Documents printed by high speed laser printers are automatically handled to verify, track, handle, and deposit them in appropriate shipping containers. The system is modular so that it can be configured to suit the needs of a wide variety of users, and includes document transport conveyors, transfer conveyors, and container transport conveyors. A paper sheet having bar coding is associated with each group of documents and the bar coding is sensed to determine where to route the document (what shipping container it should be placed in), and also optionally other document handling procedures, such as plastic shrink wrapping and/or banding. Documents are conveyed to a number of different filling stations with containers passing underneath the filling stations. When the destination bar coding on a group of documents at a filling station matches the bar coding on the container underneath that filling station, dump paddles are activated to drop the group of documents into the container. Prior to operation of the dump paddles, the size of the group of documents and the remaining volume in the container are both sensed to be sure the group of documents will fit in the container. Containers that are determined to be full are transferred to a shipping loop for transportation by trucks or other shipping options.

High speed laser printers allow a company the ability to produce large numbers of documents quickly. While a number of systems have been developed, for both pre- and post-processing of documents associated with laser printers, one area which has not been sufficiently addressed is to how to handle all the documents after they have been produced. Present methods are either completely manual and very labor intensive, also having a significant number of errors associated therewith, or are "rigid", being centrally controlled so that every time a change or modification is necessary new software must be developed and implemented.
In the handling of documents from laser printers, it is often necessary to wrap or band the documents into groups, then route them to particular shipping containers which have different destinations. The method and apparatus according to the present invention allows all of the steps associated with handling of the documents after printing by a laser printer to be automatic, including ensuring that each group of documents is selectively handled in the manner best for it, and is routed to an appropriate shipping container.
In one logical sequence of operation of the apparatus according to the invention to practice the method according to the invention the documents are printed on a laser printer, and bar codes are printed on the banner page for each group of documents for the same destination. If the documents are in continuous form (rather than cut sheet form), they are folded, severed, and stacked with the banner page down. The documents then move past a bar code scanner onto a staging conveyor where the documents are scanned for verification and to enter them into a data base. For example the first five digits of the bar code may provide a consecutive number printed by the printer with a sequence from each printer to identify the particular printer. A scanner decoder monitors the consecutive order of the numbers to verify that all the documents are in sequence and none are missing. If an out of sequence document is detected an alarm may be sounded, the stacker can be stopped, or the group of documents can be moved onto a special handling conveyor. The documents are moved onto a main line conveyor at a merging intersection when sensors detect the absence of other documents in, or immediately before, the intersection.
The main line conveyor may convey the documents at about 100 feet per minute allowing enough space between documents to handle the output from at least three printers. Documents are sensed and scanned for diversion to wrapping, or other finishing lines. Also information can be used to produce a label for a shipping container if the document is the first for a particular new delivery point, so that a new container can be labelled. For example if the sixth character in the bar code on the banner page is a "0" the group of documents may continue down the main line, whereas if it is a "1" a signal from a decoder will activate an intersection (transfer conveyor) to divert the document to a continuous loop wrapping line. The documents are merged from the wrapping line back into the main line.
As the documents move along the main line conveyor they come to filling station intersections (transfer conveyors). If a sensor in a filling station determines that it is empty, an intersection will be activated and a document diverted over a scanner into the filling station For example characters 7 to 10 of the bar coding of the banner page may contain the destination code which is scanned and stored in a decoder until a shipping container with the same destination code is scanned. When the two codes match the document is dropped into the shipping container, which is being conveyed on a shipping container conveyor beneath the filling station. The drop is inhibited if sensors determine that the shipping container does not have enough room for the document in the filling station.
If there is a document in a filling station that does not fit any shipping container a new container with the same destination code may be put into the container conveying loop. If the first station is full the document continues along the main line until it finds an open station, or if no stations are open, it transfers in an auxiliary loop to be fed back to the main line conveyor before the first filling station.
If a container in the shipping container loop is detected as full it is diverted out of the shipping container loop onto a storage conveyor, and a new container for that shipping point (particular destination bar coding) is put into the container loop. When a delivery truck arrives, delivery codes for that truck are entered into the system, and all containers with delivery codes entered for that truck are diverted from the active and storage conveyors to the truck. The shipping containers may be scanned as they are loaded for inventory purposes.
The apparatus according to the present invention is not limited by having a fixed central intelligence gathering area which must be continuously modified. Instead the system of the invention has a number of infinitely variable modules, each with some level of intelligence which is able to communicate with other modules. While a controller is utilized for recording data or interfacing various operations, it is not the primary control for the line functions, but rather the line functions are controlled at each individual station.
According to one aspect of the present invention apparatus for handling stacks of documents is provided. The apparatus comprises the following elements: A plurality of individual modules, each module having intelligence associated therewith, and self-contained control means associated therewith. Document conveying means extending between the modules and for moving documents into association with, or into and out of association with, the modules. A plurality of sensing means for sensing the position, type, or size of stacks of documents being conveyed by the conveying means, at least one sensing means associated with each of the modules. And, a plurality of open top containers each for containing (and capable of containing) a plurality of stacks of documents for a common destination. A container conveyor means for conveying the containers in a closed loop may also be provided, and one of the modules comprises a container filing module located above the container conveying means for selectively dropping a stack of documents into a container. Other modules may include a fold, sever, stack and merger module, a special handling module for removing special document groups from the main line conveyor; a wrapping module and/or a banding module (provided together or independently); auxiliary transfer conveyor modules; and the like.
According to another aspect of the present invention apparatus for handling groups of documents is provided comprising the following elements: First linear document conveying means for conveying documents in a first predetermined path. First auxiliary document conveyor means connected to the first linear conveying means by transfer conveyors, and defining a closed loop beginning and ending in the first linear conveying means. Second auxiliary document conveyor means connected to the first linear conveying downstream of the first auxiliary conveyor means in the first path, and defining a closed loop beginning and ending in the first linear conveying means. First container filling means connected to the first linear conveyor means by a transfer conveyor. First container conveying means defining a conveying loop path beneath the filling means. And, automatic sensing means for sensing documents at the first container filling means and a container beneath the first container filling means and selectively operating the first container filling means to deposit documents from the filling means into a container on the first container conveying means.
The automatic sensing means may include means for sensing the size of a group of documents at the first filling means, and means for determining the remaining volume of the container beneath the first filling means. A plurality of container filling means preferably are provided disposed above the first container conveying means. Second sensors sense documents on the first linear document conveying means upstream of the first auxiliary conveying means, and selectively pass the documents to the first auxiliary conveying means. Another automatic sensing means senses when a group of documents is at the first filling station and selectively passes the group of documents to the first filling station if it is unoccupied. A second container conveying means remote from the filling means, and a transfer conveyor connecting the first and second container conveying means, also are provided, as well as a further sensor for sensing the fullness of the containers on the first container conveying means and selectively controlling the transfer conveyor between the first and second container conveyor means.
The apparatus also comprises a system for automatically handling groups of documents, including the following elements: Means for printing a plurality of documents. Means for grouping the printed documents into a plurality of different groups. First conveying means for conveying grouped documents away from the printing means. Means for verifying the correctness of the groups of documents. A special document group location. Means for selectively diverting groups of documents from the first conveying means to the special document group location in response to the verifying means. And, means for selectively acting on the groups of documents conveyed by the first conveying means to maintain the integrity of the groups in bundles.
According to another aspect of the present invention apparatus for handling stacks of documents comprises: A plurality of transport conveyors for conveying documents in stacks thereon, and disposed in at least one continuous loop configuration so that there are intersections between at least some of the transport conveyors. A plurality of transfer conveyors located at the intersections between the transport conveyors for selectively transferring stacks of documents from one transport conveyor to an intersecting transport conveyor. First automatic sensing means for sensing the stacks of documents, and in response to the sensing selectively controlling the transfer conveyors. Container conveying means for conveying a plurality of containers adapted to be receive said stacks of documents. Automatic filling means for depositing selected stacks of documents in selected containers. And, second automatic sensing means for sensing the containers, and in response to sensing the containers and to the first automatic sensing means, selectively operating the filling means to deposit selected stacks of documents in selected containers.
The containers are typically open topped and the automatic filling means comprises a movable document support surface, such as a pair of dump paddles separately mounted for rotation about an axis parallel to and horizontally spaced from the axis of the other of the dump paddles. The dump paddles are disposed over the container conveyor means which are at a second vertical level below the first level a distance corresponding to at least the height of the container. Means are provided for controlling the movable document support surface to effect movement so that it no longer supports a stack of documents so that the stack of documents drops into an open top container. A plurality of filling means are provided each comprising a pair of dump paddles with independent control means for operating the dump paddles of each filling means.
The transfer conveyors can comprise a plurality of driven rollers parallel to each other and located adjacent one another and rotatable about an axis substantially perpendicular to the direction of conveyance of the rollers, and a plurality of endless conveyor belts are disposed over the rollers and elongated in the direction of conveyance. The apparatus further comprises means for acting on the stacks of documents for placing them in integral bundles and third automatic sensing means for sensing which bundles will be acted upon in what particular manners. The acting means may comprise plastic shrink wrapping means and/or banding means. The third sensing means may include means for sensing a thickness of a stack to be acted upon and depending upon the thickness selectively placing a stiff sheet into contact with the top or bottom of the stack (e.g. if the stack has a thickness of less than one inch). There also may be the sensing means downstream of the shrink wrapper for selectively directing the bundle to banding means depending upon the sensed thickness (e.g. if greater than one and one-half inches bands or straps are provided in two perpendicular directions around the bundles). Each stack of documents in each container preferably has destination bar coding associated therewith, and the first and second automatic sensing means each comprise bar code sensing means. There also may be provided means for generating a bar code label with the same destination bar coding thereon as a removable container so that the label can be applied to a new emptier container which replaces the full container.
The invention also relates to a method of automatically creating and sorting document groups for automatic delivery to a plurality of different destinations, using a plurality of different containers with machine readable destination codes. The method comprises the steps of substantially continuously and automatically: (a) Automatically creating a plurality of different groups of documents, each group having from one to many documents. (b) Automatically creating machine readable indicia for association with each of the groups of documents, the indicia including at least destination indicia. (c) Automatically associating the machine readable indicia with each group of documents. (d) Automatically diverting one of the groups of documents to a first filling station. (e) Automatically sensing the machine readable destination indicia associated with the groups of documents at the first filling station. (f) Automatically passing the plurality of containers with machine readable destination codes past the first filling station. (g) Automatically sensing the machine readable destination codes of the containers as they move past the first filling station. And, (h) when the sensed destination indicia of a group of documents at the first filling station matches the destination code of a container passing past the first filling station, automatically transferring the group of documents from the first filling station to the matched container.
There may also be the further step (i) of determining the size of the group of documents at the first filling station and the volume remaining in the matched container, and step (h) may be practiced only if the determination from step (i) indicates sufficient remaining volume in the matched container to receive the group of documents at the first filling station. There may also be the further step (j) of providing for passage in step (f) of a new matched container for the group of documents at the first filling station if it is determined in step (i) that the matched container has insufficient volume remaining.
Typically a plurality of different filling stations are provided, and step (f) is practiced to continuously recirculate the containers past all of the filling stations, and step (d) is practiced for each filling station in response to sensing of the availability of each filling station to receive a group of documents.
There may alternatively, or in addition, be the further steps, between steps (c) and (d), of (i) verifying that each group of documents is a proper group of documents, and (j) if in response to step (i) it is determined that the group is not a proper group, diverting the improper group to an improper group location so that it does not pass to step (d). Step (i) is practiced to verify that the appropriate number and type of documents are in a group and to verify that the group does not contain more than a predetermined number of documents (e.g. 500), which require special handling. Step (b) is typically practiced by printing a sheet of paper associated with each group of documents with a bar code, and the machine readable codes associated with each container are also bar codes.
The method may also comprise the further steps of (i) automatically sensing the absence or presence of a group of documents at the first filling station, practicing step (d) if no other group of documents is sensed at the first filling station, and (j) if step (i) senses another group of documents at the first filling station, causing the group of documents to move past the first filling station in a closed loop path until the first filling station is open as sensed during the practice of step (i).
According to another aspect of the present invention a method of automatically handling groups of documents is provided, comprising the steps of automatically and subsequentially: (a) Continuously printing a plurality of documents. (b) Grouping the printed documents into a plurality of different groups. (c) Verifying the correctness of the group of documents. (d) If in response to step (c) a group of documents is determined to be incorrect for further processing, diverting the document to an incorrect document group location. (e) If in response to step (c) a group of documents is determined to be correct for further processing, determining the thickness of the group of documents. (f) If in response to step (e) a document is determined to have a thickness less than a predetermined amount, placing a stiff sheet on the group of documents. And, (g) wrapping each group of documents into a bundle.
The method may also comprise the further steps of automatically and substantially sequentially: (h) Sensing the thickness of each bundle of documents, and (i) if in response to step (h) it is determined that the thickness of the bundle is greater than a predetermined amount, banding the bundle. Step (i) is practiced to band the bundle by fastening bands or straps around it in two different, substantially perpendicular directions.
According to still another aspect of the invention a method of routing a plurality of stacks of documents to desired destinations, at least two groups of documents being routed to each of at least two different destinations, is provided. The method comprises the steps of: (a) Providing a paper sheet having bar coding thereon with destination indicia at at least the top or the bottom of each of the plurality of stacks of documents. (b) Automatically sensing the destination bar coding on each stack of documents. (c) Automatically sensing destination bar coding associated with a container large enough to receive a plurality of stacks of documents. And, (d) automatically in response to steps (b) and (c), depositing a plurality of stacks of documents having the same destination bar coding in a matched bar code container.
There may also be the further steps of (e) automatically sensing when each container has more than a predetermined amount of documents therein so that the remaining volume in the container is less than the size of the next expected stack of documents, indicating that the container is full, and (f) automatically replacing the full container with an emptier container having the same destination bar coding. There may also be the further step of (g) substantially continuously moving the stacks of documents and containers while practicing steps (b) and (c), to allow random matching of the stacks with the containers. There may also be the step (h), prior to step (d), of acting on the stack of documents so that it maintains its integrity during the practice of steps (a)-(d), and so that at least a plurality of the stacks can be easily removed from the container, distinctly from the other stacks in the container. Step (h) may be practiced by banding, plastic shrink wrapping, or both, at least some stacks. Step (a) may be practiced to provide handling bar code indicia on the paper sheet with the destination bar code indicia, in which case there are the further steps of automatically sensing the handling bar code indicia on the paper sheet and practicing step (h) in response to that sensing.
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide for the efficient automatic handling of documents from a laser printer. This and other objects of the invention will become clear from an inspection of the detailed description of the invention and from the appended claims.


