The invention provides a logic circuit to identify time difference between signals having a variation in delay, and an integrated circuit which can evaluate variations in delay among internal signals. By using a logic circuit which outputs different number of pulse depending on a relationship of delay when a first signal and a second signal which are a pair of digital signals having a time difference are inputted, variations in delay of internal signals of an integrated circuit can be evaluated. Specifically, an output signal is generated by a logical operation of values of the first signal and second signal in a period in which the first signal is High and the second signal is Low, and values of a first signal and a second signal immediately before them by using a latch circuit. Further, by using a delay circuit which can set a delay time of an input signal, time difference between signals can be evaluated quantitavely.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a logic circuit which evaluates a delay relationship and a delay time among digital signals.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, an integrated circuit formed over a single crystalline silicon substrate is showing a remarkable progress in its scale and frequency. In such a logic circuit, it is important that variations in delay of clock signals and the like are controlled since frequency characteristics decrease in accordance with more variations, which may cause a malfunction in some cases. Therefore, in the conventional design, an integrated circuit is divided into regions so that the variations in delay are not a problem, and a variation in delay between signals inputted to each region is accurately estimated by simulation.
Further, a technology to form a thin film transistor (hereinafter referred to as a TFT) over a glass substrate is being improved and a technology to form an integrated circuit over a glass substrate is actively developed these years. The TFTs, however, have more variations in characteristics and occupy more area as compared to a transistor formed over a single crystalline silicon substrate. As these characteristics cause to increase the variations in delay among signals, it is a problem of an integrated circuit formed on a glass substrate that it is difficult to improve operation speed and yield. In such an integrated circuit, it is more vital to accurately estimate delay time of a clock signal and the like.

Logic circuit and semiconductor integrated circuit

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


A telecommunications network (10) includes a main distribution frame (12) that receives telecommunications traffic carried over individual tip and ring signal line pairs (20) from trunks (18). The main distribution frame (12) provides the individual tip and ring signal line pairs (20) to a protector block (14). The protector block (14) includes a connector (22) for each individual tip and ring signal line pair (20). The connector (22) has a first terminal (24) that provides external access to low frequency voice band telecommunications traffic for POTS providers. The connector (22) has a second terminal (26) that provides external access to high frequency telecommunications traffic, such as ADSL for ADSL providers. The external access capability allows for the unbundling of physical connections at the main distribution frame (12) in order to provide competitive access to subscribers.

In order to enhance service availability for telecommunications subscribers, telecommunications implementations have recently been geared toward a concept of unbundling. The unbundling concept is conceived to provide a degree of flexibility within telecommunications systems to allow a subscriber to select among different types of services from different providers regardless of which provider controls the physical connection for the subscriber. However, implementation of this unbundling concept is hampered due to the existing physical connections already in place. The existing physical connections make it difficult for service providers to gain access to subscribers in order to provide desired services. Therefore, it is desirable to provide access to existing physical connections without significant re-wiring of a telecommunications network.

Connector for a protector block in a telecommunications system


A preferred embodiment includes a system for tracking the movement and location of an object in a predefined area. The system comprises an object having at least one readable sensor contained therein. The at least one readable sensor transmits a unique signal. There is also at least one reader at a preselected, proximate location, wherein the at least one reader reads each unique signal from each at least one readable sensor as each sensor moves through the predefined area. There is also a control system. The control system is programmed to use the unique signal from each at least one readable sensor to precisely locate each object within the predefined area. There is also a communication link between each at least one reader and the control system.

Electronic tracking and identification systems have evolved significantly over the years. These systems typically comprise at least two devices which are configured to communicate with each other. Preferred configurations involve electronic identification of unique items within a group and communication across a wireless medium. These types of solutions have increasingly been used to track inventory, itemize stock, or simply protect expensive store merchandise from being removed from a building or certain location.
An increasingly common means to track objects in such a manner is by use of a radio frequency identification (RFID) device. The use of an RFID device eases the integration and use of a wireless tracking solution. The transmitters can be quite small in size and work passively.
Smith, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,717,923, teaches a communication device using a radio frequency identification device and methods of communicating. However this device is limited in its scope to finding and identifying the location of objects at fixed locations within a warehouse or storage facility.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,717,516, issued to Bridgelall, a RFID based Real Time Location Tracking Device is disclosed. This device employs wireless communication using Bluetooth® technology. A plurality of fixed readers receive RFID signals used to locate and identify items which emit the signals.
The present invention relates to tracking objects, more specifically a system where a central control system tracks an object's range of motion across a predefined area. A preferred embodiment includes, but is not limited to a system where the object to be tracked is a football and the predefined area being the football field. The novel and unique element is the combination of functionality which goes far beyond that of a typical RFID tracking or locating system. The present invention employs the use of locator devices, which may be activated by a triggering mechanism such as a clicker or whistle and encrypted wireless signals.

System and method for tracking the movement and location of an object in a predefined area


A hardware fastening structure for fastening hardware for computer includes a housing, a bracket, and a fixed frame. The housing includes a bottom plate. The bracket includes a first side-board. A first bolt is extended outward from and substantially perpendicular to the first side-board. The fixed frame includes a bottom board is positioned onto the bottom plate of the housing, and a back board substantially perpendicular to and adjacent to the bottom board. The back board defines a cambered guiding slot. The cambered guiding slot includes an arced sliding portion and a locating portion communicating with the sliding portion. The locating portion is above the sliding portion. The first bolt is inserted through the sliding portion, and is capable of sliding along the sliding portion until the first bolt is locked in locating portion to lift the bracket relative to the housing.

