A steam turbine for a combined gas and steam-turbine power plant process, including at least one valve arrangement for the controlled feeding of live steam into the steam turbine is disclosed. The valve arrangement has a quick-closing valve and at least one live-steam control valve assigned to the quick-closing valve. In addition, the steam turbine has a live-steam bypass, which, feeds live steam as xe2x80x9cbypass steamxe2x80x9d into the high-pressure region of the steam turbine through at least one bypass line and through a bypass feed assigned to each bypass line, but after the first turbine moving-blade row, as viewed downstream of the steam-turbine inlet region. At least one live-steam control valve and at least one bypass control valve are assigned to at least one quick-closing valve. Further, a method of feeding bypass steam into the steam turbine is disclosed.

The present invention lies in the field of steam turbines. More particularly, it relates to a combined gas and steam turbine power plant. In addition, the present invention relates to a method of feeding bypass steam into the steam turbine.
In power plant technology, power plant types may be differentiated according to their type of power generation or according to their field of application. One power plant type includes the industrial power plant, which generates current only as a secondary product. However, the more important energy product is the heating energy or the process steam for industrial or chemical processes.
Examples of a power plant type for commercial power generation include the steam-turbine power plant or the gas-turbine power plant.
A combination of a steam-turbine process with a gas-turbine process leads to a xe2x80x9ccombined-cycle processxe2x80x9d, in which at least one gas turbine is interconnected with a steam turbine. The power-generation efficiencies, which can be achieved thereby are comparatively high. Such a combined gas and steam turbine power plant is also termed a combined-cycle power plant.
However, a disadvantage of the combined-cycle power plants is that the quantity of electricity, which can be generated, depends to a great extent on the gas turbines. Gas turbines are standardized products, whose output or power generation depends significantly on ambient conditions, such as ambient temperatures. Even including the downstream steam-turbine process, the quantity of electricity generated, for example in the summer, is only about 80% of the quantity of electricity generated in the winter.
However, it is sometimes necessary for a higher quantity of electricity to be generated even in the summer months, than which can be delivered by the combined-cycle process: for example, in the event of an increased demand for electricity, during this period due to air-conditioning units being connected to the system. In order to meet this extra demand for electricity, combined-cycle power plants having supplementary firing are used. A steam generator, also called a heat recovery boiler in combined-cycle power plants, is not only fed with hot exhaust gases from the gas turbine, but is also loaded with an additional energy input by the combustion of a fossil fuel. Accordingly, the heat recovery boiler can produce a correspondingly larger steam quantity as xe2x80x9clive steamxe2x80x9d and also achieve a higher live-steam pressure. The output of the steam turbine increases accordingly, but the heat recovery boiler, the live-steam lines and other components of the live-steam path must be designed in accordance with this comparatively rare, but maximum, live-steam state.
The design is therefore affected by unusual conditions. The xe2x80x9c100% load casexe2x80x9d, at comparatively low values of the live-steam pressure, leads to a decreased efficiency of the combined-cycle power plant. In addition, the combined-cycle power plant is equipped with components of comparatively large dimensions, which are more expensive.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a steam turbine and a method of feeding bypass steam that overcome the hereinafore-mentioned disadvantages of the heretofore-known devices of this general type and that has an increased output with a comparatively low technical outlay.
With the foregoing and other objects in view, there is provided, in accordance with the present invention, a steam turbine including at least one valve arrangement, the valve arrangement having at least one quick-closing valve and at least one live-steam control valve, the live-steam control valve being assigned to the quick-closing valve is provided. A steam-turbine inlet region, a high-pressure region, and a first turbine moving-blade row, a live-steam bypass having at least one bypass line and a bypass feed are provided. The bypass feed is coupled to the bypass line. The live-steam bypass feed live steam as bypass steam into the high-pressure region, after the first turbine moving-blade row, as viewed from downstream of the steam-turbine inlet region. At least one bypass control valve is also provided. Further, both the at least one live-steam control valve and the at least one bypass control valve are assigned to the at least one quick-closing valve.
In accordance with another feature of the present invention, the at least one bypass control valve, the at least one quick-closing valve and the at least one live-steam control valve are disposed in a common valve casing.
In accordance with another feature of the present invention, the live-steam bypass includes precisely one bypass line and precisely one bypass feed.
In accordance with another feature of the present invention, the top steam turbine further includes a top steam-turbine outer casing.
In accordance with another feature of the present invention, the at least one bypass feed is disposed in the high-pressure region such that a dismantling of the bypass feed is avoided during a dismantling of the top steam-turbine outer casing.
In accordance with another feature of the present invention, there is provided at least two adjacent blade rows and a bypass inlet region. The bypass feed feeds bypass steam into the high-pressure region through the bypass inlet region. The bypass inlet region is freely selectable in an axial direction between the two adjacent blade rows.
In accordance with another feature of the present invention, there is provided a torus-like annular space, a U-shaped profile element, an inner casing, a turbine shaft section, and a blade passage disposed between the inner casing and the turbine shaft section. The torus-like annular space is defined by an outside diameter and an inside diameter.
In accordance with another feature of the present invention, the bypass steam is uniformly distributed over a circumference in the bypass inlet region by the torus-like annular space.
In accordance with another feature of the present invention, the torus-like annular space is formed by the U-shaped profile element defining a boundary of the outside diameter and at least a partial axial boundary on both sides.
In accordance with another feature of the present invention, the torus-like annular space is formed by an appropriate configuration of the inner casing for defining a boundary of the inside diameter and at least a partial axial boundary on both sides.
In accordance with another feature of the present invention, the U-shaped profile element is configured so as to be self-sealing against a partly expanded steam in the blade passage in the bypass inlet region, when a bypass-steam having a comparatively higher bypass-steam pressure in the torus-like annular space is utilized.
In accordance with another feature of the present invention, the inner casing, in the bypass inlet region, includes apertures. The apertures are disposed as at least one connection between the torus-like annular space and the blade passage. The apertures are further disposed and configured such that a homogeneous mixing of the bypass steam bypass-steam having a comparatively higher bypass-steam pressure from the torus-like annular space and the partly expanded steam in the blade passage is achieved in the bypass inlet region.
With the foregoing and other objects in view, there is provided, in accordance with the present invention, a method of feeding bypass steam into a steam turbine, which includes the steps of controlling a live steam through at least one valve arrangement, feeding the live steam via a quick-closing valve, and partially feeding the live steam to a turbine inlet region via at least one live-steam control valve. The method further includes the step of partially feeding the live steam as bypass steam to a bypass inlet region in a high-pressure region of the steam turbine via at least one bypass control valve.
In accordance with another feature of the present invention, the bypass steam is fed into a high-pressure region via a bypass line and via a bypass feed, although the bypass steam is not fed in until after a first turbine moving-blade row, which follows downstream of the steam-turbine inlet region.
In accordance with another feature of the present invention, the bypass steam is uniformly distributed over a circumference of the steam turbine by a torus-like annular space in the bypass inlet region.
In accordance with another feature of the present invention, the bypass steam is fed from a torus-like annular space into a blade passage via a plurality of apertures.
In accordance with another feature of the present invention, the method further includes the step of controlling a mixing of the bypass steam and a partly expanded steam in a blade passage by a configuration of the apertures.
In accordance with another feature of the present invention, the method further includes the step of controlling a mixing of the bypass steam and a partly expanded steam in a blade passage by a quantity and a position of the apertures.
Accordingly, the steam turbine has a quick-closing valve to which both of the at least one live-steam control valve and at least one bypass control valve are assigned. This achieves the effect that a large quantity of live steam is fed via the quick-closing valve. In this way, the live-steam pressure in the pressure generator is kept at the original pressure value, so that the steam generator advantageously need not be configured for a higher pressure.
A separate bypass quick-closing valve, which otherwise has to be connected upstream of each bypass control valve for safety reasons, is also eliminated in the configuration, according to the present invention. The quick-closing valve ensures the safety function for both of the control valves: the live-steam control valve and the bypass control valve.
Accordingly, a considerable increase in the output of the steam turbine, for example 50%, is achieved with comparatively few technical adaptations. This includes adaptations, such as the size of the quick-closing valve: technically complicated adaptations solely due to pressure, for example, thicker walls of pipes or casings, changes of materials to higher-grade steels or design adaptation of the steam turbine, are not necessary.
A further advantage is due to the improved control behavior of the steam turbine. Owing to the type of construction, live-steam control valves and bypass control valves are not completely steam-tight. In the steam turbine according to the present invention, live steam is always admitted to the bypass control valve during operation, since the common quick-closing valve is open. On account of the leakage of the bypass control valve due to the type of construction, a slight bypass steam constantly flows through the bypass line. Conventional constant draining of the bypass line is thus avoided. In addition, the bypass line is, thus, permanently heated. This has the advantage that the conventional heating phase for the bypass line is eliminated. Accordingly, the bypass line can be put into operation immediately on demand, that is, for example, directly after ignition of the supplementary firing of the heat recovery boiler and the higher steam production caused by it. The steam turbine, thus, has an advantageously reduced control time during a short-time demand for output.
An advantageous configuration of a steam turbine is achieved if the at least one bypass control valve, the quick-closing valve and the at least one live-steam control valve are disposed in a common valve casing. In this configuration, an optimally compact and thus space-saving steam turbine configuration is achieved.
In a preferred configuration of the steam turbine, according to the present invention, the at least one bypass feed is disposed in the high-pressure region of the steam turbine: for example, from below, as viewed in the direction of the gravitational force, such that dismantling of the bypass feed is avoided during dismantling of the top part of the outer casing of the steam turbine.
The top half, as viewed in the direction of the gravitational force, of the steam turbine according to the present invention is, therefore, freely accessible, for example for maintenance work. This is especially advantageous, when performing the maintenance work, because the top outer casing can be dismantled as simply as possible.
In a steam turbine configured according to the present invention, a bypass inlet region, at which the bypass feed feeds bypass steam into the high-pressure region of the steam turbine, is freely selectable in the axial direction between two adjacent blade rows of the turbine. In this way, the desired absorption capacity of the steam turbine can be realized in a simple manner.
An advantageously uniform distribution of the bypass steam over the circumference of the steam turbine in the bypass inlet region is achieved by a torus-like annular space.
The torus-like annular space has, on the one hand, a U-shaped profile element as a boundary of the outside diameter of the torus-like annular space. The legs of the U-shaped profile element, at least partly, form its axial boundary on both sides. On the other hand, the inner casing of the steam turbine, by appropriate configuration, forms the boundary of the inside diameter of the torus-like annular space. Likewise, the axial boundary on both sides is at least partly formed by appropriate configuration of the inner casing. In this way, the torus-like annular space is advantageously formed with relatively fewer components having simple configuration.
In addition, the U-shaped profile element, with the comparatively higher bypass-steam pressure in the torus-like annular space being utilized, is configured so as to be self-sealing against the already partly expanded steam in a blade passage in the bypass inlet region of the steam turbine. Thus, a complicated sealing construction is avoided.
A further advantage of the steam turbine configured according to the present invention is: the inner casing, in the bypass inlet region, has apertures as connections between the torus-like annular space and the blade passage. These apertures are disposed and configured in such a way that a homogeneous mixing of the bypass steam from the torus-like annular space and the partly expanded steam in the blade passage is achieved in the bypass inlet region of the steam turbine. In this way, the desired homogeneous mixing of bypass steam and partly expanded steam is achieved with especially simple technical measures.
Further, according to the method of feeding bypass steam into a steam turbine the present invention, first the live steam is fed from the steam turbine via a quick-closing valve, and, is then partly fed via at least one live-steam control valve, to the turbine inlet region. In addition, the live steam can be fed partly as xe2x80x9cbypass steamxe2x80x9d to a bypass inlet region in the high-pressure region of the steam turbine, via at least one bypass control valve.
The steam flow is advantageously directed to the steam turbine in a simple manner, because the live steam splits up into live steam and bypass steam, downstream of a quick-closing valve. Accordingly, an additional safety fitting, namely a separate bypass quick-closing valve, is advantageously omitted.
In addition, the steam pipelines are advantageously run in a simplified manner. Accordingly, it is possible to plan a more compact configuration of the steam turbine.
The overall bypass efficiency is improved, since a component causing the flow resistance, namely the bypass quick-closing valve, is thereby omitted. In addition, the requisite length of the steam pipelines is advantageously shortened.
In a further advantageous of the method according to the present invention, the bypass steam is fed into the high-pressure region of the steam turbine, via a bypass line and via a bypass feed, although the bypass steam is not fed in until after the first turbine moving-blade row, which follows downstream of the steam-turbine inlet region.
Accordingly, only one bypass line and one bypass feed are provided, thus, ensuring a simple and short pipeline run. This, moreover, keeps the pressure losses between bypass control valve and steam turbine low.
Other features which are considered as characteristic for the present invention are set forth in the appended claims.
Although the present invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a steam turbine and a method of feeding bypass steam, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the present invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.
The construction and method of operation of the present invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

