An inflation valve fitting adapted for use with the typical inflation valve assembly found on large inflatable articles. The fitting allows inflation of articles using a conventional air hose with and end piece used to inflate tires, such as the air hoses available at most gasoline service stations. The fitting includes a body member having one threaded end and the other end being closed except for a small central opening. An auxiliary inflation valve, such as those used on automobile tires, has an enlarged section that frictionally engages the interior of the body member and a smaller terminal end that extends through the central opening. The terminal end selectively receives the end piece of the conventional air hose to rapidly and conveniently inflate the large inflatable article.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of accessories for inflatable articles, and more particularly to an inflation valve fitting that allows inflation using a conventional pressurized air hose used to inflate tires.
2. Description of Related Art
Large inflatable articles, such as those towed behind boats and snowmobiles, require a large volume of air to completely inflate. The typical inflation valve assembly used with these inflatable articles includes a large diameter threaded end that receives a complementary fitting of a small electrically powered portable air compressor.
While all of the aforementioned prior art constructions are more than adequate for the basic purpose and function for which they have been specifically designed, they are uniformly deficient with respect to their failure to provide a simple, efficient, and practical device that allows inflation of a large inflatable using a conventional air hose for inflating tires that is available at most gasoline service stations.
As a consequence of the foregoing situation, there has existed a longstanding need for a new and improved air valve adapter and the provision of such a construction is a stated objective of the present invention.


Methane hydrate gas is trapped on the bottom of the sea or on the bottom of the water without releasing it into the open air. A sheet (flexible sheet) 2 is formed and is sunk on the bottom of the sea or on the bottom of the water to cover a predetermined area. The sheet 2 is spread on the bottom of the sea or on the bottom of the water to trap the methane hydrate gas inside the sheet 2 as the inside of the sheet 2 is lifted up by the buoyancy of methane gasified in the area on where the sheet 2 is spread.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of collecting methane hydrate gas hoarded in the bottom of the sea or in the bottom of the water, and an apparatus therefor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various methods have heretofore been studied for collecting methane hydrate gas. There has been known, for example, a method according to which hot seawater is injected into a methane hydrate layer in the bottom of the sea to change the temperature condition for the methane hydrate into a temperature at which the methane hydrate is decomposed into water and a methane hydrate gas, and the decomposed methane hydrate gas only is transported to a liquefying facility on the sea and is liquefied. There has further been known an apparatus for collection wherein a pair of transport pipes are extended from the facility on the sea to the methane hydrate layer, the seawater is injected into the methane hydrate layer through one transport pipe, and the other transport pipe is connected to the liquefying facility to collect the methane hydrate gas. As is well known, the methane hydrate is a product having a composition CH.sub.4. 6 to 7 H.sub.2 O and having affinity to water, and decomposes under a pressure of 8 kg/cm.sup.2 at 0.degree. C. producing heat of decomposition of 100 kcal/kg. However, it is difficult to correctly probe the pressure in the methane hydrate layer and the degree of stability of the layer from above the water or the sea. The transport pipes that are carelessly driven causes the methane hydrate gas to erupt on a large scale permitting a useful gas resource to be released into the open air accelerating the warming-up of the atmosphere.
Therefore, a technical problem is arousing that must be solved for trapping the methane hydrate gas on the bottom of the sea or on the bottom of the water using a flexible sheet. It is a first object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problem.
Another object of the present invention is to collect the methane hydrate gas trapped in the sheet by transporting it to above the water or the sea.

Method of collecting methane hydrate gas and apparatus therefor


A method and hand-held scanning apparatus for three-dimensional scanning of an object is described. The hand-held self-referenced scanning apparatus has a light source for illuminating retro-reflective markers, the retro-reflective markers being provided at fixed positions on or around the object, a photogrammetric high-resolution camera, a pattern projector for providing a projected pattern on a surface of the object; at least a pair of basic cameras, the basic camera cooperating with light sources, the projected pattern and at least a portion of the retro-reflective markers being apparent on the 2D images, a frame for holding all components in position within the hand-held apparatus, the frame having a handle, the frame allowing support and free movement of the scanning apparatus by a user.

Three-dimensional scanning and digitization of the surface geometry of objects is commonly used in many industries and services and their applications are numerous. A few examples of such applications are: 3D inspection and measurement of shape conformity in industrial production systems, digitization of clay models for industrial design and styling applications, reverse engineering of existing parts with complex geometry, interactive visualization of objects in multimedia applications, three-dimensional documentation of artwork and artefacts, human body scanning for biometry or better adaptation of orthoses.
The shape of an object is scanned and digitized using a ranging sensor that measures the distance between the sensor and a set of points on the surface. Different principles have been developed for optical range sensors (see F. Blais, "A Review of 20 Years of Range Sensor Development", in proceedings of SPIE-IS&T Electronic Imaging, SPIE Vol. 5013, 2003, pp. 62-76) that make it possible to capture a dense set of measurements on the object surface. From these measurements, three dimensional coordinates of points on the target surface are obtained in the sensor reference frame. From a given viewpoint, the ranging sensor can only acquire distance measurements on the visible portion of the surface. To digitize the whole object, the sensor is therefore moved to a plurality of viewpoints in order to acquire sets of range measurements that cover the entire surface. A model of the object's surface geometry can be built from the whole set of range measurements provided in the same global coordinate system.
While acquiring the measurements, the sensor can be moved around the object using a mechanical system or can be hand-held for more versatility. Portable hand-held systems are especially useful for rapid scanning and for objects that are scanned on site. Using a hand-held system, the main challenge is to continuously estimate the position and orientation (6 degrees of freedom) of the apparatus in a global coordinate system fixed relative to the object. This can be accomplished using a positioning device coupled to the range scanner. The positioning device can be electromagnetic (see for example products by Polhemus), mechanical (see for example products by Faro), optical (see for example products by Steinbichler) or ultrasonic (see Arsenault et al., "Portable apparatus for 3-dimensional scanning", U.S. Pat. No. 6,508,403 B2, Jan. 21, 2003). Using a positioning device significantly increases the complexity and cost of the apparatus. It is also cumbersome or, in some cases, noisy enough to limit the quality of the integrated data.
To avoid the usage of an external positioning device, an alternative consists of using the 3D measurements collected on a rigid object in order to compute the relative position and orientation between the apparatus and the object. It is even possible to hold and displace the object in hand while scanning (see S. Rusinkiewicz, O. Hall-Holt and M. Levoy, "Real-Time 3D Model Acquisition", in ACM Transactions on Graphics, vol. 21, no. 3, July 2002, pp. 438-446, F. Blais, M. and G. Godin, "Accurate 3D Acquisition of Freely Moving Objects," in proc. of the Second International Symposium on 3D Data Processing, Visualization and Transmission. Thessaloniki, Greece. Sep. 6-9, 2004. NRC 47141). This idea of integrating the computation of the position directly into the system while exploiting measurement is interesting but these systems depend completely on the geometry of the object and it is not possible to ensure that an accurate estimate of the pose be maintained. For example, objects whose geometry varies smoothly or objects with local symmetries including spherical, cylindrical or nearly planar shapes, lead to non constant quality in positioning.
To circumvent this limitation, one can exploit principles of photogrammetry by using fixed points or features that can be re-observed from various viewpoints in the scene. These positioning features can be natural points in the scene but in many cases their density or quality is not sufficient and positioning markers are set in the scene. One may thus collect a set of images and model the 3D set of positioning features in a same global coordinate system. One can further combine this principle using a camera with a 3D surface scanner. The complementarity of photogrammetry and range sensing has been exploited (see products by GOM mbH, CogniTens Ltd. and Steinbichler Optotechnik GmbH) where a white light projector is used with cameras that observe the illuminated scene including positioning features (markers). Using this type of system, a photogrammetric model of the set of markers is measured and built beforehand, using a digital camera. Then, the 3D sensor apparatus is displaced at a set of fixed positions to measure the surface geometry. The range images can be registered to the formerly constructed model of positioning features since the 3D sensor apparatus can detect the positioning markers.
An interesting idea is to integrate within the same system, a hand-held scanner projecting a laser light pattern along with the capability of self-referencing while simultaneously observing positioning features. Hebert (see P. Hebert, "A Self-Referenced Hand-Held Range Sensor". in proc. of the 3rd International Conference on 3D Digital Imaging and Modeling (3DIM 2001), 28 May-1 Jun. 2001, Quebec City, Canada, pp. 5-12) proposed to project laser points on the object to be scanned with an external fixed projector to help position the hand-held sensor. This type of system can be improved by making it capable of building a model of the positioning feature points dynamically. Moreover, the 3D range scanner device was improved to simultaneously capture 3D surface points along with positioning features obtained from retro-reflective markers (see US Patent Publication No. 2008/0201101).
While the sensor projects a laser pattern to recover dense 3D surface points, it also projects light from LED in order to recover a signal on the light detectors, arising from the reflection of light on the retro-reflective markers that are fixed in the observed scene. The system can then simultaneously build a 3D model of these reference markers for positioning while acquiring a dense set of 3D surface measurements.
Nevertheless, there are constraints related to the usage of such a hand-held system. In order to obtain high accuracy for 3D surface measurements, the sensing device must acquire data while being as close as possible to the surface to be scanned. This imposes a reduced field of view on the object and consequently, the distance between retro-reflective markers must be reduced. For larger objects such as vehicles or architectural structures that exceed the working volume size of one cubed meter, this becomes not optimal when it is necessary to scan the whole object surface or when it is necessary to scan sections of these objects but in a common global coordinate system. Actually, positioning errors accumulate and affect the accuracy of the recovered 3D surface model.

