A sheet construction including a first material, and methods of making and using the same. The first material can include a leading edge, a trailing edge, a first longitudinal edge, and a second longitudinal edge. The first material can define a first print-receptive medium. The sheet construction can also include a leading margin extending from the first longitudinal edge to the second longitudinal edge and bounded at least by the leading edge, the first longitudinal edge, the second longitudinal edge, and the print-receptive medium. The sheet construction can also include a first side margin bounded at least in part by the leading margin, the first longitudinal edge, and the first print-receptive medium. The first side margin can include at least one compressed region.

Certain print-receptive media of the type used to create small-size printed products, such as, but not limited to, business cards, ROLODEX-type cards, greeting cards, place cards, invitations, identification badges, and address labels, because of their small sizes, cannot be fed individually into and easily printed onto using conventional ink jet printers, laser printers, photocopiers, and other ordinary printing and typing devices. Therefore, one known method of producing such printed products has been to print desired indicia on different portions of a standard-sized sheet of print-receptive material, such as a letter-size sheet (i.e., 8.5 inches×11 inches), a legal-size sheet (i.e., 8.5 inches×14 inches), or an A4-size sheet (i.e., 8.27 inches×11.69 inches), and then to cut the sheet with a suitable cutting device into individual small-size printed media. However, this method is disadvantageous because the user must have access to such a cutting device, and the separate cutting step is cost and time inefficient.
In order to avoid the above-described cutting step, another known product has the perimeters of the media (e.g., the business cards) formed using a grid of horizontal and vertical microperforation lines extending the full length and width of the sheet. Although these microperforations are typically small and close together, with typically more than fifty microperforations per inch, when the cards are separated from one another by tearing along the microperforation lines, perfectly clean edges for the media typically do not result. Instead, the edges for the media are usually slightly fuzzy, giving the media a less professional appearance than media produced by cutting with a cutting device.
Accordingly, a first alternate approach to the above-described use of microperforations is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,993,928, inventor Popat, which issued Nov. 30, 1999, and which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. According to this first alternate approach, there is provided a card stock sheet having two parallel pairs of substantial-cut lines extending the length of the sheet and engaging the sheet at both ends thereof. The substantial-cut lines extend about 90% through the thickness of the sheet from the front towards the back surface. The sheet is then die cut with short (through-cut) lines extending widthwise between the lines of each pair, or vice versa. The substantial-cut and through-cut lines form on the sheet two columns of bu siness card blanks, with paper waste strips at the side (and end) margins and between the columns. After being passed through a printing device, the printed cards are separated from one another by tearing or pulling along the substantial-cut lines. No further separation is required along the through-cut lines.
A second alternate approach is disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2001/0007703 A1, inventors Weirather et al., which was published Jul. 12, 2001, and which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. According to this second alternate approach, there is provided a dry laminated business card sheet construction. The construction includes a low density polyethylene film layer extrusion coated on a densified bleached kraft paper liner to form a film-coated liner sheet. A facestock sheet is adhered with a layer of hot melt adhesive to the film layer to form a laminate sheet web, which is rolled on a roll. The facestock sheet, the film layer and the adhesive layer together define a laminate feed stock. The roll is transported to and loaded on a press with the liner side up. One or both edges of the web are crushed with a calendaring die to form thin lead-in edge(s). The web is die cut on the bottom face, up through the laminate facestock, but not through the paper liner, to form the perimeters of a grid of blank business cards or other printable media, with a waste paper frame of the laminate encircling the grid. The web is then die cut from the top through the paper liner and to, but not through, the laminate facestock, to form liner strips covering the back face of the laminate facestock. According to one embodiment, alternate ones of the strips are then pulled off of the laminate facestock web. A final production step is to sheet the web to form the desired sheet width (or length) of the laminated sheet construction. The individual laminated business card sheets can be stacked into the infeed tray of an ink jet printer, for example, and the sheets individually and automatically fed, lead-in edge first, into the printer and a printing operation performed on each of the printable media, to form a sheet of printed media. The remaining strips on the back of the laminate facestock cover the lateral cut lines in the laminate facestock and, thereby, holds the facestock together as it is fed into and passed through the printer. The user then individually peels the printed media off of the strips and out from the waste paper frame. Thereby, printed business cards (or other printed media), each with its entire perimeter defined by clean die cuts, are formed.
A third alternate approach is disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2003/0148056 A1, inventors Utz et al., which was published on Aug. 7, 2003, and which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. According to this third alternate approach, there is provided a card sheet including a top material having punched lines, the front side of the top material being printable. A carrier material of at least one polymer layer is directly applied, as by extruding, to the back side of the top material. The polymer has a stress-at-break in the range of 10 to 30 MPa and an elongation at break in the range of 10 to 120%. From the card sheet, individual cards can be broken out to form high quality calling (business) cards, photograph cards, postcards or the like.
A fourth alternate approach is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,625,619, inventors Hodson et al., which issued on Dec. 1, 2009, and which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. According to this fourth alternate approach, there is provided a label sheet construction including a liner sheet and a facestock sheet releasably adhered to the liner sheet. A plurality of labels and fold lines are die cut in the facestock sheet but not in the liner sheet. The fold lines extend between the labels. After the sheet construction has been passed through a printer or copier and the desired indicia printed on the labels, the construction (an upper portion thereof) is bent back along one of the fold lines. This separates an upper portion of the label from the underlying liner sheet. The user then easily grasps the upper portion and peels the label off of the liner sheet without tearing the label.
Regardless of which approach is taken to enable the standard-size sheet to be separated, following printing, into smaller-size printed products, in order to have the printed products be durable and professional looking, they must be made from relatively thick and heavy sheets, i.e., sheets typically having a thickness of at least 4 mils (i.e., 0.004 inch). However, printing devices often have difficulty picking up and advancing such thick and heavy sheets through their oftentimes tortuous printing paths. As a result, the use of such sheets often leads to registration problems, i.e., printed matter not appearing on a sheet in its intended location. As can be appreciated, such registration problems can have a significant negative impact on the appearance of the printed product. One of the most common types ofregistration problems is known as "start of print off-registration" (also known as "off-registration start"), which is typified by print being shifted up or down from its expected starting position relative to the top of the sheet.
One approach to dealing with registration problems resulting from the pick up and feeding of thick sheets of material into printing devices is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,704,317, inventors Hickenbotham et al., which issued Nov. 3, 1987, and which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The approach of the aforementioned patent involves reducing the stiffness of the corners of a sheet by forming a diagonal path ofrelatively low stiffness across each of at least two adjacent corners, preferably all four corners. Such a path is said to preferably be made by forming slits, scores or a line of perforations extending at 45° to the edges of the sheet. However, a number of problems with the aforementioned method have prevented it from becoming generally commercially acceptable.
Another approach to dealing with registration problems resulting from the pick up and feeding of thick sheets of material into printing devices is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,571,587, inventors Bishop et al., which issued Nov. 5, 1996, and which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The approach of the aforementioned patent involves securing a relatively thin portion of material on at least one of the longitudinal edges of a sheet to facilitate feeding the sheet into a printer or copier. After printing, the thin portion of material is removed from the sheet, and the printed products are separated from one another.
Unfortunately, despite the fact that approaches like those described above have been taken in an effort to address registration issues, such as "start of print off-registration," a satisfactory approach to dealing with such registration issues has not yet been devised.
It should, therefore, be appreciated that there is a need for a sheet construction that includes one or more print-receptive media and that reduces the occurrence of certain print registration issues, particularly "start of print off-registration," even when the sheet construction is fairly thick. The present invention satisfies this need.

Sheet construction and methods of making and using the same


A chip includes: a chip substrate including a central area and an edge area surrounding the central area; and a plurality of pads arranged on the chip substrate, the plurality of pads including a first pad and a second pad, wherein the first pad is arranged in the edge area and includes at least one straight side adjacent to a side of the chip substrate, and the second pad is arranged in the central area.

In related technologies, an electronic device, such as a mobile phone, usually contains a chip for realizing various functions, and electronic components and control circuits on the chip are packaged through pads and tin balls soldered on the pads.
However, with increasing requirements for chip functions and lightness and thinness of an electronic device, complexity of chip circuits per unit size for packaging is increasing, and the size of a pad and spacing between pads of the chip are gradually reduced to fit to a packaging circuit, and thus structural strength of the pad and soldering strength between the pad and the tin ball are reduced, which may cause problems of solder joint fracture and electronic device damage during testing and using.

