This application discloses a system and related methods (called Fast Track) to effortlessly navigate across multiple cameras, e.g. video surveillance cameras distributed in a facility. Fast Track simplifies the act of following a suspicious individual roaming in a facility, e.g. by eliminating the need for security operators to memorize camera placement and coverage, and to manually control pan-tilt-zoom (hereinafter “PTZ”) cameras, and by simplifying the process to reduce the risk of operator error. Combinations of novel scoring and control methods generally provide an automatic identification of optimal cameras and pre-emptive re-direction of PTZ cameras. Extensions to these methods enable two new capabilities: Cooperative PTZ Control (e.g. coordinating PTZs to cover a 3D map viewport optimally) and Self-Healing Perimeters, to automatically reassign and redirect multiple PTZ cameras to fill gaps in a security perimeter.

Effortless navigation across cameras: In video surveillance, following a suspect roaming across multiple cameras in a large indoor or outdoor environment can be very challenging.
Using a traditional surveillance solution, an operator must first memorize the layout of the facility (i.e. map) and the location of the cameras. Surveillance cameras often have a pan-tilt-zoom ("PTZ") capability, meaning that they can rotate arbitrarily and zoom to see far-away details. Remembering what each camera can see takes a significant effort.
Tracking a suspect across a hallway with multiple branches offers very little margin for error and takes most of the concentration of a security operator, making it hard to think about high-level questions such as "does this suspect present a real threat and if so, what is this suspect trying to achieve?" and preparing a response (e.g. calling a security guard on site).
PTZ cameras have a limited field of view (e.g. 30 degrees when fully zoomed out) and therefore generally point in the wrong direction. When switching to a PTZ camera in a traditional surveillance solution, an operator must then manually move it (e.g. by selecting a preset from a list, or using a joystick), wasting many precious seconds during which the suspect may turn a corner and get out of sight.
Using traditional solutions, recovering a suspect that gets out of sight is highly problematic. An operator must mentally identify the cameras that the suspect is likely to go through eventually. He must then cycle through these cameras rapidly, hoping to find him when he passes by. It may take minutes for the suspect to reappear. PTZ cameras can be redirected, but because a human can at best look at a handful of cameras at once, in practice operators have a very hard time recovering suspects that got out of sight.
All of these problems are compounded by factors like stress and fatigue. The margin for error when following an armed and dangerous suspect is extremely thin, and security guards often go through hours of monotony making them prone to mistakes and inattention. The ideal solution must require no memorization or concentration, and allow fast and easy recovery in case of mistakes.
An ideal solution goes beyond simply tracking a suspect, and enables the operator to navigate freely in the environment, e.g. to move around and be generally aware of the current situation in a specific area. Another common need is to enable virtual visitors to navigate inside and participate in a virtual reproduction of a building, tradeshow, shopping center or city.
The ideal solution must also work equally well in real-time situation and during investigations of events and video sequences that have been archived. The solution must work reliably across a wide range of environments including facilities with multiple floors (transitions between floors, inside/outside), navigation across city-blocks where cameras may be on roofs, walls, moving vehicles (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, car, elevator, bus, train), and so on.
Most video surveillance solutions offer a 2D map to users. Using a map can help to identify possible cameras of interest, but constantly switching attention to/from videos/map distracts operators and increases the chance to miss suspicious activity. When switching cameras, humans also tend to oversimplify the problem and rely on simple cues like geographic proximity, i.e. cameras that appear close to the last seen position of the suspect as seen in the map in 2D. Such simple criteria are not optimal to identify relevant cameras. For instance, high-end PTZ cameras can zoom 30× and therefore, a far-away camera that can point in the right direction often offers superior view of the action.
Countless prior art focuses on the general problem of navigating in a 2D or 3D environment. Relatively few constrain the problem to images and videos taken by nearby locations. Techniques published by Microsoft Photosynth and Noah Snavely (e.g. [Finding paths through the world's photo—Siggraph 2008]) assume a high density of nearby cameras, and gradual small changes in camera position and orientation. They do not work reliably when the camera coverage is very sparse and orientations differ significantly, the common scenario in video surveillance applications. They also do not explicitly handle occluders like walls.
Some commercial solutions advertise capabilities to simplify tracking of suspects. They use overly simplistic solutions such as presenting up-down-left-right buttons to the operator, which once clicked, switch to other cameras in a hard-coded fashion. In practice, these techniques are of limited use. For instance, they do not work when multiple hallway branches are visible, they do not take full advantage of PTZ camera capabilities, they do not work with panoramic cameras, they require extensive setup time, and they do not handle cameras that translate (e.g. in an elevator).
There are automated techniques to track suspects across one more multiple cameras, but they all suffer from many drawbacks. For instance, high-end PTZ cameras often include a so-called auto-tracking feature. This feature typically relies on a simple background subtraction [https://computation.llnl.gov/casc/sapphire/background/background.html] to identify movement in the scene, and moves the cameras to keep the movement in frame. This solution, while occasionally reliable in simple scenarios like a single person moving without occlusion in front of a camera, does not handle transition across multiple cameras, crowds, objects moving naturally (e.g. water, trees affected by the wind), etc.
More complex video analytics methods try to separate the suspicious person or object from the rest of the movement, but all known techniques are unreliable in complex real-life scenario, e.g. large number of people walking in multiple directions in a possibly dynamic environment (snow, rain, smoke). For the time being at least, only humans can make intelligent decisions to follow a specific individual in a crowded scene.
Tracking can also be performed by identifying individuals, e.g. through biometrics like facial recognition, RFID tags, and GPS sensors. These techniques all suffer from limitations. Facial recognition techniques require a good view of the face and no known method is perfect, so false negatives and false positives are very frequent even in ideal scenarios. RFID and GPS require extra hardware and often the cooperation of the individual being tracked. None of these solutions provide much control to the operator when he desires to navigate without actually tracking a specific individual, to simply be aware of nearby activity.
There is thus a need for a more effective method for navigating across multiple images or videos related geographically, especially for the case of following a suspect using video surveillance cameras.
Cooperative Control of Cameras: A related challenge is the effective and intuitive monitoring of a large outdoor area. Monitoring a large outdoor area (e.g. dozens or hundreds of cameras surrounding a facility) is challenging because each camera only gives limited a point of view. Operators often suffer from a "tunnel effect" because they only see a small amount of information at a time.
Most 2D video surveillance solutions used in practice do not provide sufficient spatial context, i.e. it is not clear how each camera is related to others. For instance, if an individual in a crowd is pointing at another person visible in another camera, it is very hard for a human to immediately grasp who the person is pointing at, because both cameras are presented separately and traditional solutions do not present an intuitive mapping between the two.
The Omnipresence 3D software application includes a 3D video fusion capability to display many real-time or archived videos realistically on top of a 3D map. (This is sometimes also referred to as 3D video draping or 3D video projection.) For each pixel in a 3D map viewport, a calculation is made to identify which fixed, panoramic or PTZ cameras has the best view of that pixel, and the 3D fusion is performed according to the precise, continuously-updated position, direction and field-of-view ("FOV") of each camera. This provides spatial context, since it is immediately clear how two cameras visible in the 3D viewport are interrelated spatially, and it reduces the "tunnel effect" problem since cameras that point close to each other are automatically "stitched" in 3D to provide a panoramic view.
One limitation to this 3D fusion approach is that PTZ cameras may not be pointing in the optimal locations. A simple solution consists in providing simple user control, e.g. having the user click on a location in the 3D map, and having the system identify and redirect one or a few PTZ cameras that can see that location.
The approach is limited because each PTZ camera is handled independently. An ideal system would focus each PTZ camera on a different area of the 3D map to provide an optimal coverage, referred hereon as a Cooperative Camera Control for an Optimal 3D Map Coverage (C3DM). Each PTZ camera would complement the other, to provide to the operator the optimal representation of the action occurring in the 3D map, as if he was surveying that 3D space from an aerial viewpoint. This would occur automatically and in real-time as the operator moves around the 3D map in the 3D map viewport.
Self-Healing Perimeter: Large critical-security facilities often have a long perimeter defined by fences, natural barriers (e.g. cliffs) and water front. One popular security design approach consists in dividing the perimeter into perimeter segments, and assigning one camera on or near the perimeter to monitor that perimeter segment constantly.
Occasionally, one or some of these cameras are broken, obscured (e.g. by cargo ship, rain, sun glare), disconnected or otherwise unusable. When this happens, there is a gap in the perimeter that can be exploited by burglars, illegal immigrants or drug traffickers.
Critical facilities often use PTZ cameras, or fixed cameras on top of pan-tilt heads, as a solution to this problem. A human can choose a PTZ camera and redirect it to cover the gap. The problem is that, at best, it may take minutes for a human to identify the problem and address it. In practice, in facilities that have lots of cameras and more lax procedures, it is more likely that it will take days or even weeks for the problem to be identified and addressed.
The ideal solution would monitor all cameras and within seconds, identify when a camera is tampered with or unusable. The system would then automatically identify one or more PTZ cameras that cover the gap(s) optimally.
There is thus a need for more effective methods for camera control, especially for the cases of cooperatively controlling multiple PTZ cameras.