Hand-held self-referenced apparatus for three-dimensional scanning


A long life cleaning blade for image forming apparatus is formed of a rubber elastomer which contains, or has adhered on the surface thereof, an antistatic agent in an amount effective to prevent electrification.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cleaning blade and, more particularly, to a cleaning blade attached to a cleaning apparatus of an image forming apparatus such as a dry-type electrophotographic copying machine or electrophotographic printer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, image formation by an image forming apparatus is obtained by firstly scanning the manuscript with an optical system and exposing a photosensitive drum on which a latent image is formed, and then allowing toner to adhere only to the latent image portion in a developing apparatus. The toner image is transferred to paper which has been fed into the machine and fixed in a fixing apparatus, and then the paper on which the image formation has been completed is ejected from the apparatus. From the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum after completion of the image transfer, the remaining electric charge is removed by a discharger. Then, the remaining toner is removed from the drum by a cleaning blade in a cleaning apparatus, and the photosensitive drum is ready to repeat again the image formation cycle. The toner removed and recovered in the cleaning apparatus is recycled and used again in the developing apparatus.
In the cleaning apparatus of the image forming apparatus as described above, a cleaning blade comprising a rubber elastomer (such as urethane rubber) is widely used now, since it lends itself well to small-sized designs, the assuredness with which cleaning can be effected and the re-usability of the recovered toner.
On the other hand, in accordance with the tendency in recent years of driving image forming apparatus at high speed and to reduce maintenance, various consumptive parts of the apparatus are required to have a longer life and, as a matter of course, many proposals to elongate the life of cleaning blades have been presented.
However, the life of cleaning blades is short compared with that of other parts, because it is necessary to increase the pressure of the blades against the photosensitive drum to improve their cleaning ability. The increased pressure on the blades causes excessive wear. To prevent the wear, the pressure on the blades has to be decreased, and conversely the decreased pressure results in a lessening of the cleaning ability. Thus, it would be the ideal situation to diminish the wear without causing a lessening of the cleaning ability of the blades. On the other hand, it is well known that toner particles serve as a lubricant on the contact surface between the blade and the photosensitive drum which acts naturally to prevent wear. Therefore, the problem can be solved by utilizing the service of this lubricant to its maximum.
At the start of an operation just after exchanging the cleaning blade with a new one, however, adherence of the toner to the surface of the blade edge is still insufficient and the resin powder particles, which have been applied to the new blade to protect its surface, scatter simultaneously with the rotation of the photosensitive drum because of the repulsive force due to frictional electrification and the centrifugal force due to its rotation. Thus, in the interval between when a protecting layer of toner particles or resin powder particles are not present on the blade surface, tear breaking arises on both ends of terminal portions of the blade edge surface, as shown in FIG. 5, on account of the large frictional force. Therefore, it is important that the above-mentioned resin powder particles are caused to adhere to the blade edge surface as long as possible and that the toner particles are caused to adhere to the blade edge surface from the beginning. The biggest reason why the resin powder particles scatter, and the toner particles hardly adhere, is due to the fact that the cleaning blade is frictionally electrified as it is pressed onto the photosensitive drum and repulses these particles.
For the purpose of preventing such electrification of the cleaning blades, there have been proposed Japanese Patent Publications Nos. SHO 44-2034, SHO 56-51347, etc., in which cleaning blades are made electroconductive and grounded.
However, the cleaning blades of the above Japanese Patent Publications Nos. SHO 44-2034, SHO 56-51347, etc., have a defect also in that, when they are used in the so-called Carlson process with a selenium series photosensitive drum, an organic photosensitive drum, an amorphous silicon photosensitive drum, or the like, it follows that the surface of the photosensitive drum is grounded in the cleaning step and the electrification on the photosensitive drum becomes difficult in the next step. Also in a method of applying a definite voltage without grounding, there is the problem that it requires other apparatus, i.e., power source parts increasing the apparatus size and complexity.
The purpose of the present invention is to reduce these inherent defects, as mentioned above, by providing a long-life cleaning blade which is free from the wear of the blade edge surface and, particularly, from the tear breaking on both terminal portions of the edge surface, while improving the cleaning ability, and without requiring any other apparatus, such as power source parts.

Cleaning blade with a surface active antistatic agent


This maintenance trolley (17) for the air intake (9) of the nacelle of an aircraft turbojet engine is notable in that it comprises a base (19) and a platform (23) cantilever-mounted on this base (19) and designed to enter said air intake (9) without contact therewith.

As is known per se, an aircraft turbojet engine nacelle comprises an upstream part commonly known as the "air intake", followed by a central part and a downstream part.
The downstream part envelops the engine part of the turbojet, the central part envelops the fan of this turbojet, and the air intake channels external air toward the fan then toward the engine.
Certain maintenance operations, such as checking the state of the fan blades, require an operator to enter the air intake.
Such entry is tricky, firstly, because it is performed in a region that is not flat and in which the operator may have difficulty in keeping his balance, and also because it may, under the weight of the operator, lead to damage to certain sensitive components positioned inside the air intake, such as acoustic absorption panels.

Aircraft turbojet engine nacelle air intake maintenance trolley


An apparatus and method for pet hygiene management that facilitates the collecting and disposing of pet excrement. The present invention comprises a tube assembly with a plurality of bands at one end for holding, opening and closing a receptacle into which pet excrement is deposited. The apparatus can also be provided with a positioning support and wheel assembly that facilitates the placement and positioning of the receptacle near the pet during the use of the apparatus.

A pet owner, in addition to being responsible for the pet, is responsible for cleaning up after the pet. The usual household pet is either a cat or a dog. In either case the excrement from such pet must or should be collected and properly disposed of by the pet owner or pet caretaker. Many municipalities and private governing bodies, such as condominium associations have ordinances and rules concerning the cleaning up of pet excrements. At best such responsibility is not pleasant and if not done right, besides being messy, can also be unhealthful.
Prior art devices and methods address the clean-up problem in several ways. Housings or boxes, such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,394,835, 5,178, 100, or 5,178,099 require the pet to enter some portion of the housing or box prior to its use. Such devices require extensive training of the pet as well as space requirements for the apparatus itself. Another device is a pad laid on the ground or other suitable surface upon which the pet deposits its excrement as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,178,426. The pad is then folded and disposed of by the pet caretaker. This device, although more portable than the box or housing, still requires the pet to be trained to stand on the pad to use it. A third solution to the pet clean-up problem is the "pouch and harness" device. Such device entails the use of a harness assembly that holds a pouch over or near the pet's anal opening the collection of pet excrement. Such devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,502,417, 5,315,960, 5,386,802, 5,386,801, and 5,427,059. Such devices require the pet caretaker to affix the harness to the pet each time that the device is to be used; in other words, each time the pet is going to excrete. The alternative to watching the pet for signs of the devices's need is to leave the harness assembly on the pet at all times. In addition, the pet has to be trained to accept the usage of the harness.
The prior an devices and methods do not fill the need for a lightweight, easily used pet excrement collection device that does not require pet training, can be used without attaching any assembly or apparatus to the pet, can be used anywhere the pet and the pet caretaker are together. The prior art devices and methods do not facilitate the disposal of pet excrement in a clean, convenient, sanitary and efficient manner.

Pet hygiene management apparatus and method


A system for creating generating a Maven project that functions as a reusable API in an application network is provided. The Maven project is defined as a REST API. The system has a hardware processor configured to perform a predefined set of basic operations in response to receiving a corresponding input, a generator in communication with the hardware processor, the generator configured to create code artifacts to communicate to a SOAP or REST API based on the user input, wherein the generator is further configured to create data mappings to map the differences between fields and data format languages defined by the schema definitions. A method for generating a REST API is also disclosed.

