A method is provided for estimating at least one combustion characteristic of a fuel gas belonging to a family of fuel gases, where the at least one characteristic includes at least one of a Wobbe index or a higher heating value. The method includes measuring at least two flow properties of the fuel gas and measuring a dihydrogen content XH2 contained in the fuel gas. The method also includes estimating the at least one characteristic

The invention relates to the general field of estimating combustion characteristics of a fuel gas forming part of a family of fuel gases, said at least one characteristic being the Wobbe index or the higher heating value.
A particular application for the invention lies in estimating combustion characteristics of a fuel gas containing dihydrogen, e.g. a fuel gas containing a quantity of dihydrogen lying in a range 0% to 20% by volume.
The use of renewable energy sources sometimes requires the use of means for storing energy, since such renewable sources may operate in a manner that is intermittent and de-correlated with energy requirements. This applies in particular with photovoltaic energy production or when producing electricity by means of wind turbines.
Proposals have been made to use the dihydrogen that is obtained by electrolyzing water as means for storing energy coming from renewable energy sources.
The dihydrogen as generated in this way can subsequently be stored in storages, e.g. underground, or it can also be injected into a natural gas distribution network. The gas that is obtained may thus contain dihydrogen in the range 0% to 20%.
The Wobbe index (in kilowatt hours per normal cubic meter (kWh/Nm3)), which is the ratio of the heating value of a fuel gas over the square root of its density, and the higher heating value (in kWh/Nm3) are the two main characteristic magnitudes of the fuel that have an influence on the combustion settings of gas burners, whether for home use or for industrial use.
Depending on the type of application for the gas, and on the measurement means used (whether or not flow rate is measured by suction-generating means) it is one or the other of these two parameters that is taken into consideration.
By way of example, for an injector fed at a constant feed pressure (e.g. a cooktop or a ribbon burner), the power delivered depends on the pressure, on the through section of the injector, on the head loss, and on the Wobbe index of the fuel.
For applications where a mass or volume flow meter is available, the power delivered depends on the measured flow and on the heating value.
Specifically, the heat delivered by a burner is proportional either to the Wobbe index, or to the higher heating value (HHV). Likewise, for hydrogen-free natural gases as distributed in Europe, the quantity of air needed to obtain stoichiometric combustion depends on one or the other of these characteristics of the fuel gas.
It should be observed that the European network for transporting and distributing natural gas is becoming more and more meshed and it is fed by a variety of supply sources, so the characteristics of the natural gas (Wobbe index and HHV, among others) can thus vary over time in non-negligible manner (±5% or even more), at any given point in the network.
With that in mind, industrial processes such as those performed in the glassmaking, ceramic, electricity production, lime, and metallurgy industries are sensitive to these variations. As a result, in order to optimize combustion, it is necessary to make use of specific solutions for regulating combustion. In order to perform regulation of this type, it is possible to measure the Wobbe index or the higher heating value.
With natural gas, there exist technological solutions for measuring these parameters that are simple, robust, and accurate. However such solutions are lacking when dihydrogen is present in the fuel. Error in measuring these parameters increases greatly once the volume of dihydrogen exceeds 1%, and there is no guarantee that the measurements are repeatable.
Furthermore, industrial equipment, and even domestic equipment, can be sensitive to adding dihydrogen, even in very small proportions.
As a result, there exists a need for novel measurement apparatuses capable of quantifying on a continuous basis the major combustion parameters of these novel fuels: not only for sensitive uses such as glassmaking or metallurgical processes, but also so as to enable network operators to manage locally the combustion characteristics of gas fuels delivered to users.
Methods have been proposed for measuring or estimating the Wobbe index and the heating value.
In particular there are four families of apparatuses that can be used for measuring the Wobbe index and/or the heating value of natural gas, possibly including a non-zero proportion of dihydrogen:                calorimetry (for heating value): Measurement involves burning a controlled quantity of gas.
Thereafter, the energy given off is quantified by the input/output temperature difference across a (gas or water) heat exchanger. Accuracy is of the order of 10% (i.e. 1.1 kWh/Nm3) but each measurement takes about 10 minutes (min). That technology is being abandoned, little by little.                Combustion measurement (for the Wobbe index): measurement involves combustion of an air/gas mixture. The oxygen content in the combustion products is measured by a zirconia probe. The residual oxygen content is correlated with the combustibility index, which is itself correlated, for natural gases, with the Wobbe index. This type of apparatus costs about €15,000. This type of equipment operates with mixtures having a low dihydrogen content. (for dihydrogen contents greater than 5% by volume, the Wobbe index is no longer linearly proportional to the combustibility index). The drawback of this technology is low accuracy, of the order of 5% (i.e. 0.75 kWh/Nm3) and considerable maintenance (ageing due to the high temperatures of the oven in which combustion of the mixture takes place).        Gas phase chromatography (for the Wobbe index and for the heating value): This technique serves to separate molecules from a gas mixture. The Wobbe index and the heating value can then be calculated on the basis of knowledge of the composition of the gas. For high-power fuel burning equipment (e.g. gas turbines), gas phase chromatography has generally replaced calorimetry and combustion measurement. The accuracy of these measurement apparatuses is better, of the order of 0.5% (i.e. 0.08 kWh/Nm3 for the Wobbe index). This type of equipment can also operate with mixtures of natural gas and of dihydrogen, providing the equipment is fitted with a specific sensor capable of separating out the dihydrogen molecule. The major drawback of gas phase chromatography is cost, even when recent improvements are taken into account (cost price may lie in the range €20,000-€50,000). Furthermore, even in the best of circumstances, the response time of gas phase chromatography equipment is of the order of one minute. There can therefore be a mismatch between the gas that is measured and the gas that is actually being used by the fuel burning equipment (e.g. a burner).        Correlation apparatuses (for the Wobbe index or for the higher heating value): One or more physical magnitudes correlated with the Wobbe index or with the higher heating value is/are measured in such apparatuses. A correlation, performed by a computer, is then used to estimate the Wobbe index or the HHV. This type of apparatus makes it possible to obtain accuracy of up to 1% for natural gases of the kind distributed in Europe. The advantages of this type of technology are speed of response (instantaneous), cost (in the range €10,000-€20,000), robustness, and reduced maintenance. Nevertheless, the apparatuses on the market do not operate with mixtures of natural gas and dihydrogen. Once a real natural gas (not comprising pure methane) includes dihydrogen present at a few percent by volume, error increases dramatically.
The state of the prior art includes Document EP 1 346 215, which describes apparatus for measuring the Wobbe index by correlation.
Also known is Document U.S. Pat. No. 4,384,792, which describes apparatus for measuring and regulating the Wobbe index of a gas fuel by correlations, and regulating the Wobbe index.
Also known is Document U.S. Pat. No. 6,244,097, which discloses an apparatus for measuring the heating value of a gas fuel by correlations.
Finally, known Document DE 4 118 781 discloses an apparatus for measuring the heating value and the Wobbe index of a gas fuel by correlations.
The solutions disclosed in those documents present the drawbacks of correlation apparatuses. In particular, they are not suitable for use once the fuel gas under study includes dihydrogen, since their accuracy is too low.
Furthermore, and as mentioned above, other apparatuses that are capable of operating with mixtures of natural gas and dihydrogen are particularly expensive, which limits their applications to high-power equipment of the kind that might be installed in major industrial groups.
The invention seeks in particular to mitigate at least some of those drawbacks.

Method for estimating a combustion characteristic of a gas that may contain dihydrogen

Abstract: Ξ      GN          H                                      2      using an empirical affine relationship of

Abstract: Ξ          GN              H                                                  2              =      α    +          β      ·      Y        +          γ      ·                        X                      H            2                          .            Here, α, β, and γ are coefficients predetermined for the family of fuel gases, and Y is a variable representative of physical properties of the fuel gas prepared from the measurements of the at least two flow properties of the fuel gas.


This present invention relates to an electronic cigarette case comprising a cigarette case body (1). The cigarette case body (1) includes an accommodation structure (2). A first accommodation region configured for holding an electronic cigarette (100) is formed in the accommodation structure (2). A second accommodation region is formed between the outer surface of the accommodation structure (2) and the inner surface of the cigarette case body (1) and the second accommodation region is configured for receiving paper documents, especially an electronic cigarette operating instruction. The instruction can be taken out and inserted into the electronic cigarette case easily, and it is convenient for users to use. Furthermore, in assembly, the instruction can be directly inserted into the electronic cigarette case, which brings great convenience for the production and improves the production efficiency.

At present, more and more persons like to use electronic cigarettes as the substitute of real cigarettes. The reason is that the electronic cigarettes have the same appearances as cigarettes and taste similar to cigarettes, and thus can meet tobacco addictions of smokers without changing their habitual behaviors.
Similar to cigarettes, an electronic cigarette is generally equipped with an electronic cigarette case configured for accommodating the electronic cigarette, and is further equipped with an electronic cigarette operating instruction. In the prior art, the electronic cigarette operating instruction is usually rolled up and received in the same space of the electronic cigarette case together with the electronic cigarette. When the instruction needs to be taken out, it must be taken out together with the electronic cigarette. Thus, the instruction may wrinkle and be inconvenient for users to read. Furthermore, it is also difficult to persist the instruction for use at any time or put the instruction back to the electronic cigarette case. Additionally, when the electronic cigarette case is produced, the assembly work is complicated, and the production efficiency is decreased.