An agricultural spray may be produced by admixing citric acid and glutamic acid with a metal salt and a pesticide or other agricultural chemical containing components capable of precipitating with the metal salt in the admixture. The citric acid and the glutamic acid chelate with the metal salt to provide a stability and compatibility-enhancing composition, thereby preventing the metal salt from forming an insoluble solid within the admixture. Such a composition may be produced by admixing citric acid and glutamic acid at a molar ratio of about 6.8:0.5 to about 1:0.29. The composition may include a metal sat, citric acid and glutamic acid in a molar ratio of about 1:6.8:0.5 to about 1:1:0.29 and a pesticide.

Crop protection involves application of herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, collectively known as pesticides, to control the growth of weeds, harmful insects and plant diseases that afflict crops. Without these practices, food production would decline, many fruits and vegetables would be in short supply, and the price of food would rise. Further, fibers for textile manufacturing, such as cotton, would decrease as farmers would lose their harvests due to pests and diseases.
Pesticides are typically applied in combination with adjuvants to improve pesticide performance. Adjuvants are substances in a pesticide formulation or added to the spray tank to improve pesticidal activity or application characteristics. In addition, micronutrients may be applied in combination with pesticides and adjuvants. Micronutrients includes elements essential for plant growth and include boron (B), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), chloride (Cl), manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo) and zinc (Zn). For instance, boron assists plants in use and regulation of other nutrients, aids production of sugar and carbohydrates, and is required for seed and fruit development. Copper is important for reproductive growth, aids in root metabolism and helps in the utilization of proteins. Chloride aids plant metabolism. Iron is a necessary micronutrient in the formation of chlorophyll. Manganese is used by plant enzyme systems and is involved in the breakdown of carbohydrates, as well as nitrogen metabolism. Molybdenum assists in the use of nitrogen. Zinc is needed by the plant for regulating plant growth and in carbohydrate and sugar metabolism. While some micronutrients are found in soil, others are not; and some soil-based micronutrients may not be at levels sufficient for plant growth.
However, many pesticides contain phosphate salts that bind to the metal ions of the micronutrient and convert them to insoluble solids before the micronutrient can be absorbed by the plant, rendering micronutrient ineffective. In prior approaches, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) has been used as a chelating compound that operates to bind metal ions of the micronutrient and prevents phosphate salt from converting the micronutrients to insoluble solids. While EDTA prevents phosphate from binding to metal ions, the metal ions exhibit diminished reactivity. In addition, EDTA is not accepted for use as a chelator in all countries. Other chelating compounds include organic acids and amino acids such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,504,055 and US Patent Application Publication 2005/239673, which are incorporated herein for any purpose.