An integration layer enables architecture to move away from point-to-point integration, making applications less tightly coupled, more agile and easier to maintain. API-led connectivity is an approach that defines methods for connecting assets using reusable API building blocks. The approach is typically referred to as the "application network". Such building blocks include but are not limited to mapping to Simple Object Access protocol (SOAP) and Representational State Transfer (REST) API services.
SOAP was designed to overcome the limitations of binary message passing over the Internet. Instead, it relies on text messages encoded as XML. It is an IETF standard that is supplemented by several other Web services standards such as WS-Atomic Transactions, WS-Reliable Messaging, WS-Security and so on. Manually creating requests and parsing responses in SOAP-XML suffers from high complexity. The advent of .NET languages hide the complexity of dealing with XML directly. However, integration platforms deal with raw protocols, forcing developers to deal with the complexities of XML and Web Service Definition Language (WSDL) which is the format for describing XML format.
REST was developed to overcome developers' objections to the difficulty of using SOAP, especially when coding in languages which many of the integration platforms are developed in, which requires creating complex XML structures over and over. Rather than relying on XML, REST relies on the use of URLs and HTTP verbs such as GET, POST, PUT and DELETE to execute data transactions. Furthermore, there is no requirement in REST for service responses to be presented in XML, format. REST is agnostic in this regard, so JSON, CSV, XML or any text format can be used enabling developers to choose a format most appropriate for the application and client device capabilities.
The replacement of SOAP services is something that is not likely to happen for most businesses. Like other legacy systems, business usually end up wrapping SOAP services with REST interfaces to make integration less complex. This poses several challenges for developers, as often SOAP services can be very large and can require thousands of lines of mapping.
Furthermore, mapping between two different interfaces whether that be SOAP or REST can require a lot of field mapping and this type of work is often tedious and open to human mistake.
There are some tools that exist to make the generation of these services in the application network easier to develop. However, there is no "one tool" that can do this, and furthermore, for some parts of the development there are no tools, and thus require hand-coding—for example, creating a JSON Schema modeled on a WSDL definition. This is a very difficult task for most developers and usually ends up being developed by hand.
Therefore, what is needed is a system or tool that obviates the above-recited problems.

System and method for generating API devlopment code for integrating platforms


A new Anthurium plant named ‘ANTHEUDAM’ particularly distinguished by having large, shiny and strongly blistered, bright red, cordate and very durable spathes that retain the original color for a very long period of time, dark, elliptical cordate durable leaves, white spadix with yellow-orange tips, early and rich flowering continuously through the year, and a plant height of 45.0 cm to 50.0 cm is disclosed.

The present invention comprises a new and distinct variety of Anthurium, botanically known as Anthurium andreanum L., and hereinafter referred to by the variety name 'ANTHEUDAM'. The new Anthurium plant is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the inventor in Bleiswijk, the Netherlands. The objective of this breeding program was to create a new 45.0 cm to 50.0 cm height plant with large, shiny and strongly blistered, bright red, cordate and durable spathes.
The new variety originated from a cross-pollination made in November 2008 in Bleiswijk, The Netherlands. The female parent was a red Anthurium pot plant designated '10520-01' (unpatented), and the male parent was a red Anthurium pot plant designated '9863-01' (unpatented).
A single plant was selected from the progeny of the stated cross in September 2010 and has been asexually reproduced repeatedly by tissue culture in Bleiswijk, The Netherlands over a 7-year period. The present invention has been found to retain its distinctive characteristics through successive asexual propagations.
Plant Breeder's Rights for this variety have been applied for in the European Union on Nov. 24, 2015. 'ANTHEUDAM' has not been made publicly available or sold anywhere in the world more than one year prior to the effective filing date of this application.


An architecture for a geographic database that supports the identification and use of names for intersections of roads located in a geographic region, and methods for use and formation thereof. The geographic database includes data that represent components of a road network in a geographic region. The geographic database includes a first plurality of data entities each of which represents an intersection of roads in the road network and a second plurality of data entities each of which represents a name of one of the components of the road network. The geographic database includes a third plurality of data entities each of which associates one of the first plurality of data entities with one of the second plurality of data entities. The third plurality of data entities are referenced by other data entities in the geographic database and by indices to allow a navigation application program using the geographic database to identify intersections of roads in the geographic region by name and to use the name of an intersection for the purpose of location identification and route guidance. Also disclosed is an improved process for forming substitute data records to represent complex physical geographic features thereby facilitating operation of a navigation system by reducing processing requirements for certain functions.

The present invention relates to a system and method for facilitating access to and use of geographic data used with a navigation application program that provides navigating features and functions to an end-user, and more particularly, the present invention relates to a geographic database, and an architecture therefor, that provides for the identification and use of named intersections so that a navigation application program using the geographic database can accommodate identification and use of named intersections thereby facilitating certain functions for an end-user of the navigation application program and enhancing performance of the navigation system. The present invention also relates to an improved process for forming substitute data records to represent complex physical geographic features, thereby facilitating operation of a navigation system by reducing processing requirements for certain functions.
Computer-based navigation application programs are available that provide end-users (such as drivers of vehicles in which the navigation systems are installed) with various navigating functions and features. For example, some navigation application programs are able to determine an optimum route to travel by roads between locations in a geographic region. Using input from an end-user, and optionally from equipment that can determine one's physical location (such as a GPS system), a navigation application program can examine various routes between two locations to determine an optimum route to travel from a starting location to a destination location in a geographic region. The navigation application program may then provide the end-user with information about the optimum route in the form of instructions that identify the maneuvers required to be taken by the end-user to travel from the starting location to the destination location. If the navigation system is located in an automobile, the instructions may take the form of audio instructions that are provided along the way as the end-user is traveling the route. Some navigation application programs are able to show detailed maps on computer displays outlining routes to destinations, the types of maneuvers to be taken at various locations along the routes, locations of certain types of features, and so on.
In order to provide these and other navigating functions, the navigation application program uses one or more detailed databases that include data which represent physical features in a geographic region. The detailed database may include data representing the roads and intersections in a geographic region and also may include information relating to the represented the roads and intersections in a geographic region, such as turn restrictions at intersections, speed limits along the roads, street names of the various roads, address ranges along the various roads, and so on.
One difficulty in providing geographic data for use by a navigation application program relates to the efficient utilization of the available computer resources of the navigation system on which the navigation application program is run. Computerbased navigation application programs are provided on various platforms including some with relatively limited computer hardware resources. For example, navigation systems may be located in vehicles or may be hand-held. These types of navigation systems may have relatively limited computer resources, such as limited memory and relatively slow I/O. In order to provide a high a level of functionality in such systems, it is required that the available computer resources be used efficiently.
The limited resources of some navigation systems can affect the ability of these types of navigation systems to provide desired functions, especially when using a geographic database that includes a relatively high level of detail. For example, a geographic database can include data that accurately represent all the physical geographic features that form a complex intersection in a geographic region, including all the ramps, entrances, exits, internal pathway links (and geographic coordinates thereof), turn restrictions between links, speed limits, and so on. However, for some complex intersections, a relatively large amount of data is necessary to represent all the actual physical features of the intersection. Handling such large amounts of data may adversely affect the performance of navigation systems with limited resources.
Another consideration related to the use of geographic data by navigation systems is that given the relatively large size of the geographic database necessary to provide a desired level of functionality to the end-user, all the data records for an entire geographic region cannot be loaded into the memory of the navigation system at the same time. This is especially true for navigation system platforms with limited resources, such as systems installed in vehicles or hand-held systems. Due to the limited memory resources of these navigation systems, it is necessary to load geographic data as needed from a storage medium, such as a CD-ROM disk, into the memory of the navigation system for use by the navigation application program. Unfortunately, as mentioned above, in these types of systems, I/O access from a storage medium may also be relatively slow. Thus, the relatively limited memory resources combined with the relatively slow I/O can limit the performance of some types of navigation systems, resulting in slow response. Aside from being undesirable, slow response in a navigation system may render the system useless for its intended purpose in certain circumstances. For example, if the navigation system is installed in a vehicle, the driver may require information from the navigation system about a desired route in a matter of seconds in order to utilize the information while driving. If the navigation system requires more than several seconds to calculate a route, the driver may have moved beyond the point at which the routing information provided by the navigation system is relevant. Therefore, it is important that navigation systems operate efficiently in order to provide navigating information relatively quickly.
Navigation application programs may also be run on computer platforms that have in general greater memory resources and faster I/O, such as personal computers networks. Although these systems may have more and faster resources, the considerations related to the efficient use of geographic data still apply, but on a larger scale. With these types of systems, even greater functionality can be provided if the limitations imposed by memory size and I/O are minimized.
Techniques have been devised or implemented to improve navigation system performance by organizing, structuring, or arranging the geographic database or the data in the database in particular ways. Because a navigation system uses geographic data in certain known and expected ways to perform known functions, the geographic data can be organized, structured, or arranged in a manner that facilitates their use in these known ways by the navigation system.
When an end-user uses a navigation system to find a route between a starting destination and a desired destination, the end-user may be required to provide input to the navigation system identifying the desired destination (and possibly a starting location). The navigation system may provide suitable user-interface hardware, such as a keypad, a keyboard, a touch-sensitive screen, voice recognition equipment, and so on, by which the end-user may input this information to the navigation system. The navigation application also includes suitable user-interface program that enables the end-user to identify the desired destination or starting location to the navigation system. Navigation system programming may provide various ways by which the end-user can identify the desired destination or starting location. One way that an end-user may identify a desired location to the navigation system is by street address. If the navigation system uses a positioning system, such as a GPS system or a dead-reckoning system, to determine a present position, the starting location of a route may be obtained from the positioning system. After a starting position and a desired destination have been identified to the navigation system, appropriate programming in the navigation system calculates one or more routes between these two locations.
A potential disadvantage of requiring an end-user to identify a desired destination location by street address is that the end-user may not know the street address of the desired destination. For example, an end-user may want the navigation system to determine a route to a museum but does not know the street address of the museum.
Some navigation systems allow an end-user to identify a destination by means other than a street address. An end-user may identify a desired destination location or starting location to the navigation system by first querying the navigation system for a particular known point-of-interest by name or type and then selecting the desired point-of-interest from a result set provided by the navigation system to the end-user. In order to provide these kinds of features to an end-user, the navigation system may use a oeographic database that supports these kinds of searches.
By providing this kind of functionality, navigation systems can provide useful features to end-users. However, there is still a need for improvement. One area in which there exists a need for improvement is in accommodating different ways by which locations are identified or used. In many geographic regions, people have developed different ways to identify locations and to provide directions to locations. in many regions, it is common to refer to well known intersections by name. The intersection name may be an official name or may be a name that has developed over the years by common usage. One kind of intersection that is commonly named is a roundabout. Also, intersections of two or more interstate highways are sometimes referred to by name. Although an end-user's desired destination may not be located exactly at such a named intersection, an end-user may want a navigation system to provide directions to such an intersection. Accordingly, it is desired that a navigation system provide a way to accommodate the identification of intersections by name.
It is an objective therefore to provide an improved means by which navigation systems can accommodate use by end-users. It is also an objective to provide improvements in the storage or use of geographic data that improves performance in a navigation system. Similarly, it is a further objective to develop navigation functions that can exploit the geographic database in improved ways.

