A highly precision, super stable, structure compact and fully lockable ball joint mechanism optical mounts are presented. Both stationary plate and movable plate have a partial-spherical hole or conical hole. Facing spacing aligns the bases of the partial-spherical holes or conical holes; a space adjustable cavity is formed. An external-spherical circumference shape optical element carrier plate fits and mates in the space adjustable combined cavity forms a ball joint mechanism, or an external-column circumference and edges chamfered optical element carrier plate fits and mates in the space adjustable combined internal-spherical shaped cavity forms an angle tilt-able and around axis swivel-able joint pair mechanism. A removable tooling for exporting a tilting and rotating movement to the optical element carrier plate are presented. Locking ring pushes the movable plate to adjust the combined cavity and locking the optical element carrier plate and to lock optical element that is carried thereby.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a precision optical mount. It is adjustable with a removable tool set and non-adjustable as removing the tool set. It is a precision adjustable (both tilt-able for angle adjustment and around axis rotate-able), highly compact and solid lockable optical mount that reliably carries an optical element (e.g. a mirror, prism, lens, wave-plate, filter and the like). So that a plurality of such optical mount can be arranged into a compact and optical efficient system wherein the stability is strengthened. The space consumption is minimized. Non-distortion is introduced.
2. Description of Related Arts
Referring to FIG. 2 of the drawings, adjustable/non-adjustable precision optical mount 100 is disclosed which include a generally stationary plate 200, an external-spherical round shaped optical element carrier plate 300, (aka An optical element carrier plate 300 having an external spherical shaped surface along its circumference 326), a generally movable plate 400, and a locking ring 500. The optical element carrier plate 300, fitting in and mating with in the space adjustable combined internal-spherical shaped cavity that is formed by the stationary plate 200 and the movable plate 400 forms a ball joint mechanism. The external-spherical round shaped optical element carrier plate 300 can be tilted for angle adjustment and rotated for rotation adjustment. The locking ring 500 can push the movable plate 400 to adjust the space adjustable combined internal-spherical shaped cavity to lock the external-spherical round shaped optical element carrier plate 300 and therefore to firmly lock the optical element that is carried thereby.
Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, conventional optical mounts 001 are known, which include a generally solid, rectangular backup support plate 010 and a rectangular faceplate 014. The backup plate 010 and faceplate 014 are coupled in facing spacing alignment with one to another. A series springs 016, ball 012 and screws 020 maintains space and couple alignment of the backup plate 010 and faceplate 014. The faceplate 014 carries an optical element 026 (e.g. a mirror) and is adapted to be moved by means of rotate-able knobs 028 having threaded shafts 018 that extend through the backup plate 010 to be advanced into contact with faceplate 014 and thereby impart an angle tilting or translational movement to the faceplate 014 so that the position of the optical element 026 may be correspondingly changed relative to an incident beam of optical energy.
Conventional optical element mounts, such as those typically associated with optical components are generally not suitable to position optical elements utilized in like Laser applications. Typically, conventional adjustable optical element mounts are suspended from a base support structure by a system of screw jacks and springs.
Conventional optical mounts, an optical element are normally affixed to a plate that is suspended from and movable with respect to a backup support plate firmly mounted to an optical bench. If the optical mount setup in a laser system, since laser beams are generally directed to substantially horizontally, the optical element surface are typically perpendicular to gravitational forces. Thus, the optical elements are cantilevered from the surface of a support backup plate and must rigidly support a relatively heavy weight suspended wherefrom.
Conventional optical mounts for adjustment with tilting and rotating is separately operated by different mechanism. Combining the two mechanisms together can operate both tilting and rotating adjustment; the complicate mechanism occupies more space and lowers the reliability.
A series of springs in conventional mounts between the ridged support plate and the moveable plate from which the optical element (e.g. a mirror) is mounted provides a force that maintains one or more optical elements actuators and compression or tension, thereby stabilizing the optical element. However, conventional type spiral springs have little or no resistance to shear forces, which are large and heavy optical elements cantilevered from the rigid mount. Therefore, pins or ball type sockets are generally required to support the moveable plate. These supporting devices introduce frictional hysteresis that inherently reduces the required position accuracy of the optical elements.
Further, where screw type actuation is manually or mechanically manipulated to position the optical elements, some type of locking mechanism is required. During activation of the locking mechanism positioning errors may be introduced. For example, the simple procedure of tightening a setscrew to lock an optical element usually requires much tedious and time-consuming trial and error to align one or more mirrors to a desired setting.
Additionally, for example a laser, the efficiency of a laser is critically dependent on the angular alignment of the optical components defining the laser resonator. Mechanical vibrations and ambient temperature changes unavoidably transmitted to the optical mount assemblies jeopardize the mirror alignment of a field laser system.
There is a need for an optical element mount assembly that provides precision alignment and adjustment of an optical element. Further, there is a need for an optical element mount assembly where vibration, shock and changes in temperature minimally affect the alignment of the optical elements. It would be desirable to provide an optical element mount assembly which the adjustment as a function mechanism that is removable as the optical element mount is adjusted, and the optical elements mount totally is finally set to reduce the affect from vibration, shock and temperature change and to reduce mechanical hysteresis applied to any threaded screws.

Adjustable/non-adjustable precision optical mounts


A drill rig for drilling access holes in drill resistant materials, such as those used to construct safes or other secure containers. The drill rig includes a drill bit holding and advancing mechanism having enclosed threaded members for allowing incremental, even pressure to be applied during a drilling operation while preventing burrs and chips from becoming lodged within the threads. A sliding connection is provided between stationary frame structure of the rig and the drill bit holding and advancing mechanism. The connection includes a spring loaded, quick-release mechanism for allowing quick detachment of the drill bit holding and advancing mechanism from the frame structure at the end of a drilling operation or as needed to replace the drill bit.

Many situations call for drills and associated drill rigs for forming holes in drill resistant materials. Such materials may include heavy gauge metals or alloys. Additional problems are presented when a drilling application requires a portable drill rig capable of applying large amounts of drill pressure.
As only one example, many safes and secure storage containers are constructed of strong, heavy gauge metal. One or more locks, such as combination locks, are provided to secure the contents from access by unauthorized personnel. In the absence of the safe owner or other authorized personnel, or in the event that the lock malfunctions or the key or combination is lost or forgotten, locksmiths must be called upon to open the safe or container. Often, this involves drilling one or more holes in a wall or door of the structure so that the inner workings of the lock may be viewed by the locksmith. This may be accomplished with an appropriate viewing device, such as a borescope. Holes may be required for other access methods as well. Although safes and high security storage containers may be opened by force, this is typically not desirable because of the resulting damage. When small holes are instead used, for example, to view the various tumbler wheels of a combination lock, the safe or storage container may be opened with very little damage and, therefore, may be repaired and reused in many cases.
Drill rigs exist for allowing holes of the above described type to be formed in a safe or locked storage container. Examples may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,662,201; 4,865,493; and 4,978,257, each assigned to the assignee of the present invention. Areas still in need of improvement generally relate to the mechanism used for incrementally advancing the drill bit and the mechanism used for completely withdrawing the drill bit and the attached drill bit holding and advancing mechanism or quill, such as for drill bit replacement purposes. In this latter regard, in some of the highest security safes and containers, which are formed from extremely highly drill resistant and/or heavy gauge metals, it is not uncommon to break or wear out several drill bits during the course of forming one hole.
The drill rig disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,978,257 is especially suitable for high security containers. This drill rig uses fine pitched external threads on a drill bit holding and advancing mechanism in the form of a barrel assembly to apply and maintain fine increments of axial pressure without substantial effort or fatigue on the part of the user. Depth of penetration may also be viewed in small increments. One drawback, however, is that the drill bit holding and advancing mechanism is not easily inserted and withdrawn from the frame structure associated with the rig. Rather, the user must generally thread the entire mechanism out of the frame structure to replace a drill bit. Moreover, this drill rig and other similar drill rigs use exposed, external threads to apply axial drilling pressure. These threads are therefore susceptible to receiving stray metal burrs and chips thrown out from the drilled hole. The burrs and chips may then interfere with the engaging threads and make withdrawal, insertion and axial adjustment of the mechanism more difficult or impossible.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,865,493 discloses one type of sliding connection for mounting a drill bit holding and advancing mechanism within a frame structure. However, this patent discloses a rack and pinion or drill press-type mechanism for applying axial drilling pressure. While this type of mechanism is adequate in some lighter duty situations, in many situations the advantages of applying incremental and maintained drilling pressure through the use of a threaded mechanism is desirable or even necessary. Such lever rigs or drill press style rigs cannot maintain the constant pressure that threaded rigs can maintain without increased operator effort and fatigue. Depth of penetration is also more difficult to ascertain.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a drill rig that allows an operator to incrementally adjust and maintain drill pressure, while minimizing effort and fatigue, and while preventing metal chips and burrs from interfering with the threaded members associated with the guide and allowing quick and easy insertion and withdrawal of the drill bit holding and advancing mechanism.