Concepts and technologies are disclosed herein for a topology aware load balancing engine. A processor that executes a load balancing engine can receive a request for a load balancing plan for an application. The processor can obtain network topology data that describes elements of a data center and links associated with the elements. The processor can obtain an application flow graph associated with the application and create a load balancing plan to use in balancing traffic associated with the application. The processor can create the load balancing plan to use in balancing traffic associated with the application and distribute commands to the data center to balance traffic over the links.

A recent move in networking has been to the use of cloud technologies. According to some cloud technologies, virtualization of certain types of network functionality such as applications, services, and the like, is used to replace traditional hardware and software. In some virtualized networks, commercial-off-the-shelf ("COTS") hardware can be used to host virtual machines that can execute software to provide functionality associated with certain applications or services. Thus, specialized hardware and software can be replaced by generic hardware that can execute specialized software modules.
One advantage of cloud technologies over traditional networking technologies is the ability to elastically increase and/or decrease capacity based upon demand. Because hardware does not have to be deployed to meet demand spikes and/or to reduce capacity when demand dips, the cloud technologies can allow nearly instantaneous changes in capacity. Additionally, redundancy may be used to increase the reliability of services. Because hardware does not have to be deployed to provide redundancy, multiple versions of the same virtual machine may operate on other hardware at any given time.
Because of the shifts in demand and/or redundancy requirements, several instances of virtual machines may run at any given time. Thus, if one virtual machine fails or is compromised, the overall service may not be impacted. One downside, however, is that requests may be routed to a virtual machine without regard to various considerations such as location, cost, etc. Furthermore, providing several instances of virtual machines may increase complexity needed to place and/or control applications and/or to route traffic associated with applications because multiple instances of a particular virtual machine may exist at any given time.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


An electromagnetic pickup for a stringed musical instrument incorporating a magnetic structure placed between two elongated collinear coils of opposing polarity. The magnetic structure includes a number of ferromagnetic polepieces that extend through the collinear coils and two ferromagnetic moderator bars adjacent to and on opposite sides of the polepieces (within the area between the two coils) that are charged with one polarity by high coercive permanent magnets attached to the outer surface of the moderator bars.

The traditional single coil magnetic pickup for stringed musical instruments as originally designed and offered by Fender Musical Instruments Corp. consists of a coil form with alnico magnets as its core that is wound with numerous turns of copper wire. This design set the standard for reproducing what is commonly known and recognized today as the Fender sound. Inherent to this original work are certain design choices that have been well documented and in some cases addressed to various degrees by other pickup designs. To some degree, many early pickup designs have been susceptibility to external electromagnetic radiation and the magnetic interference with the natural vibrations of the strings.
To address the electromagnetic interference, hum canceling coils, also known as humbucking coils, have been used in pickup designs. Hum canceling coils have been known since 1825 when Leopoldo Nobili invented the astatic galvanometer; where it is stated: "Two identical coils of N turns are connected in series, in such a way, that the current passes through them in opposite senses to neutralize external magnetic fields". Collinear coil assemblies for electrical musical instruments have been known since the mid 1930s, with U.S. Pat. No. 2,119,584 most likely representing the first such patent. Many early pickup designs, due to the extremely small market demand at the time, were never patented.
Magnetic pickups of various designs have been used in the sound reproduction of stringed musical instruments since 1930. They are generally placed directly under the strings between the bridge and the end of the fingerboard of the instrument. In simplest terms, the electromagnetic pickup in combination with the vibrating string represents a multi-frequency voltage generator. Magnetic pickups are an important component in what makes up the sound characteristics of a given amplified electric stringed musical instrument. Certain companies that manufacture these instruments have developed magnetic pickups that have contributed to what has become known over time as their signature sound. The acknowledgement of this sound signature has to be considered in the design of any new instrument and its component parts including the design of the pickup.
Based on changes that had taken place in musical instrument amplification (for example, digital sound recording equipment; computer interface for stringed musical instruments; changes in playing techniques and styles of music), Fender requested, in 1996, the development of a high performance electromagnetic pickup.
The pickup had to meet the following demands: (1) to not exceed the dimensions of Fender's traditional single coil pickups; (2) to generate a higher output voltage than their traditional single coil pickups; (3) to reproduce the legendary signature sound of their traditional single coil pickups; (4) to increase sensitivity to minute amplification adjustments allowing the player to select from a wider tonal variety; (5) to reduce the magnetic force directed towards the strings so as to minimize magnetic interference with the vibrating strings; (6) to neutralize the interference of external electromagnetic radiation; and (7) to be manufactured cost effectively.
These demands presented several major problems. To increase the output requires either stronger permanent magnets or more turns of wire. Stronger permanent magnets, due to their high coercive force, have negative solenoidal qualities. When placed close to the core of a solenoid they will cause magnetic saturation of the core resulting in a dramatic loss of their relative permeability and in addition will cause a strong magnetic interference with the vibrating string. More turns of wire would not only increase the impedance, resulting in a shift to undesired frequencies, but would also require a larger coil dimension. It was also important to consider that a vibrating string does not produce a pure tone that can be explained with the single curve of a sine wave. The tone of a vibrating string consists of several different sine waves, resulting in a complex waveform that can be found by adding the ordinates of all its component sine waves. This complex waveform represents the Fourier spectrum of a tone, which musicians simply call the "signature sound". The Fourier spectrum depends partially on the position of a pickup in relation to the bridge of the instrument and the position, angle, and force of the attack. However, the most important factor is that the signal generated above the coil is in-phase with the signal generated at the sides of the coil.
A need exists to eliminate the negative functions of magnetic structures used in collinear coil assemblies.

Advanced magnetic circuit to improve both the solenoidal and magnetic functions of string instrument pickups with co-linear coil assemblies


A sampling adaptor suitable for use in a unilimb breathing system with three or more hoses that includes a breathing hose connector, a swivel to allow the breathing hose connector to rotate freely in relation to the remainder of the adaptor, an angular swivel to allow adjustment of the angular shape of the adaptor, a filter that encloses the sampling end of a flexible sampling hose, a patient end connector, is disclosed herein.

The sampling of expired gases from breathing circuits in anesthesia is a well-known practice. It is desirable that the sample be taken as closely as possible to the patient's mouth piece. This helps to minimize mixing of the exhaled gases with inspired gases. It is also desirable to minimize the number of hoses that run from the patient to the respiratory machine. A reduction in the number of hoses that run to the patient, produces a corresponding reduction in the likelihood of having hoses become tangled or obstructed by torquing of the hoses.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,856,051 to Bane discloses a double lumen unilimb device where the inspired and expired air are contained within one limb that has an inner and outer hose. This design reduces the number of external hoses between the patient and the machinery from three tubes to two tubes if a sampling line is utilized and from four tubes to three tubes if a temperature probe or heater is also utilized. A unilimb design for respiratory hoses lowers heat loss to the patient. The reduction of heat loss occurs due to heat transfer between the exhaled and inhaled gases through the walls of the hoses in the unilimb. The unilimb design also reduces heat loss from heated inspired air because of the shielding by the warm outer expiratory tube.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,838,258 to Dryden et al. discloses a hose arrangement that includes a sampling hose contained inside one of two single lumen respiratory hoses. The other respiratory hose runs to the respirator as a single hose.
While the prior art has utilized double lumen unilimb hoses, several single-lumen hoses are still required with such unilimb hoses. Therefore, there remains a need to further reduce the number of lines between the patient and machine and to reduce the possibility of tangling and torquing of the breathing hoses. This may be accomplished according to my invention by providing a unilimb device that carries all of the required hoses or lines to the patient, the inspiratory gas hose, the expiratory gas hose, the sampling hose and any other required hoses or lines.
It is well-known that water vapor condensate interferes with analysis of gas samples that are taken from gas sampling hoses. The problem is created by the cooling of the moist exhaled gases from the patient, which causes water vapor to condense. Various types of water traps have been utilized to reduce the amount of condensate that reaches the gas analyzers. U.S. Pat. No. 4,717,403 to Choksi is an example of liquid traps utilized to prevent liquid condensation collection in gas analyzers. This device uses a separation chamber to separate the gas from the liquid. A liquid trap is an additional device to be placed in line prior to the gas analyzer to provide protection if an analyzer is to be utilized. Many liquid traps are not fully effective in preventing condensation from reaching gas analyzers. Provision must also be made for the emptying of condensate, for the trap to retain its effectiveness.
The patient on a respirator loses water as well as heat. I have determined that a device able to transfer the humidity from the expired air to the inspired air would reduce this moisture loss and decrease the problem of condensation from exhaled gases. The inspired air would also require less moisture to be added prior to inhalation by the patient and, therefore, less processing. A combination heat and humidity exchange device present in the patient end of the respiratory apparatus would be ideal for the patient and healthcare professional. Such a device that is able to separate gases from liquid condensate, and that also functions to exchange heat and moisture from expired air to the inspired air, and which is also part of the gas sampling device, is needed due to distinct advantages in terms of efficiency and simplicity of use. Such a device would reduce the need to heat and humidify inspired air and reduce the problems of handling collected condensates from the expired gas.
Mucus plugs are commonly encountered in respiratory devices, and frequently clog smaller hoses such as gas sampling hoses. These mucus plugs must be removed from the hose in order to obtain readings of gas composition from the sampling hose. I believe it is desirable to protect the sampling hose by preventing mucus from reaching it and thereby reduce the problems of mucus clogged hoses.
It would also be helpful to have a temperature sensor to measure the temperature of inspired gases after heat transfer from exhaled gases in the unilimb hose and heat transfer from the heat and moisture exchange media, to determine the degree of warming required for the inspired gases. The temperature may be determined by the use of a temperature probe in the region where the inhaled and exhaled gases mix.
Special connectors are desirable to incorporate my improvements and to allow compatibility with standard 15 and 22 mm respiratory connectors. Hoses for a unilimb breathing system may become twisted by torquing of the hose between the patient and machine. Therefore swivels which allow the remainder of the device to remain stationary while the hose connectors are free to rotate are helpful in order to eliminate torquing and to retain unobstructed airways. U.S. Pat. No. 4,967,744 to Chua utilizes one swivel in a swivel patient connector. While a single swivel allows rotation of the patient breathing device (mask, endotracheal tube) relative to the patient connector, the flexible breathing hose may still undergo torquing and may become obstructed unless, and according to one feature of my invention, at least one swivel and preferably two swivels are located in the patient adaptor (patient connector), one at each end, and at least one swivel is located on the machine end adaptor. These additional swivels according to my invention allow each end of the flexible breathing hose to rotate. The flexible breathing hose may rotate at the patient breathing device, the sampling adaptor or at the machine adaptor to prevent hose torquing.
In patient treatment, utilizing a breathing system, it is often necessary to vary the orientation of the patient end of the adaptor based on the relative position of the patient and the breathing means. In some instances, a 90.degree. elbow may be required between the adaptor and the breathing means (patient breathing mask or endotracheal tube), and in other instances, a straight connection is required. A patient end adaptor that is variable from a straight orientation to that of a 90.degree. bend is an improvement that I have incorporated to optimize the patient end adaptor orientation for each patient's use and to simplify installation of the apparatus because extra elbows or adaptors are no longer required.