Geographic database architecture for representation of named intersections and complex intersections and methods for formation thereof and use in a navigation application program


An information processing system capable of editing images is provided. The system can easily cut out desired image information even when the system must designate an arbitrary shape region which is used to cut out and edit image information.

1. Field of the Invention:
This invention relates to an information processing system, and more particularly to an information processing system that can retrieve image information from an image information storage apparatus, and edit the retrieved image information as the need arises.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
In a conventional information processing system, image information is stored in an image information storage apparatus (e.g., an optical disc apparatus). The system can retrieve image information from an optical disc, and display the same on the display apparatus. Further, the system can cut out a desired portion form the displayed image information, and synthesize the cutout image information and another image information. When the system cuts out a desired image information from the displayed image information, the system first designates the desired image by use of a rectangular region in general. The system then cuts out the image information within the designated rectangle.
Specifically, when the system cuts out the image information within a rectangle, the system can designate a desired rectangle only by calculating the coordinates of two opposite corners of the rectangle. Further, the system can scan and read the image information within the thus designated rectangle by use of an extremely simple configuration. Thus, the conventional system cuts out images by designating a rectangular region in most cases. However, in recent years, it has been required that the system must designate an arbitrary shape region which is used to cut out image information. To designate an arbitrary shape region, the system must process a large amount of coordinate information. Thus, the procedures of extracting image information become complicated and cumbersome.
Specifically, assume that the system cuts out the image information within an arbitrary shape region other than a rectangle. It becomes difficult for the system to determine a starting point and an ending point each time the system scans the image. In particular, when a desired region partially includes curves, the system must plot all the coordinates on the contour of the desired region. This becomes more difficult for the system to determine a starting point and an ending point each time the system scans the image. Further, it becomes extremely difficult for the system to perform the enlargement, reduction and rotation of the cutout image.

Information processing system capable of editing images


A test apparatus and a method for testing an integrated circuit""s data storage device""s input/output signal pins for alternating current (AC) defects, by providing an interface that will couple each respective individual test contact, in a subset of said contacts, to a select plurality of the data storage input/output signal pins so that when a selected data string is introduced into the integrated circuit so that each input/output pin on a data storage device in the integrated circuit will be tested in sequence whereby the number of contacts required by the tester can be reduced.

The present invention relates generally to an apparatus and a method for testing integrated circuits comprising functional circuits and data storage circuits. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a test apparatus and a method for testing an integrated circuit that has a scan-based interface by which data can be shifted through a chain of clocked storage devices and extracted sequentially therefrom to test the device data storage device""s input/output (I/O) signal pins for alternating current (AC) defects.
The present invention generally relates to integrated circuits containing data storage circuits and functional circuits all of which are coupled to other components, external to the integrated circuit, through signal interface pins. A small number of these signal interface pins are coupled only to the functional circuits and are used to provide necessary control functions, such as clock pulses, test modes, test control data, and etc. to the integrated circuit. The remaining signal interface pins are used to transfer data into and out of the data storage circuits contained in the integrated circuit.
At times, a signal interface or input/output pin, used to transfer data into or out of the data storage circuits, will function correctly in a direct current (DC) mode, that is, it will carry the proper current but will have resistive, inductive or capacitive aspects that affect the alternating current (AC) characteristics, i.e., the rise and fall times of signals passing through the pin. These AC characteristics, by delaying or skewing the shift time of these signals, causes the rise or fall time of the signals to be altered, i.e., to be slower than that called for in the circuit specification. To assure the final quality of the integrated circuit such AC defects must be ascertained by rigorous and extensive testing of the integrated circuit.
At the present time, such AC defect testing requires the use of high frequency automated test equipment (ATE) that provides a tester contact for each signal interface pin on the integrated circuit, i.e., for both functional circuit pins and data storage pins.
Testers having sufficient test contacts for large integrated circuits are expensive to purchase and newer integrated circuits are now being introduced with even higher storage data capacity and thus more input/output pins. The introduction of integrated circuits with more input/output pins means that manufacturers must either upgrade their old testers or purchase new testers.
Thus as integrated circuits continue to increase in pin count and become faster, it becomes increasingly expensive for manufacturers to provide automated test equipment that can speedily test the newer, larger signal pin count, integrated circuits.
Therefore, there is a compelling economic reason to extend the life of the present testers by providing a way to utilize presently available test equipment to test the newer, larger storage capacity, integrated circuits.
It also becomes desirable that means be found to test the newer, large storage capacity, integrated circuits with presently available testers.
The present invention is directed to an apparatus and a method of testing of integrated circuits having a high input/output pin count with an automated test equipment (ATE) having fewer contacts than there are input/output pins on the integrated circuit.
The present invention accomplishes this desirable result by providing a unique device interface board (DIB), between the device under test (DUT) and the tester. This device interface board is arranged to provide direct coupling between each respective tester contact in a first set of selected tester contacts and each respective functional circuit pin on the DUT and to further couple each respective remaining test contact to the input/output pins of a respective chain of serially arranged data storage circuits.
In this way, the present invention permits testing of an integrated circuit having a multiplicity of input/output pins greater than the contacts on the tester.
The present invention, by providing an interface for coupling each respective individual test contact, in a subset of said contacts, to a select plurality of the data storage input/output signal pins and introducing a selected data string into the integrated circuit, tests each data storage device input/output pin in the integrated circuit in sequence even though the number of contacts on the tester is less than the number of input/output pins to be tested.
These objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be further apparent to persons skilled in the art from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Signal pin tester for AC defects in integrated circuits


A switch element includes a source having a plurality of source fingers and a drain having a plurality of drain fingers interleaved with the source fingers. An active mesa region is defined between at least one of the plurality of source fingers and an adjacent at least one of the plurality of drain fingers. A plurality of gates are disposed between the at least one of the plurality of source fingers and the adjacent at least one of the plurality of drain fingers. At least one of gates extends into the active mesa region from outside of the active mesa region and terminates within the active mesa region.

