A method cleans a plurality of filters in parallel, each filter having an inlet side and an outlet side separated by a filter barrier. In an operational phase, water is filtered using a plurality of the filters, by passing the water through the filter. In a cleaning phase, at least one of the filters is cleaned while the other filters are filtering water in the operational phase. Each filter is cleaned by supplying sodium hypochlorite to an inlet side of the filter when the filter is off-line. The inlet side of the filter is allowed to soak in the sodium hypochlorite for at least 30 seconds without the sodium hypochlorite being pressurized through the filter barrier during the soaking process. The filters are cycled through the cleaning phase such that each filter is repeatedly cleaned while other filters are filtering in the operational phase.

Microfiltration, ultrafiltration, and nanofiltration of water by membrane modules and other technologies have been employed in various applications where high purity water is required.
There are different degrees of filtration, as well as different types of filter technologies, which are selected and operated in accordance with the material to be separated and the quality required. For example, the microfiltration membrane filter modules can efficiently remove fine particles and microorganisms measuring 10 μm or smaller, particularly 1 μm or smaller, and are therefore commonly used in the purification of potable water supplies and waste water.
One common type of microfiltration module uses a hollow fiber membrane. These hollow fibers can be bound in a cylindrical tube bundle type configuration to maximize filtration surface area while minimizing module volume. An alternative approach is to start with a membrane sheet, fold pleats into the sheet and then arrange the pleated sheet in either a cylindrical configuration or a planar configuration.
Among these approaches, the hollow fiber membrane module enables a large membrane filtration surface area per unit volume and is often preferably used. The hollow fiber-based microfiltration membrane module is routinely used in filtration to remove suspended solids and most bacteria and viruses to produce clear filtered water.
The hollow fiber membrane module is also used in large-scale purification plants having processing capacity over 10,000 m3 per day, in the case of potable water purification. In such an application, a large number of hollow fiber membrane modules are used to secure a large membrane area.
After a period of continuous filtering operation, however, the micropores of the membrane become clogged with debris, resulting in a decrease in flow rate of the filtered water and an increase in the filtration back pressure, thus making it necessary to either perform a major cleaning of the membrane modules or replace them. Frequent major cleaning and especially frequent change of the membrane module is economically disadvantageous.
In order to minimize major cleaning or replacement of filters, less expensive operations to partially restore the filtering function are typically carried out. In the case of an external pressure-driven hollow fiber membrane module, for example, the following processes have been used to partially restore filter function: 1) Backwashing, wherein filtered water is passed in a reverse direction from the inside to the outside of the hollow fiber membrane to dislodge debris; 2) Scrubbing of the fibers' external surfaces, initiated by pneumatically agitating the fluid surrounding the fibers (the combination of air bubbles and fluid stripping debris away from the membrane surfaces); or 3) A combination of these cleaning operations.
While beneficial, these mechanical and backwashing methods are not completely effective in removing all contaminant material and over time their efficacy gradually decreases as the membranes become fouled by material which is not so readily removed by these means. Because of the nature of the material being filtered, which is often surface water, ground water or material passing through membrane bioreactors and the like, the fouling agents are generally biological/organic in nature and also usually contain foulants of an inorganic nature.
Major cleanings typically employ chemical cleaning agents to remove foulants from membrane pores and surfaces. Because of the presence of more than one type of foulant (bio/organic foulants on the one hand, and inorganic foulants on the other), a dual chemical clean is usually required to restore the membrane's performance. An oxidant or caustic agent is used to remove organic foulants, and acids or chelating agents are used to remove inorganic materials fouling the membrane. The two chemical cleanings are carried out in series. This major cleaning process can be done in place, or the filters can be removed for cleaning. In either a clean-in-place or a remove-to-clean operation, the downtime is normally from four hours to two days. For many applications, such lengthy downtimes are cost prohibitive.
One approach to clean membrane modules is to use large quantities of chlorine in a cleaning process performed after the membranes became clogged. This "clean in place" process could take days to complete, was somewhat manual and required disassembly. In addition, it was found to cause significant chlorine dosing. Because chlorinated organic by-products are carcinogenic, the procedure could not be used in a potable water treatment system.
To avoid the potential problems associated with chlorine, this first approach instead proposed to use a monopersulfate cleaning solution. The monopersulfate cleaning solution could be fed into the feed side of hollow fiber membranes, so that membranes could stand and soak in the solution for a desired period, for example, several hours. It was also proposed to inject the monopersulfate cleaning solution to the filtrate side during a backwash mode, or to use the monopersulfate cleaning solution in repeated cycles of backwash and soaking by recirculating the persulfate solution through the membrane or membrane system. In a continuous process, the monopersulfate cleaning solution concentration could be injected immediately upstream of the membrane.
A second approach is to periodically perform a cleaning operation after a pre-determined period of filtration. According to this proposal, the cleaning operation may include scrubbing cleaning performed using air supplied by a blower and backwashing by reversing the flow of filtrate from a backwash tank. During backwashing, sodium hypochlorite would be injected into the backwash water from a chemical tank. With the second approach, scrubbing cleaning or backwashing could be performed alone or scrubbing cleaning and backwashing could be combined. For example, a membrane filtration device could be operated in the sequence of (i) filtration (ii) scrubbing cleaning, (iii) filtration, (iv) backwashing and so forth.
The primary drawback of most backwash operations is that they require significant amounts of filtered product water to be effective and this reduces the overall output of the filtering process. This production penalty becomes even more significant when chemical additives are used in the process since flushes have to be incorporated to ensure the additives do not enter the flow stream.


A peroxide-crosslinked rubber composition having a superior anti-blooming property of a crosslinking agent and a high hardness containing (A) more than 60 parts by weight but not more than 95 parts by weight of rubber selected from NR, IR, SBR, BR, EPM, EPDM, silicone rubber and/or fluororubber and (B) 5 parts by weight but less than 40 parts by weight of a polar polymer having a solubility parameter (Sp value) of at least 17.6 (Pa1/2) and a weight average molecular weight of at least 100,000.

As means for obtaining high hardness rubber in the past, the general practice is to blend a large amount of a crosslinking agent into a rubber. However, a crosslinking agent is generally low in solubility with a low polarity rubber such as a general purpose rubber, and therefore, if a rubber containing a large amount of a crosslinking agent is allowed to stand for a certain time or more, there was the problem that the crosslinking agent would cause blooming (or precipitating) on the rubber surface. As a method to solve such a problem, it is possible to use an insoluble sulfur, when crosslinking rubber with sulfur, so as to suppress blooming to a certain extent, but there has been no such method of solution, as in the case of using an in insoluble sulfur, in the case of rubber crosslinked with a non-sulfur type crosslinking agent such as a peroxide. However, in the case of a rubber for using in applications requiring thermal resistance (e.g., EPDM), peroxide cross-linking results in superior thermal resistance etc. compared with sulfur cross-linking and therefore is more preferable, but there has been a problem that the rubber obtained by a peroxide crosslinking is generally lower in modulus and other physical properties compared with rubber obtained by a conventional sulfur crosslinking (See, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 6-191805).
On the other hand, a run flat tire capable of running on for a certain distance, even if the tire pressure rapidly drops due to a puncture, burst, etc. is known in the art. For example, a pneumatic tire having a run flat property using a rubber composition comprising a hydrogenated nitrile rubber containing zinc methacrylate etc. for a side reinforcing rubber layer having a crescent sectional shape has been proposed (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 11-100463). This rubber composition exhibits a high hardness suitable for the side reinforcing layer of a run flat tire, but there was a problem that the vulcanization bondability with a conventional rubber used for tires is not sufficient, an adhesive rubber layer is needed, and, therefore, the productivity is poor. If the amount of the rubber composition comprising the hydrogenated nitrile rubber containing zinc methacrylate etc. is decreased, the vulcanization bondability is improved, but there is a problem that the desired strength required for a side reinforcing rubber is not able to be obtained.

Rubber composition and pneumatic tire using same


A circular cutting torch includes a thermal igniter assembly; a compressed grain magazine, the compressed grain magazine coupled to the thermal igniter; and a severing head assembly. The severing head assembly includes a one-piece severing head and a progressive compression deflector. The one-piece severing head and progressive compression deflector define a radial gap therebetween used to expel a jet of molten combustible material for cutting a downhole tubular member such as pipe or casing.

When drilling a subterranean wellbore for the purpose of obtaining petroleum, natural gas, water, and other underground resources, it is sometimes necessary to cut and retrieve pipe or casing during drilling operations or when unwanted circumstances occur during well completion operations. Cutting and retrieving pipe and casing may be performed in maintenance and well abandonment operations. When removing the cut section of pipe to be retrieved from the wellbore, it may be desirable to have a clean cut that leaves the outer diameter and inner diameter of the pipe approximately the same as the original condition, simplifying pipe retrieval operations.
Typical pipe cutting devices may use explosive shaped charges to sever the pipe. However, these devices may swell, crack, or otherwise deform the pipe. Explosive cutters may also leave debris in the wellbore after the cut, which may cause difficulties with pipe retrieval. Thermal cutting torches had been developed to burn through the pipe, allowing for a clean cut. However, in high pressure oil and gas wells, drilling fluids known as mud, are pumped into the well, allowing for pressure control and circulation of the drill cuttings. The drilling mud may interfere with mechanical moving parts of current thermal cutting torch designs.


