are capable of giving better blurring effect to skin, while maintaining preferably improving lightness. Therefore, after extensive experimentation, we developed a personal care composition comprising turbostratic boron nitride, porous silica and a cosmetically acceptable carrier, which has a higher blurring efficacy without compromise of lightness.

Skin care composition comprising turbostratic boron nitride