Steam turbine and method of feeding bypass steam


The present invention relates to a method for enhancing the outline of shapes that occur in an original image which has been obtained by the use of an electro-optical scanner or similar device for the purposes of preparation for printing. The apparatus for reading images comprises the RAM 12 where plural sets of data having the relationships between the difference signal S-U and the enhancement signal K.multidot.(S-U) are stored. By selecting a proper set, the outline enhancement or graininess sublimation threshold setting can be set according color values and other photo aspects of the original, or according to the design of the original image and it's intended use.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for enhancing the outline of shapes that occur in an original image which has been obtained by the use of an electro-optical scanner or similar device for the purposes of preparation for printing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of an electro-optical scanner, or similar device, for the purposes of preparing an image that will be printed or otherwise reproduced is quite common. The preparation steps often include effecting the enhancement of the outline of shapes that occur in the original image, in order to improve the sharpness of the image made by printing or reproduction. The principles for enhancing the outlines of shapes will be described hereinafter.
The original image is divided into many parts. Each part is referred to as a "pixel". An image signal S is produced by optically scanning one pixel from the original image. If value of this image signal S is represented by an 8-bit binary code, the image signal can express any one of 256 degrees of shading.
FIG. 2 shows a series of adjacent pixels scanned from an original image. A center pixel D.sub.22, as shown in FIG. 2, is referred to as the "attention point". An image signal corresponding to the attention point is referred to as the "sharp signal". The 24 pixels surrounding the attention point (D.sub.00 -D.sub.44, excepting D.sub.22) are referred to as the "region adjacent to the attention point". A signal that is produced by averaging (or by weighted averaging) the signal levels of the pixels in the region adjacent to the attention point, is referred to as the "unsharp signal".
Enhancement of outlines is effected by using sharp signals S.sub.xy, and unsharp signals U.sub.xy corresponding to each of the attention points in the matrix of an image D.sub.xy. For example, assume that there is a line of pixels in the original image that may be represented as degrees of shading such as that shown in the original image 100 of FIG. 5. Then a series of sharp signal values, such as that shown the waveform 200 of FIG. 5, will result from scanning the original. Additionally, a series of unsharp signal values can be generated for each of the pixels making up the sharp signal, such that they may be represented by the waveform 300 of FIG. 5. In the waveform 300 of FIG. 5 the outline slopes 302 are gentler than the corresponding slopes in the waveform 200 of FIG. 5. Differential signals (S-U) can be generated by subtracting the unsharp signals U from the sharp signals S. An series of enhancement values ( K.multidot.(S-U) ) can be created by multiplying an enhancement coefficient K by the differential signal S-U as illustrated by the waveform 400 of FIG. 5. Finally, the enhancement values are added to the original sharp signal values to produce the enhanced signal representation shown in the waveform 500 of FIG. 5. By comparing the height of the signals shown in the waveform 500 of FIG. 5 with the height of the original sharp signals shown in the waveform 200 of FIG. 5, it can be seen that the absolute height of the enhanced signal is higher in the slope region 502 of FIG. 5 than in the original sharp signal. This means that the outline of the original image has been effectively enhanced.
This existing method of outline enhancement has the failing that it will operate equally on noisy picture elements, especially any graininess in the original, as well as on the actual shapes in the original image. As a result undesirable noisy elements are also enhanced. To prevent this occurrence, the enhancement coefficient K is effectively reduced to 0 when the absolute value of the differential signal (S-U) is less than a predetermined threshold value T, which is generally called the "Graininess sublimation", in the view that enhancement of graininess in the original is sublimated. The effect of modifying the value of coefficient value K, as just described, is shown in FIG. 6A. In the region A where the absolute value of the differential signal (S-U) is less than the predetermined threshold value T, the enhancement values ( K.multidot.(S-U) ) corresponding to that region A have 0 value. Consequently, outline enhancement of image areas that have relatively small changes in shading (like noisy or grainy areas) is suppressed and the problem described above is solved.
Sublimation of graininess may also be achieved by properly setting up the relationship between the differential signal S-U and the enhanced signal ( K.multidot.(S-U) as shown in FIG. 6B and FIG. 6C. In this fashion, sublimation of graininess can also prevent the unwanted enhancement of noise in the image.
The just described pre-existing methods for enhancing the outline still contain problems that will now be described.
The prior methods of graininess sublimation operate equally upon all degrees of shading. Therefore when noise occurs only at a certain degrees of shading and when the image has small levels of change in shading that occur at different points in the degrees of shading than where the noise is taking place, these small levels of actual image change are suppressed along with the noise. That is, complete enhancement of the desired shapes in the image cannot be effected when they are represented by small levels of shading difference and noise suppression is actively taking place.