A paper feed cassette capable of detecting the size of the recording medium loaded on the paper feed cassette, and an image formation device comprising this recording medium size detector. Side fences and an end fence are slidably provided to a cassette body detachably installed in the body case, and a first movable member which moves in synchronization with the sliding motion of the side fences, and a second movable member which moves in synchronization with the sliding motion of the end fence are provided to the cassette body in an overlapping state. A plurality of synthesized convex portions are formed by overlapping a plurality of first convex portions formed on the first movable member and a plurality of second convex portions formed on the second movable member, and, by sliding the side fences and the end fence in accordance with the size of the recording medium loaded on the cassette body, the width size and position of the synthesized convex portions change in accordance with the size of the recording medium loaded on the cassette body.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a paper feed cassette to be used in feeding a recording medium in an image formation device, a recording medium size detector for detecting the size of the recording medium loaded on the paper feed cassette, and an image formation device comprising this recording medium size detector.
2. Description of the Background Art
In image formation devices such as a copy machine or printer, there are types where the paper feed cassette having a recording medium loaded thereon is installed in a body case, the recording medium loaded on a paper feed cassette is fed, and image is formed on such recording medium. This kind of paper feed cassette comprises a side fence abut on the end fence in the width direction orthogonal to the feeding direction of the recording medium loaded on this cassette body, and an end fence abut on the rear end face in the feeding direction of the recording medium loaded on this cassette body, and the loading position of the recording medium is determined by sliding the side fence and end fence and abutting them on the recording medium.
Further, in an image formation device employing a paper feed cassette comprising such a slidable side fence and end fence, there is a type which comprises a mechanism for detecting the size of the recording medium loaded on the paper feed cassette from the slide position of the side fence and end fence (e.g., this is disclosed in the gazettes of Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2000-118729 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. H6-32489).
In the invention disclosed in foregoing Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2000-118729, a measurement piece which slides in synchronization with the movement of the side fence, and a portion to be measured that rotates or slides in synchronization with the movement of the end fence are provided to the paper feed cassette. First and second ranging means positioned so as to face the measuring piece/portion to be measured when the paper feed cassette is installed in the case body are provided to the body case of the image formation device to which the paper feed cassette is installed. As a result of the measuring piece sliding in synchronization with the movement of the side fence, and the portion to be measured rotating or sliding in synchronization with the movement of the end fence, the distance between the measuring piece and first ranging means, and the distance between the measure portion and second ranging means upon installing the paper feed cassette in the body case will change. By detecting these distances with the first and second ranging means, the slide position of the side fence and end fence; that is, the size of the recording medium loaded on the paper feed cassette can be detected.
Further, in the invention disclosed in foregoing Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. H6-32489, a paper sheet size recognition member that rises and falls in synchronization with the movement of a guide member (side fence), and a paper sheet size recognition member that rises and falls in synchronization with the movement of a guide member (end fence) are provided to the paper feed cassette. These paper size recognition members are disposed in mutually adjacent positions in close proximity. A plurality of actuators to be selectively pressed with the protruding paper sheet size recognition members is provided to the body case of the image formation device to which the paper feed cassette is installed. The paper sheet size recognition member rises or falls according to the size of the recording medium loaded on the paper feed cassette, the plurality of actuators is selectively pressed with the paper size recognition members protruding when the paper feed cassette is installed in the body case, and the size of the recording medium loaded on the paper feed cassette is detected depending on which actuator is being pressed.
Further, in the invention disclosed in foregoing Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2000-118729, the measuring piece that slides in synchronization with the movement of the side fence and the portion to be measured that rotates or slides in synchronization with the movement of the end fence function independently upon detecting the size of the recording medium. Thus, the ranging means for measuring the distance to the measuring piece and the ranging means for measuring the distance to the portion to be measured must be provided separately.
Further, in the invention disclosed in foregoing Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. H6-32489, the paper sheet size recognition member that rises and falls in synchronization with the movement of a guide member (side fence), and the paper sheet size recognition member that rises and falls in synchronization with the movement of a guide member (end fence) function independently upon detecting the size of the recording medium. Thus, two types of actuators; namely, an actuator for detecting the rising and falling state of the paper sheet size recognition member that rises and falls in synchronization with the movement of the guide member (side fence), and an actuator for detecting the rising and falling state of the paper sheet size recognition member that rises and falls in synchronization with the movement of the guide member (end fence) must be provided.

Paper feed cassette, recording medium size detector and image formation device using coaxial movable members for moving orthogonal fences


Provided is an apparatus for dispensing sealant material including: a disposable syringe in which sealant material is filled; a nozzle member installed at a bottom portion of the syringe, for dispensing the sealant material over a substrate; and a gas supply unit for supplying gas into the syringe to apply pressure to the sealant material in a syringe main body, and dispensing the sealant material.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for dispensing sealant material of a liquid crystal display device, and more particularly, to an apparatus for dispensing sealant material of a liquid crystal display device in which a washing processing is not required. According to the present invention, poor quality of a cell gap because of debris (foreign object) can be effectively prevented by using a disposable syringe.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In general, a liquid crystal display device is a display device in which a data signals according to image information are individually provided to liquid crystal cells disposed in a matrix to adjust a light transmissivity of the liquid crystal cells, and accordingly desired images can be displayed.
In general, the liquid crystal display device includes a liquid crystal display panel on which liquid crystal cells in a pixel unit are disposed in a matrix and a driver integrated circuit (IC) for driving the liquid crystal cells.
The liquid crystal display panel typically includes a color filter substrate and a thin film transistor array substrate that face each other, and a liquid crystal layer positioned between the color filter substrate and the thin film transistor array substrate.
A plurality of data lines for transmitting data signals provided from a data driver IC to the liquid crystal cells are orthogonal to a plurality of gate lines for transmitting scan signals provided from the gate driver IC to the liquid crystal cells on the thin film transistor array substrate of the liquid crystal display panel. The liquid crystal cells are defined at crossings between those data lines and gate lines.
The gate driver IC provides the scan signal in sequence to the plurality of gate lines to allow the liquid crystal cells disposed in the matrix to be sequentially selected for each gate line, and the liquid crystal cells of the one selected gate line receive a data signal from the data driver IC.
On the other hand, a common electrode and a pixel electrode are provided respectively at each facing inner surface of the color filter substrate and the thin film transistor array substrate to apply an electric field to the liquid crystal layer. A pixel electrode is positioned at the thin film transistor array substrate of each liquid crystal cell, while the common electrode is formed at a front surface of the color filter substrate. Therefore, the light transmissivity of the liquid crystal cells can individually be adjusted by controlling a voltage applied to the pixel electrode in when a voltage has been applied to the common electrode.
Thus, in order to control the voltage applied to the pixel electrode by a liquid crystal cell, each liquid crystal cell is provided with a thin film transistor as a switching device.
Those components of the aforementioned liquid crystal display device will be explained in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings as follows.
FIG. 1 is an exemplary view showing a schematic plan view of a unit liquid crystal display panel for which a thin film transistor array substrate and a color filter substrate of a liquid crystal display device face each other and are attached.
Referring to FIG. 1, a liquid crystal display panel 100 includes an image display unit 113 on which liquid crystal cells are disposed in a matrix, a gate pad unit 114 connected to gate lines of the image display unit 113, and a data pad unit 115 connected to data lines. Here, the gate pad unit 114 and the data pad unit 115 are formed at edge areas of a thin film transistor array substrate 101 in an area that does not overlap with a color filter substrate 102. The gate pad unit 114 provides a scan signal provided by a gate driver integrated circuit (IC) to the gate lines of the image display unit 113, while the data pad unit 115 provides image information (e.g., data signals) provided by the data driver IC to the data lines of the image display unit 113.
The data lines to which the image information is applied and the gate lines to which the scan signal is applied are arranged to perpendicularly cross each other at the thin film transistor array substrate 101 of the image display unit 113. The thin film transistor array substrate 101 include: a thin film transistor positioned at crossings between the data lines and the gate lines for switching liquid crystal cells; a pixel electrode connected to the thin film transistor for driving the liquid crystal cells; and a protection film formed at a front surface thereof for protecting the electrode and the thin film transistor.
The color filter substrate 102 of the image display unit 113 includes color filters separated by a black matrix according to a cell region and coated thereon, and a transparent common electrode which is a counter electrode of the pixel electrode positioned at the thin film transistor array substrate 101.
Such a thin film transistor array substrate 101 and the color filter substrate 102 maintain a predetermined cell gap by a spacer and are attached by a seal line 116 positioned at an outside of the image display unit 113, thereby forming a unit liquid crystal display panel.
In fabricating such unit liquid crystal display panel, a method for forming a plurality of unit liquid crystal display panels simultaneously on a large aperture mother substrate may be used in order to improve yield. Therefore, a processes for cutting and processing the mother substrate on which the plurality of liquid crystal display panels have been fabricated and thus separating the unit liquid crystal display panels from the large aperture mother substrate are required.
In the unit liquid crystal display panel separated from the large aperture mother substrate, a liquid crystal layer is positioned between the thin film transistor array substrate 101 and the color filter substrate 102 by injecting liquid crystal through a liquid crystal injection opening. Afterwards, the liquid crystal injection opening is encapsulated.
As described above, in order to fabricate the unit liquid crystal display panel, are various processes are required, including a process for individually fabricating a plurality of thin film transistor array substrates 101 and color filter substrates 102 at separate first and second mother substrates, and another process for attaching the first and second mother substrates to maintain a uniform cell gap, and a process for cutting it into unit liquid crystal display panels, thereafter injecting liquid crystal.
In particular, in order to attach the first and second mother substrates to maintain the uniform cell gap, a process for forming a seal line 116 at an outside of the image display unit 113 is required. Here, the method for forming the seal line 116 of the related art will be described in detail with reference to drawings.
FIGS. 2A and 2B are exemplary views illustrating a screen printing method for forming a seal line. As illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B, a screen printing apparatus includes a screen mask 206 patterned to allow a region for forming a seal line 216 to be selectively exposed and a squeegee 208 for selectively supplying a sealant 203 onto a substrate 200 through the screen mask 206 and forming the seal line 216.
The seal line 216 formed on the substrate 200 arranges a gap to inject liquid crystal thereinto and prevents leakage of the injected liquid crystal. Therefore, the seal line 216 is positioned along edges of the image display unit 213 of the substrate 200, and a liquid crystal injection opening 204 is located at a certain side of the seal line 216.
Thus, the screen printing method includes a step of forming the seal line 216 on the substrate 200 by depositing the sealant 203 over the screen mask 206 at which a region for forming the seal line 216 has been patterned and printing it with the squeegee 208; and a step of drying the seal line 216 by evaporating a solvent contained in the seal line 216 and leveling it.
The screen printing method has an excellent convenience of processes and therefore has been generally used. However, the sealant consumption is disadvantageously high because of forming the seal line 216 by depositing the sealant 203 over a front surface of the screen mask 206 and printing it with the squeegee 208.
Further, since the screen mask 206 is in contact with the substrate 200, a rubbing defect could occur in an alignment layer (not shown) positioned on the substrate 200, which causes a degradation of image quality of a liquid crystal display device.