Micronutrient compositions and systems and methods of using same


Containers such as those used for food stuffs having a generally frusto-conical initial shape are constrained into a forming die during the handling of the containers for injecting quantities of edibles and the like therein such that the containers are constrained to enter a die having a generally square configuration and then, while still in the die, the containers are filled with food or other material and a square lid is fed into position above the filled container and placed thereon to maintain the square configuration of the upper end thereof. The resulting containers provide a much more efficient packaging for equal volumes of product when compared with the more conventional frusto-conical shape containers. The invention is particularly well-adapted to packaging ice cream and the like.

In the marketing of frozen confections or perishable food products which must be refrigerated and/or maintained in a frozen state, the most desirable form of individual packages are those which can occupy only a minimum amount of volume in a given freezer or refrigeration compartment such that the customers purchasing such items in bulk for resale at the retail level will have their storage facilities utilized in the most efficient manner. This saves both space and energy for maintaining a given large bulk volume of food stuffs or other perishables at a desirable temperature level or other environmental parameter which is to be controlled.
Present day container shapes which are the most common are frusto-conical containers on which round lids or generally shallow cylindrical caps are placed.
An optimum consideration in the fabrication of a more efficiently packaged container would be in the ability to manufacture the containers, initially, in the old configuration and somehow efficiently and inexpensively convert these to a more efficient packaging shape such that a given volume of material, for example, ten liters of ice cream, could be packaged in a much lesser volume than with either of the more conventional shaped containers.
It is therefore, an object of this invention to provide a new and novel container shape for packaging perishables and the like.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new and novel container shape for the efficient packaging of perishables which will not only reduce the ultimate volume of a bulk package but will provide means by which the containers can be manufactured by presently used conventional means and subsequently, during the filling and closing process, be converted to the newly shaped configuration desired.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a more efficient bulk packaging container shape for food stuffs and the like.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new and novel apparatus for converting conventionally shaped frusto-conical containers into a container having a square open top configuration and a round bottom with a square lid placed on the square open top configuration when the container is in a loaded condition, to thereby retain the desired shape thereof.
These and other objects of the present invention will become more fully apparent with reference to the following specification and drawings which relate to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Lidded container structure and package structure for same


A thermal conductive roller for use in copying machines, steam-heated and induction-heated applications includes a ceramic heating layer formed by plasma spraying a ceramic material. Conductive bands are provided for supplying electrical current to portions of the ceramic heating layer. In one embodiment, heat is generated by passing current through a length of the roller between two narrow bands. In a second embodiment, heat is generated by directing current radially from the core of the roller to an outer ground layer through wide bands corresponding to heating zones for the roller. In a third embodiment, the ceramic layer is inside the steel core.

Steam-heated and induction-heated rollers are used in the paper making, printing, paper, film, and foil converting industries. Some examples are: web heating rollers, drying rollers and drums, laminating rollers, embossing rollers, and cast film extrusion rollers.
Steam-heated rollers act as pressure vessels at higher temperatures. The internal construction of both steam-heated and induction-heated cores can be quite complex and expensive in order to provide the temperature uniformity needed. In addition, a considerable amount of auxiliary equipment is needed to power or heat the roller.
Internally heated fuser rollers are used in the copier industry. The fuser roller melts the toner and presses it into the paper. The typical fuser roller consists of an aluminum or non-magnetic metal core with an internal quartz heating lamp. The inner diameter of the core has a special coating to absorb heat from the lamp. The roller is coated with a non-stick elastomeric material (e.g., silicone rubber) to provide a pressure nip with an opposing roller and to release the toner to the paper.
The core construction is quite complex and expensive. The quartz lamp is fragile, has a limited useful life, and does not provide a uniform temperature distribution to the core.
A technical problem in the technology is the non-uniform temperature across the roller face when the width of the paper sheet or web is smaller than the heated length of the roller. The ends of the roller operate at a higher temperature than the portion covered by paper or sheet or web, which tends to dissipate heat from the covered portion of the roller. The higher temperature at the ends causes increased aging if the outermost covering is organic.
Heating rollers for xerography and other applications with multiple heating elements are disclosed in the following U.S. Patents, Sakurai, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,618,240; Kogure, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,801,968; Martin, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,883,941; Hager, U.S. Pat. No. 3,310,655, and d'Hondt, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,041,718.
It is typical in heater rollers to apply a voltage potential at one end of the heating layer and a ground potential at the other end of the heating layer to produce a current in the heating layer.
For example, in Satomura, U.S. Pat. No. 4,628,183, one side of a voltage supply is applied to one set of conductive fingers in a ceramic heating layer, while the other side of the voltage supply is applied to another set of conductive fingers in the ceramic heating layer. The two sets of fingers are interdigitated and electrical current is produced in the heating layer between the two sets of fingers.
The ceramic material is a baked ceramic material in which the conductive electrodes are sandwiched between two ceramic layers.
The present invention is directed to improved constructions of heater rollers for zone heating of a ceramic, resistive heating layer.


A high pressure compressed gas source is separated from an actuation piston by a pilot valve that is selectively operated with raising annulus pressure to break a rupture disc to provide access to a shuttle type valve. Movement of the shuttle valve using pressure applied to opposing pistons of different sizes connected to a common shaft translates the shaft against a spring bias to open the valve on the high pressure source. This allows the high pressure to reach the actuating piston to operate the tool. One application can be setting a packer without well intervention.

Tools have been set before using available annulus hydrostatic pressure that is allowed to selectively move actuation systems when a barrier is broken. One example of such a design is US 2009/0229832 where annulus pressure at a desired location is raised to break a rupture disc to then allow pressure to release a lock and move an actuation mechanism to set a packer. However, there is a limit to the amount of force that such systems that use pressures slightly higher than hydrostatic to actuate a tool. The present invention seeks to address this issue with the use of a stored potential energy force that can be selectively released to set a tool such as a packer. The use of a pressurized inert gas such as nitrogen allows the use of a much smaller actuation piston thereby making the internal packer drift dimension larger to enhance production capability. In a preferred embodiment annulus hydrostatic and optionally some added applied surface pressure are used to break a rupture disc to allow pressure in the annulus to operate a shuttle valve to open the high pressure source to the actuating piston. These and other aspects of the present invention will be more readily apparent from a review of the description of the preferred embodiment and the associated drawing while recognizing that the full scope of the invention is to be found in the appended claims.
US 2003/0041596 is cited to illustrate the use of pilot valves 44 to operate other valves 46 in hydraulic circuits in the context of a garbage truck using a pilot line 70.

High pressure interventionless borehole tool setting force


A coaxial tube in tube heat exchanger has at least one fluid tight connection for holding the outer tube, inner tube and a terminal connector in assembled position, and a support insert fixedly disposed in the inner tube for operative alignment with the fluid tight connection to permit use of a relatively thin walled inner tube for said heat exchanger.

In heat exchange systems or equipment such as air conditioning and refrigeration circuits, the use of a coaxial tube in tube heat exchanger is a known expedient and such devices are easily purchaseable on the open market such as the devices manufactured and sold by Edwards Engineering Corporation of Pompton Plains, New Jersey.
Such coaxial tube in tube heat exchangers include generally an elongated continuous outer tube of predetermined length, an elongated continuous inner tube having a length slightly greater than the outer tube lying coaxially in the longitudinal line of the outer tube and extending out of the opposite ends thereof, said outer tube and inner tube defining an annular fluid flow passage therebetween, and a terminal inlet connection for one end of said annular fluid flow passage and a terminal outlet connection spaced from the inlet connection for the opposite end of said annular fluid flow passage. These elements are brazed together generally at opposite ends of the outer tube and then the coaxial units are rolled or turned into various desired shapes such as spirals, toroids, helixes, trombones, etc. for the particular application to which they will be put. In the operation of these devices cooling fluid passes through the inner tube and gas to be condensed is passed in counter current flow through the annular fluid flow passage, the condensate flowing from the terminal outlet connection.
In order to increase the efficiency of these condensers, the inner tube for the greater length thereof is spirally wound with radially extending fins which are solder bonded to the outer surface of the inner tubes to provide metallic bonding of the fins thereto. Further the pitch of the spirally wound fins is such that a predetermined gap is established between each successive spiral to optimize both the bending and forming of the selected shape of the condenser and for insuring proper drainage of condensate from the annular fluid flow passage. My U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,661,525, 2,635,571 and 2,529,945 show and describe this type of finned tubing.
In order to establish and insure safe operating conditions various commercial regulations have been established for pressure vessels and a product to be commercially viable must be tested and certified by the Underwriters Laboratory which is the commercial agency qualified to give these certifications. Such approval and certification is granted based on various standardized hydraulic tests to which such pressure vessels are subjected. The tests which are applied to coaxial tube in tube heat exchangers require the vessel walls to withstand pressures in excess of five times the pressures normally met during ordinary operating conditions. For these heat exchangers the highest operating pressure is about 400 P.S.I.G. Accordingly, the walls of the tubular members and joints in these heat exchangers must be able to withstand, under test, hydraulic pressures in excess of 2000 P.S.I.G.
Heretofore when such tests have been applied to the known prior art type of coaxial tube in tube heat exchangers, due to the collapse of the inner tube under these pressures, ruptures have resulted more particularly at the brazed joints which hold the outer tube, inner tube and terminal connectors in assembled position.
In order to meet the pressures such heat exchangers must withstand particularly in the standardized hydraulic tests, it has been accepted prior art practice to increase the wall thickness of the copper or cupronickel inner tube being utilized in such coaxial tube in tube heat exchangers. Due to the increase in the cost of the materials for manufacturing the tubes from which such heat exchangers are manufactured this practice obviously increases the overall cost of such coaxial tube in tube heat exchangers.
In the present invention this problem is overcome by providing a support insert of sufficient length in the inner tube in operative alignment with the associated brazed connection for connecting the outer tube, the inner tube and the terminal fitting at a given end of the coaxial tube in tube heat exchanger.
This construction not only overcomes the problem but provides the additional advantage of permitting the wall thickness of the inner tube to be materially reduced which factor produces a substantial reduction in the overall manufacturing costs for such coaxial tube in tube heat exchangers.