Apparatus for reading images and method for enhancing the outlines of shapes


A process for detecting and reporting an out-of-range condition in at least one of a plurality of thermistors operatively associated with a heat pump used as a climate control apparatus, the heat pump having an ambient thermistor and a coil thermistor, comprising the steps of: determining a coil thermistor value, determining an ambient thermistor value, comparing the coil thermistor value with the ambient thermistor value, and reporting to a heat pump control system if the ambient thermistor value is out of range with respect to the coil thermistor value.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the detection of an out-of-range condition in thermistors used in a climate control apparatus and, more particularly, to detection of an out-of-range condition in either or both of two thermistors in a two-speed heat pump.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The typical heat pump is comprised of four primary components of equipment including a compressor, a flow restriction valve, and two heat exchangers. One of the heat exchangers is customarily referred to as the heating or cooling coil, depending on the operating cycle, and is ordinarily positioned in the building structure within duct work employed for directing the circulating room air. A fan is typically positioned adjacent the heating and cooling coil to induce the circulating air to flow over the coil and through the duct work. The second heat exchanger (commonly known as the discharge coil), the compressor, and the flow restriction valve are typically contained within a single housing unit positioned on the exterior of the building structure to be heated or cooled. A discharge fan is provided adjacent the discharge coil to induce heat exchange between the discharge coil and the ambient air. These various heat pump elements are connected in a closed series loop by tubing carrying a liquid refrigerant. The direction of flow of refrigerant in the closed system is easily reversed by a series of valves. This ready reversal of refrigerant flow direction allows the heat pump to be quickly switched between its cooling and heating cycles.
The heat pump operates most efficiently when the temperature difference between the interior and exterior environments is less than approximately 50 degrees Fahrenheit. When this temperature difference increases out of the efficient operating range of the heat pump during the heating cycle, auxiliary heat is required, and usually provided by the combustion of fossil fuel in an oil or gas fired furnace or by resistance electric heat.
Current two-speed heat pump products have two thermistors; one senses the ambient temperature and the other senses the outdoor coil temperature. A number of heat pump functions are dependent upon the readings from these two thermistors. The outdoor coil thermistor (or defrost thermistor) is used to both initiate and terminate the defrost cycle of the heat pump. The value of the ambient thermistor is referenced in energizing the crankcase heater, determining the outdoor ICM (integrated control motor) speed, second-stage latching (allowing, under certain conditions, for second stage or high speed cooling to satisfy a call by the indoor thermostat for first stage cooling), the interfacing of the heat pump with the furnace, the heating switch-over speed point for setting the compressor level, defrost initiation, and the outdoor thermostat function for auxiliary heat.
In the prior art it was possible to determine if one of the thermistors was shorted out or frozen in an open condition. However it was not possible to determine if a thermistor was out of the proper resistance range. This could lead to possible problems; for example if the ambient temperature thermistor is out of range and reads low, the system will not initiate the defrost cycle when it should. However no error code would be provided to indicate the nature of the problem and, as a result, the control which should provide the error code may be misdiagnosed as being faulty rather than having the out-of-range condition of the thermistor being recognized and corrected.
In prior art patents, for example U.S. Pat. No. 5,097,288 to Akao et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,995,240 to Barthel et al. two thermistors are used in order to sense the temperature of different elements and control portions of a system accordingly (in Akao et al. in an image forming apparatus and in Barthel et al. to control refrigerant flow in an air conditioning system). However nowhere in the prior art is the problem of one of the thermistors being or becoming out of range considered.

Process for detecting out-of-range thermistor


A compensation circuit and method for compensating for the threshold shift in an irradiated MOSFET. The method determines the gate threshold voltage to body voltage relationship to vary the body voltage with radiation. The compensation circuit (10) has at least one MOSFET (Q2) having the same channel type as the MOSFET being compensated (Q1). The at least one matching MOSFET (Q2) is connected to the gate of the MOSFET (Q1) being compensated. At least one MOSFET (Q3, Q4) having a channel type that is different from the channel type of the MOSFET (Q1) being compensated is connected to the gate of the matching MOSFET (Q2). The result is that the compensation circuit (10) controls a negative shift in the body voltage of the MOSFET (Q1) being compensated resulting in a higher threshold voltage.

The present invention relates to radiation tolerant metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFET""s) and more particularly to a method for compensating for the ionizing radiation induced threshold shift in MOSFET""s within MOS integrated circuits.
The MOS device is the heart of present day electronics and MOSFET""s are widely used in commercial space applications where they are exposed to radiation. The harsh radiation causes a build up of trapped electric charge in the oxide, which causes a shift in the transistor gate threshold voltage, resulting in a failure of the device.
Radiation tolerant MOSFET""s have been proposed to address this problem. However, the process used to fabricate radiation tolerant integrated circuits (IC""s) differs substantially from standard fabrication processes. As a result of the highly specialized fabrication process, radiation tolerant IC""s are extremely costly.
The present invention is a method for making a radiation tolerant MOSFET using standard MOSFET integrated devices. The method offsets the threshold shift by way of a compensation circuit built into the design of the MOS integrated circuit. The gate threshold voltage has been found to be a function of the body threshold voltage. The compensation circuit adjusts the body voltage of a transistor in the active circuit by using the threshold shift of other transistors in the compensation circuit, on the same integrated circuit.
The radiation induced threshold shift in a first transistor is compensated by using the radiation induced threshold shift in a second transistor, or a network of transistors, to shift the body voltage of the first transistor, thereby significantly improving the radiation tolerance of the first transistor.
The method of the present invention produces a radiation tolerant MOS device that can be produced using any available commercial process, without the need for special fabrication. The result is a significant cost reduction for radiation tolerant MOS IC""s because they can be produced using IC fabrication processes that are readily available.
It is an object of the present invention to improve the radiation tolerance of MOSFET""s. It is another object of the present invention to produce a radiation tolerant MOSFET without the need for highly specialized, expensive fabrication.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a compensation circuit to offset the threshold voltage shift induced by radiation. It is yet a further object of the present invention to design the compensation circuit based on the gate threshold voltage as a function of the body voltage of the MOSFET.
Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent when viewed in light of the detailed description of the preferred embodiment when taken in conjunction with the attached drawings and appended claims.