Effortless navigation across cameras and cooperative control of cameras


An object of the present invention is to provide a millimeter wave radar device and module that provides a hollow structure while assuring adequate moisture resistance.

The present invention relates to a vehicle-mounted millimeter wave radar device, millimeter wave radar module, and manufacturing method thereof.
Japanese Application Patent Laid-open Publication No. Hei 7-273237A discloses the semiconductor device in which a hollow is provided around an IC chip and sealed with a structure composed of a first cap, a molded resin, and a second cap. The molded resin is cured by baking after it is covered with the second cap. Since the device has the hollow around the IC chip, it is possible to prevent IC bonding wires from being cut by thermal stress caused by plastic molding. Furthermore, deterioration of the electrical characteristic can be prevented in comparison with a device in which the IC chip is directly covered by resin, by making a hollow structure around the IC chip.
In a high frequency or other millimeter wave radar RF (Radio Frequency) module, the above conventional technology provides a hollow structure to prevent deterioration in the millimeter wave electrical characteristic. However it fails to assure adequate moisture resistance, and it cannot provide a low-cost millimeter wave radar RF module.

Vehicle-mounted millimeter wave radar device, millimeter wave radar module, and manufacturing method thereof

Abstract: A multilayer substrate on which at least one millimeter wave MMIC is mounted and a cap for forming a hollow around the MMIC are joined together with an adhesive or other similar organic member to obtain a high-frequency characteristic. The resulting assembly is housed in a case and covered with a moisture resistance by a gelled organic resin. The nonairtight structure obtained in this manner permits the use of low-cost members and provides increased productivity.


Disclosed are an apparatus for controlling a driving of a reciprocating compressor capable of enhancing an efficiency by differently controlling a frequency and a stroke voltage according to a load size and capable of reducing consumption power, and a method thereof. The apparatus comprises a controlling unit for judging a load size by comparing a phase difference between a detected current and a stroke with a reference phase difference, and outputting a frequency control signal and a stroke control signal according to the judged load size.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a compressor, and more particularly, to an apparatus for controlling a driving of a reciprocating compressor and a method thereof.
2. Description of the Background Art
Generally, a reciprocating compressor is not provided with a crankshaft for converting a rotary motion into a linear motion thus to have a less frictional loss. Therefore, the reciprocating compressor has more increased compression efficiency than a general compressor.
When the reciprocating compressor is applied to a refrigerator or an air conditioner, a cooling capacity thereof is controlled by varying a compression ratio by varying a stroke voltage inputted thereto. Herein, the stroke denotes a distance between an upper dead point of a piston and a lower dead point.
The conventional reciprocating compressor will be explained with reference to FIG. 1.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a construction of an apparatus for controlling a driving of a reciprocating compressor in accordance with the conventional art.
As shown, the conventional apparatus for controlling a driving of a reciprocating compressor comprises a current detector 4 for detecting a current applied to a motor (not shown) of a reciprocating compressor 6, a voltage detector 3 for detecting a voltage applied to the motor, a stroke calculator 5 for calculating a stroke estimation value of the compressor according to the detected current and voltage and a parameter of the motor, a comparator 1 for comparing the calculated stroke estimation value with a preset stroke command value and thus outputting a difference value therebetween, and a stroke controller 2 for controlling a stroke of the compressor 6 by varying a voltage applied to the motor by controlling a turn-on cycle of a triac (not shown) connected to the motor in serial according to the difference value.
Hereinafter, an operation of the apparatus for controlling a driving of the reciprocating compressor according to the present invention will be explained with reference to FIG. 1.
The current detector 4 detects a current applied to a motor (not shown) of the compressor 6, and outputs the detected current value to the stroke calculator 5. The voltage detector 3 detects a voltage applied to the motor, and outputs the detected voltage value to the stroke calculator 5.
The stroke calculator 5 calculates a stroke estimation value (X) of the compressor by substituting the detected current value, the detected voltage value, and a parameter of the motor into the following formula 1, and then applies the calculated stroke estimation value (X) to the comparator 1.
                    X        =                              1            α                                          ∫                                          (                                                      V                    m                                    -                  Ri                  -                  Li                                )                                                          ⅆ                t                                                                        formula                                                  1
Herein, the R denotes a resistance value, the L denotes a motor inductance value, the α denotes a motor constant, the Vm denotes a voltage applied to the motor, the i denotes a current applied to the motor, and the ī denotes a variation ratio of a current applied to the motor according to time. That is, the ī denotes a differential value of the i (di/dt).
Then, the comparator 1 compares the stroke estimation value with the stroke command value, and applies a difference value therebetween to the stroke controller 2.
The stroke controller 2 varies a voltage applied to the motor of the compressor 6 according to the difference value, thereby controlling a stroke of the compressor 6.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a method for controlling a driving of a reciprocating compressor in accordance with the conventional art.
When a stroke estimation value obtained by the stroke calculator 5 is applied to the comparator 1 (S1), the comparator 1 compares the stroke estimation value with a preset stroke command value thereby to obtain a difference value therebetween (S2). Then, the comparator 1 outputs the difference value to the stroke controller 2.
When the stroke estimation value is less than the stroke command value, the stroke controller 2 increases a voltage to be applied to the motor in order to control a stroke of the compressor (S3). On the contrary, when the stroke estimation value is greater than the stroke command value, the stroke controller 2 decreases a voltage to be applied to the motor (S4). Herein, the stroke controller 2 increases or decreases a voltage to be applied to the motor by controlling a turn-on cycle of a triac (not shown) electrically connected to the motor.
The stroke command value is varied according to a size of a load of the reciprocating compressor. That is, when the load of the reciprocating compressor is large, the stroke command value is increased not to decrease a stroke of a piston thereby to prevent a cooling capacity from being decreased. On the contrary, when the load of the reciprocating compressor is small, the stroke command value is decreased not to increase a stroke of a piston thereby to prevent a cooling capacity from being increased and to prevent a collision between the piston and a cylinder due to an over stroke.
The conventional linear compressor using a stroke voltage has a decreased efficiency when a stroke of a piston is decreased into a certain level, thereby having a limitation in implementing a capacity variation.
The conventional rotary compressor using a rotation motor implements a capacity variation of a wide range by varying a frequency. When a frequency is varied within a range of a small capacity variation, the efficiency of the rotary compressor is not drastically decreased. On the contrary, when a stroke of a piston is small, the efficiency of the reciprocating compressor is decreased.