A platform for playing blackjack is used to implement a method of playing blackjack with a side wager. Each playing position on the platform has a side bet betting area having a first card betting area and a second card betting area. A player places an optional additional bet in the first card betting area or the second card betting area associated with the player's playing position. Each player is dealt two cards. If the player's first card ranks higher than the player's second card and the player placed a bet in the first card betting area, the player wins. If the player's second card ranks higher than the player's first card and the player placed a bet in the second card betting area, the player wins. The game continues to completion according to the traditional rules of blackjack.

Blackjack is a popular game. The rules of blackjack are well known. It can be played in public arenas such as gambling casinos. It can also be played privately among a group of friends.
Blackjack is an entertaining game. Individual players are attracted to it because of the possibility of gambling winnings. Businesses are attracted to it because it can be a source of income. Its rules are easy to learn.
One of the problems with blackjack is that it can become boring and monotonous to players. It can also be viewed by gambling casinos as providing insufficient profit.
What is needed is a variation in the method of playing blackjack, as well as an apparatus for carrying out the this method, having the following features. The modified game would be simple to learn, understand and play. It would be interesting and entertaining. It would encourage increased betting by players by increasing the potential winnings of players. It would increase profits to the house by creating increased betting activity. The house advantage resulting from the variation would be a reasonable advantage from the perspective of a player, as well as from the perspective of the house. The house advantage would not be so great that it would discourage player participation. On the other hand, the house advantage would be sufficient to produce a reasonable profit for the house.

Method and apparatus for playing blackjack with a side wager


A smart ring includes a curved housing having a U-shape interior storing components including: a curved battery approximately conforming to the curved housing, a semi-flexible PCB approximately conforming to the curved housing and having mounted thereon: a motion sensor for generating motion data from physical perturbations of the smart ring, a memory for storing executable instructions, a transceiver for sending data to a client computer, a temperature sensor, and a processor for receiving motion data and performing executable instructions in response thereto, and a potting material disposed in the interior, forming an interior wall of the smart ring, wherein the potting material encapsulates the components and is substantially transparent to visible light, infrared light, and/or ultraviolet light.

Wearable electronics are an emerging technology with many applications for the wearer. They can improve lifestyles, ease access to technology and help monitor activity within the wearer's body. However, many current wearable electronics are bulky and can be intrusive or interfere with a person's daily life. In this regard, the wearer may not be comfortable wearing the device for extended periods of time.


This invention presents a multimode xDSL line card adaptive activation method, comprising the following steps: A) A master controller is installed and configured with multiple templates based on the modes of operation supported by a line card, and forwards templates to said line card; B) The line card receives templates forwarded by the master controller and activates the line card communications chip; C) The communications chip communicates with the remote CPE and decides on a mode of operation according to a handshake protocol; D) The line card employs a corresponding template according to the mode of operation chosen in Step C, and practices circuit activation with the CPE. This invention solves the existing problems in current multimode xDSL technology of poor compatibility and inability to adapt effectively.

This invention involves a type of xDSL adaptive mode activation technology, particularly referring to a type of multimode xDSL line card adaptive activation method and its system.
xDSL technology is a type of high speed data transmission technology over telephone twisted pair (Unshielded Twisted Pair) cable. Apart from IDSL, SHDSL and other baseband transmission DSL, bandpass transmitted xDSL utilize frequency division multiplexing technology allowing xDSL and plain old telephone services (POTS) to share the same twisted pair. xDSL occupies high frequencies while POTS occupies the baseband portion below 4 KHz; the POTS signal and xDSL signal are separated using a splitter. Bandpass transmitted xDSL uses discrete multitone (DMT) transmission.
Systems which offer multiple circuit xDSL access are called a DSL access multiplexer (DSLAM); its system reference model is shown in FIG. 1.
Current xDSL has become a group of standards including a variety of technical standards providing different access speeds, scopes of coverage and target applications. Moreover, the same standard often has different appendices set up for different areas of application requirement. Furthermore, xDSL technology has developed rapidly, from the use of ADSL to the rise of ADSL2+, all the way to the mature commercial application of VDSL2 technology. This has resulted in the emergence of an era where ADSL, ADSL2+ and VDSL2 all coexist among local end equipment. However, existing ADSL and ADSL2+ remote CPE (Customer Premises Equipment) may still need to be used. Due to the vast differences between ADSL, ADSL2+ and VDSL2 technology, not just in terms of speed (the maximum download speed of ADSL is 8M, ADSL2+ is 24M and VDSL can reach speeds close to 100M), but also in terms of certain characteristic parameters, such as PSD Shaping (Power Spectrum Density Shaping), Notch, etc., in order to successfully implement the coexistence of multimode xDSL equipment, new office end equipment must be compatible with old modes, i.e. able to support a variety of xDSL modes.
In view of the aforementioned circumstances, during application of the existing technology, situations will occur where a VDSL2 line card is used to activate a remote end ADSL/ADSL2+ CPE. Although the line card is compatible with ADSL/ADSL2+ and other standards, because the line card end does not know what type of remote CPE is being used and the forwarded template is merely a general purpose VDSL2 template, this will render the activated CPE useless, thereby having a significantly negative effect on the performance of services.

Multimode xDSL line card adaptive activation method and its system


A package fastening clip having enhanced security of engagement with packaging materials by the provision of at least three material engaging legs, one of which cooperates with a latch member to secure the clip in assembled position.

This invention relates to fastener clips for product packaging. In particular, this invention is an improvement over the clip shown and described in Khachadourian et al U.S. Pat. No. 6,412,153, owned in common with the invention described here and hereby incorporated by reference into this disclosure.
As the prior art clip has been widely and successfully used, the size and weight of electronic systems packaged using such clips has increased. That increase in loading, together with experience with rough handling of the packaged products in shipment, has demonstrated that in some circumstances a clip may be twisted in place or impacted or pried and become loose in its engagement with the packaging or unlatched. Such disruption of assembly of the packaging is undesirable as potentially exposing the packaged product to access.

Security improvement for package fastening clips

International Business Machines Corporation


A glove dispenser including a glove dispensing housing. Further provided is a plurality of rods extending between side faces of the housing. A pair of gloves are releasably coupled adjacent an opening thereof between each rod. Finally, a dispensing mechanism is situated within the housing for allowing the dispensing of the gloves.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a glove dispenser and more particularly pertains to automatically dispensing a plurality of gloves with a self-powered glove dispenser.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of glove dispensers is known in the prior art. More specifically, glove dispensers heretofore devised and utilized for the purpose of dispensing gloves are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
By way of example, the prior art includes U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,413 to McCutcheon; U.S. Pat. No. 4,951,815 to Ulbrich; U.S. Pat. Des. No. 299,686 to Jonas et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,844,293 McLaughlin; U.S. Pat. No. 4,773,532 to Stephenson; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,620 to Kelliher et al.
In this respect, the glove dispenser according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of automatically dispensing a plurality of gloves with a self-powered glove dispenser.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for a new and improved glove dispenser which can be used for automatically dispensing a plurality of gloves with a self-powered glove dispenser. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.