Coaxial tube in tube heat exchanger with inner tube support


A camera module includes a lens carrier that houses a lens, electrical components of optical path modifiers positioned on the lens carrier, an image sensor, and a controller that is to generate commands for operating the optical path modifiers. A printed circuit assembly positioned on the lens carrier is electrically coupled to suspension wires. The printed circuit assembly includes a printed circuit that has installed thereon a serial bus communications interface circuit that is to receive the commands from the controller through one of the suspension wires, and a translation circuit that is to translate the commands into control signals that are to operate or drive the optical path modifiers via the electrical components and according to the commands, respectively. Other embodiments are also described.

Camera modules are incorporated into a variety of consumer electronic devices, including smartphones, mobile audio players, personal digital assistants, laptop computers, and desktop computers. There is a constant drive to add additional features to these cameras modules while maintaining a compact size. For example, one feature that is desirable in camera modules is an autofocus (AF) feature that automatically adjusts focal distance so that an image captured by the camera module is in sharp focus. Another feature that is desirable in camera modules is an optical image stabilization (OIS) feature that compensates for unintended movement of the camera module when capturing an image/video (e.g., due to user hand shake or other vibration).
OIS is performed by detecting movement of the camera module and then counteracting that movement, for example, by moving the lens carrier of the camera module in an opposite direction of that movement. This can be achieved by suspending the lens carrier using flexible suspension wires that sway so as to allow the lens carrier to move in directions orthogonal to an optical axis of a lens of the camera module. The lens carrier can be moved using a force generated by a magnet and a coil carrying electric current (e.g., a Lorentz force). The flexible suspension wires can also be used to carry the electrical coil current in order to perform AF.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


There is provided an optical pickup which emits a reading light to an optical disc having a pit in which information is stored and reads the information by means of the 0th order reflected light reflected from the pit and the diffracted light generated on the pit by diffraction effect. The optical pickup comprises a semiconductor laser for generating the reading light, a first photodiode for generatign a first electric signal corresponding to the intensity of the 0th order reflected light incident thereto, a second photodiode for generating a second electric signal corresponding to the intensity of the diffracted light incident thereto, a light focusing and guiding device for focusing the reading light to the pit and guiding the 0th order reflected light to the first photodiode, a light guiding device for guiding the diffracted light to the second photodiode and an operation device for generating an output signal by taking difference between the first and the second electric signals.

The present invention relates to a optical pickup for optical recording and information read in a CD (compact disc) player and the like, and in particular, to an integrated optical pickup using an optical waveguide.
FIG. 1 is a figure showing the principle (central aperture method) for read of an optical disc using a conventional optical pickup.
As shown in the figure, a light that is emitted from a semiconductor laser 11 passes through a half mirror 12 and links a spot on an optical disc 14 by a (objective) lens 13. When the spot strikes a pit, there is diffraction by the pit and the oth-order light that is reflected by the optical disc 14 returns as it is to the aperture of the lens 13 but the .+-.1st order diffracted lights are phase shifted in proportional to the depth d of the pit, and return to offset regions 16, 17 from the aperture of the lens 13. Because of this, at the lens aperture, there is interference by the portion of the oth-order light and the .+-.1st order diffracted light that overlap, and there is a drop in the intensity because of the phase difference between them. This description is for the case where the spot is on the pit but in cases when there is no pit and the spot is on a mirror surface of the optical disc 14, there is practically no diffracted light and the intensity of the light reflected to the lens 13 is unchanged. In both cases however, the reflected light that enters the lens aperture is reflected by the half mirror 12 and focuses on a photodiode 15. However, since as has been described above, there is a change in the intensity of the reflected light in the lens aperture because of the presence or absence of a pit and so an electrical signal corresponding to that intensity change is obtained as the photodiode output.
In addition, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a conventional integrated optical pickup. To FIG. 1, the objective lens 13 is replaced with a focusing grating coupler 13A, and the half mirror 12 is replaced with a grating beam splitter 12A. A light guiding layer 20 is formed on a semiconductor substrate 19. The principle of reading is the same as that shown in FIG. 1.
There are the following problems in the conventional optical pickup. Signal detection by a conventional optical pickup does not use the portion of the .+-.1 diffracted lights which do not enter the lens aperture, and the availability of the reflected light decreases.
With signal detection by the conventional optical pickup, a pit on the disc is detected as the signal which is the sum of the outputs of a plural number of photodiodes and so it is not possible to remove the common-mode optical and electrical noise in the same phase and this results in a poor signal-to-noise ratio.
In order to eliminate this problem, there has been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,913,076 a method that detects the oth order light and the diffracted light separately and takes the difference of the two to detect pits. With this method, there are sensors for the respective detection of the oth order light and the diffracted light disposed on the inside of the far field of the read light and so there are many restrictions due to the shape of the sensors and their position of placement, and in reality, there is the problem that there is little design freedom with respect to the configuration of the optical pickup.


Disclosed is a zoom lens having a first lens group G1 having positive refractive power; a second lens group G2 having negative refractive power; a third lens group G3 having positive refractive power; and a fourth lens group G4 having positive refractive power. Upon zooming from a wide-angle end state to a telephoto end state, a distance between the first lens group G1 and the second lens group G2 is changed, a distance between the second lens group G2 and the third lens group G3 is changed, and the fourth lens group G4 is moved toward the object first, then moved toward an image. The third lens group G3 has a first positive lens L31, a negative lens L32 and a second positive lens L33, and the fourth lens group G4 has two lenses: L41 and L42.

In recent years, higher zoom ratio, higher performance and smaller size are demanded for imaging optical systems, including a video camera and a digital still camera. A zoom lens that is proposed to meet such demands is a zoom lens comprising, in order from an object: a first lens group having positive refractive power; a second lens group having negative refractive power; a third lens group having positive refractive power; and a fourth lens group having positive refractive power, wherein zooming is performed by moving each lens group (e.g. see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2008-152288(A)).

Zoom lens, imaging apparatus, and method for manufacturing zoom lens


A confinement assembly for a semiconductor processing chamber is provided. The confinement assembly includes a plurality of confinement rings disposed over each other. Each of the plurality of confinement rings are separated by a space and each of the plurality of confinement rings have a plurality of holes defined therein. A plunger extending through aligned holes of corresponding confinement rings is provided. The plunger is moveable in a plane substantially orthogonal to the confinement rings. A proportional adjustment support is affixed to the plunger. The proportional adjustment support is configured to support the confinement rings, such that as the plunger moves in the plane, the space separating each of the plurality of confinement rings is proportionally adjusted. In one embodiment the proportional adjustment support is a bellows sleeve. A semiconductor processing chamber and a method for confining a plasma in an etch chamber having a plurality of confinement rings are provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to semiconductor manufacturing and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for providing a confinement ring drive that provides proportional spacing between the confinement rings over a travel range.
2. Description of the Related Art
During the manufacturing of semiconductor-based devices, it is common to deposit layers of material onto a substrate. Each of the layers of material may undergo an etching process. Etching of the layers may be accomplished by a wide variety of techniques including plasma-enhanced etching.
The plasma etchers performing these operations may include confinement rings to confine the plasma within a region of the etch chamber. The confinement rings serve to confine the plasma and also protect the chamber walls. However, the current systems are not well suited to adjust to changes within the etch chamber during the processing operation. In particular, the current systems cannot maintain equal gaps between the confinement rings because of restrictions in the confinement ring drive system. The lack of capability to proportionally adjust the confinement rings may result in a change of the gas flow dynamics, a lack of reproducibility between successive etch operations, e.g., in an etch rate, or the plasma going unconfined, which results in the chamber walls being attacked by the plasma.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for a method and apparatus that provides for uniform movement of the confinement rings over a range of travel of the confinement rings.