1. Technical Field
The disclosure relates to hardware fastening structures for use in computers to stably hold and support a hard disk drive, a CD-ROM drive and so on.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hard disk drives and CD-ROM drives are very important components in computers for storing and accessing data. They must be stably mounted inside the housings of the computers to provide a stable work environment and correspondingly prolonging their lifespans. Generally, the hard disk drives and the CD-ROM drives are stacked on each other, and are fixed by a number of fasteners, resulting in time-consuming and difficult assembling and repairing processes.
Therefore, what is needed is to provide a hardware fastening structure which can overcome the disadvantage above mentioned.

Hardware fastening structure for computer


An article may include an array of features formed in a substrate and may be coated with a coating layer. The array of features may mitigate stress experienced by the coated article. In particular, the array of features may reduce or limit crack propagation at the interface between the substrate and the coating layer. In some examples, the article is an airfoil that includes a tip that defines an edge. An array of features is formed on the surface of the tip, where the array of features is proximate to the edge, and the array of features does not intersect the edge. The airfoil includes a coating layer formed on the surface of the tip and the array of features.

The components of high-temperature mechanical systems, such as, for example, gas-turbine engines, must operate in severe environments. For example, the combustor liners exposed to hot gases in commercial aeronautical engines typically experience coating surface temperatures of up to about 1150° C. to about 1400° C.
Typical components of high-temperature mechanical systems include a Ni or Co-based superalloy substrate. The substrate can be coated with a thermal barrier coating (TBC) to reduce surface temperatures. The thermal barrier coating may include a thermally insulative ceramic topcoat, and may be bonded to the substrate by an underlying metallic bond coat.
The component may be exposed to widely different temperatures during operation and when operation is ceased. These widely different temperatures may cause significant thermal stress to the TBC, which eventually may lead to spallation of the TBC from the substrate. The stress may be due to, for example, the substrate/bond coat and TBC having different coefficients of thermal expansion, or the substrate/bond coat and TBC experiencing different temperatures due to thermal gradients.

Substrate features for mitigating stress


An optical disk recording and/or reproducing apparatus (100) includes a first case (110), a base (130), and a main body (140). The first case includes a supporting device (116) with a hole (118) defined therein, and a disk clamper (10). The main body is accommodated in the base, and includes a spindle motor (142) and a turntable (148). A magnetic element (149) is positioned on the turntable. The disk clamper includes a clamping body (12), a magnet (14), and a clip (16). The clamping body and the clip are respectively positioned on lower and upper sides of the supporting device, and fixed together through the hole. The magnet is sandwiched between the clamping body and the clip. In use, because of attraction of the magnet and the magnetic element, opposite sides of an optical disk (220) are respectively clamped by the clamping body and the turntable.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an optical disk recording and/or reproducing apparatus which has a relatively simple structure and which can firmly clamp an optical disk therein.
2. Description of Prior Art
A typical optical disk defines a clamping area between a central hole thereof and a data storage area thereof. The clamping area is used for a disk clamper of an optical disk recording and/or reproducing apparatus to clamp the optical disk. In operation, the optical disk is carried into or out from the optical disk recording and/or reproducing apparatus by a sliding loading device. When the optical disk is loaded, it is positioned on a turntable of the optical disk recording and/or reproducing apparatus. The turntable rotates the optical disk, and an optical pick-up head is driven along a radial direction of the optical disk by a driving mechanism and a guiding mechanism. The optical pick-up head thus reads and/or reproduces information contained in the optical disk.
The conventional disk clamper clamps the optical disk using elastic means. A first elastic device is placed on a top surface of the turntable, and a second elastic device is placed at an undersurface of the disk clamper. When the optical disk is positioned on the turntable, the first elastic device and the second elastic device separately clamp the turntable and the disk clamper, so that the two sides of the clamping area of the optical disk are pressed by the turntable and the disk clamper separately. Thus the optical disk is fastened between the turntable and the disk clamper. A related Chinese patent disclosing this structure is CN96113218.
However, this kind of disk clamper has an unduly complex structure. In addition, if the optical disk recording and/or reproducing apparatus is subjected to vibration from an outside source, the first elastic device and the second elastic device are liable to vibrate too, and the rotation of the optical disk may become unstable. Furthermore, because the diameter of the disk clamper is usually small, and because the second elastic device is usually smaller than the disk clamper, the second elastic device cannot provide enough clamping force to reliably clamp the optical disk. Yet if the diameter of the second elastic device is enlarged, the disk clamper must be correspondingly enlarged to the extent that it approaches the size of the diameter of the clamping area of the optical disk. In these circumstances, if there is no optical disk in the optical disk recording and/or reproducing apparatus, the optical pick-up head is liable to scan a peripheral portion of the disk clamper. If the peripheral portion of the disk clamper can reflect light, then the optical pick-up head may misread the disk clamper as being an optical disk. Moreover, when an optical disk is rotating in the optical disk recording and/or reproducing apparatus, the peripheral portion of the disk clamper is liable to scrape and damage the data storage area of the optical disk.
An optical disk recording and/or reproducing apparatus which can overcome the above-described problems is desired.

Optical disk recording and/or reproducing apparatus

Hong Fu Jin Precision Ind. (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd.


A process for melting/sintering powder particles for layer-by-layer production of three-dimensional objects wherein a layer of powder particles is irradiated by a nonlinear path of an electromagnetic radiation is provided. Also provided are an apparatus to conduct the process and three dimensional objects obtained by the process.