Chip, circuit board and electronic device

Beijing Xiaomi Mobile Software Co., Ltd.


A liquid crystal display device with a charge sharing function is suitable for reducing the power consumption below a predetermined limit. In the liquid crystal display device, a pair of pixels adjacent along the data line is charged with pixel data voltages of polarity opposite to that of another pair of pixels adjacent to the pair of the pixels. A charge sharing unit selectively allows the data lines to share charges at intervals between periods in which the pixel data voltages are supplied to the pair of the pixels adjacent along the data line.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device, and more particularly, to a liquid crystal display device allowing the charge sharing of data lines and a driving method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
A liquid crystal display device (LCD) displays an image corresponding to video data by controlling light transmittance of liquid crystal. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the LCD includes a liquid crystal panel 2, a gate driver 4, a data driver 6, and a timing controller 8. On the liquid crystal panel 2, a plurality of gate lines GL1 to GLn and a plurality of data lines DL1 to DLm are intersected with one another. The gate driver 4 drives the gate lines GL1 to GLn and the data driver 6 drives the data lines DL1 to DLm. The timing controller 8 generates gate control signals for controlling the gate driver 4 and data control signals for controlling the data driver 6.
Pixel regions are defined by the intersections of the gate lines GL1 to GLn and the data lines DL1 to DLm. Each of the pixel regions includes a pixel having a thin film transistor (TFT) MT, a liquid crystal cell CLc, and a storage capacitor Cst. The TFT MT has a gate electrode connected to the corresponding gate line GL and a source electrode connected to the corresponding to the data line. The liquid crystal cell CLc is connected between a drain electrode of the TFT MT and a common terminal Vcom. The storage capacitor Cst is connected between the drain electrode of the TFT MT and a previous gate line GLi−1. The storage capacitor Cst may be connected between the drain electrode of the TFT MT and the common terminal VCOM.
Pixels of the liquid crystal panel 2 may be driven in a frame inversion system, a line inversion system, or a dot inversion system. The frame inversion system may invert a polarity of a pixel data voltage supplied to the pixel when the frame is changed. The line inversion system may invert a polarity of a pixel data voltage supplied to the pixel according to the liquid crystal panel 2, that is, the gate line. The dot inversion system may supply a pixel data voltage opposite to a pixel data voltage to be supplied to a pixel adjacent to an arbitrary pixel. Also, the line inversion system and the dot inversion system may be used in combination with the frame inversion system that inverts the polarity of the pixel data voltage to be supplied to the pixel at each frame.
Among the three driving methods, the dot inversion system supplies an arbitrary pixel with a pixel data voltage with a polarity opposite to a pixel data voltage to be supplied to a pixel adjacent in a vertical or horizontal direction. Therefore, compared with the frame inversion system and the line inversion system, the dot inversion system can provide higher image quality. For this reason, the dot inversion system is widely used to drive the liquid crystal panel.
The dot inversion system is classified into a 1 dot-1 line inversion system in which a polarity of a pixel data voltage is inverted at each 1 dot, and a 1 dot-2 line inversion system in which a polarity of a pixel data voltage is inverted at each 2 dot. According to the 1 dot-2 line inversion system, as illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B, a polarity of a pixel data voltage is inverted at each 1 dot in a horizontal direction, while it is inverted at each 2 dot in a vertical direction. When the liquid crystal panel is driven at a frame frequency of 60 Hz (that is, when 60 images are displayed for 1 second), the 1 dot-2 line inversion system can reduce a flicker phenomenon compared with the 1 dot-1 line inversion system.
The LCD using the 1 dot-2 line inversion system has a charge sharing function that allows the data lines to share charges. The data driver 6 of the LCD with the charge sharing function includes m number of first switches SW1 to SW1-m connected between a plurality of buffers 10-1 to 10-m and a plurality of data lines DL1 to DLm, and (m−1) number of second switches SW2-1 to SW2-(m−1) connected between the plurality of data lines DL1 to DLm, as shown in FIG. 3. Each of the buffers 10 supplies analog pixel data voltage to the corresponding data line DL through the first switch SW1. The first switches SW1 and the second switches SW2 are complementarily turned on in response to a data output enable signal DOE, which is one of the data control signals supplied from the timing controller 8. When the data output enable signal DOE is high (or low), the first switches SW1 are turned on, while the second switches SW2 are turned off. On the contrary, when the data output enable signal DOE is low (or high), the first switches SW1 are turned off, while the second switches SW2 are turned on.
For example, when a scan signal is supplied to the first gate line GL1, the TFT MT connected thereto is turned on and the data output enable signal DOE is high. In this case, each of the buffers 10-1 to 10-m supplies an opposite pixel data voltage to the corresponding data line DL through the first switch SW1. Then, each of the TFTs MT connected to the first gate line GL1 charges the corresponding liquid crystal cell CLc and the corresponding storage capacitor Cst with the pixel data voltage applied on the corresponding data line DL.
On the contrary, when the data output enable signal DOE is low, the second switches SW2 instead of the first switches SW1 are turned on so that the data lines DL1 to DLm are connected to one another. Then, voltage charge/discharge are performed between the data lines DL charged with the pixel data voltages of the polarity opposite to that of the adjacent data lines DL. For example, when the odd data lines DL1, DL3, . . . , DLm−1 are charged with the pixel data voltage of a negative polarity and the even data lines DL2, DL4, . . . , DLm are charged with the pixel data voltage of a positive polarity, the odd data lines DL1, DL3, . . . , DLm−1 are charged with the voltage of the adjacent even data lines DL2, DL4, . . . , DLm, while the even data lines DL2, DL4, . . . , DLm discharge the charged pixel data voltage of the positive polarity to the adjacent odd data lines DL1, DL3, . . . , DLm−1. As a result, the charge sharing occurs so that all the data lines DL1 to DLm are pre-charged to a middle level of the pixel data voltage of the positive polarity and the pixel data voltage of the negative polarity. Due to the charge sharing exhibiting the pre-charge effect, the power consumption of the data driver (or further the LCD) can be reduced.
Like the waveforms of EGS-O and EGS-E in FIG. 4, such a charge sharing may be performed regardless of the polarity signal POL, every when the gate line GL is changed (that is, at each period of the horizontal sync signal) (hereinafter, referred to a "single-line sharing method"). Also, like the waveforms of EPE-O and EPE-E, the charge sharing may be performed at each edge of the polarity signal POL (that is, at every period of the 2 horizontal sync signals) (hereinafter, referred to as a "polarity edge sharing method"). EGS-O and EGS-E of FIG. 4 are waveforms in the single-line sharing method, explaining the pixel data voltages supplied to the odd data lines DL1, DL3, . . . , DLm−1, and the pixel data voltages supplied to the even data lines DL2, DL4, . . . , DLm. EPE-O and EPE-E of FIG. 4 are waveforms in the polarity edge sharing method, explaining the pixel data voltages supplied to the odd data lines DL1, DL3, . . . , DLm−1, and the pixel data voltages supplied to the even data lines DL2, DL4, . . . , DLm. In FIG. 4, POL represents the waveform of the polarity signal.
In the case of the single-line sharing method, however, the charge sharing is unnecessarily performed even when the pixel data voltages with the same polarity and same voltage level are consecutive. Thus, the power consumption cannot be reduced below a predetermined limit. Also, in the case of the polarity edge sharing method, a necessary charge sharing is not performed when the pixel data voltages with the same polarity but different voltage level are consecutive. Consequently, the power consumption cannot be reduced below a predetermined limit.

Liquid crystal display device with charge sharing function and driving method thereof


A plasma processing apparatus and method using a predetermined proportion of relative power between a TE.sub.11 mode and a TM.sub.01 mode to produce radial uniformity of the plasma. A microwave coupler transforms microwave energy from a microwave source into approximately equal proportions of TE.sub.11 and TM.sub.01 modes. In one embodiment, the coupler includes a first arm for generating the TE.sub.11 mode and a second arm for generating the TM.sub.01 mode which are then combined in a cylindrical waveguide section having a sufficient inner diameter to support propagation of both modes. Other circuit components are provided to prevent cross-coupling of the TE.sub.11 mode into the TM.sub.01 generating arm, and vice versa. Thus, the relative proportion of power of each mode may be independently controlled. A magnetic field generator may be used in the apparatus to create an electron cyclotron resonance condition within the plasma.