Drill rig and method of use for forming holes in drill resistant materials


In one embodiment, a method is provided for use in a system which includes a target application, a profiler application and a debugging application, the profiler application being operative to attach to the target application and, upon attaching to the target application, performing operations to profile the target application, the debugging application being operative to monitor the target application. The method comprises attaching, by the profiler application, to the target application such that operations performed by the profiler application in profiling the target application are susceptible to monitoring by the debugging application. In one embodiment, the method further comprises generating helper code; transferring the helper code to the memory used by the target application; and causing the helper code to be executed from the memory used by the target application, wherein the helper code, when executed, causes the profiler agent library to be loaded to the memory used by the target application.

Profiler and debugging applications are computer programs which monitor and gather information on the performance of other applications (hereinafter target applications or target processes). A profiler application may collect information from a target application to assess its execution efficiency and/or performance. For example, a profiler may identify the time, processing resources and/or memory required by a particular portion of the target application for execution. Typically, information collected by the profiler application is analyzed to identify one or more portions of the target application which may be optimized or improved.
A debugging application is typically used to test a target application and find flaws, or "bugs", in its coded instructions. For example, when an application fails, a debugging application may be employed to identify the portion(s) (e.g., the coded routines) which caused it to do so.
In general, there are two types of profiler applications. One type, called a sampling profiler, operates by gathering data indicative of a target process's performance at predetermined intervals. A second type, called an instrumentation profiler, causes the target process to execute additional instructions provided by the profiler application to produce information indicative of the target process's performance. In general, a sampling profiler produces less specific information about a target process than an instrument profiler does, but a sampling profiler allows the target process to execute at nearly full speed. Because an instrument profiler may slow down a target process, it may produce skewed or inaccurate results.
A profiler application may operate either by creating (i.e., initiating) a target process, such that the profiling of the target process is started immediately upon initiation, or by attaching to an existing (i.e., executing) target process, such that profiling begins with the currently executing portion. A user of a profiler application may find it desirable to profile a created process if the user is unsure which portion(s) of the target process may require optimization, as creating the target process allows the profiler to gather data from the initiation of the target process. Conversely, a user may find it desirable to attach a profiler application to an existing process if a target process which had previously been functioning normally begins to run sub-optimally, so that information gathered by the profiler relates only to the portion executing poorly, and the user is not required to examine information on portions of the target process which ran normally.
When a sampling profiler application attaches to a target process, it typically allocates a specific portion of memory used by the target process, and loads a profiler agent to that allocated memory portion for execution. Because sampling profilers are designed to be unobtrusive, the target process is typically not notified that the profiler agent has been loaded to memory, or that functions enabled by the profiler agent will be initiated by the profiler application. Because of this, other applications designed to gather information on executing software applications, such as debugging applications, may not be able to gather information on the operation of the profiler agent. As such, profiler agents may be difficult to debug.

Methods and apparatus for software profiling


A steam unit, e.g., for a machine for espresso beverages, includes a supporting island with external fastening, which connects removably to the machine; a tank for frothing milk, a base of which connects removably to the supporting island. A circuit delivers steam from the machine to the tank via the connection at the base of the tank. The tank includes an upper part for heating and emulsifying the beverages.

The present invention relates to a steam unit with external fastening, including a tank for frothing milk or heating beverages, for a machine for espresso beverages.
External steam units for frothing milk for use in a machine for espresso beverages are known in the art. Espresso beverages typically include espresso coffee.
In general said known units have problems of reliability due to possible clogging of the steam output circuit, caused by interaction with the milk, or safety problems due to the pressure of steam or, to the presence of electrical circuits which could interact with the steam or with the milk, or problems related to the difficulty in cleaning them, caused by difficult access to the parts which must be kept clean.
These problems may arise for example in cases where in a container for frothing milk, the frothing occurs in the bottom side of the container, as for example disclosed in documents GB-382972 or FR-769848.
Document WO-01/97668 discloses a container for frothing milk, having an inlet in the bottom for receiving steam from a base; a tube is connected to the inlet in the bottom for bringing the steam to the internal bottom part of the container, where a second tube brings air from the top for heating and frothing the milk: this also creates problems as described above. Additional problems arise for cleaning the terminals of the tubes: in fact the container must be emptied before cleaning. Moreover, frothing the milk in the bottom does not allow milk as such to be maintained separated from froth in the bottom part of the container.

Steam unit with external fastening, including a tank for frothing milk and heating beverages, for a machine for espresso beverages


In the present invention, a start request terminal transmits start request information including participation restriction information to a management system. A transmission/reception unit of the management system transmits participation authentication information for authenticating participation in an established session to a middle-of-conference participation terminal. A transmission/reception unit of a participation request terminal transmits, to the management system, participation request information for requesting participation of the participation request terminal in an established session and participation authentication information which is input with the terminal in accordance with the participation authentication information transmitted to the terminal. A participation determination unit of the management system compares the participation request information received from the participation request terminal and the participation authentication information corresponding to the participating terminal in a terminal management table, and determines whether to permit the participation request terminal to participate in the established session.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communication system, a management apparatus, a communication method, and a computer-readable recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, in response to the demand for reducing travel expenses and travel time, communication systems for conducting television conference and the like via a communication network such as the Internet are widely available. In such communication system, when communication is started between multiple communication terminals, image data and audio data are transmitted and received, so that the television conference can be realized.
With recent enrichment of broadband environment, high quality image data and high quality audio data can be transmitted and received between multiple communication terminals. Therefore, the situation of the party with which the television conference is conducted can be easily recognized, so that the satisfaction of communication by conversation can be improved.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication NO. 2012-50063 suggests a technique associated with such television conference system, which includes registering terminal information about the party with which communication is made in advance, managing the state of a terminal, and selecting a terminal registered in the destination list, thus easily starting communication with the terminal with which communication is conducted.
Depending on the conference, highly confidential data may be transmitted and received, and it is desired to provide a technique for appropriately restricting participants participating in the conference. Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication NO. 7-177482 suggests such technique for restricting participants participating in the conference, which includes registering participants before the conference is started in order to restrict participants participating in the conference, and preventing those other the registered participants from participating in the conference.
However, in the technique described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication NO. 2012-50063, anybody with a terminal registered in the destination list can participate in the conference, and there is a problem in that the party with which communication is conducted and which is registered in the destination list cannot be prevented from being participating in the conference depending on the agenda of the conference.
In the technique described in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication NO. 7-177482, there is a problem in that it is troublesome to register participants before the conference is started and it is impossible to easily restrict participation.
In view of the above circumstances, there is a need to provide a communication system, a management apparatus, a communication method, and a computer-readable recording medium capable of improving security while easily restricting a participation location for a session.

Communication system, management apparatus, communication method and computer-readable recording medium


An aerodynamic wing with a leading edge inflatable strut and at least one inflatable rib strut, wherein the struts are provided with a connection air pathway that allows the leading edge strut to act as a manifold for the inflation of the connected rib struts. Preferably, the connection air pathway is provided with a valve mechanism for selectively isolating the connected rib strut from the leading edge strut.

Recently, considerable effort is being expended to develop wings capable of generating tractive force for the purposes of powering a user on a variety of vehicles that are tethered solely by flexible lines. Such wings can generally be considered kites. The development of kites capable of generating significant force has made possible numerous recreational pursuits. For example, kite surfing or kite boarding refers to a sport involving the use of a wind powered wing to pull the participant on a vehicle across a body of water. Similar sports involving the use of appropriately configured vehicles to traverse sand, earth, snow and ice are also being pursued. One having skill in the art will also recognize that wind powered wings can be used in any number of other applications, whether recreational or practical. With the development of these applications has come an increasing demand for kites having improved characteristics and ease of use.
One type of kite that has achieved popularity is a leading edge inflatable ("LEI") kite, typically comprising a semi-rigid framework of inflatable struts or spars that support a canopy to form the profile of the wing. This basic design is taught by U.S. Pat. No. 4,708,078 to Legaignoux, et al. The development of the LEI kite is generally credited with spurring the development of modern kite surfing due to its ability to be relaunched from the water's surface.
LEI kites by design allow the inflation and deflation of the struts. As discussed above, a primary benefit of the LEI design is the resulting buoyancy of the kite that facilitates relaunching the kite from the water. Further, the use of separately inflated struts offers an important safety characteristic. Since each strut is isolated from each other, the failure of one does not lead to loss of pressure in the others. Thus, if one rib strut were to puncture, the leading edge and the remaining struts would stay inflated. If the kite were in the water when the failure occurred, the inflated remaining struts would keep the kite afloat. If the kite were still flying when the failure occurred, the user likely would be able to continue flying the kite, return to shore and then land the kite. If the failure were to occur in the leading edge, it is unlikely that the kite could still be flown, but the remaining inflated rib struts would continue to provide buoyancy.
Inflation and deflation also contributes significantly to the convenience and practicality of the LEI kite design. A kite can be deflated for storage and transport, a virtual necessity given that typical sizes of recreational traction kite range from about 5 square meters to over 20 square meters.
Despite the benefits offered by the inflatable design, certain drawbacks have become apparent. Conventional LEI kites require that the leading edge and each rib strut be separately inflated and deflated. Accordingly, a user needs to separately operate a valve for each strut for either inflation or deflation. For inflation, the user needs to fit the pump nozzle into the valve, pump sufficient air into the strut, and remove the nozzle and close the valve without losing a significant amount of air pressure in the strut. This can be challenging if a check valve is not used, because it is easy to lose significant air pressure while removing the pump nozzle and closing the valve. Although the valve stem can be pinched to reduce air loss, this requires effort, especially under adverse conditions such as cold. Even if the valve is equipped with a check mechanism, such as a ball stopper, the operation often allows pressure loss anyway and the check mechanism can also hinder pinching the valve stem, adding to the chance of significant air pressure loss. For deflation, the user may only need to open each valve. However, if some type of check valve is employed, such as a ball stopper, the user must manipulate each valve to let the air out of the strut. Furthermore, many users opt to use their pump to speed the deflation of the struts as well. Naturally, this requires that the pump nozzle be fit into the valve for each strut to be deflated. Each of these valve operations must be multiplied by the number of separate struts in the kite. Smaller LEI kites often have three to five rib struts in addition to the leading edge. Larger kites often have seven or more rib struts. Although not an great burden, manipulating the valves and fitting the pump nozzle for each strut represents a significant portion of the overall time required to prepare the kite for use or to deflate the kite for transport and storage.
Using separate valves for each strut also has the potential to undermine the performance of the kite. Since the user must independently inflate and then remove the pump nozzle before closing the valve for each strut, there is a significant chance that the struts will not be inflated to the same pressure. As one having skill in the art will appreciate, this can cause the performance of the kite to suffer. For example, the rigidity of the kite depends in part upon the structure imparted by the strut framework. If there are significant differences in inflation pressure between the rib struts, the kite will not behave in a consistent manner and will have decreased stability.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a LEI kite design the offers increased convenience by reducing the time and effort required to inflate the kite.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a LEI kite design that helps ensure maximum performance consistency.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a LEI kite design increases the stability of kite at relatively lower inflation pressures.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a LEI kite design that maintains the safety benefits of isolated air chambers.