The present invention relates to a process for melting/sintering powder particles for the layer-by-layer production of three-dimensional objects.
A task frequently encountered in very recent times is the rapid production of prototypes. Processes to quickly prepare prototype objects are described as rapid prototyping/rapid manufacturing, or else additive fabrication processes. Particularly suitable processes are those which are based on pulverulent materials and in which the desired structures are produced layer-by-layer through selective melting and solidification. Supportive structures for overhangs and undercuts may be omitted with the use of pulverulent materials because sufficient supportive effect is provided from the construction-field plane surrounding the molten regions. The downstream operation of removing supports is also omitted. The processes may also suitable for short-run production. The construction chamber temperature may be selected in such a way that the structures produced layer-by-layer do not warp during the construction process.
A process which has particularly good suitability for the purpose of rapid prototyping is selective laser sintering (SLS). In this process, plastics powders are selectively briefly irradiated by a laser beam in a chamber, and the powder particles impacted by the laser beam therefore melt. The molten particles coalesce and rapidly resolidify to give a solid mass. This process can provide easy and rapid production of three-dimensional products by repeated irradiation of a succession of freshly applied layers.
The process of laser sintering (rapid prototyping) for producing mouldings made of pulverulent polymers is described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 6,136,948 and WO 96/06881 (both DTM Corporation). A wide variety of polymers and copolymers are claimed for this application, examples being polyacetate, polypropylene, polyethylene, ionomers and polyamide.
The coordinate system of this type of apparatus is usually defined such that the x coordinate runs within the construction-field plane parallel to the traverse of the powder-application apparatus. The location of the y coordinate is within the construction-field plane, perpendicular to the traverse of the powder-application apparatus. The z coordinate is perpendicular to the construction-field plane.
In conventionally known processes and apparatuses for the prototyping, the area requiring selective hardening is traversed in straight-line sections, line by line (x-direction) or column by column (y-direction) by a beam of electromagnetic radiation. In the present application the beam of electromagnetic radiation may be referred to as an energy beam. DE 10233389 A1 moreover discloses a straight-line traverse within particular angles within the x,y-plane.
According to the methods conventionally known, irradiation lines in the form of parallel straight-line sections are bounded by the external edge of the area requiring hardening. The distance between the lines or columns may be adjustable. The design of the energy beam is usually such that, as far as possible, the focal point of the energy beam is within the construction-field plane of the pulverulant material. In order to improve the surface of the object to be produced, the profile of the area requiring hardening is often additionally traversed by the energy beam. The time required by the energy beam to traverse the region is determined mainly by the traverse speed of the energy beam and the distance between the individual lines or columns. An obvious way of accelerating the process is therefore to increase the traverse speed of the energy beam and/or the distance between the lines or columns. The traverse speed of the energy beam cannot be increased without restriction because if acceleration effects or retardation effects are excessive, it becomes impossible to position the scanner system mirrors with precision. The objects produced then have uneven areas at the edges. Nor can the distance between the radiation lines be increased without restriction because, starting at a particular distance, the bonding between the individual irradiation lines becomes inadequate. The mechanical properties of the objects produced are then impaired.

Process for melting/sintering powder particles for the layer-by-layer production of three-dimensional objects


A method for bonding a plurality of substrates includes performing a gas plasma treatment on the plurality of substrates, and performing a water plasma treatment on the plurality of substrates. Additionally, a system for performing low temperature plasma enhanced bonding includes a substrate housing structure having a substrate receiving volume, a gas source fluidly coupled to the substrate housing structure, a water vapor source fluidly coupled to the substrate housing structure, and a radio-frequency (RF) generator coupled to the substrate housing structure, wherein the system is configured to perform both a gas plasma treatment and a water plasma treatment on a substrate.

A number of bonding techniques are known for joining semiconductor substrates including intermediate-layer bonding (such as adhesive, glass frit, or solder), anodic bonding, thermal compression bonding, fusion bonding, etc. The selection of a bonding technique to be used for specific substrates may vary depending on thermal budget, hermeticity requirements, properties of the bond interface, and so on.
Fusion bonding can join two substrates without an intermediate layer; however, fusion bonding includes using high annealing temperatures that approach 900 degrees Celsius to achieve good bond strength. Due to the high temperature requirement, fusion bonding is limited to a few niche applications such as silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate fabrication, limited MEMS assembly, etc. The high temperatures used in fusion bonding is not compatible with complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) devices.
In contrast to fusion bonding, plasma-activation of semiconductor bonding surfaces enables direct covalent bonding at significant lower temperatures and has found applications from silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate fabrication to 3-dimensional substrate stacking. The traditional plasma surface activation process involves polished bond interfaces receiving a brief O2 or N2 plasma treatment followed by a wet-dip process in a standard clean one (SC1) or de-ionized water bath. The post-plasma wet dip process step increases the bond strength of the plasma enhanced bonding. Unfortunately, the post-plasma wet-dip process is not compatible with most MEMS devices or substrates that include desiccants which cannot generally be exposed to water. More specifically, the traditional post-plasma wet-dip process increases the likelihood of problems in the MEMS due to stiction.
One alternative to the traditional post-plasma wet-dip process is to hydrate the plasma treated interface by exposing it to ambient for an extended period of time. However, this approach in general is difficult to control and the bond interface can react with contaminants in air which degrade the bonding surface energy.