The breaker comprises two breaker jaws (17, 19) adapted to be opened and closed hydraulically, with which building parts, concrete parts, brick walls and the like may be clamped. A hydraulic pulse hammer device (25) is mounted to at least one breaker leg (17), which, by means of a piston (29) strikes on the object in the holding area of the breaker and breaks or splits the same. Thus, the efficiency of the breaker is substantially increased.

The Invention refers to a hydraulic breaker comprising two breaking jaws for clamping an object in a holding region.
Hydraulic breakers are known for demolishing buildings, concrete walls, brick walls and the like. Such breakers are mounted to the beam of an excavator and operated to crush and/or grip objects and to move them to a desired location. In contrast to the conventional wrecking balls, breakers have advantages in that they cause less noise and dirt and allow for a controlled demolition, Hydraulic breakers are able to generate great forces of a several tons. However, these forces are often insufficient in particular to crush concrete plates, especially if these contain armoring iron.
To increase the efficiency of breakers, it is known to provide one breaker jaw with a vibratory means that may also have teeth. The object gripped by the teeth is worked on by vibrations in the longitudinal or the transverse direction of the breaker jaws. Breakers featuring hydraulic vibration pistons are described in EP0486871 B1. Here, the vibration pistons are operated by a rotary valve pulse generator via a hydraulic line. The vibratory movements are triggered only when the closing force acting between the breaker jaws has risen to a predetermined adjustable minimum value.
From Patent Abstracts of Japan vol. 1998, No. 14, Dec. 31, 1998 (1998-1231) and JP 10 259670 A (SHIN CATERPILLAR MITSUBISHI LTD.), hydraulic breakers are known that comprise a base member to which a fixed breaker jaw is mounted and to which a movable breaker jaw is articulated. The movable breaker jaw is provided with a pulse hammer device hammering on a tooth bar. The fixed breaker jaw is provided with a fixed tooth bar. Thus, the impacts act from the same direction from which the pressure force is exerted.
It is the object of the present Invention to provide a hydraulic breaker that is able to effectively crush an object it holds so that the largely common tearing and pulling at contiguous objects is largely avoided and the objects can be crushed better and more effectively.
According to the present invention, a fluid-operated pulse hammer device is provided for striking on an object chucked in the holding area of the breaker, the pulse hammer device forming a unit that is replaceable as a whole and comprises a control device of its own.
In contrast to a vibration means that generally generates sinusoidally increasing and decreasing vibrations, the invention provides for the use of a pulse hammer device that provides sudden and extremely short, strong impact pulses. Such pulse hammer devices are known from rock breakers and stone drilling devices. They comprise a hydraulically movable working piston and a control piston that is also hydraulically movable and is arranged In a control apparatus. The working piston performs a relatively slow return stroke and, after having passed a control edge, is thrust forward at an extremely high speed to strike on an anvil or a counter bearing, Such pulse hammer devices also comprise a gas pressure reservoir wherein energy is gathered during the return stroke that is released suddenly onto the working piston. Using such a pulse hammer device, impacts of very high energy can be dealt, whereby concrete and steel can be crushed so that it is possible to effectively crush the object held between the breaker jaws or to sever the object from a larger area.
The pulse hammer device forms a replaceable unit with an own control device. It can be mounted as a whole and is easy to replace. Thus, it becomes possible to mount a breaker with a pulse tool of the size and impact energy needed for the particular purpose. It is further possible to optionally work with or without the pulse hammer device. Suitably, the pulse hammer device is fixed with bolts in particular between the cheeks or the sidewalls of a breaker jaw.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the pulse hammer device strikes on a striking piece movably guided along one of the breaker jaws. The striking piece is provided with a certain play so that is can be displaced in parallel or be slightly tilted and adapted to the shape of the object clamped. The working piston of the pulse hammer device acts on the striking piece. The movable arrangement of the striking piece also results in the fact that the striking piece can thrust forward for a certain distance when the object yields, whereupon a further closing movement of the breaker follows. Thus, it is prevented that the pulse hammer device that provides a high impact energy strikes a rigid counter bearing of the breaker jaw, whereby the breaker jaw could easily be damaged. Preferably, the striking piece is linearly movable, i.e. vertical to the holding plane. The impacts from the pulse hammer device are thus directed diagonally or vertically against the other breaker jaw.
Another embodiment of the invention provides that the pulse hammer device is mounted to a base member at which the breaker jaws are supported for pivotal movement. The base member Is located in the middle of the holding area of the breaker and it is fixed, whereas both breaker jaws are movable. From this fixed base member, the pulse hammer device acts on the clamped object. The pulse hammer device acts on the bisecting line of the opening angle formed by the clamping surfaces of the breaker. The clamping surfaces have teeth that prevent the clamped object from being pressed out under the action of the pulse hammer device.
The impacts from the pulse hammer device are particularly effective if they act on the object in addition to a strong closing force exerted by the breaker jaws. The closing force should be at least about 100 t and, preferably, in the range from 400 t to 500 t. When this strong closing force is superposed with the impacts, a great crushing capability is obtained.
Further, it is suitable to provide a plurality of pulse hammer devices side by side on one breaker jaw, which are operated either synchronously or asynchronously. A carrier apparatus (excavator) usually has high hydraulic power. Since the carries apparatus stands still during the breaker""s work and consumes no hydraulic power, there is sufficient energy available for a plurality of pulse hammer devices that work on different places.


A matrix wiring substrate comprises a plurality of first level wirings provided on an insulating substrate, a plurality of second level wirings provided on the insulating substrate to intersect the first level wirings, and an insulating layer provided between the first and second level wirings so as to electrically separate the first and second level wirings from each other. A common electrode is connected in common to the first and second level wirings for prevention of an electrostatic destruction of the insulating layer. A non-linear resistance element is connected between each of the first and second level wirings and the common electrode. The non-linear resistance element has a resistance non-linearly decreasing with increase of a voltage applied across the non-linear resistance element.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a matrix wiring substrate used as for example a drive electrode assembly of an active matrix liquid crystal display, and more specifically to a matrix wiring substrate having a common electrode for preventing an electrostatic breakdown or destruction in a manufacturing process.
2. Description of Related Art
In the prior art, this type of matrix wiring substrate has been constructed by stacking on a substrate a lower level wiring and an upper level wiring, interposing therebetween an insulating layer or a combination of an insulating layer and a semiconductor layer. In this structure, the insulating layer is apt to be broken down or destroyed by static electricity, so that the lower level wiring and the upper level wiring are short-circuited. Therefore, various countermeasures have been proposed in order to prevent the electrostatic breakdown or destruction.
Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a circuit diagram of one typical conventional matrix wiring substrate provided with the means for preventing the electrostatic destruction. The shown example is a matrix wiring substrate of a TFT (thin film transistor) active matrix liquid crystal display.
A number of pixel electrodes 1 corresponding to pixels of the liquid crystal display and each associated with one TFT 2 for individually driving the corresponding pixel electrode 1 are arranged on a glass substrate 1 in the form of a matrix. The TFTs 2 are formed of amorphous silicon (a-Si). Gates of all the TFTs 2 included in each one row are connected to a corresponding gate bus line 3 extending in an X direction, and drains of all the TFTs 2 included in each one column are connected to a corresponding drain bus line 4 extending in a Y direction. Each of the gate bus lines 2 is connected at its one end to a gate terminal 5, and at its other end to a checking pad 6. In addition, each of the drain bus line 4 is connected at its one end to a drain terminal 7, and at its other end to a checking pad 8.
For example, the gate bus lines 3 are formed from a lower level wiring, and the drain bus line 4 are formed from a upper level wiring. Therefore, crossing points P between the gate bus lines 3 and the drain bus line 4 occurs in the same number as the number of the pixels 1. In addition, the TFTs 2 provided one for each of the pixels 1 have a gate insulator sandwiched between the upper level wiring and the lower level wiring, similarly to a MOS transistor.
With the above mentioned arrangement, the crossing points P between the upper and lower level wirings and the TFTs 2 are liable to be electrostatically broken in a manufacturing process. This has become one of causes of lowering a yield of production.
In order to prevent the electrostatic breakdown or destruction, common electrodes 9 formed from a lower level wiring are provided at an outside of the gate terminals 5 and the checking electrodes, and common electrodes 10 formed from a upper level wiring are provided at an outside of the drain terminals 7 and the checking electrodes 8, and these common electrodes 9 and 10 are interconnected at four corners by means of through-hole contacts 11. The gate terminals 5 and the drain terminals 7 are connected to the common electrodes 9 and 10, respectively. With this arrangement, the upper and lower level wirings are maintained at an equal potential, so that occurrence of the electrostatic breakdown or destruction can be effectively prevented.
Incidentally, at a late stage of the manufacturing process, the common electrodes 9 and 10 are cut away by cutting along an imaginary line which connects cut marks 12.
For example, in the liquid crystal display, it is necessary to provide the upper level wirings and the lower level wirings respectively in the number corresponding to a horizontal pixel number determining a horizontal resolution of an image and in the number corresponding to a vertical pixel number determining a vertical resolution of the image. As a result, the number of the wirings exceed 1000. Therefore, from a viewpoint of product control, it is necessary to sufficiently perform a good/defective checking of wirings in the course of the manufacturing process.
In the above mentioned conventional matrix wiring substrate, however, since all the wirings are shunted to the common electrodes for prevention of the electrostatic breakdown or destruction, a sufficient checking sensibility could not have been obtained in a wiring checking (I-V checking) for discriminating the quality of the wirings. As a result, the checking has been very difficult.