An electrical connector includes a housing and a conductive terminal. The housing includes a terminal slot and an insertion entrance in front of the terminal slot. The conductive terminal is correspondingly mounted in the terminal slot. The conductive terminal comprises a base portion, two side portions and two elastic arms, the base portion extends in a front-rear direction, the two side portions extend upwardly respectively at two sides of a rear end of the base portion, the two elastic arms extend respectively from the two side portions toward the insertion entrance of the housing so that a front end of each elastic arm is close to the insertion entrance. As depicted, a clamping portion is formed close to the front end of each elastic arm by punching a tab therein.

Chinese patent application CN201110077533.6 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 8,328,586 and corresponding to Taiwanese patent application TW100108564) discloses an electrical connection terminal. The electrical connection terminal comprises a contact frame, the contact frame comprises side walls, the side walls are designed in form of leaf spring, a tail end of an electrical wire stripped off an insulating layer may be held between two side walls of the contact frame in form of channel. The leaf spring is formed by bending a plate material, a free tail end of the leaf spring forms a clamping edge, and two clamping edges facing each other form a clamping portion for the electrical wire.
However, in the above patent application, the leaf springs at two sides of the contact frame extend toward a wire insertion direction, that is, extends opposite to or away from an electrical wire introduction entrance. Because the clamping edge is positioned away from the electrical wire introduction entrance, the tail end (center conductor) of the electrical wire stripped off the insulating layer is relative long, or else the tail end is not easily inserted into a position to be clamped, but the relative long tail end is easily distorted and deformed during insertion. Moreover, because a relative long tail end is required, such an electrical connection terminal cannot allow a center conductor, which is relative soft and stripped off an insulating layer, to be inserted, such as a center conductor of a strand wire. Thus, certain individuals would appreciate further improvements in an electrical connector.

Electrical connector for receiving an electrical wire


Provided is a battery pack. The battery pack includes; a first battery cell and a second battery cell; a protection circuit module (PCM) that is located between the first and second battery cells and is electrically connected to the first and second battery cells; a thermal sensor that is electrically connected to the PCM and measures a temperature of the first battery cell; and a frame that accommodates the first battery cell, the second battery cell, and the PCM, wherein the frame includes a seating unit on which the PCM is seated, and the seating unit comprises a hole for inserting the thermal sensor to fix a position of the thermal sensor. Accordingly, damage to the thermal sensor is prevented and reliability of the thermal sensor is increased.