Method and apparatus for compensating for ionizing radiation induced threshold shift in metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors


A pressure sensor for inputting finger characteristic data and an authenticity sensor for detecting whether a finger is authentic are arranged on the surface of an IC card. A finger can be placed on the pressure sensor and the authenticity sensor at the same time. Finger characteristic data is input by the pressure sensor. A controller calculates a sum signal from the input finger characteristic data, and collates the calculated sum signal with a reference sum signal of an owner of the card stored in a dictionary memory. An authenticity detecting circuit inputs data from the authenticity sensor, and detects whether a finger is authentic. If the finger is authentic and if a coincidence is determined between the calculated and reference sum signals, the use of the IC card is permitted.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an IC card having an individual authentication function for authenticating whether a user of a card is a registered owner of the card.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, as the use of credit cards or bank cards has been rapidly increased, an increase in illegal use of these cards has become a big problem. This illegal use of cards includes the use of a card lost by its user by a third party, e.g., a person who finds it or the use of a forged card. To prevent such an illegal use of cards, it must be confirmed that a card is authentic or a user of a card is its owner.
As a conventional means for authenticating that a card is not a forged one or a user of a card is its legal owner, a password is generally used. For example, passwords of bank cards are stored in a central computing system of a bank connected to its ATM terminals through communication lines, thereby preventing an illegal use of the cards. In this case, however, when a legal user inserts a bank card into a card reader of an ATM terminal and inputs his or her password, this password can be read by third parties by a signal transmitted through communication lines. Therefore, an illegal use of cards by third parties cannot be perfectly prevented.
When an IC card is used as a bank card, on the other hand, since a password input using a terminal is internally authenticated by the card, it is impossible to read the password by a signal transmitted through communication lines. Also, when an IC card called a multifunctional IC card having a key input function and a data display function is used, a password is directly input in the card and internally authenticated by the card. Therefore, an illegal use of cards by third parties can be effectively, perfectly prevented.
Since, however, a number of four or more digits is generally used as a password, an owner of a card often forgets his or her own password. In this case, therefore, even a legal user of a card cannot use the card. In contrast, if an owner of a card designates a number which is easy to remember, e.g., his or her birth date or telephone number as a password, since this password can be easily guessed by third parties, an illegal use of the card by third parties cannot be prevented.
As a method of solving the above problems, there is a method of using physical characteristics of a user of a card instead of a password. That is, a certain physical characteristic of an owner of a card is registered beforehand, and a physical characteristic of a user of the card is checked and compared with the registered physical characteristic every time the card is used, thereby authenticating whether this user of the card is its legal user. Therefore, the owner of the card need not remember a password, and an illegal use of the card can be prevented.
To prevent an illegal use of cards of this type by third parties, a series of processing tasks from inputting of a physical characteristic to authentication must be executed by an integrated circuit incorporated in a card for the following reason. For example, such a physical characteristic is input from an external system to a card and subjected to signal processing or authentication by an internal IC of the card. Since a signal corresponding to the physical characteristic must be transmitted from the external system to the card, there is a possibility that this signal is read by third parties.
Published Unexamined Japanese Patent Application No. 63-163589 discloses an IC card with a fingerprint input device. This IC card with a fingerprint input device includes a solid-state image pickup device capable of inputting fingerprint data through a transparent film formed on the surface of the card. However, this device optically detects fingerprint data of a finger, if no water (sweat) is present between a finger and the transparent film, a contact state between the finger and the transparent film becomes worse, and it is difficult to correctly detect fingerprint data of the finger.

IC card with individual authentication function


A headband for the treatment or relief of headaches having a means for attaching said headband to the head thereby producing variable pressure to the head, said headband having one or more pockets for the insertion of treatment elements including cold, heat, vibration, and magnetism; wherein said headband is attached to the head in an annular fashion and headaches are treated or relieved by applying pressure, cold, heat, vibration, or magnetism, or any combination thereof intermittently or continuously.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the therapeutic treatment of pain. In particular, this invention relates to a device for the treatment and relief of headache pain.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Most headaches are generated by brain and surrounding tissues. These headaches can be caused by neuro-vascular, or skeletal muscle abnormalities. Dilation and distention of the extra cranial arteries produce xe2x80x9cvascular headaches.xe2x80x9d Sustained contraction of skeletal muscles of the face, scalp, and neck produce xe2x80x9ctension headaches.xe2x80x9d Headache pain is a very common condition in humans, and a common treatment is the use of oral nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents such as aspirin. Other treatment may include muscle relaxants. Such pharmacologic therapy may be ineffective and can be associated with side effects.
Nonpharmacologic treatment in the past has included acupuncture and acupressure as well as message therapy. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,382,446 and 4,765,338 disclose that the combination of hot and cold applied to the scalp may be beneficial in the treatment of headache. The headband disclosed in these patents can be used to heat or cool but not both simultaneously. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,248,215, 4,944,289, and 5,419,758 disclose a headband for headache relief using pressure but not heat or cold. U.S. Pat. No. 5,848,981 discloses a headband that uses pressure plus cold for the relief of headaches. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,314,456 and 4,781,193 disclose headache treatment devices which use both heat and cold but not pressure. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 5,314,456 further discloses the use of vibration to relieve headache pain and U.S. Pat. No. 5,529,569 further discloses the use of magnetism to relieve headache pain. In general, the prior art suggests that pressure can compress dilated blood vessels, cold can cause dilated blood vessels to constrict, heat can cause contracted muscles to relax, vibration can interfere with the normal sensory transmission of pain, and magnetism may release natural pain-killers.
The present invention makes use of the application of pressure, heat, and cold simultaneously or individually, with or without vibration or magnetism to provide a highly effective, versatile, and practical headband for the treatment or relief of headache pain.
The present invention is a headband to treat or relieve headache pain, worn around the head above the ears, covering the forehead, the sides of the head and the back of the head. The headband has a belt on a first end and a loop on a second end, and by inserting the belt through the loop a user can cinch or tighten the headband around the head to produce a desired degree of pressure. In one embodiment, the headband is composed of an inner layer and an outer layer forming one or more inner pockets that can be accessed through one or more closeable openings. One or more heating, cooling, magnetic, or vibratory elements can be removably inserted in the inner pocket to provide heat, cold, vibration, magnetism, or a combination thereof to the head and neck. In another embodiment, the headband has an outside surface and an inside surface, with means for removably attaching one or more pockets on the inside surface. A heating, cooling, vibratory, or magnetic element can be inserted into the pocket to provide heat, cold, vibration, magnetism, or a combination thereof to the head and neck by attachment of one or more pockets to the inside surface.
One object of the present invention is to provide a treatment or relief of headache pain.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a headband that is easy to place around the head, is comfortable, and will relieve the pain of headaches.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a headband that fits all head sizes.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a simple, inexpensive headband that can apply pressure, heat, cold, vibration, or magnetism to the head.
A further object of the present invention is to provide continuous treatment or relief of headache pain.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide pressure, heat, cold, vibration, or magnetism, or any combination thereof simultaneously to the head.

Lanier Ford Shaver and Payne, P.C., P.O. Box 2087


Embodiments described herein include a controller (22). The controller includes at least one interface (62) that couples the controller to stimulation circuitry (24), which includes a pair of electrodes (26a, 26b), and to measuring circuitry, and further includes controller circuitry (64). While the electrodes are coupled to skin (60) of a subject, the controller circuitry, via the interface, drives the stimulation circuitry to (i) pass a plurality of stimulating pulses (32) between the electrodes, and (ii) pass one or more reference pulses (34) between the electrodes, the reference pulses being different from each of the stimulating pulses. The controller receives, from the measuring circuitry, an impedance between the electrodes that is measured using the reference pulses. In response to the impedance measured using the reference pulses, but not in response to any impedance measured using the stimulating pulses, the controller circuitry controls the stimulation procedure. Other embodiments are also described.

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is the use of electric current produced by a device to stimulate the nerves for therapeutic purposes. Electrical muscle stimulation (EMS), also known as neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) or electromyostimulation, is the elicitation of muscle contraction using electric impulses.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,620,434, whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference, describes a device and method for applying transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation via an electrode. The device includes the electrode being arranged for detecting a change of a skin impedance and being configured for switching from a stimulation mode of operation for stimulating the nerve, into a recalibration mode of operation upon detection of the changed skin impedance. The device may include a plurality of electrodes being configured for detecting the change of the skin impedance and being configured for adjusting an electrical current flowing through the skin via the plurality of electrodes.
US Patent Application Publication 2004/0015212, whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference, describes improved operating features for an electrotherapy device are provided by the use of a peel off detection system which monitors device operation and provides necessary corrective action where appropriate. More specifically, the electrotherapy device monitors the connection characteristics of the electrodes, in order to determine if acceptable connections are being maintained to the patient. In order to monitor these connections, a baseline signal measurement is made when the system is first started. Subsequent measurements are then compared to this baseline measurement, to insure that the magnitude stays within an acceptable range. If the measurement shows a non-acceptable connection condition, the electrotherapy device is shut down and appropriate warning signals are provided to the user. Where multiple output channels are used, isolation circuits are included in the feedback network in order to insure no signal coupling exists.
An article by Degen and Loeliger, entitled "An improved Method to continuously monitor the Electrode-Skin Impedance during Bioelectric Measurements," published in the Proceedings of the 29th Annual International Conference of the IEEE EMBS, 2007, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a method that allows to monitor the electrode-skin impedance during bioelectric recordings in a continuous way, without reducing the common mode rejection ratio (CMRR) of the amplifier. The method is based on an additional common mode signal which is superimposed on the bioelectric signal.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,217,574, whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference, describes an RF ablation system comprising an irrigated split tip electrode catheter, an RF generator and a signal processor. The catheter comprises four orthogonally arranged electrodes at the distal tip. The catheter is used to map the electrical activity of a heart chamber to locate site(s) of aberrant electrical pathways to be ablated. Once an ablation site has been located, the signal processor activates the RF generator to transmit a low level RF current to each electrode member of the split tip electrode. The signal processor receives signals indicative of the impedance between each electrode member and one or more surface indifferent electrodes and determines which electrode members are associated with the highest impedance. Such electrode members are those in greatest contact with the myocardium. The signal processor then automatically activates the RF generator to transmit an RF ablation current to the electrode members in contact with the myocardium to create a lesion.