A fuel vapor treatment device for suppressing emission of fuel vapor from a fuel tank or the like of an automotive vehicle. The fuel vapor treatment device comprises a casing having a charge port connected to a fuel tank, a purge port connected to an intake section of an engine, and an atmospheric air port through which atmospheric air is introduced. Fuel vapor adsorbing material is filled in the casing. Additionally, an adsorbing material cartridge is disposed in a part of the casing and includes a cylindrical cartridge main body section having a cross-sectional area smaller than that of the casing. Fuel vapor adsorbing material is filled in the cartridge main body section. Air introduced from the atmospheric air port is flowable through the inside of the cartridge main body section to the fuel vapor adsorbing material in the casing.

The fuel vapor treatment device of this type is disclosed in Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 2002-30998 and will be discussed with reference to FIG. 18. The fuel vapor treatment device includes a casing 1 which has a charge port 3 connected to a fuel tank 2, a purge port 3 connected to an intake manifold 5 of an engine 4, and an atmospheric air port communicated with atmospheric air. During stopping of the engine, gas containing fuel vapor (fuel component) is introduced from the charge port 3 into the casing. Fuel vapor adsorbing material 8 such as activated carbon is filled in the casing 1 so as to adsorb or remove fuel vapor in the gas. The gas from which fuel vapor has been removed is released through the atmospheric air port 7 to atmospheric air. When the engine is operated from the above condition, fuel vapor in the fuel vapor adsorbing material 8 is sucked through the purge port 6 into the intake side of the engine to be combusted in the engine. At this time, the fuel vapor in the fuel vapor adsorbing material 8 is purged under the action of atmospheric air introduced through the atmospheric air port 7.
The inside of the casing 1 is divided by a partition wall 9 into a first charging chamber 10 communicated with the charge port 3 and the purge port 6 and a second charging chamber 11 communicated with the atmospheric air port 7. The end sections of the first and second charging chambers 10, 11 are communicated with each other through a communication passage 12 thereby forming a generally U-shaped gas passage within the casing 1. The first charging chamber 10 is defined by oppositely disposed filters 13, 14 and filled with the fuel vapor adsorbing material 8. The second charging chamber 11 is defined by oppositely disposed filters 15, 17, and further divided into two chambers by a filter 16 disposed between the filters 15, 17. The two chambers in the second charging chamber 11 are filled with the fuel vapor adsorbing material 8. Accordingly, fuel vapor introduced through the charge port 3 into the casing 1 is mainly adsorbed by the fuel vapor adsorbing material 8 in the first charging chamber 10, and then the remaining part of the fuel vapor is introduced through the communication passage 12 to the fuel vapor adsorbing material 8 within the second charging chamber 11 to be adsorbed by the fuel vapor adsorbing material 8.
Such a conventional fuel vapor treatment device is provided for the purpose of reducing emission of fuel vapor in the fuel tank into atmospheric air. However, in the recent years, a regulation for emission control of fuel vapor to atmospheric air has become more strict, and therefore it has been required to further lower the emission amount of fuel vapor to atmospheric air. In this regard, it has been known that it is effective to increase a ratio (L/D value) of the length (L) of a layer of the fuel vapor adsorbing material to the diameter (D) of an effective cross-sectional area of the layer in order to reduce emission of fuel vapor to atmospheric air. In this regard, study has been made to increase the L/D value.
In the above conventional fuel vapor treatment device, increasing the L/D value is taken into consideration; however, in order to sufficiently increase the L/D value, a new design for the whole casing of the fuel vapor treatment device is necessary thereby unavoidably increasing a production cost of the fuel vapor treatment device.
Additionally, there is now a requirement of separately producing a plurality of fuel vapor treatment devices which have different specifications to provide different L/D values. To meet this requirement, it is necessary to prepare a plurality of production equipments for separately produce a plurality of different casings, thereby providing the fear of lowering the production efficiency of the fuel vapor treatment devices.


The transfer case reduction gearset is often never used for its original intended function, that is, to provide an additional speed reduction (torque amplification) ratio for the powertrain. This concept allows for the increased use of the transfer case gearset components to work in concert with the automatic transmission to increase its ratio spread. This increase in ratio spread will result in improved launch performance for the vehicle by steepening the effective first gear ratio of the automatic transmission. The increase in ratio spread may also provide for reductions in numerical axle ratio of the vehicle thereby improving the fuel economy during normal highway operation. The present invention focuses on a method of shifting the transmission of the vehicle in accordance with the invention which includes providing a transmission connected to a vehicle engine having a predetermined number of gear ratios which are selectable.

Transfer cases are a common method of transferring power to more than one set of wheels in a motor vehicle. Devices such as transfer cases often have the ability to operate at more than one gear ratio. Typically a 1:1 gear ratio is used, and less often a reduced gear ratio, which can range from 1.5:1 to 4:1, is also used to generate more torque. For the transfer case to provide a transfer of power to more than one set of wheels in the vehicle, it is common practice for various types of synchronizers to be used to engage the gears in the transfer case providing the different gear ratios. These synchronizers can provide a smooth power transition with minimal effort.
Because typical driving conditions do not mandate the use of the reduced speed, high-torque gearset in the transfer case, most owners of vehicle equipped with four-wheel-drive do not ever use this function of the transfer case.

Transfer case with torque synchronizer clutching


An electrode on a main surface of a module board, to which an emitter electrode of a semiconductor chip which includes a switching element of a power supply control circuit that supplies a power supply voltage to amplifier circuit parts of a power module of a digital cellular phone, is electrically connected to a wiring in an internal layer of the module board through a plurality of via holes. Further, the wiring is electrically connected to an electrode for the supply of the power supply voltage, which is provided on a back surface of the module board. Accordingly, an output characteristic of the semiconductor device is improved.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device technique, and, more particularly, to a technique that is effective for application to an RF (Radio Frequency) power module.
An RF power module is an electronic part for signal amplification, which is used in a communication device, such as, for example, a cellular phone or the like. The RF power module includes an amplifier circuit for signal amplification and a power supply or source control circuit, which supplies a desired power supply voltage to the amplifier circuit. A switching element of the power supply control circuit selects between a supply and non-supply of the desired power supply voltage to the amplifier circuit. The switching element comprises, for example, a bipolar transistor or MOS·FET (Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor). The semiconductor chip in which the switching element is formed is packaged separately from the semiconductor chip that constitutes the amplifier circuit. The semiconductor chip is mounted on a printed circuit board equipped with the power module.
Incidentally, a high-frequency power amplifier device having a plurality of amplification systems, and a multiband communication type wireless communication device having the high-frequency power amplifier device, have been disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-111415 (see Patent Document 1).
Patent Document 1
                Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-111415


Adjusting a cursor speed may include a sensor with at least one capacitance sense electrode, a controller in communication with the sensor, memory in communication with the controller, and programmed instructions stored in the memory and configured, when executed, to cause the capacitance controller to detect movement of an object moving proximate the sensor at an object speed, apply a cursor speed to a cursor depicted in a display based at least in part on a cursor-to-object speed relationship, detect a trigger event in the detected object movement, and change the cursor-to-object speed relationship in response to detecting the trigger event.

A touch pad is often incorporated into laptops and other devices to provide a mechanism for giving inputs to the device. For example, a touch pad may be positioned adjacent to a keyboard in a laptop and include a surface that can be touched by the user. Touch pads may operate using capacitive sensing, a technology that senses the change of capacitance where a finger touches the pad. In some examples, the moving a finger, stylus, or another type of object adjacent or on the touch pad may cause a cursor to move on a display in communication with the touch pad.
An example of a touch pad is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,400,318 issued to George Gerpheide, et al. This reference discloses a touch pad and measurement circuitry for enabling input to a computer or other electronic device. The system includes an X electrode, a Y electrode, a common sensing electrode, and a "water" electrode, wherein these four separate electrodes can be implemented in various physical configurations to obtain the desired effects, wherein moisture and water droplets can be identified and compensated for so as not to interfere with the input of data, wherein noise rejection is achieved by using a time aperture filtering method, wherein an improved scanning technique focuses scanning around an identified input object, wherein an adaptive motion filter responds to the speed and acceleration of an object being tracked, and wherein the measurement circuitry has an increased dynamic range enabling the touch pad to operate with greater tolerances to manufacturing variances. This reference is herein incorporated by reference for all that it contains.


A lateral junction field effect transistor includes a first gate electrode layer arranged in a third semiconductor layer between source/drain region layers, having a lower surface extending on the second semiconductor layer, and doped with p-type impurities more heavily than the second semiconductor layer, and a second gate electrode layer arranged in a fifth semiconductor layer between the source/drain region layers, having a lower surface extending on a fourth semiconductor layer, having substantially the same concentration of p-type impurities as the first gate electrode layer, and having the same potential as the first gate electrode layer. Thereby, the lateral junction field effect transistor has a structure, which can reduce an on-resistance while maintaining good breakdown voltage properties.