Microwave sources have been used to create plasmas adjacent a sample, such as a semiconductor substrate or other work piece, positioned within an evacuable processing chamber. During processing, the sample may typically either be etched or a thin film of material deposited thereon. In a typical plasma processing system, microwave energy is fed from a source, through a waveguide coupler, and into the evacuable processing chamber. The microwave energy interacts with a feed gas within the chamber to produce a plasma.
A particular type of microwave plasma processing system, the Electron Cyclotron Resonance (ECR) system, includes a magnetic field generator which produces a magnetic field that interacts with the feed gas excited by the microwave energy to create an electron cyclotron resonance condition of the electrons in the feed gas to thereby produce the plasma. An ECR system offers a number of advantages over other types of conventional plasma processing systems. For example, an ECR system provides electrodeless operation which reduces chamber wall contamination. The low plasma potential operation reduces ion induced surface damage to the sample. Moreover, high plasma density and low pressure operation can produce high deposition and etching rates with low particulate formation. These advantages have become increasingly important for processing state-of-the-art integrated circuits as device features are reduced to submicron dimensions.
The general design and operation of ECR systems in described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,859,908 to Yoshida et al. entitled Plasma Processing Apparatus for Large Area Ion Irradiation; U.S. Pat. No. 4,727,293 to Asmussen et al. entitled Plasma Generating Apparatus Using Magnets and Methods; U.S. Pat. No. 4,417,178 to Geller et al. entitled Process and Apparatus for Producing Highly Charged Large Ions and an Application Utilizing This Process; and Japanese published patent application 88-310887/44 entitled Film Forming Plasma-Generating Machine.
Present efforts to improve ECR systems have focused on increasing one or both of the efficiency of plasma generation, or the uniformity of the plasma generated. U.S. Pat. No. 5,003,152, to Matsuo et.al. for example, discloses a microwave coupler positioned between the source and the processing chamber that has a fixed dielectric slab mode transformer for converting an incident circular-waveguide TE.sub.11 mode into a hybrid TE/TM mode with an unspecified fraction of TM component. The hybrid mode contains both TE and TM components and, thus, can propagate only in the presence of the dielectric slab and plasma. The microwave coupler is directed toward improving the matching of the microwave energy to the plasma to increase the efficiency of plasma generation by more effectively coupling the microwave energy of the source to the plasma.
While efficiency is desirable so that a high density plasma can be generated using minimal microwave and magnetic power, uniformity is also a critical processing parameter to ensure uniform deposition or etching conditions across the entire sample surface. For example, as the size of semiconductor substrates increases, the need for uniformity in plasma processing becomes more critical. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,866,346 to Gaudreau et al. and entitled Microwave Plasma Generator discloses coupling a transverse magnetic mode with no angular dependence, such as the TM.sub.01 mode, from the microwave source to the plasma to thereby produce a circularly symmetric plasma. Unfortunately, the intensity of the microwave power flux produced is radially dependent and not uniform across the entire sample.
Another attempt at increasing uniformity by selecting the microwave source and its associated microwave coupler to produce a desired microwave energy is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,877,509 to Ogawa et al. entitled Semiconductor Wafer Treating Apparatus Utilizing a Plasma. The Ogawa et al. patent discloses a rectangular waveguide having a rectangular-to-circular converter and a circular polarization converter for transforming the circular TE.sub.11 mode from the source into a circularly polarized wave. Thus, the electric field strength of the microwave supplied into the evacuable chamber is azimuthally symmetric when averaged over time, to thereby create a more azimuthally uniform plasma density. However, the intensity of the microwave power flux is also radially nonuniform.
The magnetic field may also be shaped in an attempt to obtain greater overall uniformity of the plasma. For example, European Patent Application 87/311,451.6 to Nakamura et al entitled Plasma Apparatus describes an ECR system having a second magnet in addition to the primary magnet. The second magnet provides a more even distribution of the flux adjacent to the substrate being processed.
Despite continuing improvements in microwave plasma processing systems in general, and ECR systems in particular, there still exists a need for improvement in the radial uniformity of the plasma generated using a microwave source to produce a plasma in a processing chamber. This uniformity is critical as line widths and other semiconductor dimensions are decreased or as larger semiconductor substrates are used.

Apparatus and method for uniform microwave plasma processing using TE.sub.1 1 .sub.01 modes


An aqueous resin composition obtained by dissolving 100 parts by mass of acid-modified polyolefin and 5 to 60 parts by mass of surfactant in 15 to 1900 parts by mass of polymerizable monomer, adding water in the presence of basic compound to perform phase inversion emulsification, and polymerizing the monomer;                an aqueous resin composition obtained by dissolving 100 parts by mass of acid-modified polyolefin and 5 to 60 parts by mass of surfactant in a first polymerizable monomer, adding water in the presence of basic compound to perform phase inversion emulsification, polymerizing the first monomer to form a resin composition, adding and polymerizing a second polymerizable monomer to the resin composition; the monomers being used in a total amount of 15 to 1900 parts by mass per 100 parts by mass of the acid-modified polyolefin; and        paints, inks, adhesives, sealants and primers containing such composition as an active ingredient.

Generally, polyolefin resins such as polypropylenes, polyethylenes, ethylene-propylene copolymers, ethylene-propylene-diene copolymers, poly-4-methyl-1-pentenes, etc. are relatively inexpensive and have excellent performance in terms of, for example, chemical resistance, water resistance, heat resistance, etc. Therefore, polyolefin resins are used in a wide variety of applications such as raw materials for automotive parts, electronic parts, building materials, packaging films, and the like. However, since polyolefin resins are crystalline and non-polar, it is difficult to coat or bond polyolefin resins.
To coat or bond such low-adhesion polyolefin resins, chlorinated polyolefins having strong adhesion to polyolefin resins have been used as binder resins (JP 59-75958 A and JP 60-99138 A). Further, acrylic, urethane and/or polyester resins have been mixed or graft-polymerized with chlorinated polyolefins to obtain binder compositions for coating or bonding polyolefin resins, thereby compensating for the drawbacks of chlorinated polyolefins (JP 6-16746 A and JP 8-12913 A).
However, such binder compositions are mostly used in the form of solutions in organic solvents such as toluene, xylene, etc., and large amounts of organic solvents are released into the atmosphere during application of such compositions. Thus, such binder compositions are unfavorable from the viewpoint of the environment and health. Further, such binder compositions, which contain chlorine atoms, are also unfavorable from the viewpoint of toxic substance generation accompanying incineration.
Aqueous resin compositions which are organic solvent-free and whose resins contain no chlorine have been proposed (JP 6-256592 A and JP 2004-107539 A). However, such compositions have a problem in that emulsification steps in their production processes sometimes involve solvent removal that requires a long period of time, resulting in high cost. Moreover, polyolefin resins intrinsically have low polarity, and thus, when mixed with acrylic, urethane, epoxy and/or polyester resins, such polyolefin resins do not exhibit the desired properties due to low compatibility with these resins.

Water base resin composition, process for producing the same, paint, ink, adhesive, sealant and primer


The method is related to intermittent coating capable of distinctly defining a boundary between a coated region and an uncoated region on a web, to thereby intermittently form a coated film on the web with increased accuracy and efficiency. A coating liquid feed pump is arranged so as to alternately communicate with a circulation line and a pocket of an extrusion type coater through a directional control valve, resulting in coating liquid being intermittently fed to the pocket and then forced out of a slit, so that coated regions and uncoated regions may be alternately formed on a conductive sheet material. During interruption of communication between the pocket and the feed pump, the pocket is permitted to communicate via a discharge pipe and a shut-off valve with a sub-tank to reduce a pressure of coating liquid in the pocket, to thereby prevent undesired feeding of coating liquid to the uncoated region beyond an end position of the coated region.