System and method for low temperature plasma-enhanced bonding

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A non-volatile memory device and a method of fabricating the same are disclosed. The non-volatile memory device includes a semiconductor substrate having a first conductive type, a plurality of first, second and third impurity regions having a second conductive type in the substrate, a plurality of first insulating layer only on the substrate between the second and third impurity regions, a second insulating layer on the substrate except on the first insulating layer formed, a plurality of floating gate on the first and second insulating layers, a plurality of dielectric layer on the floating gate, a plurality of control gate on the dielectric layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device, and more particularly, to a non-volatile memory device and a method of fabricating the same. Although the present invention is suitable for a wide scope of applications, it is particularly suitable for increasing a coupling ratio of the device and simplifying the process for fabrication.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic view of a conventional non-volatile memory device having a simple stack structure. The conventional non-volatile memory device includes a p-type semiconductor substrate 1, a tunneling oxide layer 2 on the substrate 1, and a floating gate 3 on the tunneling oxide layer 2. A control gate 5 is over the floating gate 3 and a dielectric layer 4 is between the floating gate 3 and the control gate 5. N-type impurity regions 6 are formed in the p-type semiconductor substrate 1 at both sides of the floating gate 3.
However, the conventional non-volatile memory device having the simple stack type has a disadvantage in a coupling constant of the control gate 5. As a cell size becomes small, the coupling constant also becomes small. To solve this problem, an ONO (Oxide/Nitride/Oxide) structure has been used as the dielectric layer 4 between the floating gate 3 and the control gate 5. Nonetheless, this is not a desirable solution for the problem because the process becomes complicated and annealing should be executed at a high temperature.
Moreover, at least one metal contact has to be formed for every two cells in constructing a cell array of the conventional non-volatile memory device as shown in FIG. 1. Thus, an effective cell size becomes larger. Accordingly, much effort for development and research has been directed to non-volatile memory devices to eliminate metal contacts in solving the problem.
FIG. 2 is a layout of the conventional non-volatile memory device not having a metal contact. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a structure of the non-volatile memory device taken along line III--III of FIG. 2.
In the conventional non-volatile memory device not having a metal contact, additional metal lines for bit lines are not required. Instead, source and drain regions are used as the bit lines. In other words, a plurality of pairs of n-type heavily doped impurity regions 12 are formed in parallel in a semiconductor substrate 11 and separated from each other by a predetermined distance. Word lines (control gates) 13, separated from each another by a predetermined distance, are also formed on the semiconductor substrate 11 and perpendicular to the impurity regions 12. Floating gates 14 are formed on the word lines 13 and the impurity regions 12. A dielectric layer 16 (shown in only FIG. 3) is formed between the word lines 13 and the floating gates 14. A tunneling insulating layer 17, for example, oxide, is formed between the floating gates 14 and the semiconductor substrate 11. Source and drain regions of the impurity regions 12 used as bit lines are isolated from each other by an isolating layer 15.
In the conventional non-volatile memory device not having a metal contact, a bit line is not required for each cell, but only one metal contact for every 16 cells is needed because of resistance of impurity regions. Thus, the effective cell size is reduced.
Nevertheless, since the non-volatile memory device not having a metal contact has the simple stack structure, it still has the problem of low coupling. As an effort to solve the low coupling of the conventional non-volatile memory device shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, another conventional non-volatile memory having a different structure has been suggested.
FIG. 4 is a layout of another conventional non-volatile memory device to improve the low coupling of the conventional non-volatile memory device shown FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a structure of the non-volatile memory device, taken along line V--V of FIG. 4.
Heavily doped n-type impurity regions 22a, 22b, and 22c are formed in parallel in a semiconductor substrate 21. An oxide layer as a tunneling insulating layer 27 is formed on the entire surface of the semiconductor substrate 21. A plurality of first floating gates 24a and 24b having a matrix form are formed on portions of the tunneling insulating layer 27 between the impurity regions 22a, 22b, and 22c. An insulating layer 28 is formed on the tunneling insulating layer 27 between the first floating gates 24a and 24b. A plurality of second floating gates 24c are formed on the pairs of the first floating gates 24a and 24b. Word lines (control gates) 23 are formed on the semiconductor substrate 21 including the first and second floating gates 24a, 24b, and 24c and perpendicular to the impurity regions 22a, 22b, and 22c. The word line 23 also covers the first and second floating gates 24a, 24b, and 24c. A dielectric layer 26 (shown in only FIG. 5) is formed between the word line 23 and the second floating gate 24c. In this structure, the two adjacent first floating gates are connected with the second floating gate 14c, thereby increasing the coupling ratio.
Therefore, the impurity region 22b under the second floating gate 24c is used as a common drain region, and the impurity regions 22a and 22c at both sides of the second floating gate 24c are used as source regions. In addition, all impurity regions 22a, 22b, and 22c are used as bit lines.
However, the conventional non-volatile memory device for improving the low coupling ratio has the following problems yet to be solved. Although two first floating gates are connected with a second floating gate to increase the coupling ratio, each cell contacts the second floating gate with the first floating gates formed on two channel regions having an identical tunneling insulating layer, and thus increase in the coupling ratio is limited. Furthermore, since first floating gates are formed on the channel regions between the impurity regions, and the two adjacent first floating gates are connected with the second floating gate and a word line is formed thereon, the process to fabricate this type of device is still complicated so that reliability of the device is greatly reduced.

Non-volatile memory device incorporating a dual channel structure


Techniques disclosed herein provide a gate pitch scaling solution for creating source/drain contacts in a replacement metal gate fabrication scheme. Such techniques provide a self-aligned contact process that protects gate electrodes from shorts due to etching from misaligned patterns. Techniques herein provide a dual layer cap formed by making a semi conformal material deposition over a non-planar topography of RMG formation structures, and using selective etching and planarization to yield a dual layer protective cap that does not excessively increase an aspect ratio.

The present disclosure relates to fabricating semiconductor devices. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to forming gate structures and making contacts to source and drain regions of a semiconductor structure.
Transistors, such as field effect transistors (FETs) are the basic elements of microelectronics and integrated circuits. There has been a continuous drive to scale down or shrink transistors and other semiconductor devices to increase density and improve processing performance. One technique that is used to fabricate transistors is known as a replacement metal gate (RMG) process. A replacement metal gate process involves creating a sacrificial or dummy gate during fabrication, and then later replacing the dummy gate with a metal gate electrode. Such a replacement technique can be used to fabricate metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs) and complementary metal oxide semiconductors (CMOS), which can be types of fin field effect transistors (FinFETs).
In a replacement metal gate fabrication process, a transistor can be fabricated using a dummy gate electrode. The dummy gate electrode can be made from a polysilicon material. This can be beneficial because polysilicon is able to tolerate high temperature processing better than most metals. Thus, polysilicon can be annealed at higher temperatures along with source and drain regions. In one RMG process flow, a dummy gate electrode is formed and then a source region and a drain region are formed adjacent to the dummy gate. The dummy gate is eventually replaced by a gate stack that can including a high dielectric constant (high-k) gate dielectric and/or a metal gate. Forming the gate stack after high temperature processing steps can result in minimal damage on the high-k gate dielectric and the metal gate. Additionally, a wider range of metals can be selected for the gate conductor.
After a dummy gate is replaced with a final gate or gate state, contacts can be made to the source and drain. Creating such contacts typically involves etching through one or more layers on a substrate. This etching can be assisted with etch masks patterned using lithography techniques. With etched openings created to source and drain regions, metal contacts can be formed and semiconductor fabrication continued to subsequent steps, such as interconnect or wiring steps.