Matrix wiring substrate and active matrix display having non-linear resistance elements for electrostatic discharge protection


An air management system and method are provided. The system includes a pressurized air source. A manifold block is coupled to the pressurized air source and includes a plurality of suspension valves in fluid communication with the pressurized air source for controlling air flow to and from a plurality of air springs. An accumulator is coupled to the manifold block for storing air. An accumulator valve is in fluid communication with the plurality of suspension valves and the accumulator to allow exhausted air from the plurality of air springs into the accumulator. An electronic control unit is electrically coupled to the plurality of suspension valves and the accumulator valve for controlling a sequence of operating the accumulator valve and the plurality of suspension valves to provide enhanced exhaust flow from the plurality of air springs to maintain the vehicle in a level orientation while lowering the vehicle.

Air suspension assemblies are known in the art for use on automotive vehicles. Such air suspension assemblies typically include a plurality of air springs, each for interconnecting the body and one of the wheels of the automotive vehicle for damping relative forces between the body and the wheels, and for adjusting the height of the automotive vehicle.
In order to control such air suspension assemblies, air management systems are commonly utilized. The air springs are commonly connected via one or more air lines to a manifold block of the air management system. The air management system may also include a compressor and/or pump including a motor coupled to the manifold to provide pressurized air to fill the air springs. Because moisture can be an issue in air suspension systems, air management systems may also include a dryer. While high flow rates may be desirable during inflation or exhausting of the air springs, high flow rates can, nevertheless, adversely affect the operation of the dryer and/or allow excessive levels of moisture to reside in the air management system.
Additionally, when raising or lowering the vehicle, it is desirable to maintain a constant vehicle "horizon," also referred to as concurrent leveling or one motion leveling. In other words, it is important that the air springs in the front of the vehicle are inflated and/or exhausted in a consistent manner as compared to the air springs in the rear of the vehicle, so that the vehicle stays generally level front to rear as it is raised or lowered. Pressure levels in the air springs in the front of the vehicle and the rear of the vehicle can vary depending on the weight distribution of the vehicle and loading of the vehicle at any given time. Such differences in the pressure levels can further complicate the ability of the air management system to maintain the vehicle "horizon." Thus, there remains a need for improvements to air management systems and methods of operating the air management system to provide for a level vehicle orientation front to rear as the vehicle is raised or lowered while maintaining dryer operation and proper moisture levels within the air suspension and air management system.

Vehicle suspension control system and method of operation thereof


The semiconductor device comprises a semiconductor substrate, a gate insulating film formed on the semiconductor substrate and a gate electrode formed on the gate insulating film. The gate electrode is formed of one of a film formed of conductive metal oxide film and a stacked-film constituted of the conductive metal oxide film and a metal film formed thereon.

This invention relates to a semiconductor device and the manufacturing method therefor, particularly to the semiconductor device related to gate electrode and gate wiring, and the manufacturing method therefor.
In recent years, the demand for increasing an integrated circuit in integration density and operating speed have increased more and more. To satisfy such demand, the reduction of the resistance of the inner wiring material and the like has been studied while the distance among elements and the element size are also required to be decreased. The RC delay occurs particularly in word lines, and it has been thus demanded to reduce the resistance of the word line, above all.
In order to obtain the word line having low resistance, a polycide gate constituted of a polysilicon layer and a metal silicide layer has been used in various devices, as the latest trend. The polycide film formed from refractory metal has a lower resistance than that of a polysilicon film by almost one digit, and is a suitable material for forming the low-resistance wiring. Tungsten silicide (WSi.sub.X) is the most popular material as the metal silicide constituting such a polycide film.
While, in order to reduce the delay time in such a fine line as thin as 0.25 .mu.m or below, further reduction of the resistance of the wiring is required. In order to obtain the gate electrode having sheet resistance lower than 10 .OMEGA./square with use of the polycide structure, the silicide layer must be formed thick. The thick silicide layer, however, makes it difficult to process the gate electrode pattern and to form the interlayer insulating film on the gate electrode.
In order to solve the problem, it has been thus required to attain the low sheet resistance of the gate electrode without increasing the aspect ratio of the gate electrode. To attain this object, it is essential to develop a metal gate formed by depositing a metal having lower resistivity than that of the metal silicide, directly on a gate oxide film.
Such a low-resistivity metal gate electrode, however, cannot be obtained unless various problems which have not coped with are overcome: work function, reliability of the interface between the electrode and gate insulating film, and the like.
It is particularly important for attaining the low-resistance metal gate electrode that the oxide of the electrode material should not be more stable than the gate insulating film on no account. For example, alumina (Al.sub.2 O.sub.3), the oxide of aluminum is more stable than a silicon oxide film. Therefore, if aluminum is brought into contact with a silicon oxide film, the silicon oxide film is reduced in the interface thereof and alumina is produced therein. Accordingly, when such metal as aluminum is used to form a gate electrode, the gate oxide film is decreased in thickness by the reduction.
As described above, it is necessary in forming a metal gate electrode to select the material the oxide of which is less stable than the gate insulating film. However, some gate insulating films reduced by the metal gate electrodes have been reported (IEEE, Trans. Electron Devices, ED-31, 1174 [1984]), even if the metal materials used for forming the gate electrode satisfies this requirement. This requirement is thus not always suitable for forming the gate electrode.
One of the reported gate insulating films reduced by the metal gate electrodes will be described below more specifically with reference to FIG. 1.
A sample was prepared in the following manner:
A thin silicon oxide film 72 (4 nm thick) was formed on a monocrystalline silicon substrate 71 in the thermal oxidation process. On the thin silicon oxide film 72, a molybdenum (Mo) film 73 (100 nm thick) was deposited in the sputtering process using an Mo target and Ar gas as a sputtering gas. The sample was then subjected to a heat treatment at 1000.degree. C.
As a result of the observation of the cross sectional view of the sample with use of a transmission electron microscope, the silicon oxide film 72 was observed to be partially reduced to be decreased in thickness.
The decrease of Gibbs' free energy when the molybdenum produces the oxide thereof is larger than that of Gibbs' free energy when the silicon produces the oxide thereof. Accordingly, from the thermodynamic point of view, the silicon oxide cannot be reduced by molybdenum. In a silicon oxide film, however, a partial reduction may occur by the metal introducing into the silicon oxide film during the deposition of the metal film, with the result that the reliability of the gate oxide film will be remarkably decreased.
As described above, when the metal gate electrode is used, the interface between the metal film and the gate insulating film cannot be easily controlled unlike the case using the conventional polysilicon film to form the gate electrode.
In addition thereto, problems in the manufacturing method will also occur in the device using the metal gate electrode. In particular, the size of the gate electrode notably affects the operation characteristics of the transistor, and thus high processing technique is required to obtain a desired size. The metal film, however, cannot be easily etched with high selectivity to a gate insulating film, unlike the conventional polysilicon film. For example, the etching selectivity of a tungsten film to a silicon oxide film is as low as 2-10. With such low etching selectivity, the silicon oxide film located below a gate electrode formed of the tungsten film will be etched during the tungsten film is etched. In the worst case, the etching solution may penetrate the silicon oxide film to etch the substrate. The fine pattern applicable to the 0.15 gate-width generation devices thus cannot be formed with such low etching selectivity.
The specific example of the etching with such low etching selectivity will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2A-2C.
As shown in FIG. 2A, a thin silicon oxide film 82 (4 nm thick) is formed on a monocrystalline silicon substrate 81 in the thermal oxidation process. On the thin silicon oxide film 82, a tungsten (W) film 83 (100 nm thick) is deposited in the sputtering process with use of a W target and Ar gas as a sputtering gas. A 200 nm thick silicon nitride film is then deposited on the tungsten film 83 in the CVD process. Subsequently, the sample is applied with photoresist with 1 .mu.m thickness in the spin-coat process, and then exposed to light to develop a resist pattern. Consequently, a resist pattern 85 presenting 0.15 .mu.m width gate electrodes is formed.
The silicon nitride film 84 is then etched using the resist pattern 85 as an etching mask and CHF.sub.3 /CH.sub.4 gas as an etching gas, as shown in FIG. 2B. The resist pattern 85 left after the etching process is then removed in the oxide plasma ashing process to obtain a mask pattern formed of the silicon nitride film 84.
Next, the tungsten film 83 is etched with use of the silicon nitride film 84 as an etching mask and SF.sub.6 /Cl.sub.2 mix gas as an etching gas, as shown in shown in FIG. 2C. The etching process is performed under the condition where RF power is 1.0 W/cm.sup.2, gas pressure is 10 mTorr, the flow rates of SF.sub.6 /Cl.sub.2 gas are 100 and 5 SCCM, respectively, and the temperature of the lower electrode is maintained at 80.degree. C. In this time, the tungsten film 83 is etched at an etching rate of 100 nm/min. While, the silicon oxide film 82 is etched at an etching rate below 20 nm/min. The etching selectivity in this time is as low as 5, and thus the silicon substrate 81 will be also etched.
Such low etching selectivity to the lower film will cause some problems particularly in the case where the substrate has some steps.
FIG. 3 shows such a case where the lower substrate has some steps. When a thin oxide film 92 and a tungsten film 93 are deposited on a substrate 91 having steps, the thickness of the deposited tungsten film will increase at the steps. In the anisotropic etching process, the film is etched vertically to the surface of the film to be etched. Therefore, when the film formed in such a shape is subjected to the anisotropic etching process, the etching process longer in time than the normal etching process, i.e., "overetching" needs to be performed in order to completely etch the film at the steps. Such an overetching process has to be performed to completely etch the film so as not to leave any portion not etched due to the height of the steps and variation of the etching rate. By performing the overetching process, the reliability of the semiconductor device will be improved.
However, it is also a fact that the under film located below the objective film to be etched will be also etched in the overetching process. When the under film below the objective film is formed from the material having low etching selectivity to the objective film, the most of the under film will be etched during the overetching process for the objective film. For example, when the overetching process is performed for the tungsten film 93, the etching selectivity of which to the silicon oxide film 92 is 5, up to 50% of the thickness thereof (at which the tungsten film 93 can be etched by 50 nm thick), the silicon oxide film 92 will be also etched by 10 nm thick on a calculation. In short, not only all of the gate oxide film 92 will be etched during the forming process of the tungsten film 93, but also the substrate 91 will be also etched.
To prevent such too-much etching, a barrier metal film such as titanium nitride film was inserted between the metal film and the insulation film in the device, but the etching selectivity of the upper film to the oxide film located therebelow cannot be easily increased even with use of such a barrier metal film.
As described above, unlike the polysilicon film which has been conventionally used to form a gate electrode, sufficient reliability and controllability of the interface of the metal film and the gate insulating film cannot be attained when the gate electrode is formed of a metal film. In addition, the metal film cannot be easily etched with high etching selectivity to the gate insulating film, and thus the gate electrode cannot be formed with high precision.
Further to say, general gate wiring will be formed with use of the film constituting the gate electrode, when the gate wiring is formed of a metal film, however, sufficient adhesion cannot be easily attained between the metal film and the lower insulating film.