This invention relates to intermittent coating techniques using an extrusion coater, and more particularly to an intermittent coating method adapted to intermittently apply coating liquid to a web continuously traveling to alternately form the web with coated regions which are deposited thereon with the coating liquid and uncoated regions which are not deposited thereon with the coating liquid and an apparatus therefor. More specifically, the present invention relates to an intermittent coating method used in manufacturing of a lithium ion secondary cell and an apparatus therefor.
An electrode which has been conventionally used for a lithium ion secondary cell of a cylindrical shape is typically constructed in such a manner as shown in FIG. 9. More particularly, the electrode includes a current collector or conductive sheet 1 which is formed on each of both surfaces thereof with a coated film 2 containing an active material while being partially exposed. Then, the conductive sheet 1 is provided on a portion thereof thus exposed with a lead 3. For manufacturing of such an electrode, typically, a lengthy conductive sheet material or web is intermittently coated on one surface thereof with a coating liquid containing an active material, so that coated regions which are deposited thereon with the coating liquid and uncoated regions which are not deposited thereon with the coating liquid may be alternately formed on the conductive sheet material, followed by drying of the conductive sheet material. Substantially the same procedure is repeated on the other surface of the conductive sheet material and then it is cut into a plurality of the above-described conductive sheets 1. Then, the lead 3 is mounted on each of the conductive sheets 1, resulting in the electrode being provided.
Intermittent coating or application of the coating liquid onto the conductive sheet material has been conventionally carried out using techniques disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 184069/1989 or Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 226173/1994. More particularly, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 184069/1989 discloses coating techniques wherein feeding of coating liquid from a coating liquid retention section constructed of a doctor blade and a support member to an aluminum foil is controlled by a shutter member and then coated on the aluminum foil by means of the doctor blade. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 226173/1994 discloses coating techniques wherein coating liquid stored in a hopper is adhered to a coating roll while being controlled by a doctor roll and then the coating liquid adhered to the coating roll is applied to a base sheet carried on a backing roll.
Also, there is known Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 117669/1987 as other prior art, which discloses coating techniques wherein a bypass system is arranged for returning coating liquid discharged from a feed pump. A coating head is filled therein with coating liquid prior to application of the coating liquid and a directional control valve is changed over at the time when the application is started, resulting in the coating liquid being fed to the coating head.
Unfortunately, the coating techniques disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 184069/1989 have a disadvantage of causing the coating liquid to leak between a lower surface of the shutter member and the support member during closing operation of the shutter member and failing to satisfactorily cut or shut off the coating liquid at an end position of a coated region, leading to undesired feeding of the coating liquid to an uncoated region beyond the end position of the coated region.
Also, the intermittent coating techniques disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 226173/1994 cause forming of a stripe-like pattern in a coated film and/or a variation in thickness of the coated film due to coating liquid adhered to a portion of the doctor roll beyond an edge of the doctor roll, because the doctor roll is vertically displaced or the doctor roll is selectively moved toward or away from the coating roll. Forming of such a stripe-like pattern or a variation in thickness of the coated film may be eliminated by washing the doctor roll. However, this requires interruption of running or operation of a coating apparatus, leading to a deterioration in operation efficiency.
The coating techniques disclosed in each of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication Nos. 184069/1989 and 226173/1994 exhibit another problem that the coating liquid is varied in viscosity particularly when it is a solid-liquid dispersion paint containing an active material and/or a conductive material because it is exposed to an ambient atmosphere prior to application thereof, leading to a variation in coating properties of the coating liquid, resulting in a thickness of a coated film being rendered non-uniform.
Further, it was found that the above-described coating techniques disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 117669/1987 have a disadvantage that application of the coating techniques to intermittent coating fails to permit the coating liquid to be satisfactorily cut or shut off at an end position of a coated region, leading to undesired feeding of the coating liquid to an uncoated region as well, resulting in a coated film formed being deteriorated in quality as in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication 184069/1989 described above. Thus, application of the coating techniques to intermittent coating fails to permit changing-over of the directional control valve at the end position of the coated region to reduce a pressure of coating liquid in a slit to a predetermined level, to thereby cause continuous feeding of the coating liquid until the pressure is reduced to the level.

Intermittent coating method and apparatus therefor


A memory update engine provides flexible modification of data in memory. A processor may employ the update engine to update filter coefficients, special effects parameters, signal sample processing instructions, or any other instruction or data during processing. The update engine supports dynamic updating without requiring processor shutdown, thereby allowing the processor to seamlessly continue operation during a live performance.

1. Technical Field
This disclosure relates to modifying data in memory. In particular, this disclosure relates to an architecture for dynamically updating instructions and data in a memory accessed by a digital signal processor.
2. Related Art
Rapid advances in technology, driven by strong market demand, have yielded significant increases in microprocessor capability. Today, microprocessors are a common component of an endless array of devices. In many cases, the devices operate in real time on continuously changing data. For example, a digital signal processor in a music effects system must rapidly apply sophisticated signal processing algorithms to incoming signal samples to deliver a desired sound output by applying special effects, modifying loudness or directionality, performing mixing, filtering, equalization, or dynamic range control, or performing any of a myriad of other types of processing.
The digital signal processor relies almost completely on data in memory, including instructions and processing parameters, to perform its role. Yet, despite the rapid advancements in technology, the interface between the memory, the digital signal processor, and external input was often a limiting factor. For example, providing new processing parameters or instructions typically required the processor to shut down, await provision of the new data, then restart. However, lengthy shutdown and restart procedures compromised the ability of the processor to quickly adapt to new processing roles, such as dynamically shifting between special effects applied to an audio signal during a live performance. In other words, past memory interfaces were not sufficiently adept at providing strong, flexible, and active support of a dynamic processing role for the digital signal processor.
There is a need for an improved memory updating architecture.

Dynamic instruction and data updating architecture

Harman International Industries, Incorporated


A method and system for client applications to invoke the services of server applications. A business service system allows a user of a client application to specify the provider of a business service and to specify the communications protocols and transport mechanisms to be used when invoking such business services. The business service system provides a business service proxy that is invoked by client applications when using a business service. The business service proxy uses a mapping of web service to business service to send a request to the server application, which implements the business service in an appropriate format and using an appropriate transport mechanism. The mapping may be customized to point to a different implementation of the business service. The mapping may point to a business service that executes remotely from or locally to the client application.

The described technology relates generally to client applications invoking services provided by server applications.
Many business applications need to use services provided by various business services (e.g., credit checking services and accounting services). These business services may be provided by service providers that are different from the organization that develops the business application. For example, a developer may sell a customer relationship management application that needs to use a credit checking service when qualifying a new customer. Credit checking services may be provided by a service provider that is not affiliated with the developer. Traditionally, the developer of such business applications would obtain an interface to the business service and integrate the interface into the business application. The interface may be provided as a module that is statically or dynamically linked into the business application as needed. When the business application needs to have the service performed, the business application invokes the interface, passing the required input arguments and receiving output arguments in return. For example, an interface to a credit checking service may have the name of the company as an input argument and a numerical credit rating value as an output argument. When such business applications are sold or licensed to customers, the customers typically are restricted to using the business services of service providers that the developer of the business application has selected.
Many customers, however, would like to have the flexibility to select their own service provider. For example, a customer may have purchased multiple business applications from different developers that all require similar business services. The customer would typically like to have the same service provider provide similar services for all their business applications, rather than having a different developer-specified service provider for each business application. In addition to pre-selecting the service providers for business applications, the developers of the business applications and the service providers may also specify the communications protocols and transport mechanisms that are supported by the provided business services. From a customer's perspective, multiple communications protocols and transport mechanisms are difficult to support.
It would be desirable to have a mechanism that would allow a customer of business applications the flexibility to select a desired service provider for providing services and to select communications protocols and transport mechanisms for use in communicating with such service providers.

Method and system for outbound web services


A battery pack including a bare cell; a protection circuit module electrically coupled to the bare cell; an outer frame accommodating the bare cell and the protection circuit module, wherein a first surface of a first side of the outer frame contacts the protection circuit module; and a first projection on a second surface of the first side of the outer frame opposite to the first surface.