1. Field of the Invention
One or more embodiments of the present invention relate to battery packs.
2. Description of the Related Art
Due to the development of wireless internet or communication techniques, the use of portable computers, such as tablet personal computers and notebooks that are battery operated has been rapidly increased. Generally, portable computers are widely used for business or personal purposes due to their high mobility since they are small in size and are easy to carry around. In order for a portable computer to be used in various places free from a power supply device, a built-in battery pack may be included. The battery pack may include a secondary battery that may be repeatedly charged and discharged.
A long-term operable battery pack may include a structure for monitoring temperature information of battery cells and for preventing the battery pack from causing an accident such as an explosion by detecting in advance an emergency situation such as an overheating of the battery pack.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A stereoscopic-vision endoscope of the present invention comprises a tubular elongated insertional part, an objective optical system situated in the insertional part, a relay optical system situated in the insertional part for transmitting an object image formed by the objective optical system, a pupil dividing stop for dividing a light beam emanating from an object image formed by the relay optical system into a plurality of portions, an image formation optical system for receiving light beams from the pupil dividing stop so as to form a plurality of object images having parallax, and imaging devices for picking up the object images formed by the image formation optical system. The relay optical system satisfies the condition .phi..sup.2 /L>0.43 (where .phi. denotes an outer diameter of a system of relay lenses, and L denotes a relay length of the relay optical system).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a stereoscopic-vision endoscope enabling stereoscopic observation of an object.
2. Description of the Related Art
In resent years, it has prevailed in the field of surgery to adopt an endoscopic approach instead of laparotomy. Specifically, the inside of an abdomen is observed by creating a small orifice in the abdomen and then inserting a rigid endoscope through the orifice. If necessary, the rigid endoscope is used in combination with a TV camera, so that a therapeutic instrument can be advanced for the purpose of surgery while viewing a monitor.
The rigid endoscope is usually used to provide a view of the inside of a body cavity as a plane image not giving depth perception. It is therefore difficult to observe fine irregularity on the surfaces of inner walls of a body cavity. Since depth information is unavailable, it takes too much time to complete surgery. For solving this problem, a stereoscopic-vision endoscope offering depth information has been developed recently.
The stereoscopic-vision endoscope is classified into two types. One of the types has two optical systems arranged in parallel with each other. Images provided by the optical systems are formed on imaging devices or the like. This type is referred to as a dual-relay type. The other type of stereoscopic-vision endoscope has an optical system at the distal end thereof. A light beam is divided at the position of exit-pupil formation. Images having parallax are formed on imaging devices or the like. This type is referred to as a pupil-division type.
In the dual-relay type endoscope, each of the optical systems has a large number of lenses. It is therefore hard to minimizing a difference between images provided by two optical systems. As far as the stereoscopic-vision rigid endoscope is concerned, the pupil-division type is more effective than the dual-relay type.
With the spread of such a stereoscopic-vision rigid endoscope, there is a growing need for a stereoscopic-vision rigid endoscope to be used for observation of fine regions including the brain and the inside of an eye. For observing the fine regions including the brain and the inside of an eye, it is a must that the stereoscopic-vision rigid endoscope has a thin insertional part.
Described in Germany Patent No. 9302898.9 is regarded as a conventional endoscope of the pupil-division type enabling stereoscopic visioning and having two optical systems. This endoscope is, as shown in FIG. 36, composed of an objective lens 121, an image transmission optical system 122, an image formation optical system 123, and a main objective lens 124, which share a common optical axis.
In this conventional endoscope, the main objective lens 124 is a system of lenses for forming an intermediate image I1 by converging light to infinity. An aperture stop 125 having two apertures is placed behind (at the position of an exit pupil of) the main objective lens 124. Beams confined by the aperture stop 125 pass through imaging optical systems 126a and 126b, and form images on imaging devices 127a and 127b, whereby a three-dimensional image is produced.
It is also described in the Germany patent publication that if the image transmission optical system 122 is realized with a refractive index distribution type lens, a thinner endoscope can be realized.
The aforesaid conventional endoscope has not been described to have the configuration permitting a proper sense of three-dimensionality and proper brightness which are required for stereoscopic visioning while realizing a thinner endoscope.
Another optical system for a conventional endoscope enabling stereoscopic visioning has been described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-59199 shown in FIG. 37. This optical system is a single optical system composed of an objective optical system 200 and a relay optical system 201 which are axially symmetric. An image formed by the objective optical system 200 is transmitted by a predetermined distance by the relay optical system 201. A prism 202 is placed at the back end of the relay optical system 201, whereby an exit pupil is spatially divided into two portions so that a pair of right and left images having parallax can be picked up by imaging means 203 and 204 such as CCDs. The pair of right and left images thus picked up is converted into electric signals and displayed on a TV monitor that is not shown. At this time, when the right and left images to be displayed are switched at a high speed and shutter glasses whose movements are synchronous with the switching are employed, a right-eye image is viewed by a right eye and a left-eye image is viewed by a left eye. This results in stereoscopic visioning.
These types of objective and relay optical systems have the same structure as those employed in any conventional endoscope that is not designed for stereoscopic visioning. Many components contribute to formation of both the right and left light paths. Owing to the limited number of components, manufacturing errors are limited and assembling efficiency is excellent.
As for the stereoscopic-vision endoscope described in the Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-59199, the degree of parallax is too low to provide a sufficient sense of three-dimensionality. This point will be described in conjunction with FIG. 38.
An image I' formed by the objective optical system 200 is transmitted by the relay optical system 201. Thereafter, a beam is divided into two portions by a pupil dividing means 206. Images are then formed on imaging devices 208a and 208b by means of right and left image formation optical systems 207a and 207b. The pupil dividing means 206 is composed of a pupil formation lens 210 for receiving a light beam emanating from a final image Ie of the relay optical system and then converging the light beam to infinity, a pupil dividing stop 211 for limiting the light beam and dividing it into two portions, and prisms 212a and 212b for extending a space between right and left light beams.
The pupil dividing stop 211 lies substantially at the position of an exit pupil and has apertures 211a and 211b at positions substantially mutually symmetric with respect to the optical axis of the relay optical system 201. Only the light beams (hatched areas in FIG. 38) passing through the apertures 211a and 211b contribute to image formation, and form two exit pupils as images provided by the objective optical system 200.
The relay optical system 201 includes one system of relay lenses or a plurality of systems of relay lenses. Each system of relay lenses is an afocal optical system that has lenses, which have substantially the same focal length and structure, mutually coupled with their focal points aligned and that offers a zero power.
The degree of parallax that is a main factor dominating a sense of three-dimensionality is expressed using an angle of introversion .alpha..
Assuming that a numerical aperture in the object space determined by the objective optical system 200 and relay optical system 201 is NAo, the diameter of an incident image is a, and a spacing between centers of gravity of two entrance pupils of the pupil dividing stop 211 is b, the angle of introversion .alpha. is expressed as follows: EQU .alpha.=2k.multidot.NAo (rad) (1)
where k denotes a pupil dividing ratio and equals to a quotient of b/a, and NAo=sin .theta.=.theta. is established. Assuming that the para-axial power of the objective optical system 100 is .beta. and the numerical aperture of the relay optical system is NAr, the expression below is established. EQU NAo=.beta..multidot.NAr (2)
The para-axial power .beta. is expressed as follows under the condition that the distortion of the objective optical system is ignored: ##EQU1## where I denotes the height of an object, I' denotes the height of an image or image height, S denotes a distance from the object, and .omega. denotes a half angle of view.
Assuming that the focal length of one of the systems of relay lenses is f and the external diameter thereof is .phi., the numerical aperture of the relay optical system 101, NAr, is provided as the expression below. ##EQU2## The focal length of one of the systems of lenses is a focal length of one front or back part of the relay optical system (that is one system of relay lenses regarded as the unit of a relay) with respect to the position of entrance-image formation. Herein, the focal length of the front part of the relay optical system is not equal to the one of the back part thereof.
When the image height I' is expressed as a ratio relative to the external diameter .phi. of the relay optical system, the following expression is given: EQU I'=n.phi.
where n denotes a ratio of the image height to the external diameter .phi..
When the focal length f of one of the systems of relay lenses is expressed as a ratio relative to the length of a relay or relay length L, the following expression is provided: EQU f=mL
where m denotes the ratio of the focal length to the relay length L.
By combining the aforesaid expressions, the angle of introversion .alpha. is rewritten as follows: ##EQU3##
Table 1 lists the values of the angle of introversion .alpha. calculated according to the expression (3) in consideration of the specifications of conventional stereoscopic-vision endoscopes. The specifications of first and second conventional stereoscopic-vision endoscopes are excerpted from Germany Utility Model Unexamined Publication No. G9302898.2. Herein, the pupil dividing ratio k is 0.75.
TABLE 1! __________________________________________________________________________ First conventional Second conventional Unit Item Symbol endoscope endoscope __________________________________________________________________________ Objective Angle of view 2.omega. 45.degree. 60.degree. optical system Distance from an object S 45.2 mm 46 mm Image height I' 3.34 mm 3.25 mm Relay optical Outer diameter .phi. 7 mm 7 mm system Numerical aperture NAr 0.1 0.1 Squared outer .phi..sup.2 /L 0.42 0.42 diameter-to-relay length ratio Outer diameter-to- .phi./L 0.06 0.06 relay length ratio Focal length-to-relay f/L 0.3 0.3 length ratio Pupil dividing Dividing ratio k 0.75 0.75 stop Whole system Angle of introversion .alpha. 1.6.degree. 1.1.degree. __________________________________________________________________________
The angle of introversion required for providing a necessary and satisfactory sense of three-dimensionality ranges from about 2.degree. to 7.degree.. When the angle of introversion ranges from 1.degree. to 2.degree., a viewer has an insufficient sense of three-dimensionality. When the angle of introversion is less than 1.degree., a viewer has almost no sense of three-dimensionality. When the angle of introversion exceeds 7.degree., a viewer has an excessive sense of three-dimensionality or fails to have a stereoscopic vision and feels fatigued.
As seen from Table 1, the angle of introversion .alpha. of the first conventional stereoscopic-vision endoscope is 1.6.degree. with the endoscope separated from an object by the best distance. A viewer has a slight sense of three-dimensionality but does not have a sufficient sent thereof. In this case, the angle of view is as small as 45.degree. and makes the endoscope unsuitable for surgical use through endoscopic observation.
The second conventional stereoscopic-vision endoscope has an angle of view of 60.degree.. The angle of introversion is as small as 1.1.degree. with the endoscope separated from an object by the best distance. With this value of the angle of introversion, the object cannot be discerned three-dimensionally in practice.
FIG. 39 is a graph of an angle of introversion, which is calculated according to the expression (3), versus a distance from an object. The angle of introversion provided by the second conventional endoscope under the condition of (.phi..sup.2 /L)=0.42 as well as the one provided thereby under the condition of (.phi..sup.2 /L)=0.82 are also indicated graphically. Assuming that an angle of introversion permitting even a slight sense of three-dimensionality is 1.degree. or more and an angle of introversion not resulting in an excessive sense of three-dimensionality is 7.degree. or less, the distance from an object that can be viewed three-dimensionally ranges from 10 to 50 mm in the case of the second conventional endoscope. Stereoscopic vision is confined to a limited space. The angle of introversion relative to the best distance from an object, 46 mm, is about 1.degree., providing substantially no sense of three-dimensionality. When the angle of view .omega. in the expression (3) is set to a small value, the angle of introversion .alpha. becomes larger. Nevertheless, the angle of view, 45.degree., provides an insufficient sense of three-dimensionality for practical use.

Stereoscopic-vision endoscope offering a large angle of introversion and a necessary and sufficient sense of three-dimensionality


A high-efficiency heterojunction solar cell wherein a thin emitter layer (preferably Ga.sub.0.52 In.sub.0.48 P) forms a heterojunction with a GaAs absorber layer. A passivating window layer of defined composition is disposed over the emitter layer. The conversion efficiency of the solar cell is at least 25.7%. The solar cell preferably includes a passivating layer between the substrate and the absorber layer. An anti-reflection coating is preferably disposed over the window layer.

1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to solar cells. More particularly, this invention relates to solar cells having a heterojunction. Even more particularly, this invention relates to solar cells having a GaAs absorber layer.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
The current state-of-the-art GaAs solar cells having a GaAs absorber layer and a GaAs emitter layer are limited in their efficiency (less than about 24.8%) by the quality of the GaAs emitter layer. The high recombination velocity at the GaAs surface (even when passivated, e.g., with AlGaAs) reduces the V.sub.oc, J.sub.sc, and fill factor of these devices.
One obstacle to increasing the conversion efficiency of GaAs solar cells has been the quality of the GaAs emitter. The blue portion of the incident light spectrum is absorbed mainly in the emitter. Hence, the effective lifetime of photogenerated minority carriers in the emitter must be long enough to assure their complete collection. However, there are several loss mechanisms in the GaAs that limit this collection efficiency. First, most of the current in the device must flow laterally in the emitter. Therefore, its sheet resistance must be small. For a given emitter thickness, one is forced to use a high doping density, which in turn reduces the minority-carrier lifetime. Second, defects at the front surface also reduce the minority carrier lifetime.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,017,332 (James) discloses a cell for converting received light energy to electrical energy, comprising: four layers of differing types of semiconductive materials stacked to form three opposite conductivity junctions, wherein the outer two "active" junctions are formed of confronting layers with matched lattice constants to provide a plurality of energy converters, and the center connective junction is formed by two confronting intermediate layers which have purposely mismatched lattice constants to provide a lattice defect site surrounding the center junction.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,591,654 (Yamaguchi et al.) discloses an InP solar cell comprising a p-type InP single-crystal substrate having a defined carrier concentration and an n-type InP layer containing a dopant of at least one element selected from groups VIA including S and Se disposed on the substrate.
The publication Conference Record, 13th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, June, 1978 (pp 886-14 891) discloses a (AlGa)As-GaAs-Ge dual junction cell made monolithically by depositing GaAs and Ge layers epitaxially on the back side of a state-of-the-art AlGaAs/GaAs solar cell to provide two photo voltaically-active junctions, in the GaAs and in the Ge respectively.
IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, Vol. ED-27, No. 4, April 1980 (pp 822-831) discloses materials for fabrication of solar cells including the use of Ga.sub.x In.sub.1-x P (x being less than 0.35) layers to increase the efficiency of multijunction solar cells beyond that of single-junction cells.
However, these references only disclose multi- or single-junction devices that utilize GaInP, either as a buffer layer (as in the Yamaguchi et al. reference or as a homojunction material in a multijunction device.
Even though the current state-of-the-art has to a significant extent resolved many of the mechanical problems encountered by providing workable contacts to the various layers in the stack or stacking cells in a relatively efficient manner (i.e., through the use of n-on-p GaAs solar cells) these cells have been found to be limited in conversion efficiency due to the quality of the n-GaAs emitter layer. Further, in the n-on-p GaAs solar cells (and also in the p-on-n type), the high recombination velocity at the GaAs surface, even when passivated with AlGaAs, reduces the V.sub.oc, J.sub.sc, and the fill factor of these devices.
In copending application Ser. No. 07/976191, filed of even date and commonly assigned, there is described a single heterojunction solar cell having a GaAs absorber layer and an emitter layer comprising Al.sub.y Ga.sub.x In.sub.1--y-x P, where x+y is in the range of 0.47 to 0.57.
Passivating the emitter surface in homojunction solar cells is common, but this is not previously known with respect to heterojunction solar cells. Numerous types of heterostructure solar cells are known with unpassivated emitter surfaces, e.g., CdS (emitter)/CuInSe.sub.2 (absorber), CdS (emitter)/CdTe (absorber).