Method of forming self-aligned contacts using a replacement metal gate process in a semiconductor device


In an embodiment, the present disclosure pertains to photocatalysts with high solar-to-hydrogen overall water splitting efficiency. In an embodiment, the photocatalyst is a nanocrystalline cobalt (II) oxide (CoO) nanoparticle. In some embodiments, the present disclosure pertains to methods of synthesizing the photocatalysts disclosed herein. Such a method may comprise using femtosecond laser ablation of cobalt oxide micropowders. In some embodiments, such a method comprises mechanical ball milling of cobalt oxide micropowders. In an embodiment, the photocatalyst disclosed herein decomposes water under visible light without the aid of any co-catalysts or sacrificial reagents. In some embodiments, the present disclosure pertains to methods of splitting water to produce hydrogen.

Increasing energy demand and growing environmental concerns drive the search for renewable sources of energy to replace the fast depleting fossil fuel energy sources. Since the only way to store large amounts of energy is in the form of a chemical energy carrier, hydrogen is considered as one of the primary candidates for future energy storage. An ideal process for hydrogen production is to use water as a hydrogen source together with solar energy for conversion. Accordingly, photocatalytic water splitting (which is the light-induced conversion reaction of water to hydrogen and oxygen) has attracted attention as one of the most promising hydrogen production processes. However, efficient water splitting, using photocatalysts has been a huge challenge. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for improved photocatalysts for efficient water splitting for the production of hydrogen.

High-efficiency solar water splitting by nanocrystalline cobalt (II) oxide photocatalyst and uses thereof


Provided is a system for sharing data using a network. When a data transmission apparatus included in the data sharing system generates data, the data transmission apparatus may transmit a data generation message to a data reception apparatus. The data reception apparatus may receive the data based on the data generation message.

1. Field
The following description relates to data transmission technology or data sharing technology.
2. Description of Related Art
The Internet is an open network adopting a common communication protocol such as a transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP), and the like, and provides a variety of services such as an information search, an electronic email, a file transfer, etc. In particular, with an increase in a speed of the Internet, sales and distribution of various data sources such as multimedia contents, etc., become possible.
In a data transmission method using the Internet, a data reception apparatus desiring to receive transmission data transmits a data transmission request message to a data transmission apparatus including the transmission data. In response to the data transmission request message, the data transmission apparatus transmits the transmission data to the data reception apparatus.
When transmission data is generated according to a particular event, for example, a car accident, and the like, the data transmission apparatus may be unaware of a generated point in time of the transmission data. Accordingly, the data reception apparatus may repeatedly transmit the data transmission request message to the data transmission apparatus. When transmission data is generated, the data transmission apparatus may transmit the transmission data to the data reception apparatus in response to the data transmission request message.
When the data transmission apparatus does not include transmission data, the data transmission apparatus may not transmit the transmission data to the data reception apparatus. In this case, the data reception apparatus may have consumed resources meaninglessly.
When wireless Internet is used, wireless resources, such as time intervals, frequency bands, and the like, may be limited. Accordingly, there is a desire for a wireless data transmission method that may effectively receive data from a data transmission apparatus.


A continuous transfer type freezer for cooling or freezing articles such as foodstuffs transferred on a conveyor belt by spraying chilled air from slit nozzles on the articles is provided in which chilled air jets rectified to have long spray travel is produced, thin stream layer of chilled air is formed on the surface of the article to achieve increased heat transfer, and exhaust passages of the chilled air are formed such that they do not affect the cooling function. A plurality of slit nozzles 5a, 6a are apposed above and under the conveyor belt along the belt transfer direction, each of the nozzles 5a, 6a is shaped such that it has an angled and succeeding parallel entrance way so that the chilled air is rectified in the entrance ways and spout from the nozzle opening at large velocity, and exhaust passages 12 are formed between each of the slit nozzles such that the chilled air spouted from the nozzles flows toward both lateral end sides of the conveyor belt 2.