1. Field
One or more embodiments of the present invention relate to a battery pack.
2. Description of Related Art
As the development and demand of mobile devices have recently been increased, demands on secondary batteries as energy sources have been rapidly increased. Among these secondary batteries, many studies for lithium secondary batteries have been conducted. Currently, lithium secondary batteries are commercialized and widely used.
Battery packs are generally classified into a hard battery pack and an inner battery pack based on how the secondary battery is mounted to a case. Since the hard battery pack forms a part of the external shape of an electronic device on which it is mounted, it is easy to mount the hard battery pack on the electronic device in its use. However, since a case is necessarily designed suitable for the kind of the electronic device in the state that a bare cell is mounted in the hard pack, the hard pack is relatively high priced, and the compatibility of the hard pack is low.
On the other hand, since the inner pack is mounted in the electronic device and then covered by a cover that forms a part of the electronic device, its mounting is relatively complicated. However, the inner pack is easily designed and inexpensive, and the compatibility of the inner pack is high.
In general, an inner battery pack includes a chargeable/dischargeable bare cell; a protection circuit module electrically connected to the bare cell to control the charge/discharge of the bare cell; a resin filled in the gap between the bare cell and the protection circuit module; and an outer frame molded in a shape attachable to an electronic device by packing the bare cell, the protection module and the resin therein.
In order to manufacture and assemble such a battery pack, a lead is connected to a positive electrode, and a positive temperature coefficient (PTC) thermistor is connected to a negative electrode. In this state, the protection circuit module is electrically connected to the lead and the PTC thermistor. Subsequently, a protection circuit module and a bare cell are mechanically fixed to each other by filling a resin into the gap between the protection circuit module and the bare cell so that the protection circuit module is not separated from the bare cell. Then, the bare cell and the protection circuit module, formed in a single body, are packed using an outer frame having a shape attachable to an electronic device. Here, the outer frame is integrally formed with the bare cell, the protection circuit module and the resin by molding them with another resin.
Subsequently, the battery pack may inserted into the electronic device to supply power to the electronic device. However, over time a gap may be produced between the battery pack and the electronic device, and therefore, the battery pack may be easily separated or dislodged from the electronic device. Further, when the battery pack is reversely inserted into the electronic device, malfunction may occur or the electronic device may not operate.


A fiber-reinforced polymer composition that contains a polymer matrix and a plurality of long reinforcing fibers that are distributed within the polymer matrix is provided. The polymer matrix contains a propylene polymer and constitutes from about 30 wt. % to about 90 wt. % of the composition. The fibers constitute from about 10 wt. % to about 70 wt. % of the composition. Further, the polymer composition exhibits a spiral flow length of about 450 millimeters or more as determined in accordance with ASTM D3123-09 and a volatile organic content of about 100 micrograms per gram or less as determined by VDA 277.

Long fiber-reinforced polypropylene compositions are often employed in molded parts to provide improved mechanical properties. Typically, such compositions are formed by a process that involves extruding a propylene polymer through an impregnation die and onto a plurality of continuous lengths of reinforcing fibers. The polymer and reinforcing fibers are pulled through the die to cause thorough impregnation of individual fiber strands with the resin. Despite the benefits that can be achieved with such compositions, it is often difficult to effectively employ them in parts having a very thin wall thickness due to the high melt viscosity of conventional propylene polymers. While various attempts have been made to improve the flow properties of propylene polymers by lowering their melt viscosity, these efforts tend to have an adverse impact on the organic volatile content that is emitted by the composition. As such, a need currently exists for a fiber-reinforced propylene composition for use in forming shaped parts that can exhibit good flow properties and yet still retain minimal volatile emissions.

High flow fiber-reinforced propylene composition having low emissions


A system and method for managing the environment of software processes in a computer system. A computer system comprises a processor and at least one process environment comprising one or more environment variables. The processor executes one or more processes, intercepts the launch of a process, sets at least one environment variable to a first value, and continues the launch of the process. Setting the environment variable may enable a profiler process. The processor may set at least one environment variable for the process to a value which is chosen irrespective of a value of the environment variable of a parent process of the process. Further, the processor may set at least one environment variable for the process to a default value if a data repository does not contain an entry that has an identification which corresponds to the process.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to computer processes and, more particularly, to managing the profiling of processes.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order to gain a fuller understanding of the operation of software processes, it is common to employ any of a variety of monitoring, profiling, and/or analysis programs in conjunction with the software processes to be understood. Such monitoring, profiling, and analysis programs which, for simplicity, may collectively be referred to as "profilers", are available from many vendors or may be custom-made for specific applications. It is generally desirable to be able to profile selected processes as well as to select specific profilers to operate with selected processes. Therefore, some mechanism for identifying processes and profilers and associating one with the other may be desired. Existing operating system software may provide environment variables through which profiling and profiling processes may be specified. However, each process may have its own individually set environment variables, the values of which may be determined by the process itself or a parent process from which the profiled process is launched. Since the profiled process and the profiler may be written by different programmers or come from different vendors, the environment variable settings of any given process may not conform to the settings desired by the profiler.
For example, software systems such as Microsoft's .NET® framework and Windows® operating system may enable programs and processes to provide dynamic and interactive web pages such as Active Server Pages (ASP). As applications and processes based on .NET technology proliferate, the desire to monitor and profile the operation of these applications and processes has increased. The .NET framework includes a profiling Application Program Interface (API) which allows application programmers to write an application (e.g., a "profiler") that can monitor the operation of applications running within the .NET framework. Such a profiler may monitor resource usage, interactions between processes and the operating system or the .NET framework, exception handling, etc.
To enable a profiler to monitor a process, the .NET profiling API uses environment variables (sometimes referred to as "envars") that are provided by the underlying operating system. One environment variable, COR_ENABLE_PROFILING may be used to determine whether profiling is enabled. A second environment variable, COR_PROFILER may be used to specify a particular profiler to be used. The values of these environment variables at the time the process is launched determine if and how the process will be profiled. In the case of applications for which the source code is readily available and may be modified, the program may set the environment variables itself. However, in many cases it is difficult to change the environment variables between process launches. For example, a system reboot may be required to have new environment variable settings take effect if the process is a system service. Also, the source code for a given application (e.g., third party applications) may not be available. Consequently, it may not be possible, or practical, to modify an application to set particular environment variables.
Consequently, a method and mechanism for managing the environment variables and the profiling of processes is desired.

System and method for profiling processes in a computing system


Analytical methods that can be employed to reliably separate known or suspected allergens in a complex mixture of fragrance ingredients are described.