Method of fabricating a liquid crystal display comprising apparatus for dispensing sealant material


An aqueous coating suspension for a fluorescent lamp comprises particles of an alkaline earth chlorofluorophosphate phosphor activated by antimony and manganese, water, at least one water soluble binder, a defoaming agent, a surface active agent and a sufficient amount of ammonium chloride for improving lamp maintenance.

In the manufacture of lamps, i.e., fluorescent, high intensity discharge lamps, a phosphor layer is typically coated on the interior surface of a glass envelope using an aqueous suspension of phosphor powder. The phosphor coating on the interior surface of the glass envelope desirably converts ultraviolet radiation emitted by the mercury discharge to emitted light of the correct color, typically visible illumination having a white color.
Aqueous phosphor coating suspensions are described in many U.S. patents. U.S. Pat. No. 3,833,398 to Schreurs describes a process for improving the adhesion of a phosphor suspension. Calcium halophosphate activated with antimony and manganese is mixed with sub-micron size aluminum oxide particles and an ammonium lignosulfonate solution and the resulting solids separated. The resulting solids are then mixed with an aqueous solution containing polyoxyethylene to form a phosphor coating suspension.
Other patents relating to aqueous phosphor suspensions include the following. U.S. Pat. No. 3,999,993 to Patel et al describes the controlled addition of ammonium hydroxide to an aqueous rare earth phosphor slurry to prevent the formation of rare earth chromate complexes. U.S. Pat. No. 4,148,935 to Schreurs describes a two coat process for a fluorescent lamp. The first coating solution of aluminum oxide contains polyoxyethylene, hydroxyethylmethyl cellulose, and glyoxal. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,340,512 to Schreurs, a temporary organic binder comprises purified carboxy methyl cellulose and polyethylene oxide.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,000,989 to Ford describes the preparation of a fine particle-size aqueous silica coating suspension including an aqueous base such ammonium hydroxide, a defoaming agent, a surface active agent, an insolubilizing agent, and a plasticizer. A pair of water soluble binders, preferably hydroxyethylcellulose and poly (ethylene oxide) are added so that a uniform silica coating results. The above patent is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,051,653 to DeBoer where the above described suspension is utilized to deposit a reflecting layer prior to coating a phosphor layer.
In addition to correct color with good lumen output and adaptability to the coating and baking process of lamp manufacture, the phosphors used in lamps must maintain their light output for thousands of hours. The term "lumen maintenance" is generally used in discussions of this changing light output with time and it is sometimes abbreviated to "maintenance".
Many factors affect lumen maintenance. Glass composition, pressure of gas fill in the lamp, choice of the rare gas, wattage per square inch of phosphor area, chemical additions to the coating suspension, lamp processing procedure, phosphor particle size, and surface treatment are all involved.
When a lamp which has operated for a considerable length of time is opened, the surface layer of the phosphor which is exposed to the arc is likely to be distinctly gray. It is speculated that possible causes of the grayness are absorption of a layer of finely divided metallic mercury, deposition of mercurous oxide, or decomposition of the phosphor with liberation of free metals. Other possible causes are decomposition reactions involving activator centers with migration of the metal to the surface and the forming color centers of various types. Since graying of the phosphor also occurs in high-pressure mercury vapor lamps where phosphor is not exposed to bombardment by mercury ions, it is likely that the graying may be caused by a photochemical reaction. Residual hydrocarbon resulting from incomplete combustion of organic binder can create phosphor discoloration leading to brightness loss. The decomposition of hydrocarbon can lead to further maintenance loss.
In the preparation of lamps from a coating suspension containing a chlorofluorophosphate activated with antimony and manganese, in particular a phosphor having the formula Ca.sub.5 -x-ySb.sub.x Mn.sub.y (PO.sub.4).sub.3 Cl.sub.z F.sub.1-x-z O.sub.x, there is a loss in weight percentage of halogen in the phosphor. This loss of halogen from the phosphor creates crystal defects that can lead to the formation of color centers and the deterioration of the phosphor resulting in poor lumen maintenance of phosphor. Hence, it desirable to reduce or eliminate hydrocarbons and the loss of halogen from the phosphor during lamp manufacture.

Aqueous phosphor coating suspension for lamps


The present invention is a preprocessing apparatus including a voice input apparatus for acquiring an uttered voice, an analog-digital conversion apparatus for converting the acquired uttered voice to digital voice data, and a comparator for selecting voice data, having a level which is equal to or higher than a certain level, from the digital voice data and for outputting the selected voice data. The preprocessing apparatus also includes a voice data cutout apparatus capable of cutting out voice data having a level which is equal to or higher than a certain level output from the comparator, while taking a phoneme as a unit, and a voice data output apparatus for outputting voice data of the phoneme unit output from the voice data cutout apparatus.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a preprocessing apparatus connected to an apparatus for diagnosing a psychosomatic state of a voice uttered by a human being, an apparatus for diagnosing the brain function, an apparatus for diagnosing a human factor, an apparatus for diagnosing affinity, an apparatus for diagnosing a vocational aptitude, and soon. The present invention belongs to the field of the medical diagnosis technique.
2. Background of the Related Art
In a conventional chaos theoretical diagnosis system or apparatus using uttered voice, a numerical value is used as a diagnosis subject data. This numeric value can be obtained by mechanically dividing a continuous uttered voice into specific processing unit time intervals, such as voice signals each having a temporal length of one second, calculating the first Lyapunov exponent in each processing unit time interval, and conducting statistical processing such as moving average calculation on the calculated first Lyapunov exponent.
If voice data of the processing unit time interval to be used in the chaos theoretical diagnosis is mechanically cut out from an input voice, then a subtle difference in a cutout point in time exerts influence upon the calculated first Lyapunov exponent and causes variation in the diagnosis value.
For reducing the variation in the diagnosis value, it is necessary to set a time that is sufficiently long as compared with the cut out time. For example, by setting an average time in the range of several tens of seconds to several minutes in the case where the processing unit time is set equal to one second. It is also necessary to calculate a temporal average value from the first Lyapunov exponent calculated in respective processing units, and use the temporal average value as a diagnosis value.
When making a chaos theoretical diagnosis from the uttered voice, for example, a continuous uttered voice ranging over at least several minutes is needed as input data in order to get a high diagnosis precision, such as to reduce an error in diagnosis value to several percents or less.
In addition, in the conventional voice signal processing method, it has been impossible to make a significant diagnosis by using a voice signal taken for an interval of approximately several times as long as the processing unit time, such as a voice signal taken for several seconds in the case where the processing unit time interval is one second.
Even if the processing unit time is made shorter, merely the number of the first Lyapunov exponent that must be calculated increases. For example, if the processing unit time is shortened from one second to 0.1 second, the number of the first Lyapunov exponent that must be calculated increases to ten times. Even if a time interval as long as ten times or more is spent for computation processing, the variation in Lyapunov exponent caused by deviation in a point in time, at which each diagnosis data is cutout, cannot be effectively reduced. It is impossible to make a significant diagnosis by using a voice taken for an interval of several seconds.
In the conventional technique described above, it has become an important problem to clarify a method for reducing the variation in the calculated first Lyapunov exponent caused by a difference in a point of time at which diagnosis data is cut out from voice data used in the chaos theoretical diagnosis. Furthermore, a method for calculating a comparatively highly reliable diagnosis value from comparatively short voice data has become an important problem in the same way.
The present invention has been developed to solve the above-described problems. An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus that reduces the variation in the first Lyapunov exponent calculated using a chaos theoretical diagnosis by cutting out unit voice data used in the chaos theoretical diagnosis while taking a phoneme as the unit, and that calculates a diagnosis value having a reliability equal to or higher than that obtained by using the conventional technique, on the basis of voice data shorter than that in the case using the conventional technique.