In a lateral junction field effect transistor, which may also be referred to as a "lateral JFET" hereinafter, a gate electrode applies a reverse bias voltage to a pn junction located on a side of a channel region, through which carriers pass, so that a depletion layer stretches from the pn junction into the channel region. Thereby, a conductance of the channel region is controlled to perform operations such as switching. Particularly, the lateral JFET is configured to move the carriers parallel to an element surface in the channel region.
The carriers in the channel may be either electrons (n-type) or holes (p-type). However, the JFET having a semiconductor substrate made of SiC usually employs a channel region formed of an n-type impurity region in many cases. For the sake of illustration, therefore, it is assumed in the following description that carriers in a channel are electrons, and thus a channel region is formed of an n-type impurity region. Naturally, the channel region may be formed of a p-type impurity region.
FIG. 72 is a cross section showing a conventional lateral JFET (U.S. Pat. No. 5,264,713, "Junction Field Effect Transistor in Silicon Carbide"). A p+-type epitaxial layer 112 is arranged on an n-type SiC substrate 110, and an n−-type channel layer 114 is arranged on epitaxial layer 112. On one and the other portions of channel layer 114 located on opposite sides of a trench 124, an n+-type source region 116 and an n+-type drain region 118 are arranged, respectively. Source and drain electrodes 120 and 122 are arranged on source and drain regions 116 and 118, respectively. A gate contact layer 130 is formed on a rear surface of SiC substrate 110, and a gate electrode (not shown) is arranged on gate contact layer 130. Trench 124 located between source/drain regions 116 and 118 extends into channel layer 114. A channel C is formed in a portion of epitaxial layer 114 of a second conductivity type located between trench 124 and epitaxial layer 112 of the first conductivity type.
Epitaxial layer 112 is doped with p-type impurities more heavily than epitaxial layer 114 including the channel and doped with n-type impurities, and therefore is configured such that the reverse bias voltage applied to the junction portion enlarges the depletion layer toward the channel. When the depletion layer fills the channel, a current cannot pass through the channel so that an off state is attained. Therefore, a magnitude of the reverse bias voltage can be controlled to fill the channel region with the depletion layer filling, and not to fill it. Thereby, by controlling, e.g., the reverse bias voltage between the gate and source, it is possible to control on/off of the current.
Further, "Theory of Semiconductor Superjunction Devices" (Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. Vol. 36 (1997) Part 1, No. 10. October 1997, pp. 6254-6262) theoretically describes as follows. A structure (superimposed junction structure) including p- and n-type semiconductor layers superimposed together is employed between a channel and a drain of an MOS field effect transistor so that distribution of a voltage applied to a drain in the off state may be similar to that of a parallel plane plate capacitor. Thereby, it is possible to improve a breakdown voltage of an element, and at the same time, it is possible to suppress increase of an on-resistance of the element, or to lower the on-resistance.
In the lateral JFET having the foregoing structures, however, it has been required to lower the on-resistance as one of factors for improving characteristics. Particularly, it is strongly desired in the lateral JFET of the normally-off type to lower the on-resistance.
In the structure shown in FIG. 72, however, if a space between the top of p+-type epitaxial layer 112 and the bottom of gate contact layer 130 is increased in expectation of lowering of the on-resistance, this increases an absolute value of the gate voltage required for turn-off. Therefore, the above space can be increased only to a limited extent, and the on-resistance can be lowered only to a limited extent.
In the normally-off type, the space must be smaller than a space for the depletion layer extended by a diffused potential in a junction between channel layer 114 and gate contact layer 130, and therefore can be increased only to a limited extent so that the on-resistance can be lowered only to a limited extent.

Lateral junction field effect transistor and method of manufacturing the same


Optically active lactones are described, such as an intermediate lactone having the formula ##STR1## where R and R.sup.2 are each independently alkyl with 1 to 6 carbon atoms, cycloalkyl with 6 to 10 carbon atoms, aryl with 6 to 10 carbon atoms, or arylalkyl with 7 to 19 carbon atoms, R.sup.4 is H or C.sub.1-6 alkyl, and Ar is a homo- or heteroaromatic ring with 5 or 6 ring atoms being optionally substituted by C.sub.1-6 alkyl or alkoxy groups, halogen atoms, cyano or nitro groups. Such optically active, intermediate lactones are prepared from L-aspartic acid, and can be readily converted to (+)-pilocarpine and its analogues by hydrolysis, reduction, and hydrogenation, such as to an optically active lactone having the formula ##STR2## which is (+)-pilocarpine when R is ethyl, R.sup.4 is H, and Ar is 1-methylimidazol-5-yl.

(+)-Pilocarpine, the most important imidazole alkaloid, has been for many years the focus of much attention because of its extensive pharmacological properties. These include diaphoretic effects, stimulation of the parasympathetic system, miotic action, and particularly applications in ophthalmology. Pilocarpine is currently the drug of choice for treatment of narrow and wide angle glaucoma because it decreases the intraocular pressure and can be administered for long periods without side effects. Pilocarpine along with its epimer isopilocarpine was first isolated in 1875 from various species of Pilocarpus plants belonging to the Rutaceae family. The structure and stereochemistry of this alkaloid, proposed in 1900, was later confirmed in degradation studies, X-ray analysis, and several syntheses.
Earlier syntheses of (+)-pilocarpine were based on the formation of the lactone ring at an early stage followed by various group transformation and construction of the imidazole ring in the final stages. These syntheses suffered from the burden of many steps, low yields, lack of stereoselectivity, and mixtures of N-methylimidazole regiosiomers. A later approach to (+)-pilocarpine was based on using a preformed imidazole nucleus and building the lactone at a subsequent stage. However, the reported yield was less than 1%. Link, Helv. Chim. Acta 55, 1053 (1972). More recently a synthesis of (+)-pilocarpine starting with L-histidine was reported. Noordam, Rec. J.R. Neth. Chem. Soc., 100, 441 (1981). This synthesis is based on regioselective methylation of L-histidine, alkylation of the a-carbon with an ethyl malonate, and decarboxylation and formation of the lactone. In this last route the alkylation and decarboxylation steps occurred with limited stereochemical control, resulting in a mixture of diastereoisomeric products.
A chirospecific synthesis of (+)-pilocarpine using D-methionine or D-2-aminobutanol as chiral educt has been reported. Compagnone and Rapoport, J. Org. Chem., 51:10, 1713 (1986). However, the yield is reduced because (+)-pilocarpine is obtained through epimerization of (+)-isopilocarpine, and the epimer mixture must be separated.
J. Wolf and H. Rapoport describe the synthesis of certain dipeptide analogues starting from L-aspartic acid in the Journal of Organic Chemistry, 54, 3164-3173 (1989). However, the compound they describe as compound 28 (which is of interest for the present invention) gave the desired diastereomer in a ratio of 3.5:1 (with a yield of 78%) and included several impurities that had to be separated. Such a diastereomer ratio is impractically low for use in a commercially acceptable synthesis towards (+)-pilocarpine or its analogues.
An analogue of (+)-pilocarpine, (2)-3-ethyl-4-[(1-methyl-1H-imidazol-5-yl)methyl]-2-oxazolidinone, is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,977,172, issued Dec. 11, 1990, which describes use of said pilocarpine analogue for treating the symptoms of cognitive decline in an elderly patient (e.g. Alzheimer's disease). This analogue is not formed from an L-aspartic acid precursor.

Synthesis of optically active lactones from L-aspartic acid and intermediates thereof


A staple sorter which distributes sheets ejected from a copying machine into a plurality of bins and staples stacks of sheets in the bins by use of a staple unit. The bins are vertically movable pitch by pitch, and a large-capacity tray is provided above the bins. A sheet conveyer gate which has rollers, is vertically movable between the bins and the tray. When the sheet conveyer gate is in a lowered position, the rollers take a stapled stack of sheets out of a bin. Then, the sheet conveyer gate is raised and takes the stack of sheets into the large-capacity tray.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a finisher, and more particularly to a finisher which stacks sheets ejected from a copying machine or a printer and performs a process such as stapling and binding toward the stacked sheets.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine and a laser printer is provided with a finisher which sorts image-formed sheets and staples the sheets. A well-known type of this kind of finisher is one disclosed by Japanese Patent Publication No. 5-37315, wherein sheets are stacked and stapled on an inclined tray, and the lower part of the tray is opened to drop the stapled stack of sheets into a stack section under the tray. However, dropping the stapled stack of sheets into the stack section makes a noise, thereby affecting the office environment.
On the other hand, Japanese Patent Publication No. 4-66786 disclosed a sorter, wherein a stack bin is provided above a plurality of sort bins, and stacks of sheets are conveyed from the sort bins to the stack bin. This sorter does not make a noise when a stack of sheets is conveyed into the stack bin.
However, in this sorter, since sheet stack conveying means for conveying a stack of sheets into the stack bin is provided at a rear side of the sort bins, that is, the opposite side of the entrances of the sort bins, a space for the sheet stack conveying means itself and for its movement is necessary, thereby increasing the size of the apparatus.
Also, in the above-mentioned finisher, since the stack section is exclusively used for storing stapled stacks of sheets, a space for the stack section and a space for sheet stack take-out means are necessary, thereby increasing the size of the apparatus.