Heterojunction solar cell with passivated emitter surface


A non-transitory computer readable recording medium stores game program code instructions for a game in which users do battle, and the game program code instructions cause a computer to perform a data storage function of storing a first panel data that includes a plurality of panels associated with the first user to a storage unit; a control function of receiving information regarding a selection by the first user, the selection being for one or more panels indicating characters to be disposed in one or more divisions of a game display screen including a display region formed by the divisions; the data storage function further stores the panel associated with information of motion to the storage unit, and the control function transmits information for displaying the panel as a moving character according to the information of motion associated with the panel when the panel is disposed in a target division.

In recent years, with the spread of electronic apparatuses such as smart phones and tablets, games played on these electronic apparatuses have been actively developed.
As an example of such a game, there is a card game in which the user plays against other users or against the computer using cards collected in the game.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2007-252696 discloses a technique regarding the card game described above. According to that technique, the user configures a deck with cards used in a play which is selected from a plurality of cards that the user owns, and plays a rock-paper-scissors game or the like with an opponent using the deck.
Such a card game system is familiar to many users today. However, since the use of a two-dimensional card in the battle scene is sometimes boring, there have been calls for improvement.
It could therefore be helpful to provide a storage medium storing a game program and a game processing method of a game that gives a user a high visual effect, and an information processing apparatus that controls the game.

Storage medium storing game program, game processing method, and information processing apparatus


A hydraulic control circuit for a hydraulic cylinder is described for the raising and lowering of a boom on a telescopic loader. First and second chambers of the hydraulic cylinder are connected to a control valve over first and second supply lines and are selectively connected to either a hydraulic pressure source or to a hydraulic reservoir. The circuit includes on-off valves for controlling the flow through a first hydraulic line extending between the first chamber of the cylinder and the hydraulic reservoir, and through a second hydraulic line extending between the second chamber and the hydraulic reservoir in such a way that a floating position can be provided. Furthermore, a load-holding valve arrangement is provided in the first supply line at a location between the control valve and the first chamber of the cylinder. To provide assurance against uncontrolled lowering of the boom during switching to the floating position under load, a valve arrangement is provided that controls the flow rate as a function of the flow rate.

Hydraulic float control systems, in which floating positions have been implemented that permit a free movement of a hydraulic consumer, are known in the state of the art. Here, both connecting sides of the hydraulic consumer are connected to each other as well as at low pressure or without pressure to a hydraulic container or reservoir. Float control systems of this type are applied to construction or loader vehicles in which a boom or loader arm can be raised or lowered by means of a lifting cylinder. The function of the floating position is required, for example, to make it possible for a tool attached to the boom or loader arm to follow the contour of the ground closely independently of the position or orientation of the vehicle. Thereby, the tool is forced against the ground solely by the force of gravity. Such control systems do not contain any load-holding valves that prevent or sharply slow an unintended lowering of the boom or loader arm for reasons of safety when a leakage is encountered in the connection between the cylinder and control valve. Since a control pressure is required for the opening or circumventing of the load holding valve, a solution of the combination of a load-holding valve with a floating position is not known, in this case a non-pressurized condition of the hydraulic consumer is present and hence no control pressure can be used.
DE 101 49 787 A1 discloses a control system including a floating condition to control a double-acting consumer in which a control valve is loaded with pressure in a through-flow position and a floating position can be attained by a pressure controlled valve arrangement. Throttling is brought about over the control edges of the control valve where changes in the velocity of the consumer upon the transition into the floating position should effectively be avoided. Here the disadvantage is that the throttling is performed over a control arrangement supplied by a pump that is costly in its configuration as a control valve and results in a high degree of control inertia and at high loads unintended and uncontrolled pivoting movements result upon shifting to a floating position despite the throttling. Furthermore, the control system does not contain a load-holding valve to secure the hydraulic operation of the consumer.
DE 100 06 908 A1 discloses a hydraulic piston-cylinder unit for agricultural utility machines with a load-holding valve, in which an operating position is reached in which a constant pressure can be adjusted in the piston side chamber of the cylinder. Thereby a boom or a tool attached to it can be brought into contact with the ground constantly with a pre-determined contact force. This operating position is reached in that the pressure chambers of the piston-cylinder unit are connected to each other and pressure equalization occurs between the two pressure chambers over a pressure control valve. If the pressure drops below a pre-determined value, the pressure control valve closes. Here a floating position is possible only if the pre-determined value is set to zero, so that no pressure control is performed. The disadvantage then is that upon switching under load, the boom or the tool would be lowered uncontrolled.
DD 205 471 discloses a hydraulic circuit arrangement in which a floating position can be established upon the desire of an operator in which the chambers of a cylinder are connected with a container or sump by means of a three-position, two-way valve. A throttled outflow is guaranteed on the pressure side of the cylinder over a one-way restrictor in the operating position as well as in the floating position. The disadvantage is that upon switching into the floating position under load, the constant cross section of the throttle, designed for the operation, cannot control the lowering of the pressure side. Furthermore such a one-way restrictor does not represent a load-holding valve, which could prevent an uncontrolled lowering of the load in its operating position.

Hydraulic control circuit for a hydraulic lifting cylinder


A transmission joint body has an envelope inside which are provided bearing paths for articulation elements of a transmission joint (10). A connection system for the joint body includes a radial flange connected to the envelope. The flange is made at least partially from a material comprising a thermosetting or thermoplastic matrix reinforced with short fibers or with particles. According to a preferred embodiment, the inner space defined radially by the inner peripheral surface of the envelope of the joint body is partially filled with a material comprising a thermosetting or thermoplastic matrix reinforced with short fibers or with particles, and which is extended outside the envelope through one axial end of the latter in order to form the flange.

The subject of the present invention is a transmission joint body of the type comprising an envelope inside which are provided bearing paths for articulation elements of a transmission joint, and a system for connecting this joint body to a transmission shaft or to any other part of a mechanical transmission, in particular that of a motor vehicle.
The invention relates more particularly to a transmission joint body in which the connection system comprises a radial flange connected to the envelope. Transmission joint bodies of this type are known which are made from a single metal piece, and in which the fixing flange is produced by forming or by molding and then machined.
It is known that the weight of such a flange is particularly high, and that such a design permits only slight variations in the specification of the flange, and does not allow standard transmission joint bodies to be designed in which only the connection system differs, depending upon the envisaged application.

Transmission joint body of the type comprising a connecting flange


A virtual computer system of a multi-processor arrangement reduces the overhead of XPTLB processing. The processing of a PTLB (translation look-aside buffer processing) is controlled using IP dispatch information about virtual computers that is stored a hardware share area (HSA). A control unit (CU) has a group of bit-map BIM (broadcast IP mask) latches which correspond to the configured IP's and in which the IP dispatch information is set upon purging of a translation look-aside buffer. Through AND gate logic provided in the CU, whether or not an IP is to receive a PTLB request is determined on the basis of the information set in the BIM masks. Specifically, the AND gates compute the logical AND of each of the BIM masks with the control line of a XPTLB REQ from an IP being dispatched by a particular virtual computer. The AND gates provide an XPTLB REQ output designating PTLB processing to the other IP's if the associated BIM mask is set in accordance with IP dispatch information indicating that an IP has been dispatched by that particular virtual computer in the past.