Portable communication devices, for example, cellular telephones, are often required to operate over a number of different communication bands. These so-called "multi-band" communication devices use one or more instances of transmit and receive circuitry to generate and amplify the transmit and receive signals. These communication devices may employ a single antenna to transmit and receive the signals over the various communication bands or, in more recent devices, may use multiple antennas, each communicating over various communication bands, such as an antenna for high frequency bands, and another for low and middle frequency bands.
Each antenna in such communication devices is typically connected to the transmit and receive circuitry through switching circuitry, such as a duplexer or a diplexer, or through an isolated switch element, sometimes referred to as a "transmit/receive switch" or an "antenna switch." The switching circuitry or the isolated switch element must effectively isolate the transmit signal from the receive signal. Isolating the transmit signal from the receive signal becomes more problematic in a multiple band communications device where the transmit frequency of one communication band might overlap with the receive frequency of a different communication band.

Triple-gate PHEMT for multi-mode multi-band switch applications


A trocar sleeve comprises at its proximal side a housing, from the distal side of which a shaft projects. Further, a sealing of elastic material is provided in order to seal an instrument inserted into the trocar sleeve gas-tight into the proximal direction. The sealing comprises a central opening, the diameter of which is variable. A spreading device is provided which is insertable into the sealing, extending same in doing so, whereby the diameter of the central opening is enlargeable.

The invention relates to a trocar sleeve, comprising at its proximal side a housing, from the distal side of which a shaft projects, and with a sealing of elastic material in order to seal an instrument inserted into the trocar sleeve gas-tight into the proximal direction, wherein the sealing comprises a central opening, the diameter of which is variable, wherein the sealing comprises a position of rest in which the central opening comprises a smallest diameter, and comprising a spreading device which can be inserted into the sealing, extending same in doing so, whereby the diameter of the central opening can be enlarged.
Such a trocar sleeve is known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,209,737. The sealing consists herein of four flap-like sealing elements which surround a central opening. Spreading the sealing, wherein the diameter of the central opening is enlarged, is done by the instrument itself that is inserted into the trocar sleeve.
It is disadvantageous herein that the spreading force has to be applied by the inserted instrument or by the handling person, respectively, and, further, there is the danger that, when the instrument is removed, the flap-like sealing elements cock with the instrument, thus impeding the removal.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,458,640 discloses a cannula valve and seal system. The valve seal has a V-shaped cross section and includes two opposing lips which face each other across a slit. A tubular member is introduced into the valve seal for spreading the two opposing lips by moving the two lips laterally.
Trocars serve for effecting an incision into the body through which instruments can be introduced from the outer side into the body for the minimal-invasive surgery. A trocar consists of a trocar sleeve and, for setting the trocar, of a trocar arbor having a sharpened top in most cases. After setting the trocar, the trocar arbor is removed, and the trocar sleeve remains in the incision in the body. During minimal-invasive surgeries, different instruments are introduced through the trocar sleeve, e.g. endoscopes, medical forceps or other instruments provided with a long shaft. In this operation technique, it is further common to supply a gas into the body cavity in order to insufflate same. To this end, in most cases, a laterally projecting gas supply having a cock is provided in the region of the housing of the trocar sleeve.
As mentioned before, numerous different instruments are introduced or removed, respectively, through the trocar sleeve in the course of a minimal-invasive surgery.
In order to prevent gas from escaping from the body, either a flap valve is provided which automatically closes the trocar sleeve gas-tight versus the proximal direction, if no instrument is introduced into the sleeve, or a sealing is provided in the form of a slotted sealing, mostly at the transition between housing and shaft which can be pushed through and expanded by the instrument. It is true that this sealing can provide for a gas-tight seal, if no instrument is introduced, but due to the slotted geometry, a gas-tight seal is not possible with respect to the shaft of the introduced instrument having mostly a circle-round cross section.
For this reason, a sealing is provided in the trocar sleeve which comprises a central opening, the diameter of which corresponds approximately to the outer diameter of the shaft of the introduced instrument.
In other words, the sealing of elastic material comprises such an opening that the instrument can just be pushed through it and a gas-tight seal is nevertheless guaranteed.
As mentioned above, however, it is necessary that instruments having different shaft diameters can be introduced through the trocar sleeve.
If one takes a trocar sleeve having a clear inner diameter of 11 mm as an example, instruments having a shaft outer diameter of between 5 and 10 mm are usually introduced through the trocar sleeve.
If the sealing has an opening with a diameter of just 5 mm, an instrument having a shaft diameter of 6 mm could just be moved through the sealing by overcoming a resistance.
If, however, an instrument having a shaft diameter of 10 mm is to be introduced through this sealing, this is, if at all, only possible by applying a lot of force. Even if one should have succeeded in introducing an instrument having a shaft diameter of 10 mm through the opening having a size of 5 mm, it would be very disturbing and difficult for the operating person to move the instrument axially to-and-fro during the surgery. This will, at best, be performed in jerks, which is not desired.
It is an object of the present invention to improve a trocar sleeve having a sealing with a variable opening diameter in such a way that the enlarging process can be selectively performed and a safe sealing is guaranteed for different instrument diameters.

Trocar sleeve with a variable sealing opening

Abstract: It is suggested to configure the spreading device as an axially movable sleeve, the ring-shaped front area of which is insertable into the sealing, spreading same in doing so.


A device for determining a flight trajectory of a follower aircraft during a patrol flight, as well as a system for aiding a patrol flight including such a device. The device including another device to determine a flight trajectory of a follower aircraft which allows the follower aircraft to fly along one and the same flight trajectory as a lead aircraft, but with a posterior duration equal to a particular temporal offset.

It is known that a patrol of aircraft, for example of fighters or military transporters, is composed of a lead aircraft, also called the leader, which is followed in flight according to a particular spacing (defined vertically, longitudinally and laterally) by one or more follower aircraft, also called wingmen. The relative flight between the lead aircraft and a follower aircraft may be performed:                either simply (and exclusively) on the basis of the judgment of the pilot of the follower aircraft, as a function of his direct vision of the lead aircraft;        or by way of a system of information and/or for aiding piloting, such as an electronic system for aiding a patrol flight.
During a patrol flight, the aircraft follow one another while attempting, in particular, to constantly maintain one and the same longitudinal gap. This longitudinal gap which represents a distance-wise objective, may be expressed, when the flight is managed with the aid of an electronic system for aiding a patrol flight:                either as a unit of distance (for example meters), calculated along the flight trajectory of the lead aircraft;        or as a unit of time (for example seconds), corresponding to the division of the distance by the speed of the follower aircraft (or of the lead aircraft). In this case, the longitudinal gap also relates to a distance, but it is expressed indirectly through a unit of time.
Consequently, the longitudinal gap taken into account during a standard patrol flight always corresponds to a distance.
A standard patrol flight such as this thus exhibits several drawbacks. In particular:                it requires a very fast reaction of the one or more follower aircraft, so as to constantly maintain the same distance with the lead aircraft. However, an aircraft and its systems inevitably exhibit inertia and a reaction time, this possibly giving rise to concertina effects and risks of instability, in particular in the case of long patrols comprising numerous follower aircraft;        it implies that a variation in speed of the lead aircraft must necessarily be applied simultaneously to all the follower aircraft, this sometimes possibly being incompatible with the flight trim, in particular if not all the aircraft are in the same flight phase at the current instant.

Device for determining a flight trajectory of a follower aircraft during a patrol flight, as well as a system for aiding a patrol flight comprising such a device


An atmospheric gas sampler with a multi-port valve which allows for multi, sequential sampling of air through a plurality of gas sampling tubes mounted in corresponding gas inlet ports. The gas sampler comprises a flow-through housing which defines a sampling chamber and includes a gas outlet port to accommodate a flow of gases through the housing. An apertured sample support plate defining the inlet ports extends across and encloses the sampling chamber and supports gas sampling tubes which depend into the sampling chamber and are secured across each of the inlet ports of the sample support plate in a flow-through relation to the flow of gases through the housing during sampling operations. A normally closed stopper means mounted on the sample support plate and operatively associated with each of the inlet ports blocks the flow of gases through the respective gas sampling tubes. A camming mechanism mounted on the sample support plate is adapted to rotate under and selectively lift open the stopper spring to accommodate a predetermined flow of gas through the respective gas sampling tubes when air is drawn from the housing through the outlet port.