Finisher with a large-capacity sheet stack section


A cooking appliance and method control the power consumption of a plurality of electrical loads in response to an ambient temperature sensed by a temperature sensor to maintain a combined power consumption within a temperature-dependent output capability of a low voltage power supply used in the cooking appliance.

Cooking appliances such as cooktops and ranges generally rely on a number of user controls for adjusting and controlling the output levels of various burners or cooking elements. Traditionally, many cooking appliances have relied upon rotary user controls such as control knobs, as such user controls have generally found to be relatively simple and efficient to use. For cooking elements that rely on electric power, the user controls are generally coupled to infinite switch arrangements that regulate the switching of bi-metallic switches to control the output levels of the cooking elements, and for cooking elements that rely on gas, the user controls are generally coupled to mechanical valves that vary gas flow to the cooking elements. In both cases, the user controls are effectively mechanical in nature, as mechanical couplings are used between the user controls and the components that regulate the output levels of the cooking elements. Further, simple indicia is often provided on or adjacent the user controls to indicate the on/off state and output level of each associated cooking element, which while decidedly "low tech," is still relatively easy to read and understand by most users.
More recently, some cooking appliances have employed electronic control systems to provide a more modern and full-featured user interface, and some, for example, have utilized touch screen displays and/or buttons to implement "soft" user controls to control the output levels of cooking elements. In some gas cooking appliances, for example, electromechanical valves have been used to regulate gas flow to gas cooking elements, with touch screen display-based user controls used to set desired output levels and software-based control to control the electromechanical valves to provide gas flow suitable for the user-selected output levels.
It has been found, however, these electronic control systems, and in particular, the touch screen display-based user controls often utilized in such systems, can be less intuitive than simple rotary user controls, and can present challenges in terms of enabling users to quickly ascertain the current state and output level of a particular cooking element, as well as to turn cooking elements on or off or to vary their output levels. Moreover, the operating environment within a cooking appliance is often relatively inhospitable for many electronic control systems, particularly for cooking appliances with self-cleaning ovens, as self-clean cycles often heat an oven cavity to a temperature of 500 degrees Celsius or more. Electronic control systems may therefore need to be engineered to withstand higher ambient temperatures that may be present within an appliance housing.

Gas cooking appliance with temperature-based power supply overload protection


A simulation device includes a deformation unit and a calculation unit. The deformation unit deforms a spherical potential region of each of a plurality of particles when a deformable continuum is represented by the plurality of particles into an ellipsoidal potential region based on the amount of deformation of each of the plurality of particles. The calculation unit calculates reaction force between the particles based on the potential region of each of the plurality of particles deformed into the ellipsoidal shape.

As a numerical calculation method of calculating the motion of a continuum, such as a fluid or an elastic body a finite difference method, a finite element method, or a finite volume method has been used which finds the approximate solution of a differential equation based on a numerical mesh. In addition, in recent years, since numerical calculation has been used in the field of application such as computer aided engineering (CAE), the numerical calculation method of calculating the state of the continuum has been developed and the problem of the interaction between a fluid and a structure has been solved. However, in the numerical calculation method using the numerical mesh, when a moving boundary problem, such as the existence of an interface including a free surface or a problem in fluid-structure interaction analysis for analyzing the interaction between a fluid and a structure, occurs, it is difficult to treat the continuum. Therefore, in some cases, it is difficult to create a program.
As the numerical calculation method without using the numerical mesh, there is a particle method. The particle method analyzes the motion of a continuum as the motion of a finite number of particles. A representative particle method which is currently proposed is, for example, a smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method or a moving particle semi-implicit (MPS) method. The particle method can analyze the motion of the continuum without a special measure in the treatment of the moving boundary. Therefore, in recent years, the particle method has been widely used as the numerical calculation method of calculating the motion of the continuum.
In the field of structure analysis, in some cases, the contact between objects, such as the collision between objects, is calculated. Software based on the finite element method, such as LS-DYNA (registered trademark), treats the contact problem from the geometrical shape of a numerical mesh. However, the particle method does not generate the numerical mesh. Therefore, in the calculation of the contact, when another particle enters a sphere with a predetermined radius hs from a particle, the particle method performs the calculation such that reaction force is applied to the particles. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the reaction force calculated by the conventional particle method. In the example illustrated in FIG. 8, a particle 91 is arranged in the radius hs of a particle 90. In the example illustrated in FIG. 8, the particle 90 is arranged in the radius hs of the particle 91. In the example illustrated in FIG. 8, the particle method calculates reaction force 90a applied from the particle 90 to the particle 91. In addition, the particle method calculates reaction force 91a applied from the particle 91 to the particle 90.
The particle method uses the following Equation (1) as a potential function applied to, for example, particles i and j.
                                          φ            ij                                          (                                                                          x                  i                                -                                  x                  j                                                                    )                          =                  {                                                                      c                                                                                log                                                              (                                                                                                                                                        x                              i                                                        -                                                          x                              j                                                                                                                                                          h                          s                                                                    )                                                                                                                                                  x                        i                                            -                                              x                        j                                                                                                  <                                      h                    s                                                                                0                                                                                                                                                  x                        i                                            -                                              x                        j                                                                                                  ≥                                      h                    s                                                                                (        1        )
Herein, xi and xj are the position vectors of the particle i and the particle j, respectively. In addition, c is a constant.
The reaction force applied from the particle j to the particle i by the potential represented by Equation (1) is obtained as
                    -                              ∂                          φ              ij                                            ∂                          x              i                                                          (                  Expression                                                              2                )            and the reaction force applied from the particle i to the particle j by the potential is obtained as
                    -                                            ∂                              φ                ij                                                    ∂                              x                j                                              .                                    (                  Expression                                                              3                )
Another example of the particle method of calculating the contact is a method which calculates a contact point of a closed surface other than the sphere when the contact point of the particle is calculated.
With regard to the conventional technologies, refer to Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2009-26279, for example.
However, the conventional particle method represents the potential region in a spherical shape. Therefore, in the conventional particle method, when the contact problem between deformable bodies, such as elastic bodies, is treated, in some cases, the particle after deformation can infiltrate into the region, into which the particle could not infiltrate before deformation. In this case, since the calculation region of a given particle includes another particle, the accuracy of calculating reaction force is deteriorated in the conventional particle method. FIGS. 9 and 10 are diagrams illustrating an example of the problems of the conventional particle method. FIG. 9 illustrates an example of the arrangement of particles 80 of an elastic body before deformation at the beginning of the simulation by the conventional particle method. As illustrated in the example of FIG. 9, two particles 80 are arranged such that the regions thereof within radius hs overlap each other. Therefore, it is difficult for a particle 81 of an elastic body different from the elastic body including the particle 80 to infiltrate between the two particles 80.
FIG. 10 illustrates an example of the arrangement of the particles 80 of the elastic body after deformation in the middle of the simulation by the conventional particle method. As illustrated in the example of FIG. 10, two particles 80 are deformed in such a direction that they are kept separated from each other and that the regions thereof within the radius hs do not overlap each other. Therefore, a particle 81 of an elastic body different from the elastic body including the particle 80 can infiltrate between the two particles 80. When the particle 81 infiltrates between the two particles 80, the particle 80 is arranged on the calculation region of the particle 81 and the particle 81 is arranged on the calculation region of the particle 80. Therefore, in the example illustrated in FIG. 10, the accuracy of calculating reaction force is deteriorated.


A polishing composition for reducing the haze level of the surface of silicon wafers contains hydroxyethyl cellulose, polyethylene oxide, an alkaline compound, water, and silicon dioxide.

1. Field of the Invention
In some embodiments this invention relates to a polishing composition and a rinse composition, and more specifically to a polishing composition and a rinse composition that are used in the treatment of silicon wafers to reduce the haze level of the surfaces of those silicon wafers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Highly integrated and high-speed ULSIs are manufactured in accordance to a fine-design rule. In order to satisfy the design rule, the focal depth of recent aligners is becoming shallower, and a flawless flat surface is required for silicon wafers for forming semiconductor devices. Haze level and light point defect (LPD) are used as indices representing surface characteristics (the degree of flaws and flatness).
Haze means milky-white clouding seen on the surface of a mirror-finished silicon wafer, and a haze level indicates the degree of the milky-white clouding. The clouding is caused by the diffused reflection of strong light radiated onto the silicon wafer, and can be visually observed.
LPD is the defect on the surface of a silicon wafer, and is caused by foreign substances adhered on the surface (hereafter also referred to as particles).
A polishing composition according to the first conventional method contains silicon dioxide, water, a water-soluble polymer (such as hydroxyethyl cellulose), a basic compound (such as ammonia), and a compound having 1 to 10 alcoholic hydroxyl groups (such as methanol).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 11-116942 discloses a polishing composition according to the second conventional method containing silicon dioxide, water, a water-soluble polymer, and a nitrogen-containing basic compound having 1 to 10 alcoholic hydroxyl groups (such as monoethanolamine).
By the action of the above-described water-soluble polymer, alcoholic compound, or nitrogen-containing basic compound, the quantity of particles adhered on the wafer surface are decreased, and the LPD is improved.
However, the polishing compositions according to the first and second conventional methods could not satisfactorily reduce the haze level on the surface. Therefore, there has been a demand for a treating method and a composition that can provide silicon wafers having surfaces of a reduced haze level.