Virtual computer systems having a virtual computer implemented within a physical computer setup have been gaining widespread acceptance. In this connection, it is possible within the physical environment of a multi-processor system having numerous physical computers to provide virtual computers. Such virtual computers of multi-processor systems exist by utilizing logically partitioned resources. In other words, a plurality of physical computers making up the multi-processor system are logically partitioned and are shared by a plurality of virtual computers.
One such example of the prior art means for implementing such virtual computers is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 6-103092. The disclosure involves assigning all resources that were allocated to a first virtual computer, to a second virtual computer dynamically and collectively without initializing the first virtual computer again.
In the single or multiple processor setup wherein each processor has a TLB, it becomes necessary to erase specific entries from that TLB. An example of conventional techniques for erasing specific entries of a TLB is the use of an IPTE instruction as explained in "Instructions for the HITAC M Series Processors (M/ASA)" (8080-2-146, p. 253) issued by Hitachi, Ltd.
The IPTE instruction is used to erase TLB entries applicable to specific conditions. In a tightly-coupled multi-processor environment, the IPTE instruction erases the TLB entries that meet specific conditions in all data processors making up the multi-processor structure.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart of steps depicting how the IPTE instruction is conventionally executed by each of a plurality of data processors in a multi-processor system. The multi-processor setup of FIG. 4 comprises a large number of instruction processors IP0 through IPn (each referred to as an IP) and a control unit (referred to as a CU). In the example shown in FIG. 4, the IP0 is shown executing the IPTE instruction. The flow of the processing involved is described below.
(1) In carrying out the IPTE instruction, the IP0 first issues a RESERVE request to the CU preparatory to performing PTLB processing (called XPTLB hereinafter) on the other IP's (i.e., IP1 through IPn). The RESERVE request is a request for priority to avoid contention with the other IP's issuing XPTLB requests (step 201).
(2) Upon receipt of the RESERVE request, the CU checks to see if it is possible to issue an XPTLB request to the other IP's, i.e., if the other IP's are in XPTLB processing or are issuing any RESERVE request to the CU preparatory to XPTLB processing. The result is reported to the IP0 (steps 202 and 203).
(3) If the processing of the RESERVE request from the IP0 is found to be possible, the CU issues an XPTLB REQ (step 204) to all other IP's (IP1 through IPn in the example of FIG. 4).
(4) The IP1 through the IPn are currently executing their assigned tasks. Upon receipt of the XPTLB REQ from the CU, the IP's stop their ongoing task processing and start XPTLB processing. At the same time, the IP's send an XPTLB START report to the CU telling the latter that the XPTLB processing has started (steps 205, 207, 206 and 208).
(5) On receiving the XPTLB START report from all IP's, the CU sends an ALL XPTLB START report to the IP0, which originated the XPTLB REQ, telling the latter that the XPTLB processing has been started by all IP's (step 209).
(6) Meanwhile, after issuing the RESERVE request to the CU, the IP0 waits for a report from the CU. If the attempt to reserve has failed, the IP0 returns to step 101 and issues another RESERVE request to the CU. If the reserve attempt is successful, the IP0 waits for an ALL XPTLB START request from the CU. When the request is received, the IP0 executes its own PTLB processing. At the end of the PTLB processing, the IP0 sends a PTLB END report to the CU and terminates the processing (steps 210 through 212).
(7) Upon receipt of the PTLB END report from the IP0, the CU sends to all other IP's a PTLB END report indicating that the PTLB processing by the IP0, the originator of the XPTLB REQ, has ended, and terminates the processing (step 213).
(8) The IPTE instruction is an instruction that inhibits the reference to any TLB entry area by any other IP except the IP that issued the instruction, the inhibition lasting until the latter IP terminates its processing. Thus the IP1 through IPn wait in a loop for a PTLB END report from the CU. When the PTLB END report is received, the IP's resume processing of their tasks (steps 214 and 215).

Virtual computer system of multi-processor constitution

Hitachi Information Technology Co., Ltd.


An LC/MS (liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry) system includes a particle-beam generator that handles aqueous inputs with enhanced efficiency. Helium from a helium source is passed through organic liquid in a bubbler. The organic liquid is maintained at about 4.degree. C. The resulting mixture of helium and organic vapor is used as a dispersant gas by the particle-beam generator. The dispersant gas contacts a predominantly aqueous liquid chromatography effluent before a nebulizer causes the effluent to break up into droplets. The solvent in the droplets is vaporized in a desolvation chamber. A momentum separator removes helium, organic vapor, and solvent vapor from an analyte particle beam. The analyte particle beam is directed to a mass spectrometer for identification and quantification. This LC/MS has demonstrated an improvement in signal strength of up to an order of magnitude relative to a similar LC/MS without the organic vapor in the dispersant gas.

The present invention relates to analytical chemistry and, more particularly, to a particle-beam generator, for example, to an interface between a liquid chromatography system and a mass spectrometer. A major objective of the present invention is to provide for more effective nebulization of liquid chromatography effluent having a high aqueous content.
LC/MS systems, which combine liquid chromatography (LC) and mass spectrometry (MS), are used for several purposes including 1) environmental studies, for example, to evaluate water, soil and waste; 2) food analysis, to identify contaminants and adulterants; 3) pharmaceutical development, to analyze natural and synthetic products; and 4) life sciences, to characterize protein components.
Liquid chromatography is a method of separating components of a sample mixture. At any given time during separation, some molecules of a component are adsorbed to a stationary solid support, while other molecules are dissolved in a liquid solvent flowing past the solid support. The adsorbed molecules are said to be in a "stationary phase" while the dissolved molecules are said to be in a "mobile phase". Sample components can differ significantly in their solubility in a given solvent. Specifically, nonpolar components tend to dissolve more readily in organic solvents, while polar components tend to dissolve more readily in water. To accommodate samples with both polar and nonpolar component, reverse-phase gradient-elution liquid chromatography (GELC) provides for a gradual transition of organic solvent to water as the liquid solvent in an LC system.
At equilibrium, the rate at which a component's molecules in the stationary phase are released to the mobile phase equals the rate at which the same component's molecules in the mobile phase are adsorbed to the stationary phase. For each component, the ratio of the number of molecules in the stationary phase to the number of molecules in the mobile phase is quantified by a partitioning coefficient. This partitioning coefficient thus corresponds to the average percentage of time the molecules of a component are in the mobile phase. This percentage correlates with the mobility of the component past the solid support. Sample components with different mobilities separate, as they progress past the solid support. With sufficient separation, the components emerge serially in the chromatography effluent.
To complete the analysis of a sample mixture, the eluting components need to be identified and quantified. Various types of detectors, for example, ultra-violet absorption detectors positioned to monitor the ultraviolet absorption characteristics of the effluent, can be used to detect eluting components. Since each component has a characteristic retention time in a chromatographic column, the time of detection is often used for component identification, while the degree of ultraviolet absorption can be used to quantify the component.
However, it is often not possible to identify and quantify sample components dissolved in the chromatography effluent. Some components are not readily detectable, others appear in quantities too small to measure reliably, and others can not be uniquely identified by their retention times. In these situations, and others, a mass spectrometer can be used for sample component identification and quantification.
A mass spectrometer provides a mass spectrum of a sample component by separating sample subcomponents according to molecular mass and quantifying the number of subcomponent molecules at molecular mass. (The samples input to the mass spectrometer are the serialized components of the sample input from the LC system.) Mass spectrometers typically operate by ionizing sample molecules and then sweep-filtering the resulting ions according to their charge-to-mass ratios. To minimize interference with ion movement through the mass filter, mass spectrometers are operated under vacuum conditions.
The liquid output of the LC system is not directly compatible with the requirements for ionization and the vacuum conditions of the mass spectrometer. Accordingly, LC/MS interfaces can include a particle-beam generator that converts a liquid flow into a particle beam. A typical particle-beam generator comprises a nebulizer, a desolvation chamber, a momentum separator, and a transfer probe. In the nebulizer, the LC effluent is joined by a stream of helium and converted into an aerosol of uniform droplets. Solvent is vaporized as the droplets traverse the desolvation chamber, freeing sample particles.
The sample particles proceed as a beam through a momentum separator. Vacuum pumps maintain the momentum separator at a lower pressure than the desolvation chamber. The vacuum pumps divert throughgoing particles laterally, drawing lower momentum helium and solvent vapor into the vacuum exhaust system. The higher momentum sample particles are deflected less and are thus permitted to enter the transfer probe. Particles entering the transfer probe are directed to the ion source of the mass spectrometer.
The efficiency of such a particle-beam generator depends, in part, on the solvent of the liquid input. The particle-beam generator is most effective when the solvent is primarily organic, and less efficient when the solvent is primarily aqueous. The mass spectrometer signal strength can fall by 70% or more when the solvent is more than 50% aqueous. This signal loss is particularly problematic in GELC since it makes it difficult to compare mass spectra from earlier eluting components with those of later eluting samples.
This problem has been addressed by adding organic solvent to an aqueous LC effluent. However, this approach results in unacceptable band broadening. What is needed is a system that efficiently generates a particle beam from an aqueous input without unacceptable band broadening.