Electronic Navigation Research Institute, An Independent Administration Institution


A broad-spectrum, multiple wavelength illuminator comprises a luminescent body, and a plurality of semiconductor chips spaced apart from the luminescent body emitting light within one or more wavelength ranges towards the luminescent body, causing the luminescent body to emit light of one or more wavelength ranges. An optical element adjacent to the luminescent body collects light emitted by the luminescent body. An optical device collects light collected by the optical element. An aperture located between the optical element and the optical device passes the light emitted by the luminescent body along an optical axis, wherein light collected by the optical element and the optical device and passed by the aperture forms a beam of light illuminating a target. Alternatively, instead of being spaced apart from the chips, the luminescent body may be a layer adjacent to the chips.

The present invention relates generally to illumination for microscopy applications, including both fluorescence microscopy and general microscopy applications, and specifically to an illumination apparatus that uses phosphor emissions to provide broad-spectrum white light. By using multiple phosphor types, the illumination apparatus provides a broad-spectrum light output that is highly suitable for exciting the large variety of fluorescent dyes that are used in fluorescence microscopy applications, from a single illuminator. In addition, the illuminating apparatus can provide high-quality white light for brightfield viewing in general microscopy applications, including visible light image capture and photography.
Fluorescence microscopy is popularly used in numerous bio/medical applications since it enables users to label and observe specific structures or molecules. Briefly, fluorescence is a chemical process in which light of a specific wavelength or wavelength range is shined upon a fluorescent molecule, causing electrons from said fluorescent molecule to be excited to a high energy state, in a process known as excitation. These electrons remain briefly in this high energy state, for roughly a nanosecond, before dropping back to a low energy state and emitting light of a longer wavelength. This process is referred to as fluorescent emission, or alternatively as fluorescence.
In a typical fluorescence microscopy application, one or more types of fluorescent materials or molecules (also referred to as fluorescent dyes) are used, along with an illuminator apparatus that provides the exciting wavelength, or wavelengths. Different fluorescent molecules or dyes can be selected to have visually different emission spectra. Since the different fluorescent molecules or dyes that are typically used in fluorescence microscopy applications typically have different excitation wavelengths, they can be selectively excited so long as the bandwidth of the excitation light for one fluorescent molecule or dye does not overlap the excitation wavelengths of other fluorescent molecules or dyes that are being used in the same experiment. This is typically achieved by using specific wavelength-range bandpass filters to create narrow bandwidth excitation light. Broadband excitation light may also be used to simultaneously excite multiple fluorescent dyes. Furthermore, fluorescence is a probabilistic event with low signal levels so an intense light is typically used to increase the chances of the process occurring. Most fluorescence microscopy applications also benefit from having a uniformly intense illuminated field of view or area, ideally such that the size and shape of the illuminated area can be modified. Simultaneously achieving all these criteria has been difficult, but is necessary for current and future applications that require increasing levels of illumination control and consistency.
Traditional prior art fluorescence microscopy illuminators have relied on metal halide arc lamp bulbs such as Xenon or Mercury bulbs, as light sources. The broad wavelength spectrum produced by these lamps, when combined with specific color or bandpass filters, allows for the selection of different illumination or excitation wavelengths. Alternatively, multiple fluorescent dyes, with different excitation and emission wavelengths, may be simultaneously excited. In this type of implementation using metal halide arc lamp bulbs, the speed with which different wavelengths can be selected is limited by the mechanical motion of moving various filters into place. In addition to the sluggishness and unreliability of filter wheels, metal halide arc lamps are also hampered by the limited lifetime of the bulb, typically ˜2000 hours. The intensity of the light output declines with bulb use and once exhausted, the user has to undergo a complicated and expensive process of replacing the bulb and subsequently realigning the optics without any guarantee that the illuminator will perform as before. These disadvantages make acquiring consistent results difficult and inconvenient for users who must deal with the variable output of the bulbs, and who must either be trained in optical alignment or call upon professionals when a bulb needs to be replaced. In addition, metal halide arc lamps produce substantial heat, including radiated emissions in the infrared region that can cause heating of the illuminated specimens. This can lead to specimen damage, especially in the case of biological specimens. Similarly, radiated emissions in the UV region may also harm specimens. (In both cases, the use of appropriately designed excitation filters can prevent specimen exposure to damaging wavelengths.)
In recent years, several prior art multiple wavelength illuminators have been developed using different colored LEDs as light sources, that overcome numerous limitations of metal halide arc lamps. Not only do they last longer, with the lifetime of an LED chip being typically rated at well over 10,000 hours, but in addition the power output varies negligibly over that period. Furthermore, the bandwidth of the spectral output of an LED chip is typically narrow (<30 nm) which may eliminate the need for additional bandpass filters. The intensity of the output light can be quickly and accurately controlled electronically by varying the current through the LED chip(s), whereas in metal halide illuminators, the output intensity of the bulb is essentially fixed, and apertures or neutral density filters are used to attenuate the light entering the microscopy.
Prior art LED illuminators for fluorescence microscopy have thus far used up to 5 separate LED modules, each containing one, up to a few chips, for each wavelength. Since the LED chips in these modules have their own individual packaging, the modules are large so that light beams emitted from the modules will need to be combined using optical elements. Although such prior art LED illuminators allow the user the flexibility to swap out modules for new modules with different wavelengths, the additional elements such as lenses, mirrors and heat sinks required for each separate color add complexity, bulk and cost. Furthermore, the long optical paths required to combine the beams from multiple LED chips or modules that are spatially separated, make it difficult to collect and shape already highly divergent light coming from the LED chips. Even when multiple LEDs are packaged or mounted close to each other, the light output of LED chips that are located even a short distance away from the optical axis will be poorly coupled to the objective lens of the microscope.
Another limitation of prior art LED illuminators for fluorescent microscopy is that there is a "dead zone" in the visible light spectrum, where LED chips are either not readily available, or are of very limited optical output. This dead zone is roughly in the portion of the visible light spectrum that lies between green and amber (or orange), in the approximate wavelength range of 540-595 nm. Unfortunately, several popular fluorescent dyes require excitation light that is in this dead zone.
These practical issues have limited the application of such illuminators in fluorescence microscopy, which in general requires light that is both intense and spatially uniform, across the full range of wavelengths that are required for the excitation of popular fluorescent dyes.
Although the narrow spectral bandwidth (typically <30 nm) of individual LEDs can be an advantage in some fluorescent microscopy applications, bandpass excitation filters may still be needed, in order to more closely match the excitation wavelength requirements of the dye(s) being used. If excitation filter(s) are being used anyway, then the narrow spectral bandwidth of LEDs can become a disadvantage, in that the LED wavelengths being used must be selected to match the types of dyes being used. For this reason, it is desirable to have a broad-spectrum illumination apparatus that provides the lifetime, reliability, and other advantages of an LED illumination apparatus.
In order for LED illuminators and light engines to act as a satisfactory replacement for illuminators used in general microscopy applications, such as brightfield illuminators, it is desirable and even necessary to produce white light with characteristics that are similar to the light produced from an incandescent bulb, or in some cases, to accurately replicate the light provided by natural sunlight. This is especially important for microscopy applications that demand high quality light with well-controlled parameters. This is true for human eye viewing, as well as microscope photography and imaging. In a general sense, this means that the LED illuminator or light engine should have a broad spectral response or characteristic that mimics the spectral response of an incandescent bulb, and/or natural sunlight.

Broad-spectrum illuminator for microscopy applications, using the emissions of luminescent materials


The present invention provides a chlorotrifluoroethylene copolymer endowed with stress cracking resistance, chemical resistance and thermal stability. The present invention is a chlorotrifluoroethylene copolymer constituted of chlorotrifluoroethylene unit, tetrafluoroethylene unit and a monomer [A] unit derived from a monomer [A] copolymerizable with chlorotrifluoroethylene and tetrafluoroethylene, wherein the sum of chlorotrifluoroethylene unit and the tetrafluoroethylene unit amounts to 90 to 99.9 mole percent and the monomer [A] unit amounts to 0.1 to 10 mole percent.

Polychlorotrifluoroethylene [PCTFE] is known to have good gas barrier properties and low water vapor permeability. However, it has problems; it is insufficient in stress cracking resistance, thermal stability and chemical resistance and the temperature range within which it can be molded is narrow.
Attempts have been made to provide PCTFE with stress cracking resistance by copolymerizing chlorotrifluoroethylene [CTFE] with various modifier monomers. For example, CTFE/PAVE copolymers resulting from copolymerization of 0.01 to 1 mole percent of a perfluoro(alkyl vinyl ether) [PAVE] have been disclosed (cf. e.g. Patent Document 1: Japanese Kokai (Laid-open) Publication H03-287614).
These CTFE/PAVE copolymers have improved stress cracking resistance but are still insufficient in thermal stability. This is because their thermal decomposition temperature is not so high, so that, for example, in the case of coextrusion molding with a partner material having a high melting point, it is to be exposed to severe molding conditions and thus the partner materials that can be used in combination are unfavorably restricted.
Further, fluoroelastomers having a copolymerization composition comprising 30 to 60 mole percent of vinylidene fluoride, 10 to 40 mole percent of tetrafluoroethylene [TFE] and 10 to 30 mole percent of CTFE, optionally together with 5 to 15 mole percent of perfluoro(methyl vinyl ether) (cf. e.g. Patent Document 2: Japanese Kokai Publication 2000-7732) and hydroxyl group-containing fluorocopolymers resulting from polymerization of (a) TFE and/or CTFE, (b) a vinyl ether type monomer and (c) a hydroxyl group-containing vinyl ether type monomer in the proportion such that the ratio a/(b+c) amounts to about 40 to 60 mole percent (cf. e.g. Patent Document 3: Japanese Kokai Publication S60-88078), among others, have been proposed as CTFE copolymers. However, these CTFE copolymers still have a problem; namely, they are inferior in chemical resistance and thermal stability.
Other fluoropolymers have also been proposed as CTFE copolymers. They have a copolymerization composition comprising 50 to 99.8 mole percent of TFE and/or CTFE, 0.1 to 49.99 mole percent of a fluoromonomer other than TFE and CTFE and 0.01 to 5 mole percent of at least one compound selected from among itaconic acid, citraconic acid, and anhydrides thereof (cf. e.g. Patent Document 4: Laid-open European Patent Application No. 1375539). This fluoropolymer needs to have such compounds as itaconic acid as a copolymerization composition for improving adhesion strength. However, there is no specific disclosure about fluoropolymers containing both TFE and CTFE in the copolymerization composition thereof.