Apparatus for controlling driving of reciprocating compressor and method thereof


A developer conveyance apparatus for an image forming apparatus includes a developer storage portion, a developer conveyance portion arranged inside the developer storage portion and, a drive input portion configured to input a drive force to the developer conveyance portion, and a clutch arranged inside the developer storage portion and configured to transmit the drive force from the drive input portion to the developer conveyance portion, the clutch stopping or decelerating a rotation of the developer conveyance portion when a requisite torque for rotating the developer conveyance portion exceeds a predetermined magnitude, wherein the clutch is arranged inside the developer storage portion and includes at least one clutch side conveyance portion which, when receiving the drive force from the drive input portion, conveys the developer in a developer conveyance direction in which the developer conveyance portion conveys the developer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to a developer conveyance apparatus for use in an image forming apparatus, and to a process cartridge equipped with the developer conveyance apparatus.
In the context of the present specification, a developer conveyance apparatus is an apparatus for conveying developer for image formation. For example, the developer conveyance apparatus includes a process cartridge, a developer replenishment cartridge, and a developer conveyance portion in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus.
An image forming apparatus is an apparatus configured to form an image on a recording medium. The image forming apparatus includes an electrophotographic copying machine, an electrophotographic printer (such as a light emitting diode (LED) printer and a laser beam printer), and an electrophotographic facsimile apparatus, all of which are configured to form an image on a recording medium by using an electrophotographic image forming process.
A recording medium is a substance on which an image is formed. The recording medium includes a recording sheet and an overhead projector (OHP) sheet.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there has been known a process cartridge system in which an electrophotographic photosensitive member in an image forming apparatus and a process unit acting thereon are integrated into a cartridge, which is detachably attachable to the image forming apparatus main body. The process cartridge system helps to achieve an improvement in terms of operability since it enables the user to perform maintenance on the apparatus.
The process cartridge is formed by a cleaning device (hereinafter referred to as a cleaning unit), and a development device (hereinafter referred to as a development unit). The cleaning unit includes an image bearing member as the electrophotographic photosensitive member, and a cleaning member configured to clean the surface of the image bearing member. The development unit includes a development roller configured to supply developer to the image bearing member, and a developer storage portion storing developer.
On the other hand, as an example of a process cartridge system, a developer replenishment system is known. In this system, a developer replenishment opening of a developer replenishment cartridge and a developer reception port of a process cartridge are connected to each other, and developer is replenished from the developer replenishment cartridge to the process cartridge.
In the developer replenishment system, when new developer replenished from the developer replenishment cartridge and old developer in the development unit are unevenly mixed with each other, image trouble is caused. In view of this, as discussed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-014890 (See FIG. 4 thereof), a developer replenishment type process cartridge adopts the following construction:
The development unit is divided into a development portion and a developer storage portion. The development portion and the developer storage portion are connected to each other by openings provided at both ends in the rotational axis direction of the image bearing member (hereinafter referred to as the "longitudinal direction"). The developer storage portion is provided with a developer conveyance member for conveying the developer and a developer stirring member for stirring the developer. The developer is circulated within the development unit by the developer conveyance member and the developer stirring member, whereby the new and old developers are uniformly mixed with each other.
However, during transportation of the process cartridge, the developer in the developer storage portion may be pressed so as to be coagulated. In particular, when, during its transportation, the process cartridge is caused to assume an attitude in which the longitudinal direction thereof oriented in the vertical direction, with the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the developer conveyance member being at the bottom, the coagulated developer is gathered on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the developer conveyance member. When the process cartridge is used in this state, the coagulated developer is further pressed and hardened by the developer conveyance member, so that there is the possibility of the requisite torque for driving the developer conveyance member being increased.
As a countermeasure against this problem, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-160985 (See FIG. 1 thereof) discusses a construction in which a clutch is provided in a drive gear row of the developer stirring member and the developer conveyance member. In the case where the developer stirring member and the developer conveyance member are driven by the same drive source, when an excessive load is applied to the drive source, the rotation of the developer conveyance member is stopped by the clutch, and only the developer stirring member is allowed to rotate.
Further, as discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-116039 (See FIG. 1 thereof), a construction is available in which a torque limiter is connected to a drive gear of the developer stirring member and in which, when an excessive load is applied, the driving of the developer stirring member is interrupted, with rotation being only allowed for toner seal pulling.
However, as discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-160985 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-116039, in the case where a clutch or the like is provided in the drive gear row of the developer stirring member and the developer conveyance member, there is a fear of the apparatus being increased in size due to the provision of the clutch.
It might be possible to arrange the clutch within the developer storage portion in order to avoid an increase in apparatus size. However, when the clutch is arranged within the developer storage portion, the portion of the developer around the clutch is not conveyed by the developer conveyance member, so that there is the possibility of some developer being allowed to stay around the clutch.

Developer conveyance apparatus and process cartridge


An illumination technique is provided that adjusts the respective light intensities of each of a plurality of light sources that are strobed at desirable consistent intensities by adjusting a respective light pulse pattern for each respective light source. All the light sources are controlled to illuminate an object throughout a strobe duration period. The light pulse patterns may be micro-strobed light pulse patterns, formed by a variety of methods. The illumination technique is usable to preserve the general shape of the edge intensity profile on an object, and allow precision edge position measurements, regardless of whether the object is moving or not during image acquisition.

1. Field of Invention
This invention is directed to strobe illumination.
2. Description of Related Art
Imaging systems are widely used to inspect workpieces as they are transported through a manufacturing process. Equipment such as machine vision inspection systems often capture images of the workpieces using a camera, for example, and process the captured images to verify various workpiece dimensions by identifying edges of relevant features in the images.
The location where an edge is detected within an array of image data is highly dependent on lighting of the workpiece during image capture. Edge artifacts or edge-shifting may be created by lighting-specific shadows cast due to improper illumination of the workpiece. To increase productivity, workpieces are often kept in motion even during image capture. This places an additional burden on illumination systems to minimize blurring caused by the motion. Such factors frequently limit the accuracy with which the edge of a feature can be located within an image and/or the velocity that can be tolerated during image capture. Thus, improvements in workpiece illumination technology are very desirable.


A low-calorie low-fat butter-flavored topping composition and methods of preparation are disclosed. The topping composition exhibits overrun of between about 250%-350% and has a fat content of less than about 16% and a water content of more than about 50% water. In addition, the composition is preferably packaged in an aerosol container and stands up for at least 10 minutes at room temperature after being emitted from the aerosol container. Normal operation of the aerosol container allows removal of over 90% of the composition from the aerosol container.

A large percentage of consumers attempt to control their weight and levels of body fat through control of caloric and fat intake. In addition, many consumers try to reduce their existing cholesterol level through reduced cholesterol intake. Butter and margarine are both significant sources of fat and calories and butter is a significant source of cholesterol.
Butter contains a high level of animal fat (about 80 to 82%) which many consumers find unacceptable. Margarine is usually produced from an emulsion of oils and fats derived from vegetables. Since margarines are derived from vegetable fats they are cholesterol free, however, margarine contains the same amount of fat as butter.
Attempts have been made to reduce the fat content in butter-like and margarine-like products. For example, the proportion of the fat in butter can be replaced by vegetable fats, which are considered to be nutritionally more acceptable than animal fats. Substitution of some or all of the animal fat with vegetable fat to produce a lower cholesterol butter has the added benefit of softening the end product and making it more spreadable.
However, low calorie, reduced fat margarine-like and butter-like products have not met with consumer expectations since they are not stable and since the caloric and fat reductions are not sufficient. Therefore, there is a need for improved butter-flavored toppings which have sufficient taste and low caloric and fat content, and which are sufficiently stable for typical use.
In addition to having health concerns regarding levels of caloric and fat content, many consumers desire increased ease of use of and improved storage of butter or butter-flavored toppings. For instance, normal use of conventional spreadable butter or butter-flavored toppings requires the user to remove a serving from a container. Such removal typically requires contact between the remaining butter or butter-flavored topping and often results in contamination of the remaining butter or butter-flavored topping. A butter-flavored topping which is packaged so as to prevent such contamination is an improvement over conventional butter and butter-flavored toppings.
Furthermore, use of conventional butter or butter-flavored toppings requires opening the container, using a utensil to remove a serving, spreading the serving, closing the container and cleaning or disposing of the utensil. Such a process is aggravated if the topping is too hard or too soft and is difficult to remove or spread. A butter-flavored topping which can be delivered more easily is an improvement over conventional butter and butter-flavored toppings.
Therefore, an improved butter-flavored topping and method of preparation thereof which addresses the problems of known butter-like and margarine-like toppings would be an important advance in the art.

Low-calorie low-fat butter-flavored topping compositions and methods of preparation


A cam phaser apparatus comprising a triple member gear system for transferring a driving torque from a drive member to a driven member and for selectively adjusting the angular relationship between the drive and driven members, said triple member gear system comprising a first member comprising a driving part, a second member comprising a driven part connectable to a cam sprocket or pulley, and a third member comprising an adjusting means connectable to a camshaft, said third member being connected to means for rotating said third member or applying a braking torque and/or a motoring torque to said third member to vary the angular relationship between the first and second members, wherein the cam phaser apparatus further comprises a selectively actuable coupling means for selectively coupling two of said first, second and third members. In one embodiment the coupling means comprises a magnetic coupling.