Impedance monitoring during electrostimulation


An outdoor unit for an air-conditioning apparatus includes at least a heat exchanger, a fan, a compressor, and a box-like casing housing these components and having an air inlet and an air outlet. The compressor is arranged at a location other than an air passage in which air having flowed in through the air inlet flows through the heat exchanger and the fan to the air outlet. The heat exchanger includes a plurality of heat exchange portions, and these heat exchange portions are arranged in a zigzag shape.

An existing outdoor unit for an air-conditioning apparatus includes components such as a heat exchanger, a fan, and a compressor, and a box-like casing which houses these components. The outdoor unit circulates refrigerant between the outdoor unit and an indoor unit connected thereto via a pipe and causes the refrigerant and air flowing through the heat exchanger to reject heat or remove heat therebetween, thereby cooling or heating a room. For such an existing outdoor unit for an air-conditioning apparatus, as a structure which improves the performance of an air-conditioning apparatus by increasing heat-rejecting efficiency or heat-removing efficiency, a structure has been proposed in which in order that two surfaces of a box-like casing can be utilized, a heat exchanger is arranged in an L shape along the two surfaces, or a structure has been proposed in which in order that three surfaces of a box-like casing can be utilized, a heat exchanger is arranged in substantially a U shape along the three surfaces by modifying the arrangement of a compressor (e.g., see Patent Literature 1).

Outdoor unit for air-conditioning apparatus


A semiconductor device (A1) includes a first n-type semiconductor layer (11), a second n-type semiconductor layer (12), a p-type semiconductor layer (13), a trench (3), an insulating layer (5), a gate electrode (41), and an n-type semiconductor region (14). The p-type semiconductor layer (13) includes a channel region that is along the trench (3) and in contact with the second n-type semiconductor layer (12) and the n-type semiconductor region (14). The size of the channel region in the depth direction x is 0.1 to 0.5 μm. The channel region includes a high-concentration region where the peak impurity concentration is approximately 1×1018 cm−3. The semiconductor device A1 thus configured allows achieving desirable values of on-resistance, dielectric withstand voltage and threshold voltage.

FIG. 9 shows an example of a conventional vertical insulated-gate semiconductor device having a trench structure. The semiconductor device 9A shown in the figure includes a first n-type semiconductor layer 911, a second n-type semiconductor layer 912, a p-type semiconductor layer 913, an n-type semiconductor region 914, a trench 93, a gate electrode 94 and a gate insulating layer 95.
The first n-type semiconductor layer 911 serves as a base of the semiconductor device 9A. The second n-type semiconductor layer 912, the p-type semiconductor layer 913, and the n-type semiconductor region 914 are stacked on the first n-type semiconductor layer 911.
The trench 93 is formed so as to penetrate through the p-type semiconductor layer 913 and the n-type semiconductor region 914 to reach the second n-type semiconductor layer 912. Inside the trench 93, the gate electrode 94 and the gate insulating layer 95 are provided. The gate insulating layer 95 insulates the gate electrode 94 from the second n-type semiconductor layer 912, the p-type semiconductor layer 913 and the n-type semiconductor region 914. The gate insulating layer 95 is formed along the inner surface of the trench 93.
The p-type semiconductor layer 913 includes a channel region. The channel region is along the trench 93 and in contact with the second n-type semiconductor layer 912 and the n-type semiconductor region 914.
Regarding the semiconductor device 9A thus configured, it is preferable that the on-resistance is low from the viewpoint of reducing energy loss. To prevent dielectric breakdown, it is preferable that the dielectric withstand voltage is high. Also, there is a demand for a reduced threshold voltage so that the semiconductor device can be driven by applying a relatively low voltage to the gate electrode (see Patent Document 1, for example).    Patent Document 1: JP-A-2006-32420

Silicon carbide trench MOSFET having reduced on-resistance, increased dielectric withstand voltage, and reduced threshold voltage


A method for dynamically obtaining a unified classification information graph which provides a navigation system for a user to access sought information. The method includes providing multiple information resources that include a hierarchy of categories that are associated, each, with a category. Leaf categories in the hierarchy are connected to information pages. The method further provides generating a unified classification information graph by using the hierarchy of categories and the categories of the multiple information resources. The unified classification graph includes a hierarchy of unified categories. Leaf unified categories in the hierarchy are connected to information pages, whereby, information pages accessible through the hierarchy of the multiple information resources are also accessible through the hierarchy of the unified classification information graph.