The present invention relates to a gas sampling device, and, more particularly, to an atmospheric gas sampler with a multi-port valve which allows for multiple, sequential sampling of air through a plurality of sample tubes mounted in corresponding ports.
Small and lightweight atmospheric gas samplers are useful in conducting various environmental, meteorological and atmospheric tests. Whether for detecting hazardous contaminants or studying the atmosphere, gas samplers are essential for collecting or detecting various gases, aerosols and other particulates in the atmosphere. Typically, sampling is conducted by drawing air through a sample tube containing certain adsorbents which trap the target gases or particulates. These adsorbed gases or particulates are then later analyzed in the laboratory. As these studies have become more complex, there has been an increasing need, not only to take large numbers of samples, but also to take samples at various locations, times, and altitudes. Accordingly, there is a need for samplers which can take numerous gas samples efficiently and accurately, and whose functions can be automated.
The need for a compact, lightweight and efficient gas sampler is especially important in various atmospheric and meteorological studies. In atmospheric transport studies, a tracer gas, in the form of a perfluorocarbon, is released in predetermined amounts from various preselected positions. The tracer gas is then collected by gas samplers deployed at various locations and analyzed to examine atmospheric transport properties. In gas dispersion studies, certain gases or aerosols are selectively sampled at various locations and altitudes to determine their concentrations and to characterize their vertical structure or profile. These and other related experiments have been used to validate models describing atmospheric transport and dispersion of pollutants.
To perform such atmospheric experiments, gas samplers are normally attached to balloon tetherlines and lofted to various altitudes to take samples. In such applications, the gas samplers must be small and lightweight so that several samplers can be taken up together. Ideally, each gas sampler should accommodate multiple sample tubes so that many air samples can be taken at one lofting. Previously, however, gas samplers usually contained only a single adsorbent sample tube such that the balloon had to be hauled down after each sampling. Some gas samplers have the capability to take multiple samples, but these were typically heavy, complicated and not conducive to automated operation. What is needed is a simple, lightweight gas sampler which can take multiple samples and whose operation can be fully automated.
In view of the foregoing, the general object of this invention is to provide an atmospheric gas sampler with a multi-port valve which allows successive sampling of air through a plurality of sample tubes mounted in corresponding ports.
Another object of this invention is to provide a self-contained and fully automated gas sampler including unique electrical switches that provide reliable signals to an electrical control system that a port has been opened or closed.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a gas sampler with a nozzle or check valve that prevents back-flow of air into the sample tubes.
Additional objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following and by practice of the invention.

The United States of America as represented by the Department of Energy


A utensil rack for a dishwasher has a set of wave profiles. One subset of wave profiles has wave crests spaced from each other a first distance and a second set of wave profiles has wave crests spaced from each other a second distance less than the first distances. The utensil rack can be in the form of tray. A stemware section has one subset of wave profiles and a cutlery section has a second subset of wave profiles.

Contemporary automatic dishwashers for use in a typical household include a tub defining a treating chamber and a spraying system for recirculating liquid throughout the tub to remove soils from dishes and utensils. Upper and lower dishracks for holding dishes to be cleaned are typically provided within the treating chamber. Dishwashers can also comprise an additional, slimmer, rack specifically for utensils, which is typically located above the upper dishrack. A utensil rack can comprise portions designed to hold utensils such as knives, spoons, forks, and spatulas as well as smaller objects that might fall through the dishracks during a cleaning cycle.


A semiconductor structure comprising: a substrate; a seed layer supported by the substrate; an elemental semiconductor layer disposed over a first portion of the seed layer; and a compound semiconductor layer disposed on a second portion of the seed layer. The first portion of the seed layer is electrically insulated from the second portion of the seed layer. A first semiconductor device is formed in the elemental semiconductor layer. A second semiconductor device is formed in the compound semiconductor layer. The second semiconductor device includes: a first electrode in contact with a first region of the compound semiconductor layer; a second electrode in contact with a second region of the compound semiconductor layer; and a third electrode. The third electrode controls carriers passing in a third region of the compound semiconductor layer disposed between the first region and the second region. A fourth electrode is in electrical contact with the second portion of the seed layer.

As is known in the art, with the recent advances enable growth of both compound semiconductor (CS) devices, such as for example III-V FETS or opto-electric devices, and elemental semiconductor (ES) devices, such as for example CMOS devices on a common, such as a silicon, substrate. Thus, the term "compound semiconductor" usually refers to any non-homogeneous semiconductor layers (GaAs, InP, GaN, InSb, AlGaAs, AlGaN, . . . ) as opposed to "elemental semiconductors" (Si, Ge, . . . ). Compound semiconductors can be combination of two or more elements of the periodic table from columns III and V (GaAs, GaN, InP, AlGaAs, . . . ); II and VI (ZnO, CdSe, . . . ); IV-IV (SiGe, SiC), etc. The growth of both compound semiconductor (CS) devices and elemental semiconductor (ES) devices, is described in, for example, T. Ashley, L. Buckle, S. Datta, M. T. Emeny, D. G Hayes, K. P. Hilton, R. Jefferies, T. Martin, T. J. Philips, D. J. Wallis, P. J. Wilding and R. Chau, "Heterogeneous InSb quantum well transistors on silicon for ultra-high speed, low power logic applications," Electronics Letters, Vol. 43, No. 14, July 2007. S. Datta, G. Dewey, J. M. Fastenau, M. K. Hudait, D. Loubychev, W. K. Liu, M. Radosavljevic, W. Rachmady and R. Chau, "Ultrahigh-Speed 0.5 V Supply Voltage In0.7Ga0.3As Quantum-Well Transistors on Silicon Substrate," IEEE Electron Device Letters, Vol. 28, No. 8, 2007, pp. 685-687. M. K. Hudait, G. Dewey, S. Datta, J. M. Fastenau, J. Kavalieros, W. K. Liu, D. Lubyshev, R. Pillarisetty, W. Rachmady, M. Radosavljevic, T. Rakshit and Robert Chau, "Heterogeneous Integration of Enhancement Mode In0.7Ga0.3As Quantum Well Transistor on Silicon Substrate using Thin (<2 um) Composite Buffer Architecture for High-Speed and Low-Voltage (0.5V) Logic Applications," International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM) Technical Digest, 2007, pp. 625-628.
One technique used to grow both the CS devices and ES devices on the same substrate, it to provide a substrate, such a silicon substrate. A first insulating layer, such as silicon dioxide layer, is formed on the substrate. A seed layer, such as germanium, is formed on the first insulating layer, such seed layer being provided to grow, typically epitaxially, the CS devices. A second insulating layer, such as silicon dioxide is formed on the seed layer. An ES layer, such as silicon, is formed on the second insulating layer. A portion of the ES layer and underlying portions of the second insulating layer are removed to exposed portion of the seed layer. Next, a CS layer is grown on the seed layer. Next, the ES device is formed in the ES layer, and the CS device is formed on the CS layer.
Because a CS epitaxial structure needs to be grown on top of the seed layer whose crystal structure and electronic properties are different from those of the CS layer, the CS device performance may deteriorate very significantly due to the formation of an unwanted interface layer between seed and CS layers. Integration of a CS FETs onto a non-semi-insulating and non-homogeneous silicon-based substrate poses two key challenges:
1. Minimize negative substrate effects on the device performance, most notably the substrate conduction that may prevent the complete transistor pinch-off. The lack of pinch-off results in higher device's output conductance that, in turn, leads to lower AC gain, cutoff frequency, power density and drain efficiency in the transistors used in amplifier-type circuits as well as lower isolation in the transistors used in switch-type circuits.
2. Allow for low series resistance, loss series inductance and low shunt capacitance interconnect between the individual heterogeneously integrated individual CS and silicon CMOS FETs.
In accordance with the invention, a semiconductor structure is provided comprising: a substrate; a seed layer supported by the substrate; an elemental semiconductor layer disposed over a first portion of the seed layer; and a compound semiconductor layer disposed on a second portion of the seed layer. The first portion of the seed layer is electrically insulated from the second portion of the seed layer. A first semiconductor device is formed in the elemental semiconductor layer. A second semiconductor device is formed in the compound semiconductor layer. The second semiconductor device includes: a first electrode in contact with a first region of the compound semiconductor layer; a second electrode in contact with a second region of the compound semiconductor layer; and a third electrode. The third electrode controls carriers passing in a third region of the compound semiconductor layer  disposed between the first region of the compound semiconductor layer and the second region of the compound semiconductor layer. A fourth electrode is in electrical contact with the second portion of the conductive seed layer.
In one embodiment, the first, second, and fourth electrodes extend vertically downward from an upper surface of the structure.
In one embodiment, the elemental semiconductor layer is a silicon layer.
In one embodiment, the compound semiconductor layer is a III-V layer.
In one embodiment, the first semiconductor device is a MOS device.
In one embodiment, the second semiconductor device is a FET device.
In one embodiment, the third electrode is a gate electrode and wherein first and second electrodes are source and drain electrodes.
In one embodiment, the fourth electrode is in ohmic contact with the seed layer.
With such structure the first challenge is solved by providing direct control of a local electrical potential of the seed layer (e.g., germanium (Ge) layer), on top of which the CS FET epitaxial structure is deposited. This local electrical potential control is being accomplished by 1) etching away a certain shape in the CS FET and buffer vertical epitaxial structure; 2) fabricating an ohmic contact on the Ge layer and 3) isolating the Ge region under the CS FET from the rest of the Ge layer by etching a closed-shape trench in the Ge layer.
The second is solved by fabricating vertical pillars that connect the four FET electrodes (source, drain, gate, Ge layer). Following the CS FET fabrication, these pillars are formed by 1) forming a planar layer of Back-End-Of the Line (BEOL) low loss dielectric (for example BCB); 2)etching vertical holes in the BEOL dielectric; 3) filling the holes with a low resistivity metal interconnect
The effect of the electrical contact to the seed layer is to reduce the effects on CS device performance as a result of a charge layer that is inadvertently formed at the interface between the seed layer and the CS layer. This charge layer is the result of a junction (either p-n or n-n or p-p) or a quantum well that is formed when two dissimilar materials are brought into intimate contact.
The details of one or more embodiments of the invention are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.
Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.