It is desirable to be able to adjust the cam phase (i.e. the angular relationship between the crankshaft and the camshaft) of engines during engine operation in order to vary the timing of the opening and closing of the inlet and/or exhaust valves to improve engine performance, emissions and/or fuel consumption. Various types of arrangements exist that are capable of achieving this adjustment. Such system are required to efficiently convert rotational movement from the crankshaft into rotational movement of the camshaft whilst allowing dislocation between these rotational movements in order to allow variation of the cam phase.
Current systems typically utilize hydraulic actuators using high pressure oil to enable relative angular displacement between drive and driven members (e.g. cam sprocket or pulley and camshaft) of the valve train. Such systems have difficulty operating at extremes of temperature, in particular during engine start up when the oil is cold, due to temperature related viscosity changes of the oil.
Whilst attempts have been made to design electrically actuated variable cam phase arrangement, such usually require a complex triple shaft arrangement such as planetary gears or a harmonic drive arrangement. The complex arrangement of such triple shaft systems can introduce controllability and reliability problems and generally suffer from high power consumption.
Examples of triple shaft gear systems suitable for use with a cam phaser comprise planetary gear systems (as shown in FIG. 1), with a sun gear 1 planetary gears 2 mounted on a planet carrier 3 and ring gear 4, or harmonic drive systems (as shown in FIG. 2), with a wave generator 1′, flex-spline 2′ and circular spline 3′.
Another form of triple member system equivalent to a planetary gear system comprises a magnetic gear having an outer ring comprising a plurality of magnets (equivalent to the ring gear), a concentric inner ring comprising a plurality of circumferentially spaced magnets (equivalent to a sun gear) and an intermediate ring or carrier member mounted in an annular space between said outer and inner rings and comprising a plurality of circumferentially spaced pole pieces (equivalent to planetary carrier upon which a plurality of planetary gears are mounted).
Typically, where such triple shaft gear systems are applied to a cam phaser of an engine, one shaft is connected to the cam sprocket or pulley to comprise a drive member (typically the planet carrier or circular spline) and a second shaft is connected to the camshaft (typically the ring gear or the flex-spline) to comprise a driven member, the remaining third shaft (typically the sun gear or wave generator) being connected to an actuator for varying the cam phase (i.e. the angular relationship between the drive and driven members).
A particular problem with such known triple shaft gear systems is that the position and/or angular velocity of the third shaft must be controlled at all times to prevent uncontrolled cam phase change. Hence the actuator, typically an electric motor, must be powered at all times, leading to increased power consumption.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Aqueous silicone dispersions crosslinkable into elastomeric state by elimination of water therefrom, well adapted for the production of elastomer seals, e.g., for the building industry, include:. (A) 100 parts by weight of an oil-in-water emulsion of an .alpha.,.omega.-(dihydroxy)polydiorganosiloxane stabilized with at least one anionic or nonionic surface-active agent, or mixture thereof; PA1 (B) 1 to 100 parts by weight of an hydroxylated silicone resin containing, per molecule, at least two different recurring structural units selected from among those of the formulae: R.sub.3 SiO.sub.0.5, R.sub.2 SiO, RSiO.sub.1.5 and SiO.sub.2, wherein the radicals R, which may be identical or different, are vinyl, phenyl or 3,3,3-trifluoropropyl radicals, or linear or branched chain alkyl radicals containing from 1 to 6 carbon atoms, said resin having a hydroxyl group weight content of from 0.1% to 10%; PA1 (C) 0 to 250 parts by weight of a nonsiliceous inorganic filler; PA1 (D) 0.01 to 3 parts by weight of a metal curing catalyst compound; and said dispersions having a solids content of at least 40%.

The present invention relates to an aqueous dispersion based on a silicone resin which is crosslinkable into elastomeric state by eliminating water therefrom.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,891,920 describes a process for the emulsion polymerization of polydiorganosiloxane employing an acidic or basic catalyst in the presence of anionic, cationic or nonionic surface-active agents. This patent relates that the emulsions obtained are stable in storage and, after addition of fillers, can be used to produce paints forming a continuous coating by elimination of water.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,294,725 describes, in particular, the use of dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid for polymerizing polydiorganosiloxanes in emulsion. This patent notes that, in order to obtain stable emulsions, it is desirable to control the pH of these emulsions at a value of approximately 7. The '725 patent discloses that an elastomeric coating can be obtained from these neutralized emulsions, to which colloidal silica and a polyalkoxysilane have been added.
The disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 3,360,491 is similar to that of U.S. Pat. No. 3,294,725, except that dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid is replaced by lauryl hydrogen sulfate.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,355,406 describes, inter alia, a silicone latex comprising:
(i) a colloidal aqueous suspension of an .alpha.,.omega.-(dihydroxy)polydiorganosiloxane; PA1 (ii) a filler necessarily comprising a silsesquioxane in the form of a colloidal suspension; and PA1 (iii) a catalyst selected from among the inorganic acids, strong bases, dialkyltin diacylates and organic or inorganic peroxides. PA1 (i) an anionically stabilized emulsion of an .alpha.,.omega.-(dihydroxy)polydiorganosiloxane polymer; PA1 (ii) a siliceous filler; PA1 (iii) a tin salt; and PA1 (iv) if desired, a nonreinforcing filler. PA1 (a) they are not stable in storage when packaged in a single package (single-component composition); PA1 (b) they require an excessively long time to cure into an elastomer; PA1 (c) they are not thixotropic; and PA1 (d) they adhere only very weakly to the usual substrates. PA1 (A) 100 parts by weight of an emulsion of the oil-in-water type of an .alpha.,.omega.-(dihydroxy)polydiorganosiloxane, stabilized with at least one surface-active agent selected from among the anionic and nonionic surface-active agents and mixtures thereof; PA1 (B) 1 to 100 parts by weight of an hydroxylated silicone resin containing, per molecule, at least two different recurring structural units selected from among those of the formulae: R.sub.3 SiO.sub.0.5, R.sub.2 SiO, RSiO.sub.1.5 and SiO.sub.2, the radicals R, which are identical or different, being vinyl, phenyl or 3,3,3-trifluoropropyl radicals, or linear or branched chain alkyl radicals containing from 1 to 6 carbon atoms inclusive, said resin having a hydroxyl group weight content of from 0.1% to 10%; PA1 (C) 0 to 250 parts by weight of a nonsiliceous inorganic filler; PA1 (D) 0.01 to 3 parts by weight of a metal curing catalyst compound; and said dispersion having a solids content of at least 40%.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,697,469 describes a particular process for emulsion polymerization of polydiorganosiloxanes and indicates the possibility of adding colloidal silica and a tin salt to this emulsion in order to obtain an elastomeric coating by evaporation of water.
French Patent FR-A-2,110,358 describes a silicone emulsion having a pH of from 6.5 to 9, crosslinking into an electrically conductive elastomer after evaporation of water by incorporation of carbon black. The emulsion, additionally comprising a tin salt and a polyalkoxysilane, is not stable in storage and must be stored in two separate packages (two-component emulsion).
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,221,688 and 4,244,849 and French Patent FR-A-2,463,163 describe silicone emulsions which are stable in storage and comprise:
The siliceous filler may be a colloidal silica (U.S. Pat. No. 4,221,688), sodium silicate (U.S. Pat. No. 4,244,849), or an amorphous silica in powder form (FR-A-2,463,163).
When compared with the known aqueous emulsions of the prior art, these three patents suggest, on the one hand, that in order to obtain a single-component emulsion which is stable in storage, the emulsion must be maintained at an alkaline pH higher than 8.5 or 9, preferably higher than 10 and, on the other hand, a tin salt must be incorporated in the emulsion to shorten to a few days the emulsion maturing stage required to obtain an emulsion which is capable of crosslinking.
Known filled silicone emulsions, stored at an acidic or neutral pH, exhibit at least one of the following disadvantages:
Aqueous emulsions or dispersions based on a silicone resin and capable of crosslinking into an elastomer by elimination of water are already known to this art.
Thus, U.S. Pat. No. 3,355,406, referred to above, describes a silicone latex consisting of an .alpha.,.omega.-(dihydroxy)polydiorganosiloxane, prepared preferably by emulsion polymerization and of a silsesquioxane resin consisting of RSiO.sub.1.5 units (hydrocarbon R residue). The latex may additionally comprise a metal curing catalyst and an alkyltrialkoxysilane.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,554,187, the silicone resin associated with the .alpha.,.omega.-(dihydroxy)polydiorganosiloxane is a reactive resin of low molecular weight, containing alkoxy or acyloxy groups.
In published Patent Application EP-A-266,729, the silicone resin associated with the .alpha.,.omega.-(dihydroxy)polydiorganosiloxane and with the curing catalyst is a siliconate.
EP 304,719, published on Mar. 1, 1989, discloses the use, instead of the siliconate, of a silicone resin of high molecular weight, insoluble in toluene and present in the form of an aqueous emulsion in which the particle (micelle) size is greater than 200 nonometers.
A silicone resin comprising up to 10% by weight of hydroxyl group may be associated with this siliconate.

Aqueous silicone dispersions crosslinkable into elastometric state by dehydration


A cutting insert is provided, which can be prevented from being lifted from a tool body. A cutting insert includes two end surfaces opposed to each other, a peripheral side surface extending between the two end surfaces, a cutting edge provided at an intersecting edge between at least one of the two end surfaces and the peripheral side surface, and a fixing hole provided in an end surface direction from the first end surface to the second end surface. The peripheral side surface is provided with raised parts changing in height in the end surface direction.