This invention relates to data retrieval and learning systems.
In the context of distributed information systems (e.g. the Internet), there is a need to provide end users with a centralized access and search service to information residing in multiple heterogeneous on-line catalogs. These on-line catalogs should be viewed by the users as if they were using the very same access method, information classification and nomenclature. This concept is called xe2x80x9cinformation integrationxe2x80x9d and is the subject of several research and development efforts. Among them are:
Stanford University Knowledge Systems Laboratory (KSL) Ontology Server Projects.
Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corporation (MCC)xe2x80x94InfoSleuth Project (MCC, Austin, Tex.).
The main problems associated with information integration include dealing with the different conceptualization systems and selecting resources.
Dealing with different conceptualization systems includes providing access to relevant information that is accessible through different classification methods and described using non-identical nomenclatures. This requires bridging the gap between the different conceptualization systemsxe2x80x94the one used by the user to describe his query and those used by each of different information resources. These conceptualization differences range from different classification methods to different nomenclature. For example, consider a user searching for xe2x80x9cRS232 Cable for Printerxe2x80x9d which is listed in one on-line catalog under the name xe2x80x9cRS232 cablexe2x80x9d in the sub-section called xe2x80x9cAccessoriesxe2x80x9d in the super-section called xe2x80x9cPrintersxe2x80x9d and in another on-line-catalog under the name xe2x80x9cPrinter cablexe2x80x9d in the section xe2x80x9cHardware accessories.xe2x80x9d This is a very tough task, since it involves the formalization of xe2x80x9cknowledge.xe2x80x9d
Dealing with resource selection includes deciding which one of the available information resources is relevant for a specific information request. For example, there is no point in accessing resources providing information about restaurants when the user is looking for an automobile. In the domain level, this is an easy task. However, in larger arrays of information resources from similar domains, the problem becomes harder.
The research projects listed above deal with different aspects of these problems and make different assumptions about the environment. However, prior to the present invention, there have been no general-purpose information integration systems. There are two main reasons for this:
1. There are no automatic mechanisms to xe2x80x9cconnectxe2x80x9d to new information resources. Current solutions to the task of connecting to information resources are based on the assumption that xe2x80x9csomeonexe2x80x9dxe2x80x94either the information requester or the information providerxe2x80x94provides an information source xe2x80x9cwrapperxe2x80x9d that enables xe2x80x9csmoothxe2x80x9d integration to the data.
2. There was no way to automatically create a large-scale conceptualization system. A current solution to the problem of creating a common unified conceptualization system is a manual solution provided by the Knowledge System Laboratory (KSL) at Stanford University. The KSL staff has developed a set of tools and services to support the process of manually building and achieving consensus on a common shared conceptualization system (termed xe2x80x9cOntologyxe2x80x9d).
It is only natural, then, that the lack of a real world conceptualization system adversely affects both the quality of the information being retrievedxe2x80x94recall and precisionxe2x80x94and the quality of the user-computer interaction. That is, real world information integration requires the automatic acquisition of a conceptual knowledge base, i.e., a conceptualization system.
In recent years, the task of automatic knowledge acquisition was usually approached by corpus-based NLP. Free text documents were used as a source for learning different relations between words, e.g., by contextual similarity.
The emergence of a global standard computer network, and more specifically, the Internet, has led to the proliferation of classified on-line catalogs. This enables use of information navigation systems. One of the innovations of the present invention is the usage of the knowledge embedded in these very navigation systems as a new source for the knowledge acquisition task in order to generate a so called unified classification information graph. Information navigation systems, by their nature, imply hierarchy relations between categories, hence they provide more precise category-relations information then free text does. The categories and the hierarchy relations between categories is utilized in the process of generating the unified classification information graph.
The present invention offers a solution to overcome the difficulties in the usage of multiple resources so as to generate the desired unified classification information graph. For example, the same piece of information may be expressed in different word order or levels of abstraction.
Since on-line catalogs are by nature subject to frequent (and occasionally also major) changesxe2x80x94e.g., new products/categories are added and/or others are deletedxe2x80x94it is important to assure that all or at least most of the modifications that occur in the on-line catalogs will be reflected in the resulting unified classification information graph. Accordingly, one of the important advantages of the system is the dynamic nature thereof, i.e., the ability to dynamically scan the multiple information resources and update, whenever required, the resulting unified information graph.
Thus the invention fulfills a long felt need by providing a system and method for obtaining and integrating multiple classification information resources using a single unified access interface.
One aspect of the invention provides for a method for dynamically obtaining a unified classification information graph that provides a navigation system for a user to access sought information. The method includes providing multiple information resources that include a respective hierarchy of categories each of which is associated with a category; leaf categories in said hierarchy being connected to information pages. The method also includes generating a unified classification information graph utilizing at least the hierarchy of categories and the categories of said multiple information resources; said unified classification graph includes a hierarchy of unified categories; leaf unified categories in said hierarchy being connected to information pages. Information pages accessible through the hierarchy of said multiple information resources are also accessible through the hierarchy of said unified classification information graph.
In one embodiment, the providing multiple information resources includes providing at least some of the multiple information resources that are located in sites of the Internet.
In another embodiment, the providing multiple information resources includes providing at least some of the multiple information resources that are located in databases.
In still another embodiment, the providing multiple information resources includes providing at least some of the multiple information resources that are located in an on-line catalog.
Still further, there is provided the step of associating categories in the hierarchy of categories in the multiple information resources with hyperlinks.
Yet still further, there is provided the step of associating categories in the hierarchy of categories in the multiple information resources with menus.
In one embodiment, the generating of a unified classification information graph includes:
initializing so as to generate a respective xe2x80x9clink graphxe2x80x9d that corresponds to each information resource. The link graph includes link graph categories.
normalizing the link graph categories so as to generate a classification graph that includes classification graph categories.
unifying the classification graph so as to generate the unified classification information graph.
In this embodiment there is further provided the step of providing URL pointers of the on-line catalog for generating the link graph.
Another aspect of the invention provides for a machine having a memory that contains data representing a unified classification information graph generated by the above method.
Still further, there is provided memory for storing data accessible by an application program, which program is accessed by a user through a user interface for the user to access sought information. The application program is executed on a data processing system. The data includes a data structure stored in the memory, the data structure including a unified classification information graph generated from multiple information resources. The unified classification information graph includes a hierarchy of unified categories; leaf unified categories in said hierarchy being connected to information pages. Information pages that are accessible through the multiple information resources are also accessible through the hierarchy of the unified classification information graph.
The invention further provides for a system for dynamically obtaining a unified classification information graph that provides a navigation system for a user to access sought information. The system includes an input device receiving multiple information resources that include a respective hierarchy of categories each of which associated with a category. Leaf categories in the hierarchy are connected to information pages. The system also includes a generator, generating a unified classification information graph utilizing at least the hierarchy of categories and the categories of said multiple information resources. The unified classification information graph includes a hierarchy of unified categories. Leaf unified categories in the hierarchy are connected to information pages. Information pages accessible through the hierarchy of the multiple information resources are also accessible through the hierarchy of said unified classification information graph.
Another aspect of the invention provides for use with a unified classification information graph generated by the above method, a method for retrieving information of interest. The method includes providing a user query, and identifying unified categories in the unified classification information graph which substantially match said query. According to the latter embodiment there is further provided the step of identifying the at least one information page in the unified classification information graph that is connected to the unified categories.
Preferably, any information page that is connected to a leaf unified category in the unified classification information graph contains information that can be described by the unified category information of said unified leaf category. Unified category information stands for the unified category of the leaf category and the unified categories of all its ancestors in the hierarchy.
Still further, preferably, all the information pages in the multiple information resources that contain information that can be described by the unified category information of said leaf unified category are connected to the latter.

Method for obtaining a unified information graph from multiple information resources


An improved sun visor with eyeshield in which the eyeshield can be positioned, in a positive and secure manner, both up and down and at incremental distances from the wearer's eyes so as to allow the wearer to keep his/her face and eyes shaded as the direction of direct and reflected sunlight changes during the course of a day.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to devices and methods therefor used to shade a person's forehead, eyes and face from the sun and, more particularly, to an improved sun visor and method therefor having an eyeshield whose position can be adjusted to keep the face and eyes shaded as the direction of direct and reflected sunlight changes, during the course of a day.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the past, a number of devices have been proposed, to protect a person's face from the sun, wind, particulate matter or the bright light emitted during welding. These devices combined a cap type structure with an eyeshield that could be positioned either up or down. Examples of these kinds of devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,654,089, 2,648,091, 2,467,448 and 1,709,765. An advance on this art, which can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,837,005 and 2,619,641, was an eyeshield that not only could be positioned up and down but could also be positioned at variable distances from the wearer's eyes. U.S. Pat. No. 4,819,274 discloses a visor type cap with a detachable eyeshield, which can be positioned both up or down and at various distances from the wearer's eyes. However, the detachable eyeshield in this prior art reference has a tendency to slide or slip from its position requiring the user to be constantly readjusting the position of the eyeshield.
Thus, there is a need for an improved sun visor with a removable eyeshield that can shade the forehead, face and eyes of the wearer from direct and indirect sunlight, in which the eyeshield is positively and securely attached in its various adjustable positions and thus is less susceptible to slippage.

Sun visor with eyeshield and method therefor


A control system for use at a dump location having a plurality of dump sites is disclosed. The control system may have a control module associated with a mobile machine and a worksite controller. The worksite controller may be configured to receive a signal from the control module indicative of the mobile machine crossing a boundary at a dump location, and assign a travel route for the mobile machine based on the signal. The travel route may include a travel segment on a common entrance row, a first single-use path from the common entrance row to a particular one of the plurality of dump sites, a second single-use path from the particular one of the plurality of dump sites to a common exit row, and a travel segment on the common exit row. The worksite controller may be further configured to communicate the travel route to the control module as the mobile machine moves toward the dump location.

Mobile machines such as haul trucks, scrapers, wheel loaders, and other types of heavy equipment are often used to haul material from a load location at which the material is loaded into the machines, to a dump location at which the material is discarded from the machines into separate piles. In order to maintain productivity and efficiency at a worksite while accomplishing predetermined site goals, travel of the machines at the dump location and positioning of the discard piles should be carefully managed. The need to properly manage the machines at the dump location can become even more important when the machines are autonomously controlled.
One attempt at managing operations of mobile machines at a dump site is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,931,875 (the '875 patent) issued to Kemner et al. on Aug. 3, 1999. In particular the '875 patent describes an autonomous vehicle system having a resource manager located at a dump site, and a queue manager located on each of multiple dump trucks. The resource manager is configured to manage each of the dump trucks and acts like a foreman assigning tasks to the trucks and tracking their progress as they perform the tasks The vehicle control system permits autonomous operation of each truck under the control of its queue manager.
When a truck of the '875 patent approaches the dump site, the queue manager sends a queue position request signal to the resource manager. In response to this signal, the resource manager sends a queue position signal back to the queue manager and establishes a queue for entry into the dump site. The truck is then stopped at the queue in a location corresponding to the assigned queue position. The resource manager determines a dump point for the truck that is incrementally offset from a previous dump point, and then determines a route to the dump point. Both the dump point and the route are communicated by the resource manager to the queue manager of the truck. The resource manager then determines when the dump point and a row at the dump site leading to the dump point are available to receive the truck, based on a prior truck being finished dumping and having left the dump row. The resource manager then sends a depart queue position signal to the queue manager. The queue manager sends a leave queue position signal, directs the truck to move to the dump point, and sends an arrive signal to the resource manager after arrival at the dump point and initiation of dumping. After completion of dumping at the dump point, the queue manager sends a dump complete signal to the resource manager, which sends back a depart dump point signal. The queue manager then sends a leave dump point signal to the resource manager and directs the truck to leave the dump point. When the truck leaves the corresponding dump row, the queue manger sends a leave dump row signal to the resource manager. When the truck leaves the dump site, the queue manager sends the resource manager a leave dump site signal. Upon receiving the leave dump site signal, the resource manager determines a future dump point for the next truck in the queue.
Although the system of the '875 patent may help manage trucks in conjunction with a dump site, the system may be less than optimal. That is, the system of the '875 patent may have reduced productivity because of limited simultaneous use of the dump site by multiple trucks. In addition, the system may require the trucks that use the dump site to stop and wait for communications of instructions at many different locations. The time spent communicating instructions back and forth between the queue manager and the resource manager could result in disjointed movement of the trucks that further reduces productivity.
The disclosed control system is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above and/or other problems of the prior art.