A method to cool, heat, or dry an article such as foodstuffs as it is transferred on a belt conveyor in an oblong housing has been disclosed in prior arts, in which a gas jet is allowed to impinge on the article. In those prior arts, a chilled air is spouted from hole nozzles or slit nozzles perpendicular to the surface of the belt and a thin stream layer is formed on the surface of the article placed on the belt owing to Coanda effect, by which heat transfer between the chilled air and the surface of the article is increased.
For example, a transfer type freezer is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 8-507596 (prior art 1), in which a tunnel is provided in a housing having an entrance and exit opening for a conveyor belt to surround the conveyor belt with the upper wall, two side walls extending along the transfer direction of the conveyor belt, and the bottom wall of the tunnel, the inside of the tunnel is vacuumized by a gas sucking means to form gas circulation in the housing such that the gas in the housing flows through holes formed in said upper wall into the tunnel, exits from the tunnel through an opening formed in said bottom wall, and again flows into the tunnel through said holes, thus a gas jet stream is formed to impinge against the article placed on the conveyor belt.
FIG. 7 is a schematic representation of the equipment of said prior art 1 for explaining the principle of operation thereof, and FIG. 7(a) is a partial enlarged detail of FIG. 7. The equipment comprises a housing 01, in which a tunnel 02 is provided to surround a treating zone 03. The gas in the treating zone 03 is sucked by a sucking means 04 to vacuumize the treating zone. A conveyor belt 05 transfers foodstuffs 06 through the tunnel.
In FIG. 7, holes are bored only in the upper wall 07 of the tunnel 02, the upper and lower surfaces of the upper wall being flat and nozzles being formed without no part protruding from the upper and lower surfaces of the upper wall (see FIG. 7a). In a preferable embodiment, holes are bored also in the bottom wall of the tunnel 02.
During operation of the equipment, the sucking means 04 vacuumize the inside space of the tunnel 02 so that the air in the housing is sucked through the nozzles 8 in the upper wall 07 and air jets 09 are formed to impinge against the conveyor belt 05 and the foodstuffs 06 placed thereon.
In Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 11-63777 (prior art 2) is disclosed a transfer type freezer in which articles such as foodstuffs are placed on a conveyor belt passing through an oblong housing, a number of slits to produce jet streams are formed in an upper and lower plates facing the conveyor belt, the jet streams of chilled air impinge on the articles to cool or freeze them, and the chilled air that has cooled the articles is exhausted in one direction.
With said prior art 1, a vacuum chamber is necessary to be provided in order to vacuumize the tunnel surrounding the conveyor belt. For this purpose, a large fan is required as a sacking means and large power is needed to drive the fan. Further, as air jet streams are formed by sacking air by the fan through the holes bored in the upper wall, the jet flows lack in directionality and tend to diffuse or proliferate. Therefore, the air jet streams do not necessarily impinge on the articles at high speed resulting in low heat transfer between the air and the surface of the articles.
Further, air exit openings are provided below the conveyor belt at certain intervals, so nozzles can not be provided where the exit openings are provided under the conveyor belt, resulting in decreased cooling efficiency. There is no air exit opening above the conveyor belt and the air introduced into the tunnel through the nozzles (holes) bored in the upper wall must flow through the holes bored in the conveyor belt to be exhausted from the tunnel. Therefore, the conveyor belt must have holes and a conveyor belt not having holes can not be used. Therefore, loading density of the articles transferred on the belt is limited, because there must be left on the belt space not occupied by the articles in order to allow the air introduced into the tunnel through the nozzles (holes) to flow downward through the holes of the conveyor belt.
According to the prior art 2, chilled air jets impinge against both upper surface and undersurface of the conveyor belt and then the chilled air is exhausted in one direction perpendicular to the belt transfer direction, the air jets tend to incline to said exhausting direction, which causes reduction in heat transfer coefficient between the chilled air and the surface of the article on the belt. Further, the space in which the conveyor belt passes through is narrow and inconvenient to clean. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a number of cleaning nozzles, and the installation becomes complicated resulting in increased cost.


A sheet carrier apparatus includes a sheet carrier guide to guide a sheet in a first direction and includes an opening; and a paper-dust removal member that is arranged substantially above the opening and so as to make a contact with the sheet carried on the sheet carrier guide, is extending in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, and removes paper dust so that the paper dust falls through the opening. In the sheet carrier apparatus, the paper-dust removal member includes a first part and a second part that are arranged along the second direction, and the first part and the second part have a different contact resistance against the sheet.

1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sheet carrier apparatus in an image forming apparatus.
2) Description of the Related Art
In general, an image forming apparatuses such as a copying machine includes a sheet carrier apparatus or the like. Some sheet carrier apparatuses include a carrier guide, and carry a sheet by sliding the sheet on the carrier guide.
Recently, resources saving and cost control have been required and the image forming apparatus comes to form an image on a backing paper, which has an image on a back side, or a recycled paper.
However, several problems occur when the backing paper or the recycled paper are used. For example, such papers tend to produce paper dust during a transport process, and the paper dust accumulates on the carrier guide. Particularly, when the carrier guide has a curved portion, the sheet bumps or rubs against the carrier guide, or is bent due to the curved portion. Therefore, the amount of the paper dust increases.
When the paper dust accumulates on the carrier guide, the paper dust adheres to the sheet again while the sheet is being carried, and a coefficient of friction of a carrier roller pair decreases. Consequently, the sheet is not carried correctly.
In the case of the image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, if the paper dust adheres to the sheet again during transportation of the sheet, and enters into a printer engine, the paper dust may adhere to an image carrier (a photoconductor or an intermediate transfer belt). Moreover, a cleaning apparatus, which is arranged near the image carrier, may fail to remove the paper dust completely. Consequently, the image forming apparatus forms abnormal images, such as an image that has black lines and white lines, or an image that has white spots and black spots.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H7-215523 discloses a carrier guide that includes a hole through which the paper dust falls while the sheet is being carried. However, some paper dust still remains on the sheet, and such paper dust may drop or accumulate in other transport paths undesirably. Consequently, the paper dust is built up inside the image forming apparatus, and an increase of skew or slip ratio deteriorates transport performance.

Sheet carrier apparatus, image forming apparatus, image reader, and post-processing apparatus


Graphical display content on a display of an electronic device includes retrieving a plurality of objects comprising the content; and displaying the plurality of objects within a plurality of panels tiled in a spiral, wherein the panels are tiled so that a size of each of the panels changes with geometric progression, and wherein relative sizes of the panels indicates an order or relevance of the plurality of objects.