Field
The present invention relates to a cutting insert and a cutting tool.
Description of Related Art
A bit (cutting tool) for a lathe is used for cutting processing and the cutting tool includes a body and a cutting insert mounted to the body. The cutting insert includes two polygonal end surfaces opposed to each other at the top and the bottom and a peripheral side surface which connects the two end surfaces, and cutting edges are formed at ridges between the peripheral side surface and the end surfaces. The cutting insert is fixed to the holder of the body by a screw or a fixing lever.
During cutting, large cutting resistance acts upon the cutting insert. The cutting resistance may cause the cutting insert to move relative to the holder of the body, which shifts the edge position of the cutting insert, and the cutting processing precision is lowered. Therefore, it has been suggested to provide a groove which fits with a body holding surface at an end surface of the cutting insert (see WO 2017/060025) or provide irregularities in the peripheral direction at the peripheral side surface of the cutting insert (see Patent Publication JP-A-2004-261883), so that turning (side slip) of the cutting insert is prevented.


A semiconductor device is provided, which includes a substrate, an insulator film formed over the substrate, and plural metal wirings with different widths containing copper as a main component and an impurity which is different from copper. The plural metal wirings includes a first metal wiring having a concentration profile where the concentration of the impurity metal increases from the center part of the stacking direction to the surface and the second metal wiring having a concentration profile where the concentration of the impurity metal decreases from the bottom surface of the stacking direction to the surface. Moreover, the width of the second metal wiring may be larger than the width of the first metal wiring.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a manufacturing method thereof. Specifically, it relates to a semiconductor device including a wiring layer which contains copper as a main component and a manufacturing method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
From the demands of high integration of semiconductor devices in recent years, copper with a low resistance has come to be used as a material for wirings, plugs, and pads, etc.
It is described in JP-A-2005-158930 that a copper alloy film where an impurity is added to a copper film is adopted as a material for wiring as measures against the deterioration of reliability in the case of using copper. The aforementioned patent document describes a semiconductor device having a configuration in which the concentration of the impurity contained in at least one wiring layer of plural wiring layers increases with the width of the wiring.
JP-A-Hei6-177128 describes a semiconductor device which has a copper alloy thin film wiring containing aluminum or silicon. Moreover, JP-A-2004-039916 describes a semiconductor device in which a region containing unevenly distributed metal elements which are different from copper is provided at the vicinity of the upper surface of the metallic region containing copper as a main component.
JP-A-2006-253729 describes a technology for depositing a conduction film where a conduction material containing copper to which platinum etc. is added is deposited by a sputtering method and a buried wiring is formed by plating.

Semiconductor device with high reliability and manufacturing method thereof


The invention provides an enciphering apparatus and method, a deciphering apparatus and method and an information processing apparatus and method by which illegal copying can be prevented with certainty. Data enciphered by a 1394 interface of a DVD player is transmitted to a personal computer and a magneto-optical disk apparatus through a 1394 bus. In the magneto-optical disk apparatus with which a change to a function is open to a user, the received data is deciphered by a 1394 interface. In contrast, in the personal computer with which a change to a function is open to a user, the enciphered data is deciphered using a time variable key by a 1394 interface, and a result of the decipherment is further deciphered using a session key by an application section.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an enciphering apparatus and method, a deciphering apparatus and method and an information processing apparatus and method, and more particularly to an enciphering apparatus and method, a deciphering apparatus and method and an information processing apparatus and method by which high security is assured.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, a network is available which is composed of a plurality of electronic apparatus represented by AV apparatus, computers and so forth which are connected to each other by a bus so that various data may be communicated between them.
Where a network of the type mentioned is employed, for example, data of a movie reproduced from a DVD (Digital Video Disk or Digital Versatile Disk) by a DVD player connected to the network can be transferred through the bus to and displayed by a display unit such as a television receiver or a monitor. Usually, it is licensed from the proprietor of copyright at a point of time when a DVD is purchased to display and enjoy a movie reproduced from the DVD on a display unit.
However, it is not usually licensed from the proprietor of copyright to copy data reproduced from the DVD onto another recording medium and utilize the same. Thus, in order to prevent data sent out through the bus (network) from being copied illegally, it is a possible idea to encipher the data on the sending side and decipher the data on the receiving side.
However, consumer electronics apparatus (CE apparatus) such as DVD players and television receivers are normally designed and produced for predetermined objects and are each produced such that it is impossible for a user to modify it or incorporate a different part into it to acquire or alter internal data (change of functions) of the apparatus. On the other hand, for example, in regard to personal computers, the architecture or circuitry is open to the public, and it is possible to add a board or install various application software to add or alter various functions.
Accordingly, in regard to a personal computer, it can be performed comparatively readily to directly access or alter data on an internal bus of the personal computer by adding predetermined hardware or applying a software program. This signifies that, by producing and applying application software, it can be performed readily, for example, to receive data transmitted as ciphered data from a DVD player to a television receiver and decipher or copy the received data by a personal computer.
In other words, a personal computer has a weak connection between a link portion which effects communication via a bus and an application portion which prepares data to be transmitted and utilizes received data, and includes many portions which can be modified physically and logically by a user. In contrast, a CE apparatus has a strong connection between them and includes little portion which allows intervention of a user.

Enciphering apparatus and method, deciphering apparatus and method as well as information processing apparatus and method


An exemplary embodiment of the invention relates to a method for implementing a preferred parts plan over a communications network via a parts database process tool. The method comprises extracting data relating to a part from a general parts database; evaluating demand activity and purchase activity relating to the part; verifying the date in which the part was entered into the database; evaluating conditions associated with the part and associating a status code to the part based upon the results the evaluations. The part data is then transferred to either an active database or an archive database depending upon these results and available for council review.

This invention relates generally to database management processes, and more particularly, the present invention relates to a method for determining active part numbers and maintaining a current data repository for active part numbers in a manufacturing environment.
The technology of e-commerce and the expanding global marketplace has placed new challenges on the electronics industry. With traditional geographic barriers relating to trade breaking down, manufacturers are now being faced with a barrage of business choices and purchasing options, ranging from selecting office suppliers to Internet service and applications providers. Many manufacturing enterprises are taking advantage of this global marketplace and measurably cutting costs by outsourcing their production processes to other manufacturers. By cutting costs, these businesses are able to become more competitive, selling finished products at lower prices.
Although e-commerce has offered many commercial advantages, its rapid and steady growth has created some difficulties for the manufacturing industry. For example, older proprietary and legacy computer systems were not equipped to transition well into the new age of Internet technology. These systems typically operated incompatible software and employed disparate hardware devices which were unable to communicate with one another. Costly upgrades and extensive customization were necessary before these older systems could be leveraged into the new economy. To add to the frustration, global manufacturers with multiple geographically dispersed manufacturing sites and disparate manufacturing systems created islands of automation among them. These decentralized business units operated independently of one another, often employing incompatible business schemes requiring substantial integration measures before the global enterprise could effectively operate as a single entity.
The supply chain management processes of the manufacturing industry were not immune from the challenges created by this globalized market. Manufacturers continue to struggle to ensure that their design, development, and procurement groups are in sync with respect to the demand, availability, and financial aspects of their core parts and components requirements. A typical manufacturing enterprise may store hundreds of thousands of parts in its databases. Some of them are actively used by the enterprise, while others may include older legacy parts, parts that have become obsolete, out of production, or are otherwise no longer used by the enterprise. Needless to say, the bulk of this 'inactive' information is not particularly useful to the enterprise, however, would require a tremendous amount of human capital to filter out the unwanted data from the desired data. Further, many fields of information relating to these parts data are time dependent in that their usefulness or value to the enterprise may change over time. This information would need to be continuously reviewed and updated as well. If no action were taken by the enterprise, on the other hand, this data would continue to accumulate in the system databases as new parts are entered and others become obsolete, resulting in clogged communications lines, slow searches, and almost certain retrieval of unwanted parts information. It is therefore desirable to identify active parts used by the enterprise so evaluation groups or councils for the enterprise can focus on the critical parts that require maintenance streamlining the database management processes related to parts data.

Method for facilitating and maintaining an active parts data repository

International Business Machines Corporation


Laminate containing a polyolefin layer adhered to a base layer. The polyolefin layer contains a blend of 90-99.7 wt % of a copolymer comprising 80-98 wt % of propylene and 2-20 wt % of C2-C10 α-olefin units, and 0.3-10 wt % of a polyethylene having a density of 870-920 kg/m3 or less. The base layer includes a propylene homopolymer or a copolymer of propylene and up to 5 wt % of C2-C10 alpha-olefin units other than propylene.