Semiconductor device and manufacturing method therefor


A lightweight wheel and axle assembly that reduces unsprung weight thereby improving the ride. The assembly also diminishes hunting and reduces tendencies towards unstable dynamic conditions. The wheel and axle assembly is easily adaptable to conventional three-piece trucks as well as to other truck designs.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to railway cars and more particularly concerns wheel and axle assemblies for railway cars.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Railroad cars usually comprise two bogies or trucks with each truck having two sets of wheel and axle assemblies. The wheel and axle assemblies usually are solid components which add considerable unsprung weight to the railroad car. Further, the wheels are pressed on the axles to provide an interference fit.
Accordingly, it is the primary aim of this invention to provide lightweight wheel and axle assemblies easily adaptable to conventional truck designs.
A further object is to reduce unsprung weight in railroad cars, to reduce hunting, reduce tendencies towards unstable dynamic conditions and increase payload and performance.
The present invention includes a plurality of embodiments, each of which is an improvement over the Prior Art in that each includes a tubular axle connected to a journal portion of a different type car wheel, all resulting in a strong and lightweight assembly.


Since the utilization of U-shaped bracket of the present invention, the clipboard obviates the use of rivets in assembly, and the clamping bodies of a clip can be formed by injection molding. Therefore, the present invention simplifies the manufacturing process in making a clipboard or a clip, and provides the advantages of easily assembling and low cost.

The present invention is related to an improved clip structure, and more particularly to an improved clip structure of a clipboard which obviates the use of rivets in assembly.
Rivets are normally required in the conventional clipboard. A conventional clipboard as shown in FIGS. 1a, 1b, and 1c comprises a board 51, a clamping member 52, a supporting base 53, a torsional spring 54, and a pivotal axle 55. The supporting base 53 is joined with the board 51 by means of two rivets 62. The clamping member 52 is pivotally connected to two projections 63 upwardly protruding from the supporting base 53 by the pivotal axle 55, and cooperates with the board 51 to form a clamping device. The torsional spring 54 is arranged between the clamping member 52 and the supporting base 53 to bias the clamping member 52 abutting against the board 51. Since the conventional clipboard utilizes rivets to secure the supporting base 53 to the board 51, such clipboard is inconvenient to assemble and relatively expensive to produce.
An improved clip structure according to the preferred embodiments of the present invention intendes to improve on the above-described disadvantages.


A suspension system for a washing machine including a tub assembly having an outer stationary tub and an inner clothes receiving tub mounted for rotation on a central shaft extending downwardly through the lower wall of the stationary tub, comprises a first support cup defined in the base of the washing machine, support legs spaced about the periphery of and attached at first ends to the outer tub and at opposite ends to a second support cup shaped complementarily to the first cup. In a preferred embodiment, the shape of the support cups is a truncated hemisphere. The second support cup is received in the first cup to support the tub assembly on the base. A plurality of spring members are provided about the periphery of the outer tub, extending between the last mentioned tub and base to aid in stabilizing the tub assembly. A transmission, drive pulley and a brake assembly also mounted on the central rotatable shaft, serve as a drive mechanism for the washing machine, the pulley being coupled by a drive belt to a drive motor mounted on the base of the machine. A balance ring member of a predetermined weight is coupled to the central shaft for rotation therewith and is located as near as is practical to the true center of mass of the inner rotatable tub and washing machine drive mechanism, for stabilizing the rotating tub during high speed spinning, even when a clothes load in the tub is out of balance.

This invention relates generally to a suspension system for a clothes washer appliance and more particularly to a suspension system for the vertically mounted tub assembly employed therein including a spin or wash tub into which clothes to be washed are placed.
Different types of suspension systems for supporting the wash tub assembly in a clothes washing machine are shown in the prior art. Many such systems provide stabilization of the spin tub of the tub assembly, especially during a spin cycle when the clothes load therein is out of balance, to minimize the transfer of vibration from the rotatably mounted spin tub to the washing machine housing and base.
Several such systems employ a downwardly facing convex support member upon which an outer stationary tub in which the rotatable spin tub is received, is mounted. The support member is received in a complementarily shaped support surface, thereby providing a seat for the first mentioned member. Examples of such systems are illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,836,993; 3,021,997; 3,493,118; 3,922,891; and 3,922,892.
Other washer tub suspension systems employed in the prior art include inverted, interfacing convex members for supporting the vertically mounted rotatable spin tub. Examples of such systems are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,277,742; 3,285,419; 3,535,897; and 3,598,460.
While the above described suspension systems reduce to some extent the transfer of vibration from the spin tub to the washing machine housing and base, the systems provide damping of vibrations only for relatively small out-of-balance loads.
Other remedies for diminishing the vibrations produced in a spinning wash tub by an out-of-balance load have been devised. One such remedy includes the provision of a weighted ring, commonly referred to as a "balance ring", placed along or near the upper rim of the washer spin tub. The theory is based on the principle of a spinning toy top; i.e., that the weighted ring placed at or very near the head of the top tends to produce a balanced spinning thereof. While such rings do aid in stabilizing out-of-balance spinning wash tubs, they alone do not satisfactorily solve the out-of-balance problem.

Suspension system for tub assembly in clothes washing machine


Organic hydroperoxides are decomposed by drying a reaction mixture containing the organic hydroperoxide and an organic solvent and contacting the dried reaction mixture with a metal organic ligand catalyst under hydroperoxide decomposition conditions. An organic co-solvent for the hydroperoxide may also be used.