Particle-beam generator for LC/MS interface


A method and apparatus for controlling the readout rate of information from a sequential storage medium, such as a CD-ROM, to maintain synchronism between the device containing the medium and an independent receiver receiving the information. Information is loaded from the media into a buffer at a rate controlled by pulses from a device clock. Information is unloaded from the buffer for utilization by the receiver independently of the loading of the buffer. The amount of free space available in the buffer is measured as information is loaded into the buffer. The rate of the clock is dynamically adjusted in response to the amount of free buffer space to maintain the full state of the buffer within predetermined limits. In this manner, the buffer never empties or fills in response to the unloading by the independent receiver.

A sequential media device, such as a CD-ROM, when interfaced to a separately clocked receiving device for readout, presents a potential problem in the synchronizing of the data transfer between the devices. The problem arises because the sequential device is outputting continuous information at its own nominal speed, while the receiving device is independently running at its own speed. Thus, there can arise buffer overflow or buffer empty conditions between the devices. For short term readouts, the standard solution is to make the buffer between the devices elastic. The elastic buffer can feasibly be made large enough to absorb slight differences in the clock rates of the sequential device and the receiving device. This is the technique disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,791,622, OPTICAL DATA FORMAT EMPLOYING RESYNCHRONIZABLE DATA SECTORS, issued to Clay et al on Dec. 13, 1988, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,841,513, SEQUENTIAL BUFFER DEVICE, issued to Farhangi et al on Jun. 20, 1989. As the continuous time interval of the readout increases, such as might be the case in multimedia presentations, the required size of the elastic buffer becomes prohibitive. If the buffer empties or fills during playback because of the differences in the device clocks, the presentation will be marred, either by delays or by the loss of information. This manifests itself as intolerable distortion in presentations involving audio or video information.
It is possible to use other conventional solutions, such as phase-locked loops or servos that synchronize the clock rate of the sequential device to the read commands of the receiving device. However, such solutions are complex and expensive, especially when it is considered that the external receiving device may be a PC or like device requesting information in sectors and at less than precisely periodic intervals.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,802,152, which issued to Markvoort et al on Jan. 31, 1989, shows another conventional interface in which the sequential device provides a clock to a host controller to synchronize the data output with the host. However, this solution is not possible or desirable in all environments.
The present trend for attaching a sequential device, such as a CD-ROM, to a computer is through the Small Computer System Interface (SCSI). This interface allows the computer or host to request data from the CD-ROM in a manner similar to that used by "floppy" and "hard" disk drives. The CD-ROM differs, however, from disk drives in that its very high density of data storage does not allow it to have high speed random access of its data. The CD-ROM takes hundreds of milliseconds to "seek" to a particular sector or data. While the SCSI interface can be used to position a CD-ROM at the beginning of a continuous playback segment, the SCSI interface does not provide a means therefore for the CD-ROM and receiver to remain synchronized.
In the case of interfacing a CD-ROM to host computer or PC, the host audio/visual output functions have no direct way to share a clock with the CD-ROM. The CD-ROM, in its present embodiments, can be requested to output data for many minutes while the host is routing the data to a speaker and display. The CD-ROM data rate is defined by its clock, while the host runs at its independent clock rate. These rates will not be precisely the same and over the period of the presentation the CD-ROM may output too much data or not enough. This then is a specific illustration of the general problem summarized above.

Method and apparatus for synchronizing the readout of a sequential media device with a separate clocked device

International Business Machines Corporation


A process for alkylating an isoparaffin comprising reacting an isoparaffin with a monoolefin in the presence of a salt of a heteropoly-acid as a solid catalyst. The salt of the heteropoly-acid is a compound obtained by substituting a cation for a hydrogen ion of a heteropoly-acid of the formula H.sub.k.X.Y.sub.m.Z.sub.12-m.O.sub.40.nH.sub.2 O, wherein X is a hetero-atom selected from the group consisting of P, Si, Ge and As, each of Y and Z is a polyatom selected from the group consisting of W, Mo and V, k is 3 or 4, m is 0 or 1, and n is a positive number.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for alkylating an isoparaffin, which process is suitable for obtaining an alkylate gasoline used as a gasoline base having a high octane number.
2. Prior Art
It is the practice under the present situation to decrease the aromaticity of automobile gasoline, and there is required a gasoline base whose aromatic content is small and whose octane number is high. A process for producing alkylate gasoline from isoparaffin and olefin by alkylation is attracting attention.
In the process for producing alkylate gasoline by the above alkylation method, it is known to use, as a catalyst, a liquid catalyst such as sulfuric acid or hydrogen fluoride. It has been also proposed to use a solid catalyst such as crystalline aluminosilicate (JP-B-46-41223), modified zeolite (JP-A-51-68501) or an ultra-acidic zirconia catalyst (JP-A-61-183230).
In the above alkylation method using a liquid catalyst such as sulfuric acid or hydrogen fluoride, not only is it required to carry out a step of separating the reaction product and the liquid catalyst after the reaction, but also there are problems in corrosion of an apparatus and treatment of waste acid.
The alkylation method using the above solid catalyst is excellent by using a liquid catalyst, since it is free of the above problems involved in the method using a liquid catalyst, and since it has advantages of simple reaction operation and durability of an apparatus. However, for example, the alkylation method using an ultra-acidic zirconia catalyst has a disadvantage that the yield of alkylate gasoline is extremely low. It has been therefore desired to develop a novel solid catalyst for alkylation other than the above three solid catalysts for alkylation.

Process for alkylating an isoparaffin with a salt of a heteropoly-acid as a catalyst


Systems and methods are described for determining whether to activate a voice activated device based on a speaking cadence of the user. When the user speaks with a first cadence the system may determine that the user does not intend to activate the device and may accordingly not to trigger a voice activated device. When the user speaks with a second cadence the system may determine that the user does wish to trigger the device and may accordingly trigger the voice activated device.

Voice activated devices oftentimes rely on "always on" listening to trigger functions associated with the voice activated device. Oftentimes, to perform a function associated with the voice activated device, a user must speak a trigger word that is used to prepare the voice activated device for performance of a function associated with the voice command. Each device may be associated with its own unique voice trigger. For example, a voice activated personal assistant may be triggered by stating the name of the assistant (e.g., "John") or by stating a phrase (e.g., "OK cellphone"). Frequently, the trigger words are common words that a user may use in normal conversation. Because conventional voice activated devices merely monitor for detection of a trigger word, the voice activated device may become inadvertently triggered by a conversation that a user is having with another person, or by audio output by a television or radio that includes the trigger word. Inadvertent triggering of a voice controlled device may cause the user frustration because they need to perform additional actions to de-trigger the device or may result in the voice controlled device performing unintentional and erratic functions

Systems and methods for determining whether to trigger a voice capable device based on speaking cadence


A dual-mode telephone with a satellite communication adapter is disclosed. According to one embodiment of the present invention, a cellular-type handportable phone is equipped with a connector for the attachment of accessories. This S connector provide a satellite communications adapter accessory access to the handset's signal processing resources which may operate in an alternative mode to process signals received from the satellite and converted by the adapter into a suitable form for processing. The processing translates the satellite signals into voice or data, and vice-versa.

Prior art satellite terminals are large and expensive. For example, a terminal conforming to the standards known as INMARSAT-M is about the size of a small suitcase and costs approximately $10,000 in 1993. Such a terminal comprises a deployable directional antenna that has to be pointed to the satellite with no intervening obstruction in the line-of-sight, a telephone handset, and a box of electronics and batteries which is coupled to the antenna and to the handset by wires.
Cordless telephones are well known in the domestic context, and allow a user more freedom of movement than conventional telephones. Cellular telephones extend the benefits of wireless communications over wide areas, and can be used in moving vehicles. U.S. Pat. No. 5,428,668 describes an inventive combination of cellular and cordless phone technology which allows the same, cellular handportable telephone to be used both in the wide-area, mobile context, and as a home cordless phone. In addition, the telephone can receive calls either via the cellular system or via the normal home telephone system. In the latter case, the calls are translated to low-power cellular telephone call signals which can be broadcast using the same frequency bands as the wide-area cellular system without causing interference.
The above systems do not disclose translating calls from a satellite communications system into low power cellular call signals in order to receive them using a normal cellular handset.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/967,027 discloses a dual-mode cellular phone capable of operating in an analog FM mode or alternatively in a TDMA Digital speech mode, by using alternative signal processing programs in a programmable digital signal processor. In both cases, the FM or TDMA signal to be processed is received over the air using the same radio hardware.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,535,432 and entided "Dual-Mode Satellite/Cellular Phone With A Frequency Synthesizer" describes a dual-mode satellite/cellular telephone that comprises a satellite RF processing section, a cellular RF processing section, and a common signal processing section that can operate to process either satellite or cellular signals. This device locks preferentially to landcellular signals, if available, and if not, alternatively to satellite signals.
The systems described above, however, do not describe a dual-mode satellite-cellular phone comprising a cellular handset adapted to interface with a satellite adapter unit, wherein said handset receives signal for processing from said adapter unit by means of suitable cables.