In recent years, crystalline propylene-α-olefin copolymers, composed mainly of propylene and typically also containing ethylene and/or 1-butene as comonomer, have been widely used for film applications on account of their characteristics of good transparency, excellent impact properties and good heat-sealability, etc. Metallised films obtained by depositing metals onto plastic films in vacuo have been widely used for many years eg for packaging films, with the substrate onto which the metal is deposited often being the aforementioned propylene-α-olefin copolymers. In particular, single layer cast films or biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) films, either single or multilayered, which have a metal coating deposited on the surface, are commonly used for food packaging. Such single layer cast films BOPP films can also be used in similar non-metallised applications.
One problem with propylene-α-olefin copolymers used in such applications is their low flexibility and also their stickiness at relatively high temperature and particularly at high processing speeds. This can cause problems during processing, which is carried out at high temperature and involves stretching of the film followed by metallisation. Adhesion of the propylene polymer to the rollers in the processing line can cause wrinkles and protuberences to appear on the film during the stretching process. This can result in films of poor optical quality and appearance, particularly after metallisation. Such problems are typically addressed by the addition to the propylene-α-olefin copolymers of slip agents, which reduce the risk of the polymer sticking to the rollers. Examples of such slip agents include fatty acid amides or waxes. However the use of such compounds provides its own set of problems. For example they can cause a reduction in surface tension of the film which makes printing or adhesion onto a metallized surface much more difficult. Use of some waxes can also impart poor organoleptic properties to the film.
JP 2297435A discloses a metallised film in which the metal is deposited on a layer comprising 18-60 wt % of a straight chain polyethylene having a density of 925-937 kg/m3 and 40-82 wt % of a polypropylene. This is said to improve adhesion of the metal film.
GB 2125802A attempts to overcome the disadvantages associated with known slip agents by providing a blend of 80-96 wt % of a crystalline propylene-α-olefin copolymer containing 70% by weight or more of propylene and 4-20 wt % of a high density polyethylene having a density of 940 kg/m3 or more. GB 2125802A states that if the density of the high density polyethylene is below 940 kg/m3, it is impossible to obtain metallised films having a good "taken-up figure", that is to say a film having a surface free of surface defects such as wrinkles or protuberences.

Laminate comprising a polyolefin layer adhered to a base layer


A novel spinner fishing lure is disclosed. In a preferred embodiment, the lure provides a planar head having a blade-like or keel-like shape having a slightly wider front edge which tapers to a slightly narrower rear edge, and that supports an eye on each side that is typically painted or stuck on. An arm having an R-bend, extending from a nose on the head, carries a swivel which in turn carries a blade. A neck portion, adjacent to the planar head, supports a rearwardly directed skirt attachment post. In the preferred embodiment, the skirt attachment post provides an upwardly directed barb, which retains a rubber collar used to attach a skirt, typically comprising a plurality of plastic filaments. A body portion having a width several times that of the planar head extends rearwardly from the neck portion. The lower surface of the body portion typically forms a strike zone surface which is generally uncovered by the skirt due to the position of the skirt attachment post, behind the neck. A hook extends from the rear of the body. The lure is typically made of zinc, and weighs approximately 3/8 of an ounce.

A large number of spinner fishing lures are currently known and used.
Most spinner fishing lures suffer from one or more flaws, making them less effective. A principle problem is that most spinner fishing lures do not adequately resemble a small fish.
A further problem with known spinner fishing lures is that the skirting worn by most spinner fishing lures serves to pad or buffer the bottom of the body of the lure, thereby reducing the sound made as the lure moves through the water and across rocks and other underwater structures.
A further problem with known spinner fishing lures is that they do not have a head that is separate from the body.
A still further problem with known spinner fishing lures is that a large part of the skirt is parallel to, and adjacent to, the body, and therefore does not contribute to the "fullness" of the lure.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a new spinner fishing lure that more accurately resembles a small sunfish. The lure must additionally carry any skirting material in a manner that does not pad the bottom of the body of the lure, and must carry the skirting material in a manner that most efficiently contributes to the appearance of "fullness" and realism.


A cone crusher alternatively operable with either a first bowl liner or a second bowl liner, the crusher including a frame, a crusher head, a bowl supported by the frame, the bowl including a bowl liner mounting surface, a locking mechanism on the bowl and the bowl liner for alternatively fixing the first bowl liner and the second bowl liner to the bowl, the locking mechanism including at least one locking assembly including a wedge member, a first link, a lock pocket defined by the bowl and being adapted to receive the first link, a lock mount defined by the bowl and being adapted to receive the first link, the lock pocket and the lock mount being respectively located relative to the bowl liner mounting surface such that the locking assembly is engagable with the locking flange of the first bowl liner when received by the lock pocket and such that the locking assembly is engagable with the locking flange of the second bowl liner when received by the lock mount.

Cone crushers typically include a frame supporting a crusher head and a mantle secured to the head. A bowl assembly including a bowl and bowl liner are supported by the frame so that an annular space is formed between the bowl liner and the mantle. In operation, larger particles are fed into the annular space between the bowl liner and the mantle. The head, and the mantle mounted on the head, gyrate about an axis, causing the annular space to vary between a minimum and a maximum distance. As the distance between the mantle and the bowl liner varies, the larger particles are impacted and compressed between the mantle and the bowl liner. Through a series of blows, the particles are crushed and reduced to the desired product size, and then discharged from between the mantle and the bowl liner.
Cone crushers are operable to reduce large aggregate into medium sized aggregate particles, and to further reduce medium sized particles to small sized aggregate particles. Cone crushers can be adjusted in set up to provide the desired output for a given size feed. One set up parameter that can be varied is the size and configuration of the bowl liner used to crush the aggregate. The use of different bowl liners for different desired aggregate outputs is generally known. It is also known to provide a cone crusher with a locking mechanism to fix a bowl liner to the associated bowl.


A system (4) for use in an automobile (2) for the detection of objects comprising: a light source (6); a plurality of spaced transmitter ports (10, 12) for respectively transmitting light to a plurality of fields of illumination (18, 20); an optical fiber coupling the light source to the transmitter ports; a plurality of receiver ports (10, 12) embracing respectively a plurality of fields of reception (34, 36) each having an area of overlap (38, 40, 42, 44) with each of the plurality of fields of illumination so as to receive light transmitted from one of the transmitter ports and reflected by an object present in an area of overlap; a receiver (22) for receiving light and for producing a signal representative thereof; an optical fiber (24) coupling the receiver ports to the receiver; and processing means (52) for sequentially activating each of the transmitter ports with each of the receiver ports, and for processing the signal produced by the receiver in response to each activation to detect the presence of an object in each of the areas of overlap.

This invention relates to object detection and particularly, though not exclusively, to the detection of objects in the vicinity of vehicles such as automobiles.
It has long been considered desirable in automobiles to be able automatically to detect nearby vehicles or other objects so as to enable appropriate avoiding action to be taken. It is known to use radar systems to detect nearby vehicles or other objects, and in particular it is known, for example from U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,552,456 and 4,632,543, to use an optical radar. However, the complexity and cost of existing radar systems have heretofor prevented their general incorporation in automobiles.
For the avoidance of doubt and for the purpose of clarification, it should be understood that as used herein the term "plurality" is intended to mean "two or more" and the term "multiplicity" is intended to mean "three or more".

Optical object detection system incorporating fiber optic coupling


A phase change ink composition is disclosed wherein the ink composition utilizes colorant in combination with a selected phase change ink carrier composition containing at least one hydroxy-functional fatty amide compound.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to selected phase change ink compositions containing the combination of ink colorants with certain phase change ink carrier compositions containing hydroxy-functional fatty amides.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
In general, phase change inks are in the solid phase at ambient temperature, but exist in the liquid phase at the elevated operating temperature of an ink jet printing device. At the jet operating temperature, droplets of liquid ink are ejected from the printing device and, when the ink droplets contact the surface of the printing media, they quickly solidify to form a predetermined pattern of solidified ink drops.
The phase change inks generally comprise a phase change ink carrier composition which is combined with a phase change ink compatible colorant. Preferably, a colored phase change ink will be formed by combining the above described ink carrier composition with compatible subtractive primary colorants. The subtractive primary colored phase change inks of this invention comprise four component dyes, namely, cyan, magenta, yellow and black. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,889,560 and 5,372,852 teach the subtractive primary colorants employed typically may comprise dyes from the classes of Color Index (C. I.) Solvent Dyes, C. I. Disperse Dyes, modified C. I. Acid and Direct Dyes, and a limited number of C. I. Basic Dyes. Also suitable as colorants are appropriate polymeric dyes, such as those available from Milliken & Company as Milliken Ink Yellow 869, Milliken Ink Blue 92, Milliken Ink Red 357, Milliken Ink Yellow 1800, Milliken Ink Black 8915-67, uncut Reactint Orange X-38, uncut Reactint Blue X-17, and uncut Reactint Violet X-80.
Phase change inks are desirable for ink jet printers since they remain in a solid phase at room temperature, during shipping, long-term storage, and the like. Also, the problems associated with nozzle clogging due to ink evaporation are largely eliminated, thereby improving the reliability of ink jet printing. Furthermore, since the ink droplets solidify immediately upon contact with the substrate, migration of the ink along the printing medium is prevented and dot quality is improved. This is also true of the processes and ink compositions described herein.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,372,852 teaches that the selective phase change ink compositions described therein contain a phase change carrier composition comprising a fatty amide-containing material (either a tetra-amide compound or mono-amide or mixtures thereof). This patent further teaches the preferred tetra-amide compounds are made by reacting a fatty acid, a diamine (ethylene diamine) and a dimer acid. The preferred fatty acid is taught to be stearic acid and the preferred dimer acid a hydrogenated oleic acid dimer product known as EMPOL 1008 Dimer Acid, manufactured by the Emery Division of Henkel Corporation of Cincinnati, Ohio. The preferred mono-amides are taught to be secondary mono-amides such as behenyl benenamide and stearyl stearamide, products made under the KEMAMIDE trademark by Witco Chemical Company.
While the phase change ink compositions described by U.S. Pat. No. 5,372,852 have met with great commercial success, there is always a need to improve those inks for more demanding processing conditions and different applications.