Metallophthalocyanine complexes are known catalysts for the decomposition of hydroperoxides. Sanderson et al U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,912,266 and 4,912,267 issued Mar. 27, 1990; and 4,922,035 and 4,922,036 issued May 1, 1990 disclose decomposition of t-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) dissolved in t-butanol (TBA) over a metallophthalocyanine catalyst modified by imidazole and other modifiers. Sanderson et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,992,602 issued Feb. 12, 1991 discloses partial oxidation of isobutane and distillation of the reaction product to obtain a fraction containing 80 to 90% of t-butylhydroperoxide and 20 to 10% of t-butanol, dissolving that fraction in 3 to 10 parts by weight, based on the weight of the fraction, of benzene, and decomposing the hydroperoxide in the resulting solution with a phthalocyanine decomposition catalyst. Lyons and Ellis U.S. Pat. No. 5,120,886 issued Jun. 9, 1992 discloses and claims decomposition of hydroperoxides by contact with metal ligand catalysts of coordination complexes, including phthalocyanine ligands, in which hydrogen in the phthalocyanine molecule has been substituted with electron-withdrawing elements or groups, for example halogen or nitro or cyano groups. Other ligands than phthalocyanines can be used, for example porphyrins and others as subsequently disclosed.

Metal-ligand catalyzed decomposition of organic hydroperoxides


A card for displaying price or other graphic information is mountable on a price rail of a conventional store display shelf, stand, or the like, and includes a central information carrying portion, and opposed tabs extending therefrom which are adapted to be retained in a conventional price rail. One of the tabs includes a remote enlarged portion suitable for containing information thereon and connected to that tab by a rib or a bridging portion which extends from an edge of that tab which is not retained by the price rail when the card is mounted therein.

This invention relates to a display card, conventionally containing article pricing information thereon, which is mountable on a price rail of a store display case, grocer's shelf, dairy case, display stand, or the like.
Heretofore, shelf pricing displays have included dangling "attention getting" portions which extend from or are joined to the bottom edge of such a device. Such an arrangement is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,774,328, issued Nov. 27, 1973, to Mr. O. Tanney. Unfortunately, in this arrangement the shape of the individual pricing rail portion on which a support portion or header of the device is mounted may control, or at least provide undesirable input to, the curvilinear shape of a rib or other bridging portion between the header and dangling portion.

Display card with movable extending member


A digital fractional frequency divider for fractionally dividing a digital frequency signal can include a plurality of clock division counter modules, a plurality of sampling modules, and a summing module. The plurality of clock division counter modules can each receive an input clock signal that is phase-shifted from a remaining plurality of input clock signals. Each clock division counter module can generate a long periodic pulse from the received input clock signal. Each sampling module can couple to an output of one of the plurality of clock division counter modules and can generate a short periodic pulse from the long periodic pulse. The summing module can sum the plurality of short periodic pulses to generate a fractional frequency clock signal.

Many electronic devices operate off a periodic clock signal to synchronize the transmission of data between electronic components within the device. Periodic clock signals can be provided by an oscillator, such as voltage controlled oscillator (VCO). Periodic clock signals are also used in radio devices and wireless devices to generate specified frequencies that can be used for a variety of purposes including upconversion, downconversion, and transmission on a carrier frequency. A wireless communication device may be allocated a specified range of frequency bands in which data is transmitted. A fractional frequency divider can be used to generate various frequency bands.
Reference will now be made to the exemplary embodiments illustrated, and specific language will be used herein to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended.


A specification of whether to overwrite a file having a same file name can be received based on a selection of whether to add additional information to a file name.

Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to a file transmission apparatus, a control method of the file transmission apparatus, and a storage medium.
Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there are file transmission apparatuses which read documents, convert image data of the read documents into files, and transmit the converted files according to file transmission protocols such as server message block (SMB) and a file transfer protocol (FTP).
The file transmission apparatuses set file names to files to be transmitted and transmit the files to which the file names are set.
When files having the same file names have been already stored in file transmission destinations, the stored files are overwritten with the files transmitted later.
In order to prevent a file from being overwritten unintentionally, there is a technique for adding a serial number and/or a transmission date and time of the file to the end of a file name (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-207621).
Depending on a purpose of use by a user, the user may not want to add additional information such as a serial number and a date to a file name in some cases.
For example, when a file stored in a file transmission destination is desired to be managed by being always updated to the latest one, the file already stored in the file transmission destination is to be overwritten with a file stored later.
Thus, a method can be considered which causes a user to specify whether to automatically add additional information to a file name of a file to be transmitted.
In the case in which the additional information is not added, when a file having the same file name as a file previously stored in the file transmission destination is transmitted later, it is highly likely that the file previously stored is overwritten with the file transmitted later. Thus, it is desirable that a user can specify not to overwrite the file having the same file name.
On the other hand, in the case in which the additional information is added, a file name of a file transmitted later is different from a file name of a file previously transmitted, and it is unlikely that the file previously stored in the file transmission destination is overwritten with the file transmitted later. If a user is caused to specify whether to overwrite the file having the same file name in such a case, the specification by the user will be wasted.

File transmission apparatus, control method of file transmission apparatus, and storage medium


Systems and methods for assigning a user to a physical location. User data that includes characteristics of a user is acquired. The user is matched with an attendee based on the user characteristics and attendee characteristics of the attendee. A physical location is determined based on a location that the attendee matched to the user will occupy. A notification including an identification of the physical location, an identification of the attendee, and the attendee characteristics are sent to the user. Input is received that indicates whether the user wants to obtain a right to occupy the physical location and if the input indicates that the user wants to obtain the right to occupy the physical location, then the right to occupy the physical location is obtained.

An area of ongoing research and development is social networks. Today social networks have been incorporated into every increased aspects of people's lives. As a result, people have made available through social networks a wealth of information about themselves. Specifically, people post major milestones in their lives, their likes and interests, organizations and clubs that they are members of, and their educational backgrounds onto social networks.
While a great amount of information is available that can be used to characterize users of social networks, technology has begun to evolve in developing new ways to exploit this great amount of information. In particular technology continues to develop new ways of connecting people using this great amount of information. However, technology has neglected how this great amount of information can be used to connect people in occupying a physical location or neighboring physical locations for periods of time. For example, in an airplane people are seated randomly next to people who they do not know based on the ticket that they purchase and not based on information about the characteristics of the passengers. There therefore exists a need for allowing people to obtain a right to occupy a physical location based on characteristics of attendees who will occupy the same physical location or neighboring physical locations.
Other limitations of the relevant art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon a reading of the specification and a study of the drawings.

User specific location assignment and valuation


The present invention is directed to an elevator system. The elevator system comprises a car, a counterweight, at least one belt connecting the car and counterweight, and at least one sheave having a surface that engages with the belt. At least part of the surface of the sheave that interfaces with the belt has a plurality of features for reducing unwanted noise created due to the interaction between the belt and the sheave surface.

This invention generally relates to systems in which a belt interacts with a pulley (some technologies refer to pulleys as sheaves). More particularly, this invention relates to systems, such as lifting devices or power transmission devices (e.g. drive belts) in which the interaction between the belt and the pulley may produce undesired noise.
Elevator systems are one example of the aforementioned lifting devices. Some elevator systems are traction elevator systems that use one or more belts to support and/or provide a lifting force to the elevator car and/or the counterweight. The belts can comprise a plurality of tension members, such as cords formed from steel wire, within a jacket, such as a polymer. The belts route around one or more sheaves of the elevator system, typically made of metal, to perform these functions.
These elevator systems rely upon sufficient traction between a sheave driven by the elevator machine (referred to as a drive sheave and/or traction sheave) and the belt for several reasons. First, sufficient traction ensures that the belt moves along with the drive sheave during rotation of the drive sheave by the elevator machine in order to achieve the desired movement of the car and/or counterweight. Second, sufficient traction ensures that the belt does not move relative to the drive sheave when the drive sheave is not rotating in order to keep the elevator car at a desired position (e.g. when the elevator car is at a landing).
These elevator systems may also include one or more other sheaves that help guide the belt around various components of the elevator system in a desired arrangement (referred to as deflector sheaves, idler sheaves and/or diverter sheaves).
Under certain conditions, the belt could slip relative to the sheave. This slip condition could produce an undesired noise. The undesired noise could be airborne (e.g. travelling through the air in the hoistway) or structure borne (e.g. travelling along the belt to other components of the elevator system).
A variety of approaches have been proposed for reducing or eliminating such noise. Most of those efforts have focused on the belt. Exemplary approaches include using a different jacket material, adjusting the wax content in the jacket material, or periodically conditioning the installed belt (e.g. applying a wax to the jacket).

System and method for reducing belt noise