In accordance with aspects of the disclosure, a system and methods for thermal management of at least one processor positioned within a computing device include drawing external fluid into an enclosure of the computing device via an inlet aperture with use of at least one active pump positioned within the enclosure, directing the drawn fluid from the inlet aperture through an inlet channel formed within the enclosure to the active pump, passing the drawn fluid over the processor positioned within the enclosure by directing the drawn fluid from the active pump through an outlet channel formed within the enclosure, and expelling the drawn fluid from the enclosure of the computing device via an outlet aperture with use of the active pump after passing the drawn fluid over the processor so as to provide thermal management of the processor.

A processor of a computer generates heat, and cooling is necessary to maintain an acceptable operating temperature. An overheating processor is susceptible to malfunction or failure. A heatsink cooled by airflow may reduce operating temperature, and airflow patterns generated by a fan may reduce temperature by actively exhausting heated air. Some computers, such as laptops, use forced air cooling of the processor through small ports. However, over time, a heatsink and/or fan may be obstructed by dust or other objects placed near the small ports. Unfortunately, this may contribute to overheating and cause of malfunction and failure in laptops. As such, there currently exists a need to improve the cooling of processors within computers including laptops.

Apparatus and methods for thermal management of a computing device


A termination for a multi-conductor cable is made by providing a metal structure that includes a plurality of parallel but spaced apart fingers that are joined together by a connecting member adjacent at least one end of each finger. Each of the conductors in the cable is connected to a respective one of the fingers at a location that is spaced from the connecting member. The cable and the fingers are then over-molded with an insulating material where the conductors are connected to the fingers. This over-molding leaves a portion of the length of each finger exposed. The connecting member is then severed and removed.

This invention relates to electrical connectors for use in electronic circuitry for making electrical and mechanical connections of multi-conductor cables to other circuit structures and components.
Connecting the wires of a multi-conductor cable to another electronic circuit component such as a printed circuit board ("PCB") should be done in a way that is rapid and efficient and produces strong and reliable electrical and mechanical connection of the cable and its conductors to the other component. Especially for products where the cable may be subject to on-going stress during use of the finished product, it is desirable for the connection of the cable to the other component to be able to resist such stress and not fail to maintain secure and reliable connection of the cable. Improvements to cable termination technology are therefore always being sought.


Methods for accommodating a non-integer multiple of the M2 pitch for the cell height of a semiconductor cell and the resulting devices are disclosed. Embodiments may include forming a cell within an integrated circuit (IC) with a height of a first integer and a remainder times a track pitch of a metal track layer, and forming power rails within the metal track layer at boundaries of the cell accommodating for the remainder.

Standard cell height for semiconductor devices is conventionally an integer times the pitch of the second metal routing track (M2 pitch), such as an 8 track library or a 10 track library. Denser track libraries, such as the 8 track library, provide for better scaling but also impose significant design challenges, particularly on middle of line (MOL) constructs. Further, for FinFET semiconductor devices, the M2 pitch is usually different from the fin pitch so that a cell height that is a multiple of the M2 pitch results in a non-uniform fin grid.
A need therefore exists for a cell height that is a non-integer multiple of the M2 pitch, such as an 8.25 track, and the resulting device.

Forming modified cell architecture for finFET technology and resulting device


The present invention comprises a flourochemical composition exhibiting water and oil repellency properties which is soluble in an a hydrocarbon solvent system which is non-halogenated or substantially free of halogens and strong carbonyl solvents.

It is common to treat the surface of a textile with a composition to make the textile oil repellent, water repellent and resistant to soil. Fluorochemical compositions are commercially available for this purpose. Various patents disclose a variety of such compositions.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,803,615 (Ahlbrecht et al.) discloses a class of acrylate or methacrylate esters of N-alkyl, N-alkanol perfluoroalkanesulfonamides used to impart both repellency to water and resistance to absorption and soiling by oily and greasy materials. U.S. Pat. No. 3,236,672 (Shane et al.) discloses an oil and water repellent consisting of an alkylene imine compound and a perfluoro alkyl acrylate also useful to impart water and oil repellency.
Traditionally, the fluorochemical compositions used for oil and water repellency are dissolved in strong organic solvents. Chlorinated solvents such as trichloroethylene, perchloroethylene and 1,1,1 trichloroethane are used to dissolve fluorochemical compositions in U.S. Pat. No. 4,366,300 (Delescluse), U.S. Pat. No. 3,341,497 (Sherman) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,401,780 (Steel). However, due to the adverse effects of chlorinated hydrocarbons on the Earth's ozone layer, these solvents are no longer desirable.
Delescluse also teaches the use of strong carbonyl containing solvents such as ketones and esters used as solvents for fluorochemical compositions. The ketones disclosed by Delescluse include methylethylketone and the esters include ethyl acetate, butyl acetate and amyl acetate. These solvents are undesirable due to their toxicity and odor. In addition, these solvents can damage materials such a fabrics to which they contact. Damage can include dye bleed and even disintegration of the material.
Sherman teaches the use of a third class of solvents which are neither halogenated solvents nor strong carbonyl solvents. The solvents disclosed by Sherman include xylene. Aromatic solvents are undesirable because of their toxicity. In addition, Sherman uses these solvents in combination with a fluorochemical composition comprising: (1) about 2 to about 50 percent by weight of monomeric units of R.sub.f P where R.sub.f is a perfluorocarbon radical-containing at least 4 carbon atoms and P is a polymerizable group containing terminally ethylenic unsaturation, (2) about 1 to about 25 percent by weight of a monomer containing a functional grouping containing either amide, amine, urea or hydroxyl group reactable with formaldehyde and (3) about 25 to about 97 percent by weight of a terminally ethylenically unsaturated monomer free of active hydrogen and nonvinylic fluorine such as acrylic and esters thereof. A drawback associated with Sherman's fluorochemical composition is that it is insoluble in nonhalogenated solvents when it contains fluorine in amounts greater than 40 percent by weight.
Delescluse discloses yet another type of solvent, useful to dissolve fluorocarbon compositions. The fourth type of solvent comprises aliphatic hydrocarbons which include gasoline and white spirit. Delescluse teaches the use of this group of solvents in conjunction with a liquid composition comprising 89 to 99.5% by weight solvent, 0.1 to 1% by weight fluorinated resin and 0.4 to 10% by weight adjuvant. The adjuvants, which include thermoplastic resins, waxes and aminoplast resins based on melamine, are utilized by Delescluse as binder resins. Binder resins can be defined as substances used to distribute the fluorochemical composition throughout a coating and to afford adhesion to the substrate onto which the fluorochemical composition is applied.
Thus, there currently exists a need for a fluorochemical composition which does not utilize a binder resin in a hydrocarbon solvent system and which is soluble in a solvent system which is non-halogenated or substantially non-halogenated and which is substantially free of strong carbonyl solvents.

Fabric repellent treatment from hydrocarbon solvent system

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company


A compound semiconductor has a high electron concentration of 5×1019 cm−3 or higher, exhibits an electron mobility of 46 cm2/V·s or higher, and exhibits a low electric resistance, and thus is usable to produce a high performance semiconductor device. The present invention provides a group 13 nitride semiconductor of n-type conductivity that may be formed as a film on a substrate having a large area size at a temperature of room temperature to 700° C.

Devices using group 13 nitride semiconductors such as GaN and InN are now put into practical use in a wide range of products. Conventionally, an MOCVD method and an MBE method have been used for crystal growth of such a group 13 nitride semiconductor. However, the MOCVD method requires a process temperature exceeding 1000° C. The MBE method allows a compound semiconductor film to be formed at a low temperature, but is not suitable to mass manufacturing because there is a limit on the area size of the film that may be formed and the manufacturing cost is high.
With the MBE method, if donors are incorporated at a high concentration, absorption by the high concentration donor level generated in the forbidden band in the vicinity of the conduction band of the crystal structure occurs. For this reason, the MBE method has a problem that the transparency of the manufactured compound semiconductor film is decreased (Non-patent Document 1). For these reasons, the MOCVD method is now used to manufacture a compound semiconductor, mainly, to manufacture a nitride semiconductor fora practical use.
Currently, next-generation electronic devices having both a high withstand voltage and a low on-resistance are desired. In order to realize such an electronic device, it is desired to realize a two-, three-, or four-component compound semiconductor, more specifically, a compound semiconductor device using a group 13 nitride semiconductor. This requires further improvement in the quality of the crystal of such a compound semiconductor and improvement in the refinement of the doping technology. Especially for a vertical power device to be formed on a GaN substrate, it is urged to decrease the carbon concentration of an n-type drift layer and to improve the electron mobility. There are the following documents describing the prior art.
Patent Document 1 discloses a semiconductor device including a buffer layer formed of a metal nitride and a semiconductor layer, which are provided on a copper substrate.
Patent Document 2 discloses examples of a semiconductor substrate including a graphite plate having a thickness of 10 to 100 μm, containing a sintered polymer and having a heat resistance and flexibility, a buffer layer formed of HfN on the graphite plate, and a semiconductor layer formed of GaN on the buffer layer. Patent Document 3 discloses a method for manufacturing a group-III-V compound semiconductor by epitaxial growth on a ZnO substrate.
Non-patent Document 1 discloses research results on formation of a p-type GaN semiconductor layer. Non-patent Document 2 discloses research results on the contact resistance of a p-type GaN semiconductor layer. Non-patent Document 3 discloses research results on a low concentration doping technology into a nitride semiconductor. Non-patent Document 4 discloses research results on a transport model of electrons in a high electric field. Non-patent Document 5 discloses research results on a model of carrier mobility of GaN. Non-patent Document 6 discloses research results on evaluation of the contact resistance against a p-type GaN formed by a PSD method. Non-patent Document 7 discloses examples of experiments of producing an LED on glass. Non-patent Document 8 discloses research results on a nitride single crystal grown by the PSD method.