Use of hydroxy-functional fatty amides in hot melt ink jet inks


A dry non-plasma treatment system and method for removing oxide material is described. The treatment system is configured to provide chemical treatment of one or more substrates, wherein each substrate is exposed to a gaseous chemistry, including HF and optionally NH3, under controlled conditions including surface temperature and gas pressure. Furthermore, the treatment system is configured to provide thermal treatment of each substrate, wherein each substrate is thermally treated to remove the chemically treated surfaces on each substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a dry non-plasma treatment system and method for treating a substrate to remove oxide and more particularly to a dry non-plasma treatment system and method for chemical and thermal treatment of a substrate.
2. Description of Related Art
In material processing methodologies, pattern etching comprises the application of a thin layer of light-sensitive material, such as photoresist, to an upper surface of a substrate, that is subsequently patterned in order to provide a mask for transferring this pattern to the underlying thin film during etching. The patterning of the light-sensitive material generally involves exposure by a radiation source through a reticle (and associated optics) of the light-sensitive material using, for example, a micro-lithography system, followed by the removal of the irradiated regions of the light-sensitive material (as in the case of positive photoresist), or non-irradiated regions (as in the case of negative resist) using a developing solvent.
Additionally, multi-layer and hard masks can be implemented for etching features in a thin film. For example, when etching features in a thin film using a hard mask, the mask pattern in the light-sensitive layer is transferred to the hard mask layer using a separate etch step preceding the main etch step for the thin film. The hard mask can, for example, be selected from several materials for silicon processing including silicon dioxide (SiO2), silicon nitride (Si3N4), and carbon, for example.
In order to reduce the feature size formed in the thin film, the hard mask can be trimmed laterally using, for example, a two-step process involving a chemical treatment of the exposed surfaces of the hard mask layer in order to alter the surface chemistry of the hard mask layer, and a post treatment of the exposed surfaces of the hard mask layer in order to desorb the altered surface chemistry.

Dry non-plasma treatment system and method of using


A computing device computes a plurality of quantile regression solvers for a dataset at a plurality of quantile levels. Each observation vector includes an explanatory vector of a plurality of explanatory variable values and a response variable value. The read dataset is recursively divided into subsets of the plurality of observation vectors, a lower counterweight vector and an upper counterweight vector are computed for each of the subsets, and a quantile regression solver is fit to each of the subsets using the associated, computed lower counterweight vector and the associated, computed upper counterweight vector to describe a quantile function of the response variable values for a selected quantile level of the identified plurality of quantile level values. For each selected quantile level, a parameter estimate vector and a dual solution vector that describe the quantile function are output in association with the selected quantile level.

Quantile process regression (QPR) is a powerful methodology for estimating an entire distribution of a response variable Y conditioned on an explanatory variable vector x. QPR is a type of regression analysis used in statistics and econometrics. Whereas the method of least squares results in estimates that approximate the conditional mean of the response variable given certain values of the explanatory variable vector x, QPR estimates the conditional median or other quantiles of the response variable. QPR is used when conditional quantile functions are of interest. One advantage of quantile regression, relative to the ordinary least squares regression, is that the quantile regression estimates are more robust against outliers in the response measurements. QPR also provides different measures of central tendency and statistical dispersion that can be useful to obtain a more comprehensive analysis of the relationship between the explanatory variable vector x and the response variable Y.
QPR is beneficial over other regression methodologies in its estimation richness and veracity, especially for analysis of heteroscedastic data. The existence of heteroscedasticity is a major concern in the application of regression analysis, including the analysis of variance, as it can invalidate statistical tests of significance that assume the modelling errors are uncorrelated and uniform and therefore that their variances do not vary with the effects being modeled. For example, while the ordinary least squares estimator is unbiased in the presence of heteroscedastic data, it is inefficient because the true variance and covariance are underestimated. Thus, heteroscedastic data can cause ordinary least squares estimates of the variance of the coefficients to be biased, possibly above or below the true population variance.
A major difficulty for QPR in practice is its computation cost. To approximate a QPR on a grid of q quantile levels, current QPR algorithms separately fit q single-level quantile regression solvers to the entire training dataset. For large q, the QPR computation time may be so large that it overwhelms the advantages of QPR's estimation richness and veracity.

Analytic system for fast quantile regression computation


One embodiment of a locking device of the type for motorcycle helmets having a cable (50) which is fastened at one end to the device, and which passes though the face of the helmet and is detachably secured in the locking device to releasably secure the helmet. The active locking element of the lock (44), when in locked position, secures the cable (50) and acts to deny access to the fastener (36) securing the device to the motorcycle handlebars, so as to resist removal of the device from the handlebars. The cable (50) is flexible, has permanently formed spiral convolutions and is partially held in place by the concave shape of the device. The device can be used to secure helmets, jackets or other items, and, in various embodiments, it can be used to lock a vehicle or item to a fixed object to deter theft of the vehicle or item. Other embodiments are described and shown.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to security devices, specifically to a lock for securing a helmet to a motorcycle.
2. Prior Art
The present invention relates to a tamperproof device for locking items to a handlebar or frame of a personal vehicle, or, alternatively, for retaining a handlebar or frame to another object. In particular, the present invention relates to a device which is particularly suitable for holding a motorcycle helmet to the handlebar of a motorcycle, or, alternatively, for locking a vehicle to a fixed item, to prevent it from being moved.
Motorcycle helmets are bulky and it is desirable to secure them to the motorcycle when arriving at a destination, rather than having the inconvenience of carrying them about at the destination point. However, helmets may be the target of thieves.
Motorcycles are typically supplied by the manufacturer either without a helmet lock or with a helmet lock that leaves the helmet vulnerable to theft. Accessory helmet locks have partially addressed this problem but these have significant problems.
Prior art uses metal cables or chains with a lock to allow a rider to secure the helmet to a part of the motorcycle. However, these approaches require a motorcycle rider to carry a heavy and cumbersome cable or chain and lock. Carrying such a chain and lock on the rider's person additionally presents a safety risk to the rider in the event of an accident, when the chain or lock may be trapped between the rider's body and the ground or other point of impact.
Another prior art approach allows helmets to be locked in compartments, such as side bags or cases that are mounted to the motorcycle. However, not all motorcycles have such devices and these devices are large and tend to detract from a motorcycle's performance and aesthetic beauty.
Another approach uses a lock that is either integrated into the motorcycle or added as an accessory. Usually this is a small lock operable with a key. The lock has a tiny arm that goes through a D ring buckle on a cloth strap on the motorcycle's helmet. However, the helmet is quite easily removed from this type of helmet lock by simply cutting the strap with a knife. A lock of the foregoing character is illustrated, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 7,159,423 to Mrdeza which describes a lock in which a locking bolt advances through the strap ring to secure the helmet. Unfortunately, this leaves the helmet strap vulnerable to being cut.
A further approach is to use an accessory lock that is attached to the motorcycle by means of screws or bolts. However such screws and bolts are vulnerable to being unscrewed or unbolted. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,028,916 to Pender describes a device in which a locking unit is attached to a bicycle frame member. Unfortunately, the locking unit is secured to the bicycle frame using a strap that is bolted around the frame but the bolt is not protected and therefore may simply be unbolted.
A still further approach is to use a locking mechanism in which the lock is secured to the motorcycle by means of a bolt (either an existing one or a longer replacement one) to hold the lock in place. The lock then receives both ends of a separate cable for use in securing the helmet, covering the bolt. Unfortunately, the cable remains a separate accessory in this instance, to be carried separately.
A lock which attaches to the end of a handlebar grip is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,536,246 to Wilson. The lock attaches to the end of the handlebar using an expandable hub which is expanded within a tubular handlebar end, and a "shackle, a cable, or a spring loaded lever which extends out of the distal end of the handlebar." Unfortunately, by extending from the handlebar, the lock is vulnerable to cutting or breaking and compromises the safety of the motorcycle by widening the handlebars.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,159,423 to Mrdeza takes a similar approach, widening the handlebars, or the foot pegs, making the motorcycle more cumbersome and potentially less safe. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,698,257 to Kulas describes a securing member 120 which is attached to the end of a handlebar grip and which again widens the motorcycle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,274,271 to Todd describes a device for locking an article to a construction such as a handlebar. Unfortunately, this device requires modification to the article to be secured, including drilling through the helmet and potentially compromising its safety.
In view of the foregoing, there exists a need for a device which itself locks securely to the handlebar, and incorporates a cable, and secures the helmet by passing a cable through the open face of the full face helmet rather than relying on the D ring and vulnerable strap to provide strength, and which does not widen the motorcycle handlebar or foot pegs.