Polishing composition and rinse composition


Embodiments of the present invention include circuits and methods for dividing signals. In one embodiment the present invention includes a divider circuit comprising at least one first divider input receiving an in-phase (I+) signal, at least one second divider input receiving a complement of the in-phase (I−) signal, at least one third divider input receiving a quadrature (Q+) signal, and at least one fourth divider input receiving a complement of the quadrature (Q−) signal. In one embodiment, the lock range of a divider is improved by providing a first bias current greater than a second bias current.

The present invention relates to divider circuits, and in particular, to circuits and methods that may be used to implement frequency division using in-phase and quadrature signals.
Electronic systems often have many different components that include voltage or current signals that have different frequencies. It is often desirable to modify the frequencies of such signals as the signals are used to perform different tasks. One common modification to a signal is frequency division. Frequency division is the process of dividing a signal's frequency by some value (e.g., an integer or fraction). Circuits that perform frequency division are referred to as "Dividers" and are found in a wide variety of electronic applications.
FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art divider circuit. A divider circuit 100 receives an input signal, Vin, and generates an output signal, Vout. The input signal, Vin, may be a square wave, for example, having a period, T1, and a corresponding frequency, F1=1/T1. The output signal, Vout, of divider circuit 100 may have some frequency that is less than the frequency of the input signal, Vin. For example, the output signal, Vout, may have a period, T2, that is twice the value of the input signal period, T1, and thus the output frequency, Fout, has a frequency that is one-half the frequency of the input signal, Vin.
FIG. 2 illustrates a prior art D-Flip Flop divider circuit. The circuit includes two D-flip flops ("DFF") 201 and 202 connected in series. In this example, each DFF has differential inputs (+in, −in), differential outputs (+out, −out) and differential clock inputs (CK and CK). DFF 201 will load data at its input (i.e., from DFF 202) on the rising edge of CK. Similarly, DFF 202 will load data at its input (i.e., from DFF 201) on the falling edge of CK, which is the rising edge of CK. Thus, each DFF output will transition between logic states once for every period of CK. Consequently, the period of each DFF output is twice the period of the clock, and the output of the divider has one-half the frequency of the clock. The output of the circuit may be taken from either DFF 201 (i.e., +OUT1_DIV2 and −OUT1_DIV2) or DFF 202 (i.e., +OUT2_DIV2 and −OUT2_DIV2). DFFs 201 and 202 have, thus, divided the clock frequency by two. Such a circuit is one example of a divide-by-two circuit.
One problem associated with prior art divider circuits is that typically only one of the output pairs of the divider are used to drive subsequent stages in the system. FIG. 3 illustrates a prior art approach used for series connected divider circuits. Circuit 300 includes a first divider circuit 301 receiving differential clock inputs and using one of the differential outputs to drive a second divider circuit 302. If only one pair of divider outputs is used to drive subsequent stages, the DFF circuits in the divider will not be subject to equal loading. Such load imbalances may cause degradations in the circuit's behavior and performance. One prior art approach to balancing the circuit is to use a "replica dummy load" 303. Replica circuit 303 is typically a circuit that replicates the loading effects of the active circuit connected to the active outputs of divider 301, but does not process any signals and has no other purpose except to provide load balancing. While such circuits are useful for load balancing, they are disadvantageous because they can consume additional power and take up additional area on an integrated circuit, thereby reducing efficiency and increasing the cost.
Another problem associated with prior art divider circuits is that the internal operating parameters of the system are often not working efficiently to achieve the desired results. Fig 4A illustrates a prior art implementation of a circuit 400 that may be used in a divider circuit. Circuit 400 includes a differential pair 401 and a cross-coupled pair 402 that are coupled together at a common load. Circuit 400 receives differential clock inputs at transistors M1 and M2. When the circuit is connected in a divide-by-two configuration with another similar circuit, the inputs +in1 and −in1 will be received on the gate terminals of transistors M3 and M4. Differential pair 401 and cross-coupled pair 402 will generate currents i1 and i2. Fig 4B illustrates the currents i1 and i2 in the circuit of FIG. 4A. In many applications, it is desirable to design a circuit such that these currents are operating at an optimum for the particular system in which such circuit is used. If these currents are not designed efficiently, for example, the circuit and system in which it is used may not perform as well. This problem is particularly important in high frequency applications.
Thus, there is a need for improved divider circuits, and in particular, for improved circuits and methods that may be used to implement frequency division using in-phase and quadrature signals.

Divider circuits and methods using in-phase and quadrature signals


Systems and methods that verify an identity of a user in association with a transfer of an amount of funds from a gaming establishment account associated with the user to a gaming table component associated with a gaming establishment gaming table.

In various embodiments, the systems and methods of the present disclosure pertain to verifying an identify of a user in association with a transfer of an amount of funds from a gaming establishment account associated with the user to a gaming table component associated with a gaming establishment gaming table.
Gaming tables may enable one or more players to play one or more games wherein a player may be required to place a wager. A dealer may subsequently provide a player one or more playing cards. An award may be based on the player's playing cards and on the amount of the wager.

User identification verification in association with transferring funds to a gaming table


An exemplary wiper assembly for use with a concrete mixer includes a wiper element configured to span a gap between a mixer barrel and a collector, and is configured for suspendedly coupling to a support frame separate from any coupling to the mixer barrel or the collector. One or more arm members are coupled between the concrete mixer and the wiper element. The arm member includes a tensioning portion that adjusts to move an upper edge of the wiper element into contact with the mixer barrel, and an elastic portion that enables the wiper element to adjust relative to each of the collector and the mixer barrel during rotation of the mixer barrel. Thus the wiper element has limited movement independent of rotation of the mixer barrel and of vibrational movement of the collector and mixer barrel due to movement of the concrete mixer over rough terrain, for example.

Concrete mixers, which include front-discharge mixers and rear-discharge mixers, typically include a rotatable mixer barrel that may be supported by a support structure and rotated by a suitable prime mover, such as a motor. Rotatable members are often coupled between the support structure and the rotatable mixer barrel to assist in the rotation of the mixer barrel relative to the support structure. The support members may include movable members for translating or adjusting an angle of the barrel relative to a frame of the concrete mixer, which is often mounted on or incorporated into a vehicle, such as a concrete mixer truck. A cab, which may include both vehicle driving controls and rotatable mixer barrel controls, is often located generally directly below a discharge opening of the barrel in a front-discharge mixer, and generally at an opposite end of the associated vehicle frame from the discharge opening in a rear-discharge mixer.
Internal structures in the barrel are configured to move concrete, often in an upwards spiral, towards the discharge opening of the barrel when the barrel is rotated in a first discharge direction. The internal structure also is configured to prevent the concrete from moving towards the discharge opening of the barrel when the barrel is rotated in a direction opposite the first discharge direction. Concrete exiting the barrel drops into a concrete collector that in turn directs the concrete into a flow direction chute and then to the job site.
During the flow of the concrete from the barrel to the collector, some concrete may not flow into the collector and instead may run down an external surface of the barrel. This is wasteful and also can contaminate the movable members and antifriction wheels that support the barrel as well as other parts of the concrete mixer. Errant concrete also can fall onto the driver's cab roof or windows affecting visibility.
In the conventional response, a wiper typically is mounted to the collector. The wiper is often made of rubber, is arcuate in shape, and may be about 6 to 8 inches wide. The wiper often has a free edge which bears against the barrel. The opposite edge is fixedly coupled to the collector. For example, the coupled edge of the wiper is pressed against the top edge of the collector by a curved steel bar that is held in place by a plurality of bolts that pass through the bar, through the wiper, and through the collector, and are secured via nuts.
The collector, and thus the wiper, is supported by a platform that in turn is mounted to the support frame of the concrete mixer. The platform is supported from the support frame at a location separate from a location of engagement of the antifriction wheels that support the barrel relative to the support frame.
The support frame flexes not only when the concrete mixer is moved over, such as driven over, uneven surfaces, but also because the load of concrete moves around inside the barrel as the barrel rotates. As the support frame supporting the mixer flexes in response to these forces, the open end of the barrel having the discharge opening moves with respect to the collector and the wiper, which may cause a limited amount of concrete to fall to a side of the collector rather than into the collector. Also, contact between the barrel and the wiper changes, with one part of the wiper being compressed and an opposite side being relieved of pressure. A constant flexing and compression of the wiper in this manner causes the wiper to wear and require replacement to avoid additional dribbling of concrete onto external surfaces of the barrel, such as down the underside of the barrel, or onto the cab. When the wiper is replaced, the plurality of bolts that secure it to the collector must be removed, which is a challenging procedure because the nuts and bolts are often difficult to reach and are often coated with cured concrete.