Satellite communications adapter for cellular handset


A CMOS device such as an NFET or a PFET and a method of forming a CMOS device are provided. The method begins by forming at least one patterned gate region atop a first semiconductor layer that includes silicon. Dielectric spacers are formed about exposed portions of the patterned gate region. Source-drain regions are formed in the first semiconductor layer. Recesses are formed in the first semiconductor layer that extends under the dielectric spacers. The first semiconductor layer has exposed surfaces that in part define sidewalls of the recesses. A nickel barrier layer is formed on each of the exposed surfaces of the first semiconductor layer. The nickel barrier layers are etched so that the nickel barriers remain only on portions of the exposed surfaces located under the dielectric spacers and not on remaining portions of the exposed surface. A silicon-containing layer is formed on the remaining exposed surfaces of the first semiconductor layer. Silicide layers are formed on the silicon-containing layers, wherein the silicide layer includes nickel.

As the integration density of semiconductor devices continues to increase and the critical dimensions associated with such devices continue to decrease, there has been a corresponding increase in interest in identifying materials and processes for producing interest in low resistance materials to maintain or reduce signal delay. Silica and salicide (self-aligned silicide) materials and processes have been widely used to lower the sheet resistance and contact resistance for the gate conductor and source/drain regions of CMOS devices.
A number of metals, including tungsten, tantalum, zirconium, titanium, hafnium, platinum, palladium, vanadium, niobium, cobalt, nickel and various alloys of such metals have been used to form silicide layers on semiconductor devices. For gate lengths below about 100 nm, however, conventional salicide processes and materials tend to experience a variety of difficulties including opens, residues and layer non-uniformity, resulting at least in part from agglomeration within the silicide material layer.
These difficulties tend to be exacerbated by the high-temperature processing required to react most metal(s) with silicon to form the desired silicide layers. The high temperature anneals required also raise concerns regarding the impact of the silicide annealing process(es) on the thermal budget for the devices being manufactured. For example, when cobalt is used to form the silicide, the initial stoichiometry of the silicide may be generally represented as CoSi, but as the annealing process continues, particularly at higher temperatures, the silicide tends to incorporate an increasing amount of silicon and approaches a composition more closely represented as CoSi2 For devices having gate lengths below about 100 nm, however, the second high temperature silicidation used in conventional Co salicide processes tends to induce agglomeration within the silicide material layer, increasing the degree of non-uniformity within the layer and tending to degrade the performance of the resulting devices.
Nickel is an attractive metal for forming silicides because the annealing process required to form the desired silicide may be conducted at a relatively low temperature, e.g., below about 550 C. Due to the low silicidation temperature, NiSi exhibits a decreased tendency to agglomerate and form a silicide layer with a low sheet resistance that is generally independent of the device dimensions, increasing its utility for lowering the resistance of fine line structures.
One problem with the use of nickel in the silicides employed in CMOS devices arises from its relatively high diffusion coefficient. As a result nickel diffuses into the channel region located the gate conductor. This encroachment by the nickel into the body region degrades device performance.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a CMOS device in which nickel employed in the silicide material is prevented from encroaching on the channel region by diffusion.

SiGe nickel barrier structure employed in a CMOS device to prevent excess diffusion of nickel used in the silicide material


A method is provided for making an electrode tip for use in a bipolar electrosurgical instrument from a single flat blank of metal. The method uses a photo chemical machining process. The resultant electrode tip has a generally loop shaped working portion. Use of the flat blank of metal results in electrodes having working portions with sharp edges in cross-section. The working portions emit concentrated energy in the radial direction.

Electrosurgery is one form of a surgical cutting and coagulating procedure. Electrosurgery has two primary modes--monopolar and bipolar. Monopolar surgery uses an instrument, with a single electrode such as a single loop instrument, and a grounding pad as the means to administer the output of a surgical generator to the patient. In contrast, bipolar instruments include two electrodes in close proximity to each other. Typically, one electrode is a supply electrode and the other electrode is a return electrode. Bipolar instruments operate at much lower power levels than monopolar instruments and thus do not disturb nearby tissue. Examples of bipolar instruments are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,290,286 (Parins); 5,192,280 (Parins); 5,013,312 (Parins et al.); 5,282,799 (Rydell); 5,071,419 (Rydell) and WO 93/13719 (Fleenor et al.).
Wire electrodes, which are used in some such instruments, are generally rounded in cross-section and thus do not concentrate energy in any particular radial direction. Rounded electrodes also present a relatively large contact area to the surgical site. This may be undesirable if the area of interest is very small. Furthermore, it is difficult to make a wire electrode which has a very small diameter (i.e., width). The smaller the diameter, the smaller the cross-sectional area and the finer the electrode. Finer electrodes make finer cuts. An instrument with very fine electrodes can be used in tight crevices and in small areas, such as certain predefined regions of the brain. It is also a desirable goal for electrodes to have low resistance so that only a small amount of power need be applied to the electrodes to effectively cut and coagulate the desired tissue. By using less power at the surgical site, the device can be used in delicate surgical procedures, such as neurosurgery, with less risk of damaging neighboring areas.
Despite the variety of electrodes known in the prior art, there is still a need for a finer electrode which can also concentrate energy in the radial direction, is easy and inexpensive to fabricate, and has relatively low resistance. The present invention fills this need by providing an electrode tip with very fine electrodes that have sharp edges in cross-section and are preferably fabricated by photo chemical machining.

Method of making flat loop bipolar electrode tips for electrosurgical instrument


A wafer carrier for chemical mechanical polishing. The carrier has a notch where wafers are placed for polishing and a ledge around the notch. An outer rim extends from the ledge and, during polishing, below the polished wafer compressing a polishing pad therebelow. Slurry is provided to the polishing pad, during polishing, by slurry channels through the carrier into the ledge. Excess slurry exits through the pad or, optionally, through a plurality of exit channels through the rim.

1. Field of the Invention
The Present invention is related to semiconductor chip manufacture and more particularly to wafer carriers for Chemical Mechanical Polishing.
2. Background Description
One typical use of Chemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP) in semiconductor manufacturing is for removing superficial topographical irregularities in a surface layer of a semiconductor wafer. However, the edge regions of the wafers polish faster than the center regions causing non-uniformity in the finished thickness of the polished film.
Uneven polishing occurs in CMP processes because the wafer being polished compresses the polishing pad, causing higher pressure at the edges of the wafer. That higher pressure also prevents even slurry distribution. Less slurry works towards the center of the wafer than is available at the edges. Compression rings for pre-compressing the pad may solve the edge pressure problem, but do not improve slurry distribution.

Wafer carrier for chemical mechanical polishing

Interantional Business Machines Corporation


A form-fill-seal packaging machine in which a packaging material (F) is sealed crosswise by bringing a pair of sealing jaws (41, 42) into contact with each other. The sealing jaws (41, 42) are caused to follow the packaging material along the packaging material transfer direction while they are kept in the same condition, to cause the sealing jaws to take contacting and following motions by means of a single drive source. The rotation of a motor (25) is converted into a linear reciprocating motion along the transfer route of the packaging material through a cam mechanism comprised of a circular cam plate (24) and an arm (33) and the converted reciprocating motion is transmitted to a block (30). Similarly, the rotation of the motor (25) is converted into a linear reciprocating motion in a direction intersecting the packaging material transfer route at right angles through vertically elongated cam plates (50, 50) and the converted reciprocating motion is transmitted to blocks (37, 38). Thus, by supporting these blocks (37, 38) by the block 30, it is possible to allow the sealing jaws (41, 42) to take elevating and contacting motions using the single motor (25).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a form-fill-seal packaging machine for forming a band-like film into packaging bags and sealing products into the packaging bags in sequence.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a form-fill-seal packaging machine which forms a band-like film into packaging bags and seals products into the bags in sequence is constructed as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H3-1362. The band-like film played out from a roll is formed into a tube with the side edges thereof held overlapped while the film is transferred along a transfer route. The overlapped side edges of the tubular film are bonded (lap, fin or pinch sealed for example). The lower end of the tubular film is sealed laterally. The products are supplied into the tubular film, and then the upper end of the tubular film is laterally sealed to separate the sealed tubular film from the remaining portion so that packaging bags each having the product sealed therein are produced in sequence.
In the above case, the sealing of the tubular film in the lateral direction is generally performed by heating and pressure-bonding the tubular film by bringing a pair of devices called sealing jaws arranged across the film transfer route into contact with each other. In this case, however, the method of bringing the sealing jaws into contact with each other by reciprocating the jaws in directions in which they come in contact with, and separate from, each other has the disadvantage that since the sealing of the film can be made only at the point of contact between the pair of sealing jaws, the transfer of the film has to be stopped for a time required for sealing. To avoid such a disadvantage, there has conventionally been known a method in which the sealing jaws are reciprocated in directions in which they come into contact with, and move away from, each other and also reciprocate along the film transfer route and when the sealing jaws are held in contact with each other, they are moved in the film transfer direction while they are held in the same condition. They thereby follow the tubular film so that the tubular film is laterally sealed as it is continuously transferred.
However, the conventional form-fill-seal packaging machine causing such sealing jaws to make such a motion has had the disadvantage costs are increased since two drive sources are required, one to drive the sealing jaws in which they reciprocate toward and away from each other and a second drive source to move the sealing jaws along the film transfer route. Especially, where the sealing jaws are reciprocated along the film transfer route by the second drive source, since the first drive source is also reciprocated, the inertia of the reciprocating motions becomes too large to increase the operating velocity of the machine and the second drive source is required to be an expensive large power type resulting in further increases in the manufacturing cost.