The invention describes a USB expansion device which comprises a circuit adapted to provide a USB header output and at least one USB output and a connector adapted to connect the device to a USB header located on a motherboard. The device may be modified to include a connector which is adapted to connect with a motherboard USB header socket; two or more USB connectors; and a circuit adapted to manage the USB output and a USB header output. The invention is designed for use with internal USB devices and allows them to be connected to the USB without requiring that known conventional external USB ports on a computers be connected directly to the internal component. Alternative embodiments include hub variations which allow internal USB expansion without the use of PCI cards or rerouting of USB connector cables from the exterior of the computer.

The Universal Serial Bus (USB) provides a cable bus that supports data exchange between a host computer and a large number and type of simultaneously accessible peripherals. For details, the reader is referred to the Universal Serial Bus Specification Revision 2 dated Apr. 27, 2000, available at www.usb.org.
Since the introduction and widespread adoption of the USB standard, a flood of USB peripherals has become available on the market. This matches the now-standard inclusion of one or more USB ports on most computers. USB peripherals have the desirable characteristic that they are hot-pluggable and generally require no installation and/or configuration of peripheral-specific drivers on the host computer.
In use, a USB peripheral is simply plugged into a host computer. Assuming that the Operating System (OS) has USB support, the peripheral is recognized and the USB bus is configured appropriately.
Almost all the standard peripherals have been made available as USB devices including storage devices such as standalone disk drives and ZIP or tape units.
The development of the USB has thus greatly simplified the addition of large numbers of peripherals in a highly flexible manner. It has also facilitated the expansion of systems, the size of which would have normally been constrained by the number of free PCI or ISA slots on an internal bus or devices configurable on a SCSI or IDE bus.
With the addition of a USB hub device, a standard external USB connection can be used to connect a larger number of USB devices. From the users perspective, this expansion capability is a vast improvement over the previous need to incrementally add peripherals as this process usually requires individual configuration, installation of drivers and often resolution of problems with IRQ conflicts and the like.
However, notwithstanding the use of SCSI buses and IDE expansion cards, internal device expansion capability remains problematic. The casual user is often faced with the need to reconfigure SCSI or IDE buses when adding extra disk storage. This process can involve relatively complex procedures sometimes beyond the capability of an infrequent user. Further, in some cases, expansion of internal components may be limited by inherent limitations in the hardware or system BIOS.
It would therefore be a significant advantage if internal USB components such as disk drives, CD/DVD/CDWR drives and the like could be easily installed and used with no or little reconfiguration of the system.
One solution is shown in FIG. 3 where an external backplate USB socket 17 is connected to an internal USB device 20 via a cable 30. This is generally a less suitable technique as it involves passing cabling through the chassis wall with attendant EMI and ESD problems. It is also unsatisfactory as an external cable may be prone to accidental disconnection.
Another interim development that is also suitable for legacy systems with no on-board USB controller is to use a USB PCI expansion card which is plugged into the PCI bus. An example of this is shown in FIG. 4 in a system having a USB hub on the motherboard. Such boards have the standard add-in card form-factor and, when mounted in a PCI socket, provide one or more USB sockets on the backplate of the PC chassis. Some USB expanders also provide an internal USB connection as shown in FIG. 4.
This solution may be satisfactory in some circumstances, particularly where USB devices are to be used with legacy equipment with no motherboard USB controller. However, as well as involving added cost, this technique consumes a PCI slot and in configurations where PCI slots are needed for other PCI interface cards for other peripherals this can be a problem. Also, using a PCI USB expander requires that the systems BIOS be capable of automatically configuring or at least recognizing the PCI device and/or that the PCI bus is hot-pluggable. Further, where an internal device is connected an external USB card port, the presence of a loose cable running from the exterior of the chassis to the interior may be undesirable as it requires an aperture in the chassis case which is not incorporated in a standard chassis and creates EMI and ESD weaknesses in the system. Also, this solution is generally not feasible for volume production.
The aim of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive and easily installed means for connecting internal USB devices to the USB without requiring PCI or ISA bus expansion boards and is compatible with standard motherboard configurations.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A method of operating a wire bonding machine is provided. The method includes: (a) operating a wire bonding machine during at least one of (i) an automatic wire bonding operation and (ii) a dry cycle wire bonding operation, wherein a bonding force is applied during the operation of the wire bonding machine; and (b) monitoring an accuracy of the bonding force of the wire bonding machine during the at least one of (i) an automatic wire bonding operation and (ii) a dry cycle wire bonding operation.

In the processing and packaging of semiconductor devices, wire bonding continues to be the primary method of providing electrical interconnection between two locations within a package (e.g., between a die pad of a semiconductor die and a lead of a leadframe). More specifically, using a wire bonder (also known as a wire bonding machine) wire loops are formed between respective locations to be electrically interconnected. The primary methods of forming wire loops are ball bonding and wedge bonding. In forming the bonds between (a) the ends of the wire loop and (b) the bond site (e.g., a die pad, a lead, etc.), various types of bonding energy may be used, including, for example, ultrasonic energy, thermosonic energy, thermocompressive energy, amongst others. Wire bonding machines (e.g., stud bumping machines) are also used to form conductive bumps from portions of wire.
Such wire bonding machines typically include a bond head assembly (i.e., a bond head) that carries a wire bonding tool (e.g., a capillary tool) that contacts a workpiece during the wire bonding operation. In connection with most wire bonding operations, a bonding force is applied to the wire bonding tool. In order to form consistent (and acceptable) wire bonds, it is important that the bonding force applied during wire bonding is accurate. However, sometimes the applied force is different from an intended (e.g., programmed) bonding force. For example, the bonding force may vary over time based on conditions such as environmental factors, hours of machine operations, amongst others.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide improved techniques for monitoring and/or controlling the bonding force on a wire bonding machine.

Methods of operating a wire bonding machine, including methods of monitoring an accuracy of bond force on a wire bonding machine, and related methods


A package for a dental material comprises a compartment for holding a first substance of the dental material and an open reservoir at least partially formed by a wall of the package. The package is adapted such that the compartment and the reservoir are connectable for fluid communication. The reservoir accommodates a second substance of the dental material retained at a surface of the reservoir wall. The package preferably enables easy mixing of the dental material from the first and second substance, thus preferably facilitate a preparation and use of the dental material.

In the dental field a number of liquid and semi-liquid compositions are made from two or more flowable components that are typically separately stored, and only mixed together immediately prior to use. For example, certain dental compositions like dental adhesives, sealants or etchants are offered in packages that initially store components of the dental composition separate from one another. The dental compositions then can be obtained by mixing the components at the time, and in the amount needed. After mixing the components, the dental composition may be applied to a desired place, for example in the cavity of a tooth in a patient's mouth.
A variety of packages have been proposed over the years for separately containing and storing components of multi-component compositions. Examples of packages for multi-component compositions include dual-chamber cartridges, dual-chamber syringes or dual-chamber blister packages. Such packages are typically designed to provide a readily mixable composition, or to provide the components individually for subsequent mixing. There are also single use packages for providing suitable amounts of composition for a single treatment.
For example U.S. Pat. No. 6,105,761 discloses a device for storing and dispensing flowable substances. The device includes a container formed by two sheets that are interconnected by heat sealing. The sheets form a compartment for receiving a component, which may be a liquid, and a pocket for receiving a brush. In the area between the compartment and the pocket, the connection between the sheets includes a pre-defined break zone which can be released by pressure exerted on the compartment, to force the liquid from the compartment into the pocket and to wet the tip of the brush disposed therein.
There is still a desire for packages that can be used to provide multi-component compositions for different applications. In particular, suitable packages for providing relatively small amounts of a composition are desirable. Moreover, there is a need for packages that can be used in health care fields, like dentistry, in which a relatively high level of hygiene is required. There is also a general need for packages that are relatively inexpensive to manufacture and use.

Package for a dental material and a method of manufacturing the package