A mirror array apparatus includes a carrier configured to support a plurality of individually adjustable reflective elements. At least one actuator is associated with each reflective element, the actuator being configured to adjust the orientation or position of the associated reflective element. The apparatus further includes a liquid in contact with at least a portion of the reflective elements.

A lithographic apparatus is a machine that applies a desired pattern onto a target portion of a substrate. Lithographic apparatus can be used, for example, in the manufacture of integrated circuits (ICs). In that circumstance, a patterning device, which is alternatively referred to as a mask or a reticle, may be used to generate a circuit pattern corresponding to an individual layer of the IC, and this pattern can be imaged onto a target portion (e.g. comprising part of, one or several dies) on a substrate (e.g. a silicon wafer) that has a layer of radiation-sensitive material (resist). In general, a single substrate will contain a network of adjacent target portions that are successively exposed. Known lithographic apparatus include steppers, in which each target portion is irradiated by exposing an entire pattern onto the target portion at once, and scanners, in which each target portion is irradiated by scanning the pattern through the radiation beam in a given direction (the "scanning" direction) while synchronously scanning the substrate parallel or anti-parallel to this direction.
A mirror array typically employs a matrix arrangement of small reflective elements (or mirrors), which are individually adjustable, for example tiltable about an axis (by an actuator), so as to apply a pattern to a reflected beam of radiation. Mirror arrays may alternatively be referred to as a "programmable mirror array", a "micromirror array" or an "active faceted mirror."
It should be appreciated that such mirror arrays have several uses and, in particular, may be utilized in lithographic apparatus. For example, it is known to utilize mirror arrays to form the patterning device of a lithographic apparatus (for example in a lithographic apparatus for use in the manufacture of flat panel displays).
More recently, the use of mirror arrays in the illumination system of a lithographic apparatus has been proposed. The illumination system of a lithographic apparatus is arranged to receive radiation from a source (for example a laser) and produce an radiation beam for illuminating an object (for example a patterning device). The illumination system shapes and controls the radiation beam to provide a beam with a desired spatial intensity distribution and angular intensity.
A conventional illumination system may comprise a diffractive optical element ("DOE") and a "zoom-axicon" apparatus (which is a device configured to adjust the intensity distribution at a pupil plane). Several disadvantages have been identified with such conventional illumination systems. For example, to produce the desired range of illumination settings the zoom-axicon module will generally have several (e.g. five or more) optical components, which can make it expensive to produce, particularly given the fact that several of the elements must be independently movable. A further problem is that the lenses of the axicon (which may for example comprise a zoom lens and two conical elements) represent a considerable thickness of lens material and a large number of surface interfaces such that transmission efficiency may be poor due to absorption, reflection, inefficient coatings, degradation effects and contamination. This problem is exacerbated by the demand for imaging ever smaller features at higher densities which requires the use of radiation with shorter wavelengths, such as 193, 157, 126 nm or even EUV (e.g. 5-20 nm). Thus, a mirror array based illumination system is desirable.
Mirror array based illumination systems are more flexible and are faster than the prior art combination of diffractive optical element and zoom-axicon. For example, changing an illumination mode generated using a prior art diffractive optical element requires several seconds, since the diffractive optical element must be replaced. The mirror array based illumination system allows the illumination mode to be changed more quickly. Furthermore, the prior art zoom-axicon can only make circularly symmetric changes to the spatial intensity, whereas the mirror array based illumination system does not have this limitation.
However, Applicants have recognized a number of problems associated with mirror arrays, particularly when used in lithography. Since the individual reflective elements of a typical mirror array are generally very small, for example a mirror array may comprise over a 1000 microscopic mirrors, the elements may be susceptible to damage during use. For example, heat generated by the radiation (that the mirrors are reflecting) may cause the reflective elements to be damaged by overheating. Such heat generation is, for example, particularly noticeable with the high optical power and short wavelengths used in deep UV and EUV applications. Furthermore, damage may be caused during movement of the reflective elements, for example by excessive oscillation of the reflective element following actuation.


A dual-band diversity antenna includes a ground plane and a main antenna system coupled to the ground plane, the main antenna system being a dipole having a primary dipole axis directed along the longitudinal axis of the wireless communication device, and a diversity antenna system coupled to the ground plane, the diversity antenna system being a monopole having an primary axis directed along the longitudinal axis of the wireless communication device.

Some computing devices, such as laptop computers, may be manufactured without wireless communication capability. Rather, they are provided with slots or similar coupling expedients into which wireless communication devices may be mated to provide the host computing device with wireless capability. The wireless communication device, referred to herein as a PC card, can be for example a PCMCIA (personal computer memory card international association) type card, and can include a transceiver and other circuitry coupled to an antenna and matable with the host device to provide wireless communication capability thereto.
FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a laptop computer 100 configured to receive a PC card 102 in a slot 104 provided in a side face 106 of the laptop computer. When inserted into the slot 104, PC card 102 makes electrical connections with the laptop computer to provide wireless communication capability thereto. PC card 102 can be considered as having two main modules—RF (radio frequency) system module 102a and antenna module 102b. RF system module 102a houses the active electronic components (not shown), such as amplifiers, modems, controllers, transceivers, and so forth, while antenna module 102b houses the one or more antennas and their related devices (not shown), possibly including matching and shunting components, couplings, feedlines, ground planes, and so forth. In the view of FIG. 1, side face 106 and slot 104 extend generally in the X direction. PC card 102 has a transverse axis (not shown) also extending in the X direction, and a longitudinal axis (not shown) extending in the Y direction. The PC card 102 is moved in the direction of its longitudinal axis, as depicted by double-headed arrow c, for coupling to or uncoupling from the laptop computer 100. The coupling is effected by way of a connector array 108. Modules 102a and 102b are generally disposed along the longitudinal axis relative to one another.
Many different types of antennas can be used with wireless communication devices such as PC card 102. Diversity antennas are very beneficial for improving the quality of the received signal in a wireless communications receiver. Typical diversity antenna systems consist of a main antenna and a diversity antenna, although there could be more than one diversity antenna. In the example of FIG. 1, the main and diversity antennas would generally be housed in antenna module 102b of PC card 102.
One benefit of diversity in such a system comes from the de-correlation of the fading between two separate antenna systems. The antennas can be spatially separated and/or use orthogonal or other dissimilar polarizations (i.e. vertical and horizontal polarizations, right and left circular polarization, etc.) During a fade, the signal strength is degraded to the point that long error bursts occur in the received signal, degrading the overall received radio throughput, among other degradations. Diversity helps alleviate this problem by having two antennas separated in space and/or polarization, providing two nearly independent receive signal channels or paths which do not experience fades in the same way (that is, they are de-correlated, or exhibit orthogonality). Thus while one antenna may experience a deep fade the other antenna may be within 3 dB of its nominal signal level. The result of this is that links with rapid fading that can go −15 dB or more below the average signal strength in a fade on a single channel system (non-diversity) but may be reduced to only −4 dB or −5 dB below the average signal strength with diversity on a statistical basis. In this example, diversity would provide an effective gain of 11 dB to 10 dB. Thus the reduced loss of signal prevents the channel from being dropped far less frequently than it would with a single deep fading channel. The diversity antenna may be separated by as little as one eighth of a wavelength and still experience a significant gain over a single channel non-diversity antenna.
Diversity antenna systems for use in high volume applications are demanding ever decreasing costs in integration and assembly. Reduction in the interconnect costs and simplification by integration and the elimination of discrete components is also a major cost reduction goal. Size reduction, while maintaining reasonable RF efficiency and isolation, is also a rigorous requirement.
For many wireless technologies, a diversity antenna is desired to be included in a very small volume where the main antenna resides, without excessive electromagnetic coupling to the main antenna. As explained above, one aim of the diversity antenna concept is to provide reception of the signal when the main antenna is situated in an area of signal cancellation due to "multi-path," or "fading" of the signal, but the diversity antenna must not be electromagnetically coupled to the main antenna—that is, it must have a level of isolation, to meet requirements of the wireless network which electronically switch from the main signal path to the diversity signal path, depending on which path offers the better signal reception. Another reason for an isolation requirement may be to protect the diversity receiver front end components from excessive power transmitted from the main antenna. As such, one of the difficulties is to design a diversity antenna that receives the same frequency bands as the main antenna, but does not lose the received signal into the main antenna (which may be instantaneously turned off in favor of the diversity channel), instead directing the signal into the diversity channel of the radio, and not receiving excessive signal energy being transmitted by the same radio through the main antenna. The diversity antenna is intended to couple into a signal field polarization, or signal field location, that is not available to the main antenna. It is thus desired to have different antenna polarizations, antenna locations or antenna radiation patterns, or any combination of these, for the main and diversity antennas, while meeting the requirements of the overall antenna system such as size, cost, electrical performance, appearance, weight, or any other requirements specific to the application.