Machine control system having autonomous dump queuing


Flexible photonic crystal structures capable of changing color in response to strain are described. Methods for forming two-dimensional and three-dimensional flexible photonic crystal structures are described. In some aspects, the flexible photonic crystal structures include an array of holes or voids formed within a flexible material. The flexible material changes dimensions of the array when the flexible photonic crystal structures is stretched, pulled, pushed or bent. In some aspects, the flexible photonic crystal structures include an array of features made of a first material, such as a first type of polymer, embedded within a matrix material made of a second material, such as a second type of polymer. The flexible photonic crystal structures can be used in the manufacture of consumer products, such as electronic products, electronic product accessories, thin films, flexible displays and wearable products.

Photonic crystals are periodic microstructures that affect the motion of photons that are incident upon the photonic crystals in a way that causes visual effects. These structures manipulate specific wavelengths of light, resulting in a visually varied or patterns of color. Unlike colored objects that contain chemical substances that reflect and absorb certain wavelengths of light to give the object a particular color, photonic crystals reflect color by its physical microstructures, and are therefore said to reflect color by "structural coloration."
Examples of photonic crystal structures in nature include some butterfly wings that are brilliant iridescent blue due to microstructures within the butterfly wing. Photonic crystals can also be fabricated using stacks of dielectric layers of material or by forming two-dimensional patterns within a substrate. For example, two materials having different refractive indices arranged in very closely packed array patterns can create such photonic crystal effects. However, fabricated photonic crystals have fixed microstructures, and therefore have fixed responses to incident light and therefore have corresponding fixed colors.

Flexible photonic crystals with color-changing strain response


A garbage collection method of a data storage system having storage devices is provided. The method includes determining whether a garbage collection is needed in one of the storage devices, transferring a multicast garbage collection command from one of the storage devices to at least one other storage device in a write group through a multicast operation, and performing the garbage collection in one of the storage devices.

The present disclosure relates to a storage device, and a garbage collection method of a data storage system having the storage device.
A semiconductor memory device may be classified into a volatile memory device such as a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), a static random access memory (SRAM), and the like, and a nonvolatile memory device such as an electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), a ferroelectric random access memory (FRAM), a phase-change random access memory (PRAM), a magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM), a flash memory, and the like. The volatile memory device loses stored data when power is interrupted while the nonvolatile memory device can retain stored data even when power is interrupted. A flash memory has the advantages of high programming speed, low power consumption, high storage capacity. Thus, a data storage device based upon the flash memory is widely used. Examples of the data storage device based upon the flash memory include a solid state drive (SSD) replacing a conventional hard disk and a memory card such as a Secure Digital (SD) card, a MultiMediaCard (MMC), and the like.

Storage device and garbage collection method of data storage system having the storage device


The object of the present invention is to provide a gas discharge display device having improved luminous efficiency by effectively using ultraviolet ray, which is absorbed in a partition wall or a protective film and the like without contributing to excitation of a fluorescent material. By adding gadolinium to the materials excluding the fluorescent material among structures surrounding the discharge cell, ultraviolet ray having a wavelength of 315 nm is generated, which can excite the fluorescent material. The ultraviolet ray excites the fluorescent material to generate visible light, and then, electric-light conversion efficiency is improved.