Fragrance compositions used in both fine perfumery and functional perfumery very often consist of complex mixtures that may contain tens or even hundreds of fragrance ingredients.
Furthermore, some fragrance ingredients that are considered to be single ingredients from the perspective of a perfumer (such as essential oils) may actually contain many hundreds of components and impurities, some of which may be considered to be potentially allergenic substances within the terms of the 7th Amendment of the Cosmetics Directive, Directive 2003/15/EC.
Indeed, currently, there are 24 ingredients that are categorized as potential allergenic substances under the Directive, and the possibility cannot be discounted that more substances will be similarly categorized in the future. For companies desirous of adding fragrance compositions to personal care or cosmetic products, it will be important to know if those fragrance compositions contain significant levels of any impurities that may be considered to be potential allergenic compounds under the Directive.
Chromatographic techniques are already well known in the art for separating complex mixtures. Most high resolution gas chromatography techniques have been developed to separate aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons. However, chemical compounds that have pleasant odours and which are therefore interesting as perfume ingredients tend to possess substantially similar chemical and physical properties, such as molecular weight, polarity and the like. And because of these similar properties, potentially allergenic ingredients contained in complex fragrance compositions, may be difficult to resolve and quantify analytically.
New and higher resolution analytical approaches, characterized by stringent prerequisites in terms of analytical resolution and selectivity are required.
Comprehensive two-dimensional chromatography, also referred to as GC×GC or 2D-GC in the literature, is a known method for separating complex mixtures of analytes. In GC×GC, a complex mixture is separated on a first capillary column comprising a first stationary phase 1D before being separated a second time, portion wise, on a second capillary column comprising a second stationary phase 2D, see for example Marriott et al., "Multidimensional Gas Chromatography" in "Encyclopedia of Separation Science, Ian D. Wilson (Editor), Elsevier, 2000, ISBN: 978-0-12-226770-3, pages 536-544.
The main advantage of comprehensive two-dimensional chromatography over conventional high resolution chromatography is its much higher peak capacity, which may be 9 to 11 times larger than that of the latter. The term "peak capacity" describes the number of peaks that can be fitted on to a chromatogram between two defined points, each peak being separated from its neighbour by a defined amount. Theoretically, maximum peak capacity is achieved when two stationary phases are orthogonal, that is, the mechanisms of separation in two dimensions are independent of each other. For this reason, it is customary to use combinations of polar×apolar or apolar×polar columns.
Peak capacity is commonly used to assess the quality of a stationary phase or of a combination of stationary phases, and optimization of the performance of chromatographic separation process commonly involves maximizing the peak capacity (see for example L. M. Blumberg et al., J. Chromatogr. A 1188 (2008) 2-16. L. M. Blumberg et al., J. Sep. Sci. 31 (2008) 3352-3357). Selection of stationary phases is typically based on an optimization of peak capacity, and the process is iterative and can be laborious.
The use of GC×GC method for determining the composition of complex mixtures, such as natural essential oils is known. In recent years, several authors have attempted to use this method to resolve and then quantify a limited number of potentially allergenic substances that may be present in such essential oils: see for example G. Purcaro et al. Anal. Chem. 2010, 82, 8583-8590; M. S. Dunn et al. J. Chrom. A, 1130 (2006) 122-129; H. Leijs et al. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2005, 53, 5487-5491; C. Cordero et al. J. Chrom. A, 1150 (2007) 37-49; R. Shellie et al. Flavour Fragr. J. 2004; 19: 91-98.
However, in all these studies, the number of suspected allergens that has been separated and then quantified was limited to 24. Although it has been possible to overcome the problem of separating the current list of 24 of suspected allergens, existing techniques are insufficient in regard to the increasing number of substances that are suspected to be potentially allergenic, and which may come under scrutiny by regulatory authorities. Indeed, a new extended list of suspected allergens and regulated substances has been drawn up, comprising 95 substances, set forth in Table 1 below.
The principal limitation with previous attempts to achieve such complex separation tasks lies in the systematic selection of a first apolar stationary phase and, in most cases, selection of a second polar phase to maximize the difference of polarity between both stationary phases. Typically, a first, apolar stationary phase comprising 95% and more poly(dimethyl-siloxane) combined with a second, polar stationary phase comprising polyethylene glycol, or a second intermediate polarity stationary phase were used. In one case, the first stationary phase was a 100% poly(dimethyl-siloxane) apolar phase and the second stationary phase had an intermediate polarity (C. Cordero et al. J. Chrom. A, 1150 (2007) 37-49). However the applicant found that these particular combinations of stationary phase were unable to resolve a mixture containing the extended list of substances.
However, applicant systematically examined and found that conventional 2D-GC set-ups combining a first apolar column with a second polar column, or a first apolar column with a second mid polar column, or a first polar column and a second apolar column, did not provide the desired 2D separation efficiency of mixtures containing the extended list of substances.
Applicant has found that relying on peak capacity to select the combined stationary phases in a comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography set-up was not sufficient for achieving the analytical resolution required to separate the aforementioned complex mixture set forth in Table 1. A high peak capacity will inform an analyst that a particular column selection is likely to increase the chance of a reasonable separation, but it will not predict that separation will be optimal for a given complex mixture.
Absent reliable and accurate analytical data regarding the presence of the 95 known or suspected allergens that may be found in fragrance compositions, consumers may have insufficient information to be sure of satisfying requirements of any existing or upcoming regulation. But beyond any consideration of regulatory issues, existing analytical techniques are simply inadequate for the skilled person to resolve and eventually quantify individual known or suspected allergens in complex mixtures of fragrance ingredients.
There remains a need to provide analytical methods that can be employed to reliably separate known or suspected allergens in a complex mixtures of fragrance ingredients, and thereby enable further identification and quantification of these allergens.

Method of resolving defined known or suspected allergens in a complex mixture of perfume ingredients, and compositions


A method and apparatus for completing a natural solar distillation cycle (comprised of maritime trade winds being elevated over mountain formations to form orographic clouds) includes enabling the low cost harvesting of freshwater during time periods when weather conditions permit, despite the absence of rain. The cloud-catching wind management structures preferably incorporate minimal pressure drop gas cyclones to centrifuge condensate particles out of the air stream, and jet pump-like flow guide structures to help overcome pressure drop, for efficient, energy-passive production of freshwater utilizing only the stagnation pressure of natural wind velocity. The permanence (design and anchoring against natural disasters) of the structures provides for incorporation of water treatment means, and connection with permanent collection reservoirs and distribution systems, for large volume supply of potable freshwater for public and industrial use.

Suitably pure freshwater is becoming increasingly valuable because of its scarcity, especially in populated areas where the general health of both people and livestock is influenced by the quality (or purity) of water used for drinking, cooking, washing, etc., and for agricultural irrigation where applicable. In 1986, the World Health Organization stated that an 80 percent decrease of illnesses would result if people in developing nations had access to pure drinking water (see Water 100% Natural, ©Rise L. Rafferty). The existence and continued production of poorly-sealed groundwater wells, such as those drilled by rotary methods, compounds the problem of groundwater purity in developed areas, by facilitating leakage to and from otherwise isolated groundwater veins. Many small islands in saltwater oceans are challenged to obtain sufficient freshwater economically, as current-technology desalination processes such as distillation and reverse osmosis tend to be capacity-limited, relative to their significant investment, maintenance cost, and service life limitations.
Collection of rainwater has long been a traditional source of low cost freshwater on a relatively small scale in non-arid locations, but in addition to being capacity-limited in most regions, the water quality produced by this method is influenced by air pollution, to the extent present in the surrounding atmosphere. The limitation of this source of supply to those time periods when weather patterns actually produce rain is what limits harvestable volumes to factors largely beyond the control of mankind.
Rain clouds are formed as moisture-laden air is elevated to altitudes of reduced atmospheric pressure, and cooled by this elevation and/or by movement of adjacent air masses, until the water vapor reaches a so-called saturation point, or dew point, where visible condensation, in the form of tiny aerosol droplets, begins to occur. Further cooling and/or pressure drops will increase the magnitude of condensation to the point of precipitation (rain) being formed by a process of droplet enlargement to sizes that allow gravitation to overcome air flow resistance, or so-called viscous effects. This typically occurs as a cold air mass or "cold front" meets warm air and, because of its greater density begins to flow under the warm air, both elevating and cooling it to produce the result of a transient period of rain.
Some geologic conditions, such as lakeshore bluffs or inland mountain ranges, act to produce clouds more or less continually as moisture-laden prevailing winds blow over and are elevated by them. A more or less constant threshold of cloud formation in these locations witnesses the fact of invisible water vapor in the moving air masses being both elevated to levels of lower atmospheric pressure, and cooled at these higher elevations, producing visible condensation such that freshly-formed clouds are consistently seen in proximity to the topographical features responsible for the elevation. The wind flows through the area of condensation, constantly regenerating cloud as the air rises and then dissipating it as the air descends on the other side of the landform or is warmed.
An example of such orographic conditions can be seen in the Caribbean island of St. Kitts, long known for its abundance of naturally-occurring mountain spring water. The prevailing Caribbean trade winds arrive after having traveled thousands of miles across the Atlantic Ocean, wherein "solar powered distillation" of ocean water occurs freely, and absent any significant sources of pollution, which tend to be land-based. These trade winds are deflected upward by the island's volcanic mountain range, which is providentially arrayed with respect to prevailing wind direction. The upwardly deflected flow reaches altitudes of over 2,000 feet ASL, where it tends to form clouds at the mountaintops. Numerous artesian wells on the sides of the mountains have traditionally supplied the towns and villages below with high quality water, and thus attest to the fact that these favorably created natural conditions are consistently near enough to the threshold of precipitation to enable the periodic rain from these clouds to be a reliable water source.
Such favorable orographic conditions offer, in the wind velocity and liquid water content of the clouds formed, copious quantities of freshwater for potentially energy-free harvest by an appropriately engineered precipitator-collector system. Such a "cloud catcher" water harvesting system offers the potential of producing voluminous quantities of freshwater directly from the clouds themselves (not being limited to the periodic precipitation associated with weather patterns), while being capable of also collecting naturally occurring precipitation, when it happens, as bonus water volume.
The practice of so-called fog collection in such localities is known, consisting of the placement of coarse mesh panels normal to wind direction, with collection troughs situated below the mesh panels to transport collected water to pipe manifolds leading to a reservoir. This technology has been shown to be effective in providing freshwater to small populations with very low investment cost, but suffers from the limitations of very low collection efficiency (counterproductive to spatial density, hence demanding of land area), and vulnerability to environmental (weathering, storm) damages so is poorly suited to reliably high volume production for areas of significant population density.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a more economical, durable, space-efficient production of voluminous quantities of freshwater than is provided by current technology, to benefit the many regions of the world where orographic cloud formations are in close enough proximity to user groups to enable cost-effective distribution of the new quantities of water thereby offered. Preferably, this would operate passively (without need for power sources), and with minimal operating and maintenance costs.
The technical challenges of collecting the liquid water of an orographic cloud or flowing fog lie firstly in the very small sizes of the droplet particles, and secondly in their low mixture density with the air that carries them. The sheer volume of flowing air mass, however, offers compensation for this relative rarity if reasonable collection efficiency can be achieved. A 10 m/s (22.37 mph) velocity orographic flow through a square window, 30 m (98.4 ft) per side can reasonably be estimated to pass water content on the order of 2334 m3/day (2.33 million liters/day), or 616,639 gallons/day.
With sizes on the order of 0.020 mm, the aerosol particles tend to flow around filtration media fibers rather than collide with them, as their viscous relationship with the air strongly prevails over the inertia effects required to move them across the streamlines of the air flow path. This, when coupled with their sparse population (with total liquid water content of a maritime stratus cloud on the order of 0.3 g/m3), makes particle impact with filtration media fibers quite low in frequency. Making the filtration media less coarse to increase fiber density is counterproductive to the extent that as flow resistance is increased, through-flow velocity is curtailed, making the (inertia-dependent) collisions with the fibers that much less probable.
A proven device for separating particles from air, which has been in use in industrial applications for over a century, uses centrifugal force to separate denser-than-air particles from a spiraling airflow path that is forced to spin within a cylindrical chamber. The so-called gas cyclone provides sufficient time for centrifugal force to migrate the bulk of condensate particles across the spinning air streamlines to the walls of the chamber where they collect and drain out at the bottom of the chamber.
These cyclone separators are passive, beyond the use of blowers or fans to produce sufficient airflow, in that no moving parts are required in their operation, but the pressure drop, or differential, between the inlet and the outlet required insure their successful operation is on the order of 100 mm of water, or 9.8 millibar (see A. C. Hoffmann & L. E. Stein; Gas Cyclones and Swirl Tubes; ISBN 3-540-43326-0, p. 312), much higher than the stagnation pressure of orographically-accelerated trade winds. Thus traditional-configuration cyclones are not suitable for the processing of voluminous quantities of cloud without the expenditure of inordinate amounts of power. In order to be passively powered by ambient air velocity directly, feasibility dictates that new, non-traditional configuration cyclones having very low pressure drop, on the order of 5% that of traditional devices, be proven effective in extracting liquid water from cloud aerosol. Such inventive cyclones are herein provided in conjunction with other preferred cloud catcher wind and water management structures, to enable substantially increased capture efficiency and productivity in comparison with traditional fog collection methodology. With design focus on volume of water collected, instead of dryness of output flow, these new non-traditional cyclones will not benefit the field of traditional-objective cyclones as configured in their entirety, although portions of the inventive structures may prove useful for alternative purposes.