Semiconductor structures having both elemental and compound semiconductor devices on a common substrate


A high-speed data register for storing a series of data values received at a high-speed clock rate and including a first set of pipelined latches and a second set of pipelined latches. Control circuitry loads the received data values alternately into said first set of latches and said second set of latches from an input or "last" register, which stores the last data value received by the data register. Data values thus enter the last register at the high-speed clock rate but are loaded into each of the first and second set of pipelined latches at one-half that rate.

1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention relates generally to high-speed data storage and, more particularly, to an implementation of a series of data registers in a manner permitting multiple laser range finder return storage at very high counter speeds.
2. Description of Related Art
Current state-of-the-art range counters used in laser radar only store two target returns, typically the first and last. Storing more target returns in an ultra high-speed design is problematic because the addition of more data registers in conjunction with a high-speed range counter according to conventional designs loads down the system clock and, hence, precludes reaching the high speeds of operation desired.

High-speed data register for laser range finders


A process for a telephone lotto number system and service is disclosed which allows a lotto player to use a touchtone phone, which is connected directly or indirectly via a RJ11 jack and telephone lines to telephone company central office equipment, to dial a conventional and dedicated inward calling phone number, e.g. "213-XXX-XXXX", to access and interact with a lotto computer, which is connected via a modem and telephone lines to telephone company central office equipment, to purchase and automatic or manual select a lotto selection ("6" lotto numbers) from a plurality of lotto numbers which are stored in the lotto computer's memory, and charge the dollar amount for the purchase of the lotto selection to a credit card. If the touchtone phone is used to dial an enhanced service phone number, i.e. a dedicated 900 inward calling phone number, to access and interact with the lotto computer to purchase and automatic or manual select the lotto selection, the telephone company to which the lotto player's touchtone phone is connected is permitted to bill and collect from the lotto player, via the lotto player's office or residence monthly telephone statement, a fixed dollar amount for the purchase of the lotto selection and a fixed telephone company line fee for use of the 900 phone number.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a telephone lotto number system and service which allows a lotto player to use a dual tone multifrequency (DTMF) touchtone phone to dial a dedicated inward calling phone number to access and interact with a lotto computer to purchase and automatic or manual select a predetermined number of lotto numbers (herein after sometimes referred to as "lotto selection") from a plurality of lotto numbers stored in the lotto computer's memory to play a lotto game.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Presently, players of the lotto game are required to go to one of the participating retail merchants in order to purchase their lotto tickets. This practice eliminates the handicapped, invalid and busy workers who lack the opportunity of walk-in purchase. It also restricts the regular lotto players who sometime find that they cannot go to an authorized retailer to purchase their lotto tickets.
To play the lotto game, present lotto systems allow the lotto player, for cash only, to manual select a predetermined number of lotto numbers from a plurality of lotto numbers, e.g. "6" numbers out of "53" numbers, by placing a vertical mark in each chosen number spot on a lotto playslip that is provided by the lotto retailer.
Another lotto system allows the lotto player to mark the "quick pick" spot on the lotto playslip or by verbally requesting a "quick pick," and the retailer's lotto coputer or lotto terminal will pick lotto selections for the lotto player.
While each of the foregoing illustrations implements a useful way to purchase a lotto ticket and to play the lotto game, regular lotto players and potential lotto players continue to express some degree of dissatisfaction with existing lotto systems, particularly the cash only policy, the limitations of having to travel to the lotto retailer's place of business to purchase a lotto ticket, and waiting in long lines to play the lotto game.
Thus, it is an object of this invention to provide the lotto player with an enhanced service which allows the lotto player who has access to a touchtone phone to dial from an office, home, payphone, automobile, plane, boat or any location a dedicated inward calling number, including a 900 calling number, to access and interact with a lotto computer to purchase lotto selections and to play the lotto game.
More particularly, it is an object of this invention to provide the lotto player with an enhanced service which services regular lotto players, but will also service a large percentage of the population heretofore excluded, i.e. the handicapped and the invalid.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide the lotto player with an enhanced service which allows the lotto player to bill or charge lotto selections purchases to a credit card number or a telephone calling card number or, if the lotto player dials the 900 number, permits the telephone company to bill and collect a predetermined purchase amount for the number of lotto selections selected and a calling fee.
It is still another object of this invention to provide the lotto player with a dedicated inward calling number for use, including a 900 calling number, to access and interact with a lotto computer to play a lotto game.
It is still yet another object of this invention to provide the lotto player with an enhanced service which permits intreraction between the lotto player, via a touchtone phone, and a lotto computer to play a lotto game.
It is a further object of this invention to provide the lotto player with an enhanced service which allows the lotto player from one state to participate in a lotto game in another state.
It is still a further object of this invention to provide the lotto player with an enhanced service which does not require travelling to a lotto retailer's place of business to purchase lotto selections or to play a lotto game.
It is still yet a further object of this invention to provide State Lottery Commissions and Agencies with a revenue producing enhanced service and systems which interacts with existing telephone switching systems, credit card and telephone calling card verification and credit processing systems, and 900 service carriers without the added cost of new hardware.

Telephone lotto number system and service


An inkjet printhead and fabrication method include integrating actuators and ink firing chambers on a single substrate, such as a semiconductor substrate. The integration process utilizes semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) techniques in the preferred embodiment. Actuators are formed on one surface of the substrate, typically a silicon substrate, and firing chambers are aligned with the actuators. Electrical switching devices, such as transistors, are formed along the surface and are utilized to individually address the actuators. After the integrated structure is formed, a supply manifold may be attached to the structure for replenishing fluid ink following a firing operation. Optionally, a flow control mechanism, such as a valve, may be incorporated between the manifold and the firing chamber.