When a user accesses the Internet and conducts a search, the search results are typically presented as a plurality of textual descriptions arranged as a column in list form. Often, the user wishes to obtain more information about a particular web site retrieved in the search, beyond the brief description provided in such a column of results. The additional information desired may be available only in the home page of the web site of interest.
To access the home page information, the user may take the extra step of connecting to the home page by selecting and "clicking" on the appropriate hyperlink in the list of search results. If the information so obtained is not satisfactory, the user may need to return to the descriptions in the search results, and select another hyperlink to view another home page. This process may be repeated a number of times before the user has obtained the sought for information.
It can be further appreciated that only a select few search result "hits" appear in the user column of listing descriptions at any one time. If the user wishes to view succeeding or preceding search results in another column, it may be necessary to navigate forward or backward from the current search results page being presented on the user display device.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an improved method and system for displaying content on a display of an electronic device.

Graphical display of content on a display device in a spiral pattern


The present invention is related to low power low noise amplifiers (LNA) including on/off switching capability, which are preferably used for impulse radio (IR) ultra-wideband (UWB) receivers. In the invention a very low power and high-gain Common-Gate Capacitive Cross Coupling Cascaded LNA is proposed, to provide an optimum gain for large ON times. The invention provides also a Common-Source Cascoded LNA for shorter received pulse widths, with the aim of implementing a fast ON/OFF switching. An input signal is applied to a first amplifying stage and the switching means are coupled to a second amplifying stage so that they do not interfere with the matching network of the first stage. The invention is also related to a method of amplifying a radio frequency signal using a plurality of low noise amplifying elements.

Since the publication of the paper: FFC, "First Report and Order: Revision of part 15 of the commission's rules regarding ultra-wideband transmissions systems," FCC,ET Docket 98-153, April 2002, by the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Ultra-Wideband (UWB) communication techniques have received increasing attention for short-range, high-data rate wireless communication applications. Impulse Radio (IR) implementation of such UWB systems has become a very interesting candidate due to its low complexity, low power consumption, low cost, high data rate and the ability of coexistence with other radio systems.
In its usual realization, an IR-UWB transmitter consists on a pulse generator that is triggered regularly by a timing circuitry, that is the IR-UWB is based on the transmission and reception of very short pulses at a certain periodicity. The output of the pulse generator is connected directly to the antenna. No Power Amplifier is needed since the UWB transmitted power is very low. Data is transmitted by modifying some parameter of the pulse (for example, its sign in BPSK modulation or its position in PPM modulation). The transmitted output waveform has a very small duty cycle since the sub-nanosecond pulses are sent every frame, which for usual data rates has a duration of several nanoseconds.
Time Hoping (TH) technique is commonly used to allow multiple users access and to avoid peaks in the spectrum of the UWB signal. A pseudorandom code locates each successive pulse in a different position along its frame. The IR-UWB receiver can be implemented in several ways, but the present invention is focused on a very low-power implementation for short distances (less than 1 meter for Body Area Network, BAN, applications). A possible architecture for such IR-UWB receiver is shown in FIG. 2.
This architecture corresponds to a coherent receiver that decides the output data symbol after integrating the result of the multiplication of the received signal with a locally generated template waveform. A Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) is needed at the input, in order to adapt the antenna impedance to the input and to minimize the noise of the receiver chain by providing enough gain. The LNA has to add low noise by itself to the received signal.
As the received waveform has a very small duty cycle, blocks such as the LNA, the multiplier or the integrator do not need to operate continuously, just when the pulse is received. By applying a clever ON/OFF switching on these blocks an important saving of power consumption can be obtained. Additionally, the receiver chain is built fully differential in order to minimize the influence of the substrate noise coupled from the digital section of the receiver (to be integrated in the same die) as well as to reduce the undesired effects due to the coupling of the ON/OFF switching signal itself.
As in other systems that work in burst mode, IR-UWB receiver front-ends can ideally work only when a pulse is expected to arrive. Switching ON and OFF the LNA is a known technique that allows an important power saving. For example, assuming a received pulse of duration 1 ns, and a data rate of 100 Mps, an ideal power reduction of 90% can be achieved if the front-end blocks are turned ON only during the pulse time. In practice the power saving will not be so high, as the LNA must be switched ON some time in advance to the reception of the pulse in order to be completely stabilized when the pulse arrives.
A LNA with power switch is described in the technical paper entitled "Transceivers circuits for pulse-based ultra-wideband" in the IEEE Journal 0-7803-8251-X/2004 IEEE. FIG. 1 represents an analog circuit of a LNA with power switch described on said paper, in which the power consumption is reduced by switching the bias current, 'which is the advantage of the discontinuous feature of the pulse based UWB.
The LNA of FIG. 1 uses a technique of switching OFF and ON one of the active devices of each branch by acting over the gate of said devices, to interrupt the flow of current between VDD and GND. This is done typically using NMOS cascode/cascade transistors because their gate can be DC powered to VDD in the ON state. Shorting it to ground in the OFF state effectively powers down the amplifier. More in detail, in the LNA of FIG. 1 the circuit is powered down by means of transistors (Tr1), (Tr2) connecting to ground the gates of the transistors which receive a RF input signal (RFin). In that switching scheme, the transistors (Tr1), (Tr2) used to perform the on/off switching, interfere with the input signal path and the input matching network and consequently negatively affect the LNA gain and linearity. Transistor (Tr3) is used to disconnect the whole amplifier from the power supply.
On the other hand, a Capacitive Cross-Coupling (CCC) technique is known to improve the performance of a differential amplifying stage. More details of this CCC technique can be found on the papers: "Wei Zhou, Sherif Embabi, José Pineda de Gyvez and Edgar Sanchez Sinencio, "Using Capacitive Cross-Coupling Technique in RF Low Noise Amplifiers and Down-Conversion Mixer Design", in the Proceedings of the European Solid-State Circuits Conference(ESSCIRC), Sep. 19-21, 2000 Page(s):77-80", and "David J. Allstot, Xiaoyong Li, and Sudip Shekhar, "Design Considerations for CMOS Low-Noise Amplifiers", in IEEE Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits Symposium (RFIC), 2004, pp. 97-100".