A housing of length and cross-sectional dimension to enclose a given amount of tire sealing fluid is selected, coupled with a flexible hose at its output port with a pneumatic tire valve, and charged at its input port from a source of compressed air to inject the tire sealing fluid within the housing by means of the hose through the pneumatic valve to protect a tire against later blowouts or puncturing in use. In a preferred embodiment, the housing is constructed of a polyvinylchloride tube, while the hose is constructed of a clear vinyl composition.

As is known, one of the more recent advances in the automotive industry is the development of pneumatic tire sealants to prevent punctures before they occur. In their most usual form, these sealants are viscous fluids, with chunks of raw rubber injected through the tire valve to seal punctures generally up to 1/4 in. diameter. While experience has shown that these tire sealants do, in fact, perform the function for which they are intended, the manner of injecting them through the tire valve leaves much to be desired.
To be more specific, such tire sealants as are commercially available typically are sold in 8 oz. containers, 1 gal. jugs and 5 gal. buckets. Injecting the sealant through the valve entails filling the 8 oz. container with this chunking, viscous fluid, fitting a small length of tubing at one end over a tapered spout at the top of the container, inverting the container and coupling the other end of the tubing over the tire valve, and then squeezing the container to force the fluid through the tubing and into the tire. While, in theory, this procedure should work adequately well, actual usage has shown that it is a hard job to do--squeezing the container too hard shoots the fluid beyond the tire valve and onto the ground, while squeezing the container too easily lengthens the time to discharge fully the container's contents. Although an 8 oz. container may be sufficient to charge a medium size passenger car tire, off-the-road vehicle tires typically require 16 ounces of fluid, while truck tires usually take 36 ounces of this viscous liquid. In these instances, the 8 oz. container has to be filled and refilled from the 1 gal. jug or 5 gal. bucket, as those larger containers cannot readily be squeezed by hand. Not only does such refilling add to the possibility of further liquid spilling on the ground, but actual usage has shown that after 2-3 squeezings of the 8 oz. containers, they tend to lose their shape and resiliency, making it even more difficult to discharge the chunky viscous liquid easily through the tire valve in carrying out the tire charging. Add to this the further tendency of the liquid to itself clog the tire valve in use, the further problem results in even more-and-more spillage and spurting of the sealant under the squeezing force of the container, making the operation all the more messy.
Were this not bad enough, experience has shown the inordinate time spent in effectively carrying out this injection process. That is, even with the skilled user of the tire sealant, it takes approximately 10 minutes to so charge a medium size passenger car tire. To deal, instead, with a commercial truck tire requiring 36 ounces, or so, of this same tire sealant to do a comparable job typically takes more than four times as much effort, commonly taking 45 minutes of manual squeezing--without even considering the added time spent in having to refill the 8 oz. container from the larger jug or bucket size and having to clean up the attendant spillage and mess. Whereas one might accept spending upwards of most one hour to so treat the 4 tires and spare of a medium passenger vehicle, treating just one truck of a commercial fleet having 8-10 tires could take an entire day. This follows not only from the added number of tires to be treated, but from the much larger size of the tires employed. Although not so much of an added burden as a commercial tractor-trailer truck, the situation with off-the-road vehicles or box trucks still reflect the far greater effort required than with medium size passenger cars, because of their accepted need for some 16 ounces of tire sealant fluid to do the job of protecting against blowouts and flat tires.


A multi-media player includes a main frame, and a rotatable panel rotatably mounted on the main frame and including a mounting plate secured on the main frame and formed with a window, and a casing rotatably mounted on the mounting plate and rotatable between a first position where the casing is rested on the mounting plate and a second position where the casing is removed from the mounting plate to expose the window of the mounting plate. When the casing is moved from the first position to the second position, the casing stores a restoring force to provide an automatic restoring function. Thus, the rotatable panel can be restored automatically.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multi-media player, and more particularly to a multi-media player having a rotatable panel that can be restored automatically.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional multi-media player, such as a VCD or DVD player, mounted on the computer comprises a main frame, a retractable tray movably mounted in the main frame for carrying a portable storage medium, such as a VCD or DVD, and a cover plate that is pivoted relative to the main frame to cover or open the retractable tray. However, the cover plate is only used to cover or open the retractable tray without having other additional functions, thereby limiting the versatility of the cover plate. In addition, the cover plate is not operated easily, thereby causing inconvenience to the user.

Multi-media player having a rotatable panel that can be restored automatically


A superconducting down-hole heating device with a superconducting cable, a cryostat around the superconducting cable, and a heat source coupled to the superconducting cable. The device is configured to use within a well-casing, and to produce heat outside of the cryostat and not inside of the cryostat.