Compound semiconductor, method for manufacturing same, and nitride semiconductor


A faucet spout structure comprises a spout housed between upper and lower housings of a water supply seat and assembled onto an outlet mount equipped with handles and a deck. The spout has a first connecting tube with an abutment surface and a stepwise coupling section extending at one end, to which a sealing ring and a coupling cavity of a second connecting tube are sequentially joined and firmly located by a buckling collar. The second connecting tube has the other end equipped with an external-threaded locking section and a stepwise conjoining section to fix to an assembling section of an outlet duct mounted to the outlet mount. The first connecting tube also has a fixing section defined by a water outlet to which a nozzle is secured and fixed to the conjoining end area of the upper and lower housings, achieving flexible assembly and maintenance of the spout thereby.

The present invention relates to a faucet spout structure wherein the spout made up of first and second connecting tubes is molded in a movable-type assembly to be housed between a set of upper and lower housings of a water supply seat without being restricted by the form of the mutually engaged upper and lower housings so as to avoid the disadvantage of conventional spouts integrally molded and fixed between upper and lower housings; whereby the present invention can facilitate easy and speedy assembly and maintenance, reducing the cost of production to boost economical efficiency thereby.
Please refer to FIG. 1 showing an exploded perspective view of a conventional faucet spout structure (accompanied by FIG. 2). A conventional faucet spout includes a faucet 10 having a water supply mount 12 with handles 11 fixed thereto, and a set of upper and lower housings 13, 14 to house an integrally-molded water-discharge tube 15 therein. The water-discharge tube 15 is bent into an arcuate hooked shape to match to the curvature of the reciprocally combined upper and lower housings 13, 14 thereby. The water-discharge tube 15 also has one end equipped with a locking section 151 to secure to an assembling section 161 of a coupling tube 16 mounted to a central through hole 121 of the water supply mount 12, and match to a lift rod 17 extending through a clearance recess 121 disposed at one side of the central through hole 121. The water-discharge tube 15 has the other end equipped with a fixing section 152 to which a nozzle 18 is secured and locked onto the conjoining end edge of the upper and lower housings 13, 14 to complete the assembly of the faucet 10 thereof.
There are some drawbacks to such conventional faucet spout structure. First, the water-discharge tube 15 must be integrally molded in individual cast to fit to the form of the upper and lower housings 13, 14, which increases not only the cost of material but also the difficulty in assembly and maintenance thereof. Second, the water-discharge tube 15 molded via cast tends to have rough internal surfaces, which can easily get limescale accumulated thereon and result in the blockage of the tubing passage thereof. In addition, the water-discharge tube 15, molded in a fixed type, must be replaced as a whole set. Thus, the defective rate thereof is greatly increased and the cost and time spent on the maintenance thereof are also augmented as a result.


The watercraft dry storage assembly includes a cylindrical port bladder and a cylindrical starboard bladder. Both bladders are made from sheet material with a substantially non-stretchable polyester or nylon scrim encased in a poly vinyl chloride plastic, a urethane plastic or a mixture of poly-vinyl chloride and urethane. The bladders are attached to each other. A blower system blows air into the bladders to lift a boat hull out of the water. The blower system also sucks air out of the bladders to lower the boat into the water. A guide system indicates the location of the bladders under the water and guides the bladders as they are inflated. One or more envelopes with open tops are attached to the bladders if required and receive rudders, keels and propellers as they are raised by the bladders. After the open tops are raised above the water, water in the envelopes are pumped out by a pump.

1. Field of the Invention
A boat is protected from contaminants in water and water borne organisms during extended periods of non-use by inflatable bladders that lift the hull above the surface of the water, an envelope with an open top edge that encases the keel, rudder and/or propeller as required, an envelope holder that secures the open edge of the envelope above the surface of the water, and a pump that removes water from the envelope.
2. Related Art
Boats are usually taken out of the water during extended periods of non-use. Removal from the water is expensive for boats that are to large to be carried on a trailer pulled by a small truck or car. Removal as well as return to the water may have to be scheduled weeks or even months in advance. As a result a boat is often unavailable for use on days when the weather is excellent for boating.
Boats are often left in the water during periods of non-use of a few weeks. Contaminants in the water can stick to and stain surfaces of the boat hull and keel. Various water borne organisms can attach to the hull, grow for periods of time and damage the hull and keel surfaces.
Inflatable airbags have been used to lift the hull of boats above the surface of the water. These airbags have not however lifted the keel of a sailboat out of the water. The rudder and prop of motorboats may also remain in the water. Sailboats with a fixed keel would be unstable if the hull and the keel were both lifted above the water by airbags.
Flexible containers have been employed to receive the submerged surfaces of ocean going ships. These containers receive chemical that kill marine life attached to the ship hull. Pumps are provided to pump water and chemicals into and out of the container. Following the chemical treatment, the ship is returned to service. The system is for quick treatment to remove marine life from a ship hull. Damage to the hull has most likely occurred prior to chemical treatment. The pumps and chemical storage tanks are on a barge that has substantial size. Two small boats are used to pull one of the containers from the barge. Multiple motors are required to power pumps, wenches, screws and other portions of the system. Such systems are clearly designed to periodically treat the hulls of a number of ships each year.

Watercraft dry storage and storage method


A method of manufacturing a solar cell includes forming a diffusion layer on a crystal-type silicon substrate. The diffusion layer has a conductivity opposite to that of the substrate. Furthermore, the method includes etching and removing a part of the diffusion layer by using sodium silicate, and forming a first electrode that makes an electric contact with the diffusion layer and forming a second electrode that makes an electric contact with the substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a silicon solar cell, and, more particularly to a method of electrically insulating electrodes of the solar cell.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a silicon solar cell, light is converted into electricity by separating and collecting carriers (electrons and holes) with the aid of diffusion potential of a pn junction of the solar cell. Carriers are generated when light is irradiated to the pn junction.
Silicon solar cells can be of two types: front-surface-junction solar cells and back-surface-junction solar cell. In a front-surface-junction solar cell, as shown in FIG. 3, electrodes are formed on a front surface (light receiving surface) and a back surface. This solar cell has an n-type diffusion layer 2 on a front surface of a p-type silicon substrate 1, and a pn junction 3 in the boundary of the p-type silicon substrate 1 and the n-type diffusion layer 2. A first electrode 5 makes an electric contact with the n-type diffusion layer 2 and a second electrode 6 makes an electric contact with the p-type silicon substrate 1. An anti-reflection coating 4 is formed on the light receiving surface of the solar cell.
In a back-surface-junction solar cell, as shown in FIG. 4, electrodes are formed only on the surface opposite to the light receiving surface. This solar cell has the n-type diffusion layer 2 on the back surface and the edges of the p-type silicon substrate 1. The pn junction 3 is formed in the boundary of the p-type silicon substrate 1 and the n-type diffusion layer 2. A first electrode 5 and a second electrode 6 are formed on the back surface. The first electrode 5 makes an electric contact with the n-type diffusion layer 2 and the second electrode 6 makes an electric contact with the p-type silicon substrate 1. An anti-reflection coating 4 is formed on the light receiving surface.
The solar cells can be formed by various methods. Diffusion layer formation method, for example, is commonly used. Gas is used as a diffusion source in the diffusion layer formation method which makes this method cost effective and suitable for mass production. In the diffusion layer formation method, although a diffusion layer can be advantageously formed on the entire surface of the substrate, a short circuit is disadvantageously formed between the first electrode and the second electrode via the diffusion layer. FIG. 5 is a schematic of the short circuit.
Parallel resistance of the solar cell decreases due to formation of the short circuit, thereby reducing Fill Factor (FF) that directly contributes to conversion efficiency of the solar cell. Therefore, as described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. H5-326990 (see Page 3, FIG. 1), a part of the diffusion layer needs to be removed to electrically insulate the first electrode and the second electrode from each other. In a method employed for a front-surface-junction crystalline silicon solar cell, silicon wafers are stacked and the diffusion layer on the edges is removed by means of plasma.
Thin silicon wafers are generally used to reduce cost. However, thin wafers are fragile and they can break easily. Moreover, when a structure is employed in which a plurality of silicon wafers are stacked, each silicon wafer needs to be handled separately.
Solar cells can be formed using etching methods (mask etching method). The etching methods include wet etching and dry etching. Wet etching includes etching using an acid or an alkali. Dry etching includes etching using Reactive Ion Etching (RIE). However, the etching methods include a lot of steps such as application of etching resist, drying, removal of etching resist, washing, etc. so that the etching methods are costlier.