Thermal inkjet printheads include an array of ink firing chambers having openings from which ink is projected onto a sheet of paper or other medium. Each ink firing chamber is aligned with a thermal actuator, i.e., a resistive heater. Current flow through the actuator causes a portion of the ink within the firing chamber to vaporize and eject an ink drop through the opening. The openings are arranged in linear arrays along a surface of the printhead.
With reference to FIG. 1, a prior art thermal inkjet printhead is schematically shown as including a silicon substrate 10 and a polymer barrier layer 12. Formed on the silicon substrate is a resistor layer 14 and a metallization layer 16. The resistor layer is patterned to define dimensions and locations of ink firing actuators 18. While not shown in FIG. 1, the metallization layer extends beyond the actuator and provides an electrical path for control signals to the actuator. A passivation layer 20 is disposed over the metallization layer, and the polymer barrier layer 12 is attached to the passivation layer. The polymer barrier layer is patterned to include an ink firing chamber that exposes the thermal actuator 18. The barrier layer 12 includes an open side 22 that is in fluid communication with an ink supply channel.
Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, atop the barrier layer 12 is an orifice substrate 24 having an opening 26. In practice, the barrier layer 12 is often formed in conjunction with the orifice substrate 24. The opening 26 defines the geometry for firing ink from the inkjet mechanism in response to activation of the thermal actuator 18. The actuator is individually addressed by means of a switching transistor 28 connected to the actuator by a conductive trace 30.
In operation, current flow through the thermal actuator 18 is initiated by the electronic circuitry 28. As the actuator heats, a vapor bubble is formed in the firing chamber and a pressure field is generated. As a result, ink is projected from the firing chamber toward a medium, such as a sheet of paper. The firing chamber is replenished with ink by flow from a supply channel 32 of the silicon substrate 10. The ink enters the firing chamber through the open side 22 of the barrier layer 12.
As explained in U.S. Pat. No. 5,450,109 to Hock, which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention, the conventional method of fabricating inkjet printheads is to utilize photolithographic techniques to form the thermal actuators 18 on the silicon substrate 10. Separately, the ink firing chambers are photolithographically defined within the polymer barrier layer 12 that is formed on the orifice substrate 24. The orifice substrate may be formed of a gold-plated nickel material. The orifice substrate and barrier layer are then attached to the actuator substrate 10 with the firing chambers in precise alignment with the actuators.
Utilizing conventional fabrication techniques, the inkjet printhead includes three structures, i.e., the silicon substrate with the thermal actuators, the barrier layer in which the ink supply channels and firing chambers are formed, and the orifice plate having the openings for the projection of ink. Often, the manufacturing process includes adhering two substrates together to provide the final product. Adhering the substrates in order to provide the desired architecture raises concerns with respect to reliability, cost, manufacturability and print quality. Improved print quality requires smaller ink drop volumes and, therefore, smaller ink firing chambers and openings. As ink firing chambers and thermal actuators are reduced in size, it becomes increasingly difficult to properly align the array of ink firing chambers on one substrate with the array of thermal actuators on another substrate. Limits imposed by the ability to repeatedly and reliably align the two substrates are factors in dictating the throughput, cost and print quality available using inkjet technology. Another limitation of the bonded structure stems from the fact that adhesives tend to fail due to long-term exposure to aggressive inks and thermal cycling. Repeated heating and cooling, as well as contact with chemically aggressive inks, often cause degradation of the polymer barrier layer and loss of adhesive properties. Partial or total delamination of the orifice substrate from the actuator substrate may result.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,412,412 to Drake et al. describes the procedure for bonding the substrates as being paramount to maintaining the efficiency, consistency and reliability of an inkjet printhead. The alignment and bonding process described in Drake et al. includes introducing elements into the fabrication sequence to compensate for any topographical formations that are developed in a thick film insulating layer during fabrication. The insulating layer is formed to intentionally include a non-functional heater pit and a non-functional bypass recess. The non-functional features are on opposite sides of arrays of functional heater pits and bypass recesses. In like manner, a silicon substrate is formed to include non-functional grooves that are positioned to straddle topographical formations formed proximate to the non-functional heater pits and bypass recesses formed in the insulating layer. Therefore, the topographical formations do not cause the silicon substrate to stand off from the thick film insulating layer.
Another patent that addresses the process of connecting two substrates in forming an inkjet printhead is U.S. Pat. No. 5,388,326 to Beeson et al., which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention. The first substrate includes inkjet nozzles and an array of conductive traces that are formed in a preselected pattern. The second substrate is a "die layout" having a barrier material, an array of resistors formed in wells within the barrier material, and an array of channels formed in the barrier material. The positions of the resistors and the channels of the die layout match the positions of the inkjet nozzles and the conductive traces, respectively. By interlocking the conductive traces with the channels, the resistors are aligned with the inkjet nozzles. The first substrate and the barrier material are then laminated so as to bond the two together.
While the prior art techniques for bonding substrates of an inkjet printhead provide acceptable results, further improvements are desired in order to accommodate advancements with respect to print quality, printhead reliability, manufacturing throughput, and cost reduction. Moreover, a major source of printhead failures continues to be delamination of the orifice substrate from the actuator substrate. As previously noted, the substrate-to-substrate bonds tend to fail due to the long-term exposure to thermal cycling. U.S. Pat. No. 5,016,024 to Lam et al. provided a degree of improvement by forming heaters adjacent to the orifices on an orifice plate. An ink reservoir wall is connected in parallel with the orifice plate. An ink heating zone for a particular orifice is provided by a gap between the ink reservoir wall and the orifice plate. Electrical current through a heater rapidly heats the volume of ink in the adjacent ink heating zone, forming a bubble for projecting ink through the orifice. While the Lam et al. printhead reduces substrate-to-substrate alignment requirements, substrate delamination remains a concern, since the ink heating zone still includes the zone between the orifice plate and the bonded substrate. Another concern relates to the spatial relationship between a heater and an associated orifice. The thermal transfer is at a 90 degree angle to the direction of ink projection. This relationship may adversely affect either or both of the efficiency and the reliability of a firing operation. Furthermore, if the electronic circuitry for controlling ink firing is fabricated onto the ink reservoir wall, there must be hundreds of electrical connections that extend from the ink reservoir wall to the large number of heaters on the orifice plate.
What is needed is an inkjet printhead and fabrication method in which the alignment of an array of ink firing chambers with an array of actuators, such as thermal actuators, is precisely and repeatedly achieved. What is further needed is an inkjet printhead that is less susceptible to long-term failures than printheads that are fabricated by conventional approaches of adhering printhead components together with polymers.

Inkjet printhead and fabrication method for integrating an actuator and firing chamber


A system is provided for determining a quality of a location estimation of a powered system at a location. The system includes a first sensor configured to measure a first parameter of the powered system at the location. The system further includes a second sensor configured to measure a second parameter of the powered system at the location. The system further includes a second controller configured to determine the location estimation of the powered system and the quality of the location estimation, based upon a first location of the powered system based on the first parameter, and a second location of the powered system based on the second parameter of the powered system. A method is also provided for determining a quality of a location estimation of a powered system at a location.

Vehicles travel along a route from one location to another. Some vehicles travel along the route in an automatic mode in which, prior to traveling along the route, a controller predetermines one or more vehicle parameters, such as speed and throttle, pedal, or notch setting, for example, at each location along the route. In order to predetermine the vehicle parameter(s) at each location along the route, the controller may use a memory which prestores a characteristic of the route at each location, such as the grade, for example. While traveling along the route, the controller may need to be aware of the vehicle location to ensure that actual vehicle parameter(s) track or match the predetermined vehicle parameter(s) at each vehicle location. Additionally, since the route may include various vehicle parameter restrictions at various locations, such as a speed restriction, for example, the controller may need to be aware when the vehicle location is approaching a location of a restriction in order to adjust the vehicle parameter(s), if needed, to comply with the vehicle parameter restriction.
Alternatively, the vehicle may travel along the route in a manual mode, in which the vehicle operator is responsible for manually adjusting the vehicle parameters. As with the automatic mode, while traveling along the route, the vehicle operator may need to be aware of the vehicle location, such as when the vehicle location approaches a restriction location, for example. The vehicle operator can then manually adjust the vehicle parameter(s) to comply with a vehicle parameter restriction.
Some known systems have been designed to assist the controllers in the automatic mode and the vehicle operators in the manual mode by providing locations of the vehicle as the vehicle travels along the route. These systems, however, may rely solely on a global positioning satellite (GPS) system, which provide one measurement of the vehicle location based on satellite positioning, or other positioning systems using wireless network or wayside equipment, to provide raw position measurements of the vehicle. Upon receiving the positioning system measurement, the controller uses an internal memory to convert this raw position measurement to a distance measurement of the vehicle along the route.
As with any measurement system, such position measurement systems are capable of error, such as if a GPS receiver of the vehicle fails to communicate with a sufficient number of satellites in the GPS system or an error in the memory of the controller which may convert an accurate raw position measurement to an inaccurate distance measurement along the route, for example. Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide plural independent distance measurements, such as an independent distance or position measurement in addition to a GPS measurement of the distance of the vehicle along the route, so to ensure that the distance estimation provided to the controller or vehicle operator is reliable. Additionally, it would be advantageous to assign a quality value to the distance estimation provided to the controller or vehicle operator.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System and method for determining a quality value of a location estimation of equipment


A method and related device for machining a workpiece is provided, wherein material of the workpiece is removed in a machining region by a non-contact removal process. The workpiece is excited by means of an excitation oscillation having a natural resonant frequency of the workpiece, or a composite comprising the workpiece and a coupling element that is rigidly coupled to the workpiece is excited by means of an excitation oscillation having a joint natural resonant frequency of the workpiece and the coupling element. The natural resonant frequency is selected such that in the machining region an oscillation occurs that has a maximum oscillation amplitude in relation to the excitation amplitude of the excitation oscillation.

Electroerosion is mentioned as an example of a non-contact removal process. This is based on a material removal between electrically conductive contacts. An electrically conductive contact is formed by a workpiece. A further contact is formed by a shaping tool, for example by a wire. The tool is brought close to the workpiece without coming into contact therewith. By applying an electrical voltage between the tool and the workpiece, an arc or a spark is produced for a short period of time, by means of which material can be detached from the workpiece and removed. If the tool is a thin wire which is fed towards the workpiece in the axial direction, bores can then be introduced in the workpiece, for example bores having a diameter of less than 1 millimeter, for example 0.2 millimeter. Such bores are, for example, restrictor bores in injection valves of internal combustion engines. The formation of such bores can be very time-consuming.

Method and device for machining a workpiece