In the oil and gas industry, the introduction of heat into an oil reservoir is beneficial in removing the extracted fluid. This is especially true for reservoirs containing thick, heavy, waxy oil such as bitumen. The addition of heat helps to significantly lower the oil's viscosity making it far easier to flow and thereby increasing production throughput. There are several common methods that have been used in the practical implementation of this down-hole heating strategy including: steam injection, in-situ combustion, electrical resistive heating, and electrical inductive heating. Traditional electrical resistive and inductive heating systems have employed conventional non-superconducting power transmission cables electrically powered with AC current operating at ambient temperatures. Traditional inductive heaters have used non-superconducting coils operating at ambient temperatures. Traditional radiative heaters have used non-superconducting power transmission cable with non-superconducting antennas. One challenge is that, with ambient temperatures in the range of 300-600 degrees Fahrenheit, the heat from the heat source can cause depositions on the heat source, which in turn decrease thermal conductivity.
Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAG-D) was developed in the 1980s by the Alberta Oil Sands Technology and Research Authority. By combining SAG-D with improvements in directional drilling technology, along with the corresponding increase in the cost of oil by the mid 1990's it was now cost effective to produce bitumen using this approach. In the typical SAG-D operation, two horizontal wells are drilled in the oil sands, one at the bottom of the formation and another about 5-m above it. These wells are typically drilled in groups off central platforms and can extend for miles in all directions. In each well pair, steam is injected into the upper well, where the heat caused by the steam injection melts the bitumen, which allows it to flow into the lower well, where it is pumped to the surface. The use of SAG-D have provided a major breakthrough in oil production technology. Since it takes about 1-1.5 GJ of energy to extract one 55-gallon barrel of oil, and there are about 6.1 GJ useful energy contained within that oil, the SAG-D method has about a 5-to-1 energy returned-on-energy-invested (EREI).
Conventional non-superconducting electric heating systems are being designed to reduce the use of steam in SAGD operations and to be able to access other formations where steam technologies aren't as effective such as oil-bearing shale formations. These electric heating systems take advantage of novel concepts and innovative solutions based upon proven resistive and electromagnetic heating technologies, including Enhanced Solvent Extraction Incorporating Electromagnetic Heating (ESEIEH), Electro Thermal Dynamic Stripping Process (ET-DSP), Thermal Assisted Gravity Drainage (TAG-D),i,ii and inductive heating of the oil well's steel casing. I Rassenfoss, S. (2012). Seeking More Oil, Fewer Emissions. Journal of Petroleum Engineering, 34-41.II Sandberg, C., Hale, A., & Kovscek, A. (2013). History and Applications of Resistance Electric Heaters in Downhole Field Applications. SPE Western Regional & AAPG Pacific Section Meeting. Monterey, Calif.: SPE International.
In the oil and gas industry, induced hydraulic fracturing or hydro-fracturing is a technique in which typically water is mixed with sand and chemicals, and the mixture is injected at high pressure into a well-bore to create small fractures (typically less than 1 mm), along which fluids such as gas, oil, uranium bearing solution, and brine water may migrate to the well. Hydraulic pressure is removed from the well, then small grains of proppant (sand or aluminum oxide) hold these fractures open once the rock achieves equilibrium. The technique is very common in wells for shale gas and hard rock wells. This well stimulation is usually conducted once in the life of the well and greatly enhances fluid removal and well productivity, but there has been an increasing trend towards multiple hydraulic fracturing as production declines.

High power dense down-hole heating device for enhanced oil, natural gas, hydrocarbon, and related commodity recovery


An electrode clamp (10; 100) for making contact with a film electrode and a snap electrode has a first part (12; 112), a second part (14; 114), and a contact element (60; 160). For clamping a film electrode, the two parts (12, 14; 112, 114) can be pivoted toward one another. In an initial state of the electrode clamp (10; 100), the first part (12; 112) and the second part (14; 114) have an offset (36; 136) relative to one another. The offset can be reduced by movement of the second part (14; 114) relative to the first part (12; 112) to such an extent that the snap electrode can be inserted into the electrode clamp. By a reset motion of the second part (14; 114) relative to the first part (12; 112) in the direction of the initial state, the snap electrode can be clamped against the contact element (60; 160) and contact can be made with the snap electrode. The electrode clamp (10; 100) can be connected in a mechanically detachable manner to the snap electrode.

Electrode clamps for film and snap electrodes are disclosed in DE 102 25 621 B3 and are used, for example, in medical technology to be able to easily make contact between different electrode types there. For example, when preparing an electrocardiogram (EKG), the contact points on the body to be examined can be connected to the medical devices both via film electrodes and via snap electrodes.


A wavelength division coupler capable of dividing and coupling at least three wavelengths is provided. The wavelength division coupler includes a first waveguide having a first end and a second end, a second waveguide having a third end and a fourth end, in which a section between the third end and the fourth end is located adjacently to one end of the first waveguide to form a mode coupling section for dividing or coupling an input light, and a Bragg zone having a Bragg grating in the mode coupling section formed in portions of die first waveguide and the second waveguide.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an optical device capable of coupling or dividing light having at least three wavelengths, and in particular, to a wavelength division coupler including a directional coupler.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a bidirectional transmission/reception, each subscriber device or a central base station requires an optical transceiver, such as a three-wavelength division optical filter, capable of coupling or dividing different upward and downward light. The three-wavelength division optical filter has a structure in which a groove that cuts a portion where a two-branch waveguide is formed and an optical filter capable of selectively transmitting or reflecting a specific wavelength inserted into the groove. An arrayed waveguide grating may be used for the purposes of wavelength dividing or coupling process.
However, the volume of the arrayed waveguide grating or the three-wavelength division optical filter tends to increase in this type of application, and the optical filter experiences a loss depending on the coupling efficiency and the volume of the device. Moreover, when using the three-wavelength division optical filter or the arrayed waveguide grating, the operation process becomes complicated, and the cost of parts increases, thereby causing an increase in the manufacturing cost.

Wavelength division coupler and optical transceiver using the same


A system includes a non-transitory memory and one or more hardware processors configured to perform operations including receiving, via a product model API, product model data for a product sold by a vendor, receiving from the vendor, via an offer API, offer data corresponding to one or more promotional offers for the product, processing, via a deal hub, the offer data, generating a catalog item for the product, and displaying the catalog item within a catalog.

This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to aspects of the present disclosure, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
An enterprise may utilize multiple platforms to conduct its operations. For example, the enterprise may use a first platform for human resources (HR), a second platform for payroll, a third platform for purchasing, a fourth platform for information technology (IT) (e.g., email, networking, data storage, computer logins), and a fifth platform for accounting. Due to differences in data formatting and communication processes, data sharing between platforms may be difficult and/or result in inefficiencies. For example, in order to achieve data sharing between one or more platforms, the enterprise may assign an in-house developer, or hire an outside developer (e.g., a contractor or a software development services company) to write scripts to facilitate the sharing of data between platforms. As the platforms update and evolve over time, the scripts may be correspondingly updated to account for the changes to the platforms.

Systems and method for coordinating trend data via a hub


Embodiments of the present invention provide a decision framework for selecting graph types based on attributes such as task, end-user, data-bound, and representational attributes. According to one embodiment, a computer-implemented method for aiding a user in selecting a graph type for a graph comprises receiving a selection of a graph type subset from the user, the graph type subset selected from a plurality of graph type subsets, the selection responsive to at least one task attribute corresponding to an intended use for the graph. The method further comprises generating a user interface to be displayed to the user, the user interface including an indication of at least one graph type in the selected graph type subset, an indication of at least one attribute, and an indication of whether the at least one graph type is appropriate in view of the at least one attribute, thereby providing guidance to the user in selecting an appropriate graph type.

Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to decision support tools, and more particularly relate to a decision framework for selecting graph types.
Graphs, such as line graphs, bar graphs, pie charts, and the like, are effective tools for visualizing and understanding large quantities of data. However, choosing an appropriate graph type for a given situation can be a complex task. The selection of a graph type depends on many factors, including the types of data to be plotted and the kinds of tasks to be performed by end-users. Furthermore, there are hundreds of different graph types, each having a different effect on the types of insight that may be gained from the underlying data.
Prior publications by researchers in the field of information visualization expose the complexities of graph selection, but do not provide a step-by-step methodology for determining the most appropriate graph type for a particular scenario. Many researchers take a partial approach to helping users identify appropriate graph types by organizing graphs. A similar approach is taken by popular spreadsheet programs (e.g., Microsoft Excel) and other data analysis systems (e.g., SPSS). These attempts to organize graphs cluster them together according to various functional categorizations (e.g., data, form, geometry). For example, the "chart wizard" in Excel presents users with graph types organized by form (e.g., bar, pie, line, area, etc.), thereby allowing users to select a graph type based on a desired visual representation of the graph.
A problem with the above approaches is that each categorization restricts the manner in which users may locate appropriate graphs. For example, a data categorization may be useful for analysts with a clear understanding of the form of the data they need to display. A data categorization may be less useful for designers who are selecting a graph type from an end-user-based perspective.
A related problem is that most existing graphing tools such as Excel categorize graph types according to form-based characteristics. Current tools do not adequately account for the intended end-users of a graph, or the types of insight that those end-users are expected to gain. As a result, these tools may recommend graph types that are ultimately inappropriate for a given target audience or task.