A method of controlling congestion in a packet switched network includes transmitting a pause message to a node upstream of a congested node to instruct it to cease sending for a period of time. The congested node also sends information to the upstream node informing it of the buffer size required to relieve congestion. If the buffer capacity of the upstream node is greater than or equal to the signalled amount required, no further action is taken. If the buffer capacity of the upstream node is less that the required amount, it in turn sends a pause message to a node upstream of it, together with an indication of the required buffer size to reduce congestion, taking into account the amount available from the sending nodes.

Optimization of buffer sizes in routers, switches or bridges is difficult to achieve. Excessively large buffers lead to higher costs for those network elements that include them and also to performance issues such as high latency. In contrast, small buffers are cheaper but also increase packet loss for unpredictable bursty traffic. For higher layer applications like Transmission Control Protocol ("TCP"), used, for example, for file transfers and web-browsing, packet loss triggers a reduction in traffic sending rate. This in turn causes lower throughput and greater file download and response times. The effect of buffer size on TCP performance is dependent on a number of parameters and on the specific circumstances, taking into account traffic and network configuration. A paper by D. Wischik and N. McKeown "Part 1: Buffer Sizes for Core Routers", ACM SIGCOMM Computer Communication Review, Volume 35, Number 2, July 2005, hereby incorporated by reference, discusses some of the considerations involved in determining suitable buffer sizes.
Ethernet back-pressure is a hop-by-hop congestion control mechanism. In time of congestion, where a node has insufficient buffer capability to accommodate all the traffic that is being sent, the congested node can signal its upstream neighbour to stop transmitting data using a PAUSE message, as set out in IEEE Standard 802.3-2005 at 31B.3 "Detailed specification of PAUSE operation". The PAUSE message instructs the sending upstream node to stop transmitting for set period of time. If, as a result of temporarily stopping its transmission, the upstream node also becomes congested, it can also transmit a PAUSE message to the node upstream from it, and so on. Thus, when there is congestion, it may lead to utilizing buffers at multiple nodes to hold packets. There is a risk that, under some conditions, utilizing the PAUSE mechanism may jam an entire network as the PAUSE instruction propagates upstream over multiple nodes.

Controlling congestion in a packet switched data network


A solenoid assembly made with a one-piece metallic valve body having: a closed end; an open end; a central opening that communicates with multiple ports and an attachment portion adjacent to the open end. A movable armature positioned in the central opening has a free end that extends beyond the open end. A coil bobbin receives the free end of the movable armature and acts in response to electrical signals. The housing enclosing the coil bobbin attaches to the valve body to unify the coil bobbin and valve body as a solenoid.

Modern internal combustion engines use oil or hydraulic system for performing internal engine functions beyond just parts lubrication. These additional functions can be performed by a hydraulic control valve in a valve housing mechanically connected to an operating solenoid. The solenoid typically includes a solenoid coil bobbin on which a wire coil is wound, an armature that activates and deactivates the control valve in response to an input signal to the wire coil to control hydraulic pressure in the valve lifter oil control gallery. A check valve assembly mounted in a fluid exhaust passage of the engine block or cylinder head and functions to maintain oil pressure at a predetermined pressure.
One example of such solenoid control valve is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,209,563.
Most known solenoid control valves are made with molded plastic which has been known to fatigue or deform because of engine heat. As a result of this loss of structural integrity, the internal ball check valves leak or malfunction.
Because the known solenoid assemblies comprise numerous small parts and are known to suffer from fluid leakage, it has been suggested to mold the solenoid structure as one piece, however there continue to be issues of structural integrity and durability.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a solenoid control valve that is easier to assemble and less prone to leakage. It is a further object of the invention to provide a metallic spool valve.


A frequency-converting sensor is provided for generating at least a radio frequency signal parameter, such as an electrical power value. The sensor comprises an analog receiving section configured to convert an input signal into corresponding I/Q components using a local oscillator frequency, an analog to digital converting unit configured to convert the corresponding analog I/Q values into digital I/Q values, and a digital processing unit. The digital processing unit comprises an adjustable filtering unit configured to select a sideband of the digital I/Q values, and a calculating unit configured to calculate the radio frequency signal parameter from the I/Q-values of the selected sideband. A system is further provided for analyzing radio frequency input signal parameters, wherein the system incorporates a device under test, which generates the radio frequency signal, the sensor and a display device.

There exist several different ways of analyzing a radio frequency (RF) signal.
One way of obtaining parameters of an RF signal is to detect the RF-signal with a measurement device, such as a digital oscilloscope or a network analyzer (e.g., (a scalar or vector network analyzer). For instance, the document US 2009/00921177 A1 describes a vector signal measuring system featuring wide bandwidth, large dynamic ranges and high accuracy using a network analyzer. This system incorporates at least two receiver channels per measurement port to provide absolute magnitude and absolute phase relationship. A wideband signal supplied at a specific measurement port of the system is sliced into several frequency sub-bands, wherein each frequency sub-band is analyzed separately and is compared to a parallel reference frequency band of the supplied signal. The measurement is repeated for all sub-bands. This measurement method, however, is very time-consuming and therefore not an efficient method for analyzing wideband signals.
Further, such measurement devices are heavy, space-consuming, complex in structure and highly cost-intensive, and thus are not flexible in use. The measurement devices also require a calibrated measurement probe to detect the RF signal and direct it into the measurement device. The probes, however, lead to measurement errors and influence the characteristics of the RF signal. Such errors may result from, for example, transmission and reflection losses of the probe due to parasitic electrical parameters, and moving of the probe and respective cables during the detection of the RF signal. Further, such measurement errors or inaccuracies cannot be calibrated or corrected.
Moreover, the accuracy of network analyzers or oscilloscopes is between 2 and 3 percent of the measurement signals magnitude. Due to their complex setup, such measurement devices suffer from intolerable ramp-up times. For example, due to the plurality of included modules the measurement devices have high measurement delays that result in long measurement times, especially for small powered input RF signals.
Another way of obtaining signal parameters of an RF signal is the use of specific signal sensors. For instance, the detection of an electrical power value of an RF signal can be achieved by the use of so called power detection sensors, such as sensors as described in the publication DE 2008 052 335 A1. Mainly two different types of power detection sensors currently exist, namely diode-based detecting sensors and thermal-based detecting sensors. Such detecting sensors are directly coupled to the RF signal source and provide an electrical power value at its output. Disadvantageously the use of such sensors is very limited to very specific signal magnitudes. For example, signals below 100 picowatts (−70 dBm) of average power are not properly detectable with such detectors. Especially sensors or detectors for sensing power signals with less than −20 dBm need noise compensation schemes due to their noise dependencies. Such noise compensations are normally realized by a reduction of measurement bandwidths at the output of the detector. An RF signal can therefore only be measured in a specific amount of measurement time. Therefore, a power detection of RF signals with high dynamic power ranges cannot be detected without significant measurement errors or significant measurement times.
What is needed, therefore, is a sensor that accurately analyzes low and high power wideband radio frequency signals in a low complexity and time efficient manner, for example RF signals with low power values (e.g., below 50 dBm). What is further needed is a sensor that is configurable for specific measurement tasks, and that provides signal parameters of the RF signal for efficient further signal analysis, for example, the sensor should provide signal parameters that can be handled easily in remote or subsequent devices without further calculations.

Frequency-converting sensor and system for providing a radio frequency signal parameter


Aspects of the disclosure include methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable storage mediums for loudness adjustment for an audio scene associated with an MPEG-I immersive audio stream. One apparatus includes processing circuitry that receives a first syntax element indicating a number of sound signals included in the audio scene. The processing circuitry determines whether one or more speech signals are included in the sound signals indicated by the first syntax element. The processing circuitry determines a reference speech signal from the one or more speech signals based on the one or more speech signals being included in the sound signals. The processing circuitry adjusts a loudness level of the reference speech signal of the audio scene based on an anchor speech signal. The processing circuitry adjusts loudness levels of the sound signals based on the adjusted loudness level of the reference speech signal.

The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent the work is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) has proposed a suite of standards including immersive audio, immersive video, and systems support. The suite of standards can support a virtual reality (VR) or an augmented reality (AR) presentation in which a user can navigate and interact with an environment using 6 degrees of freedom (6 DoF). FIG. 1 shows an example of 6 degrees of freedom according to an embodiment of the disclosure. In FIG. 1, the 6 degrees of freedom can be represented by a spatial navigation (x, y, z) and a user head orientation (yaw, pitch, roll).
A goal in MPEG-I presentations is to impart a feeling that a user is actually present in a virtual world. Audio signals in the virtual world (or virtual scene) are perceived as in the real world, with sounds coming from an associated visual figure. That is, sounds are perceived with a correct location and a correct distance. A physical movement of the user in the real world is perceived as a matching movement in the virtual world. Furthermore and importantly, the user can interact with the virtual scene, so the sounds should be perceived as realistic and match the user's experience in the real world.
In an interactive VR/AR test, different sound levels are involved in a listening test setup. Relations of these sound levels can be given by the technical setup, or be normalized by loudness measurements, or be set manually. A procedure for scene loudness adjustment is described as a part of call of proposals (CfP) of the MPEG-I immersive audio.