The present invention relates to a display unit displaying desired images by exciting a fluorescent material, and particularly, to a material for improving luminous efficiency and a display unit using the same, which is used, for example, for a gas discharge display unit such as a plasma display panel (hereinafter referred to as PDP).
In a conventional and typical PDP, a gas containing xenon is sealed in space sandwiched between a front substrate and a back substrate. Electric discharge is induced by applying voltage to excite a gas containing xenon, a fluorescent material is excited by emission at a wavelength of 147 nm and by broad emission at a peak wavelength of 170 nm, and desired visible light is generated to display images.
FIG. 7 shows a sectional structure of an AC type plasma display panel, which is an example of the conventional gas discharge display unit. In the figure, numeral 1 is a front glass substrate, numeral 2 is a dielectric material layer, numeral 3 is a protective film, numeral 4 is a discharge gas, numeral 5 is a fluorescent layer, numeral 6 is a partition wall, numeral 7 is a lower layer, numeral 8 is an address electrode, numeral 9 is a back glass substrate, numeral 10 is a sustain discharge electrode, numeral 20 is a dischage cell, numeral 21 is a front panel, and numeral 22 is a back panel.
In the conventional PDP, by applying external voltage to the address electrode 8 and the sustain discharge electrode 10, electric discharge occurs in the discharge cell 20 to excite a discharge gas 4. And at the time when the excited discharge gas 4 is transited to stabilized state, ultraviolet ray is generated (in case of using a xenon gas, it is ray of a wavelength of 147 nm and broad ray at the peak wavelength of 170 nm). By the ultraviolet ray, the fluorescent material layer 5 in the discharge cell 20 is excited to generate visible light necessary for display. And, by using the visible light, desired images are formed and displayed.
However, in these conventional PDP, an energy conversion efficiency (display light/input power) is as low as 0.4%, power consumption is larger than that of CRT or a liquid crystal display unit. And heat is generated as shown, for example, in NIKKEI Electronics, Oct. 25, 1999 (No. 755) p99. Therefore, it has become an important subject to improve the energy conversion efficiency (or luminous efficiency).
In addition, in case of color display of the conventional PDP, balance of luminous intensities of the three kinds of fluorescent materials emitting red, green and blue is important. And it determines a white color temperature at simultaneous emission of the three colors. In the conventional PDP, luminous efficiency of a blue color fluorescent material is poor, and there has been a problem that the white color temperature is low.
With respect to the above problems, at first, as one of the methods for improving the energy conversion efficiency, there is given an effective utilization of ultraviolet ray. In the conventional PDP, the ultraviolet ray irradiated from the discharge gas present in the space of the discharge cell is radiated toward all directions. However, most of the ultraviolet ray directed to the constituting materials surrounding the discharge space excluding the fluorescent material is not utilized for exciting the fluorescent material and it becomes lost. Therefore, it is intended to effectively utilize the ultraviolet ray to improve energy conversion efficiency.
In this respect, there has been a proposal to improve luminous efficiency by utilizing the ultraviolet ray absorbed in the protective film of the dielectric. For example, there is disclosed, as shown in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 20762/1977, a method for effectively utilizing ultraviolet ray by providing the protective film with fluorescence by containing 1% by weight of CeO in MgO. Also, there is disclosed a method that a fluorescent protective film material (SrMg)2P2O7:Eu2+, which is obtained by mixing the film material with an activator to give fluorescence, absorbs ultraviolet ray generated by gas discharge and discharges ultraviolet ray having a wavelength of 2000 to 3000 xc3x85. However, the wavelength of the ultraviolet ray irradiated according to these methods is at most 300 nm (3000 xc3x85), and thus it was difficult to improve the color temperature as described above.
Also, as a method for improving the color temperature in the conventional PDP, there is, for example, a method for increasing a luminous amount of blue color against the luminous amount of red and green by changing discharging cell width of the three colors to improve the color temperature as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 308179/1998. However, according to this method, since the energy conversion efficiency is not improved and structural conditions of each cell are different, the discharge conditions are different in each cell, and there is a defect that margin of discharge becomes narrow.
In order to solve the above problems, the present inventors performed various experiments. As a result, it was found that by adding a small amount of gadolinium (hereinafter referred to as Gd) among various rare earth elements into a protective film material or the like as a PDP constituted material, the protective film or the like functions as a material for converting ultraviolet ray which generates ultraviolet ray having a longer wavelength on receipt of ultraviolet ray from the discharge gas. And the film improves the luminous efficiency of the display unit such as a plasma display panel, and additionally improves the color temperature of white color display. The present invention is based on these findings.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 220640/1995 discloses that the protective film of the alternating current discharge unit contains a compound containing gadolinium. The object of the above method is to obtain a finer magnesium oxide film formed by a printing method to improve sputtering resistance according to discharge, by simultaneously forming a spinal structured Ba0.6Sr0.4Gd2O4 compound containing magnesium oxide and gadolinium according to a printing method. Accordingly, the gadolinium compound is used as a material having adhesive function, and the gadolinium is used only for a partial substituting material of the magnesium oxide film. Furthermore, in the disclosed gadolinium compound, the portion in which gadolinium is locally present has a large gadolinium concentration of about 60% by mole. And there is no generation of long wavelength ultraviolet ray due to concentration quenching (it is thought as a phenomenon caused by absorption of excited energy due to resonance transmission among activator ions when a concentration of the luminous activator added to an oxide is high).
Additionally, it is disclosed, for example, in p120, xe2x80x9cFluorescent Material Handbookxe2x80x9d edited by Fluorescent Material Scientist Academy (published by Ohm Co.) that Gd shows extensive emission at about 315 nm. But there has not been known at all that Gd is used for ultraviolet ray conversion under environment of discharging and exciting fluorescent material.
The present invention has been conducted to solve the problems with the above conventional devices. The object of the present invention is to provide a material for converting ultraviolet ray, which can improve luminous efficiency of a gas discharge display device by utilizing ultraviolet ray otherwise absorbed in a barrier rib, a protective film and the like, and a display device using the same.
The first material for converting ultraviolet ray of the present invention comprises a small amount of gadolinium in a base substrate, wherein ultraviolet ray having the longer wavelength than the irradiated ultraviolet ray is generated by the ultraviolet irradiation.
The second material for converting ultraviolet ray of the present invention is that in the first material, the base substrate comprises an insulating material.
The third material for converting ultraviolet ray of the present invention is that in the first or second material, an amount of the gadolinium is at least 0.1 to at most 20% by mole.
The fourth material for converting ultraviolet ray of the present invention is that in any of the first to third materials, the ultraviolet ray irradiated to the base substrate has a wavelength of at least 200 nm.
The first display device of the present invention comprises a fluorescent material, an exciting means for exciting the fluorescent material and a means for converting ultraviolet ray around the fluorescent material, wherein the means for converting ultraviolet ray contains a small amount of gadolinium in a base substrate and generates, by ultraviolet ray irradiation, ultraviolet ray having a longer wavelength than the irradiated ultraviolet ray.
The second display device of the present invention is that in the first display device, the fluorescent material comprises a plurality of fluorescent materials emitting red light, green light and blue light, wherein the long wavelength ultraviolet ray is irradiated at least to the fluorescent material emitting blue light.
The third display device of the present invention is that in any of the first and second display device, an amount of the gadolinium is at least 0.1 to at most 20% by mole.
The fourth display device of the present invention is that in any of the first to third display device, a wavelength of the ultraviolet ray irradiated to the base substrate is at most 200 nm.
The fifth display device of the present invention comprises a first substrate having a dielectric and a protective film for protecting the dielectric; a second substrate having a partition wall and a fluorescent material layer and opposing to the first substrate; a rare gas filling space held between the first substrate and the second substrate; and an exciting means for exciting the fluorescent material layer by discharge of the rare gas and controlling lighting of a plurality of pixels, wherein at least one of the dielectric, the protective film and the partition wall contains a small amount of gadolinium.
The sixth display device of the present invention is that in the fifth display device, the protective film comprises MgO containing a small amount of gadolinium.
The seventh display device of the present invention is that in the fifth or the sixth display device, the fluorescent material layer comprises a plurality of fluorescent material layers, which are parted by the partition wall and emit red, green and blue light.
The eighth display device of the present invention is that in any of fifth to seventh display device, the first ultraviolet ray is generated by discharge of the rare gas to excite the gadolinium, leading to the generation of the second ultraviolet ray having a longer wavelength than that of the first ultraviolet ray.
The ninth display device of the present invention is that in the eighth display device, a white color temperature is controlled due to increase of luminous intensity of the fluorescent material layer emitting blue light by the second ultraviolet ray.
The tenth display device of the present invention is that in any of the fifth to ninth device, an amount of the gadolinium is at least 0.1 to at most 20% by mole.
The eleventh display device of the present invention is that in any of the eighth to tenth display device, a wavelength of the first ultraviolet ray is at most 200 nm.
The twelfth display device of the present invention is that in any of the eighth to eleventh display device, the fluorescent material layer has two-layered structure of the first fluorescent material layer and the second fluorescent material layer, wherein the white color temperature is controlled by setting the first ultraviolet ray and the second ultraviolet ray to the pre-determined values and by adjusting luminous intensities of the first and second fluorescent material layers.
The thirteenth display device of the present invention is that in twelfth display device, the first fluorescent material layer is formed on the second fluorescent material layer.
The fourteenth display device of the present invention is that in any of the twelfth and thirteenth display device, the first fluorescent material layer is thinner than the second fluorescent material layer.
The fifteenth display device of the present invention is that in sixth display device, an amount of the gadolinium is at least 0.1 to at most 20% by mole.

Material for converting ultraviolet ray and display device using the same


This invention is a novel exercise device, for use in either aerobic, anaerobic (i.e. muscle strengthening), proprioception activities, or aquatic exercises, which is capable of exercising opposing muscle groups in sequence using one apparatus. The device comprises a tensioning device which is used to resist elongation, thereby exercising one set of muscles, and a compressible device which is used to resist compression, thereby exercising the opposing set of muscles. Additionally, this device is constructed with an optional set of supplemental safety loops or handles which can be used in operation which will minimize the potential of the apparatus to slip off a users' limb when in the elongated position, thereby recoiling with potential injury to the participant.

This invention relates to an improved exercise device for one person which will exercise opposing muscle groups sequentially, and is available for year-round use. This multi-functional device is capable of being used in both terrestrial and aquatic environments. The aquatic environment is particularly advantageous when the user requires a low-impact workout, such as would be the case when physical therapy may be prescribed to rehabilitate a muscle group, or a set of muscle groups.
Traditional exercise equipment typically exercises only one set of muscles during utilization of the apparatus. This is illustrated by the use of resilient "rubber-band" like exercisers. This approach is effective in exercising a given set of muscles, such as the chest muscle group (e.g. pectoralis major) when grasping the device by the hands, but is not useful in exercising the opposing back muscle set (e.g. infraspinatus, teres minor, teres major, and rhomboideus major), in this example.
Since physical exertion occurs only when elongating the device, the period of time during which the device is returning to its normal "relaxed" state, is non-productive from an exercise standpoint, unless the participant uses force to prevent the rapid natural contraction of the device. Even when this is done, the exertion only benefits the contracted set of muscles. The opposing muscles, which can be exercised only by performing an operation requiring exertion in an opposite direction, such as an exertion requiring compression, are not used.
One approach to alternately exercising different sets of muscles is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,830,366. In this configuration, a central accordion-like compression member is linked via a nut and bolt configuration, to elastic tension members which provide resistance to an elongation force. The user straps the device to a pair of limbs using an inelastic strap with bayonet-type clasps.


A thrust plate for a compressor may include first and second ends and a feed hole. The first end may include a thrust surface. The second end may include a lubricant accumulation feature. The feed hole may extend between the lubricant accumulation feature and the thrust surface to provide communication therebetween. The feed hole may be angled relative to a longitudinal axis of the thrust plate such that lubricant flows through the feed hole from the lubricant accumulation feature to the thrust surface.

This section provides background information related to the present disclosure and is not necessarily prior art.
A scroll compressor generally may be classified into a vertical scroll compressor and a horizontal scroll compressor. In the scroll compressor, fluid may be compressed by relative motion between an orbiting scroll member and a non-orbiting scroll member. A thrust plate is provided on a side of an end plate of the orbiting scroll member to axially support the orbiting scroll member. Lubrication between mating surfaces of the end plate and thrust plate facilitates reliable and efficient operation of the compressor.

Thrust plate for a horizontal scroll compressor and a horizontal scroll compressor having the same