Signaling loudness adjustment for an audio scene


A pylon assembly for a leg prosthesis including an upper pylon, a lower pylon and a spring. A portion of both the upper pylon and the lower pylon are tubular. The spring is disposed between the upper pylon and the lower pylon inside the tubular portions. Upon assembly, the tubular portion of the lower pylon extends at least partially inside the tubular portion of the upper pylon with the spring extending from a plug inserted in the tubular portion of the lower pylon to a plug inserted in the tubular portion of the upper pylon. The spring biases the lower pylon away from the upper pylon. Compression and extension of the spring allows the lower pylon to reciprocate within the tubular portion of the upper pylon. This reciprocation allows the leg prosthesis to simulate the stride and cadence of a natural leg. In addition, a key may be inserted through the tubular portion of the upper pylon and extending into a key channel cut in the external circumference of the lower pylon. The width of the key channel being greater than the width of the key to allow the lower pylon to rotate within the upper pylon. A plurality of key channels may be cut around the circumference of the lower pylon (or interchangeable keys) each with a different width to allow variable amounts of rotation. This variable rotation allows proper rotation for a chosen activity but restricts undesirable excessive rotation of the lower pylon in relation to the upper pylon in order to simulate the lateral flexibility or rotation of a natural leg.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of artificial limbs. More particularly, the present invention relates to leg prostheses including energy absorption and storage mechanisms.
2. General Background
Various types of leg prostheses are known which are designed to provide a support structure upon which the wearer can place his or her weight while standing or during the gait and/or stride associated with walking. The goal being to simulate the function and performance of the human leg. To accomplish this, leg prostheses generally include a mechanism for attachment to the limb of the wearer and an extension (pylon) mechanism either including or in combination with a foot prosthesis. The length and composition of the leg prosthesis being dependent upon the requirement of the wearer. The result being a rigid support mechanism simulating the structure of the human leg extending from the wearer's limb to the ground to provide the necessary support and balance for human activity. Such mechanisms are known in the industry as static leg prostheses.
Problems associated with static leg prostheses have been found with regard to their ability to simulate fluid stride cadence during walking, running, or other physical activities such as sports, exercise or labor. As a result, the ability of prosthesis wearers to participate in such activities has been historically limited.
In order for a static leg prosthesis to properly support a wearer, the prosthesis must be the same length as the other leg (or second prosthesis) of the wearer. However, while walking or running, the wearer must flex his or her hips to allow the prosthesis to swing forward for the next step without contacting the ground and also allow enough time for the prosthesis to swing forward in order to properly support the wearer on the next step.
An additional problem exists in that the gait/stride cadence of the wearer must be modified because of the inability of the static prosthesis to propel the body forward. This forward/upward force is a physiokinetic result of the flex of the calf muscles, ankle and foot of the human leg. Accordingly, a need exists for a pylon assembly for a leg prosthesis which reciprocates thereby varying the length of the prosthesis and provides alternating energy storage and release capability.
Another important limitation of leg prostheses presently available is the inability to provide for rotation of the wearer's limb with respect to the prosthetic foot along the length of the prosthesis pylon. Such rotation is a natural physiological characteristic of the human hip, thigh, knee and ankle necessary to successfully or competitively perform certain physical motions. In order to accurately simulate the human leg, a prosthesis must provide for this rotation.
In certain activities, such as a golf swing, It is necessary to provide rotation of the wearer's limb with respect to a fixed prosthetic foot. However, although rotation is necessary for many activities, unrestricted (free) rotation reduces the stability and/or controllability of the leg for other activities. A need, therefore also exists for a prosthesis pylon with provides rotation within preset limits which may be varied as required by the wearer or the activity.


A catalyst conduit for a catalytic reactor of a turbine combustor, the conduit comprising a tube including an inlet and an outlet, and a wall with an interior surface and an exterior surface. The tube contains a variation in its cross sectional area along at least a portion of its length to change a property of a fluid flowing adjacent the wall of the tube. An oxidation catalyst is deposited on at least a portion of the tube.

The present invention is directed to a system and method for combusting hydrocarbon fuels in an efficient manner which minimizes pollutant emissions, particularly NOx emissions.
Exhaust gases produced in the combustion of hydrocarbon fuels by engines contribute to atmospheric pollution. Exhaust gases typically contain nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide, and unburned hydrocarbons. Nitrogen oxides are a cause of smog, acid rain, and depletion of stratospheric ozone. With high combustion temperatures in an engine, oxygen and nitrogen combine to form the pollutants NO and NO2 (collectively known as "NOx"). Typical fuels reacting with air exceed the threshold temperature which results in NOx formation.
A reduction in the formation of NOx is desirable. One method to control NOx is to employ a catalyst that allows low-temperature reaction of fuel and air. Most, if not all, of the fuel can be reacted at a moderate temperature, thus inhibiting formation of NOx. The use of a catalyst results in a pre-reaction of a portion of a fuel to stabilize the main combustion process. The catalytic process is referred to as catalytic combustion.
When reacting fuel with a catalyst, heat is generated. This heat must be controlled to result in a lower combustion temperature. Typically only a portion of the total fuel to be burned is reacted in the catalyst chamber. One solution to the problem of heat production is to provide a stream of cooling air about a stream of fluid that is in contact with the catalyst or a substrate to which the catalyst is attached or resides. Such a process uses heat exchange in which certain channels contain the catalyzed fluid, while other channels contain air for cooling and absorbing heat from the catalytic reaction. These two fluid streams can then be mixed upon exiting the heat exchanger and combusted with a reduction of NOx.
In catalytic combustors (or catalytic reactors), hydrocarbon fuel is mixed with a first air stream to form a fuel and air mixture having an equivalence ratio greater than unity, that is with fuel in excess, and partially oxidized by contacting the fuel/air fluid mixture with an oxidation catalyst stage, thereby generating the heat of reaction in a partial oxidation product stream comprising hydrogen, water, and carbon oxides. The reaction is intended to be pure catalytic, thus minimizing the formation of oxides of nitrogen (NOx).
A portion of the heat of reaction is conducted through the wall of a substrate on which the catalyst resides and is removed via the back side convection and conduction heat transfer to the second air stream and/or compatible cooling fluid. The partial oxidation product stream is mixed with a second air stream, which is raised in temperature from its initial state via the heat of reaction, and subsequently combusted in a down stream combustor. The down stream combustor can include additional fuel or air mixtures that contribute to combustion in single or multiple zones.
The fuel/air mixture flows into a catalytic oxidation stage and contacts an oxidation catalyst which partially oxidizes the mixture to generate heat and a partial oxidation product stream comprising hydrogen, carbon oxides (primarily CO), and unreacted hydrocarbon fuel. Catalytic oxidation in this context is intended to drive a rapid oxidation or oxidative pyrolysis reaction carried out at a temperature below that required to support thermal combustion or combustion without a flame at a temperature below which thermal NOx will not form in appreciable amounts. Partial oxidation means that there is insufficient oxygen available to completely convert fuel to carbon dioxide and water, and thus fully liberate the chemical energy stored in the fuel. Since complete oxidation improves the energy potential of the fuel, any improvement in the catalytic reactor is beneficial.
A practical problem in the design of an integrated catalytic reactor-heat exchanger is balancing the rate of reaction and chemical heat release with the rate of heat exchanged to the adjacent cooling flow. If not well-balanced, sections of the reactor can over heat leading to premature failures or loss of activity. Such a situation often occurs at the leading edge of a reactor system. Reaction rates could be changed by altering the catalyst loading on the catalytic surface. Such a strategy is generally not acceptable, however, since system performance will be adversely affected as the catalyst degrades. It is better to design the hardware such that the rate limiting processes are based on geometry and fluid flow conditions, and hence controlled by transport processes rather than catalytic activity. This invention provides such a strategy.


An apparatus for removing snow accumulation from motor vehicle roofs. The snow scraping apparatus has a scraping assembly adapted to remove snow from a motor vehicle roof and including a scraping member being horizontally oriented. The snow scraping apparatus also has a supporting assembly for holding the scraping assembly in an elevated position so that the motor vehicle can pass beneath the scraping member without interference. The scraping member is elevated from the ground by a height that is substantially the same as or slightly greater than that of the motor vehicle roof. As a result, the scraping member can remove snow accumulation from the motor vehicle roof as the motor vehicle passes beneath the scraping assembly. If desired, the scraping assembly can be a rotatable brushing member for removal of snow accumulation by tossing or throwing the snow away from the vehicle roof.

Various devices have been used to remove snow or ice deposits from motor vehicles. As depicted in FIG. 1, U.S. Pat. No. 4,321,724 issued to Samuels is directed to a snow removal device 10' that can facilitate the removal of snow accumulations from motor vehicle surfaces. More specifically, the device of Samuels has a sweeping head 11' which is secured to a handle 12'. The sweeping head 11' can thus be manipulated by a user to reciprocate along the handle axis or swing from side-to-side and thereby remove snow accumulation from a motor vehicle.
The designs of such conventional snow removal devices limit their use to motor vehicles that have a height within the user's reach. For over-sized motor vehicles such as heavy trucks, conventional snow removal devices are unable to access roof surfaces to remove snow therefrom.
It is often necessary to remove snow or ice accumulations from truck roofs since the heavy accumulations thereon can be hazardous to other motor vehicles or pedestrians. In certain states, such as New Jersey, motorists are now held liable if flying ice or snow from their vehicles causes death, injury or property damage.
Therefore, it is desirable to remove snow or ice deposits from motor vehicle roofs before the vehicle is put in use. The present invention provides a snow removal apparatus that can meet the above requirement.

Apparatus for removing snow from motor vehicle roofs