Low noise amplifiers for low-power impulse radio ultra-wideband receivers


A method for processing positioning data of a mobile device is provided, comprising: acquiring a first original point set and a target point set by measuring an object surface with the mobile device; extracting feature points from the first original point set to obtain an original key point set; extracting feature points from the target point set to obtain a target key point set; performing a first registration operation on the original key point set and the target key point set to obtain a first model transformation parameter; transforming the first original point set by the first model transformation parameter to obtain a second original point set; performing a second registration operation on the second original point set and the target point set to obtain a second model transformation parameter; and acquiring third model transformation parameter based on the first model transformation parameter and the second model transformation parameter.

Computer vision is a science that studies how to make machines "see". Further, it refers to the use of cameras and computers instead of human eyes to identify, track, and measure targets, and further to perform graphics processing so as to make computer processing more suitable for human observation or transmission to instruments for detection. Applying computer vision technology to indoor robot equipment plays an important role in solving problems such as indoor map construction, self-pose estimation, navigation and obstacle avoidance.
The realization of computer vision usually uses physical digitization technology to collect data through measurement methods such as lidar. Restricted by the measurement equipment and environment, the acquisition of complete measurement data on an object surface often requires multiple measurements. Since generally the point cloud data obtained by each measurement only covers a part of the object surface, and there may be translational and rotational dislocations, in order to obtain the point cloud data of the complete object surface, it is necessary to integrate and register these local point cloud data. The point cloud registration algorithm in the related art usually has problems such as slow speed, low accuracy and poor robustness, which may lead to poor real-time performance, low accuracy and poor adaptability when positioning and navigating mobile devices such as indoor robots.
As mentioned above, how to provide a method for processing positioning data with good real-time performance, high precision and strong adaptability has become an urgent problem to be solved.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the present disclosure and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Portable device positioning data processing method and apparatus, device, and storage medium

Jingdong Technology Information Technology Co., Ltd.


An identification apparatus, such as may be incorporated into a band of material used as a wristband. An identification function is disposed in the band, along with an Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) function, that may be selected to be at least one of an electro-magnetic or acousto-magnetic segment. The identification function is typically a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) device. The EAS function segment operates independently of the RFID device, so that the presence or absence of one or more EAS segments can be detected without affecting the RFID function operation. In one embodiment, multiple segments are disposed on the band, with at least one segment having a different characteristic physical property than at least one other segment. The multiple segments may be formed on an upper and lower surface of the band, such that they overlap with one another in a vertical plane.

Various technologies have been applied to the so-called Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) marketplace. EAS "tags" are commonly used to control inventory in a retail sales environment. For example, a store selling expensive leather coats may attach EAS tags to each coat to prevent theft.
EAS systems invariably use one or more of three different basic schemes. Some tags are, for example, Radio Frequency (RF) based. These devices operate by detecting a radio signal reradiated by a resonant marker in response to a field applied to a designated interrogation zone.
Still other systems include electromagnetic markers (EM) that may, for example, make use of magneto-restrictive elements. Such types of EAS systems are based on markers that include a thin strip or wire of magnetic material that responds to an alternating interrogation signal by generating a signal pulse at a higher harmonic of the interrogation signal.
Still further systems may make use of other types of radiation, such as acousto-magnetic (AM) energy.
Thus EAS tags have been developed that use various types of radiation, including RF, EM and AM, for operation.
Certain prior art identification bands have been made tamper proof by including a disabling wire in the band. For example, in a co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/400,049 on Mar. 26, 2003 by Girvin, J., and Lerch, J., entitled "Non-Reusable Identification Device", assigned to Proximities, Inc., the assignee of the present application, a disabling wire is run along the band and is connected to disable a transponder if the wire is cut. Thus, the band of material must remain intact for the identification function to operate.

Identification band with regions having electro-magnetically detectable regions


A static transfer switch is used for switching an output load from a first power source to a second power source. A first switching unit has a first pair of silicon controlled rectifiers (SCR). A second switching unit has a second pair of SCRs arranged in an anti-parallel configuration. The control circuit determines whether at least one of the SCRs is activated in accordance with the voltage between the gate and the cathode of the at least one SCR. If the voltage between the gate in the cathode is at least 150 mV, the control circuit indicates that the at least one of the SCR is activated.

This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
The silicon controlled rectifier (SCR), which is a type of thyristor, is a widely used electronic component that can be easily controlled at start up, but its fast switch off detection is often difficult. Traditional ways of detecting the switch off detection of SCRs impose a number of limitations in performance in many applications where SCR are used, particularly in static transfer switches such as are used in UPS systems.
Typically, SCR switch off detection is mainly based on direct current analysis of the SCR. That is, the current flowing through the SCR is monitored and the SCR is determined to have switched off when the current flowing through it has dropped below a threshold, which is the holding current level of the SCR. However, SCRs having high amperage capacity in the thousands of amps can have a holding current level of only a few tens of milliamps. This presents difficulties and uncertainty when attempting to monitor the current flowing through the SCR and determining that this current has fallen below the holding current level of a few tens of milliamps. Considering a static transfer switch (STS) application, the sole direct current SCR switch off detection is not sufficient to guarantee a safe and fast transfer between the input sources. Consequently, the direct current analysis must be accompanied with other analysis (input voltage analysis, phase displacement analysis between voltage and current linked to the output load power factor, etc.). This additional analysis both requires significant additional CPU resources and results in delays in the transfer between sources depending on the particular working conditions of the STS.


The present invention provides a process for producing a (poly)alkylene glycol monoalkyl ether with high selectivity and high yield. In this process, the (poly)alkylene glycol monoalkyl ether is produced by reacting an olefin and a (poly)alkylene glycol in the presence of a catalyst, wherein: 1) a crystalline metallosilicate is used as the catalyst, and at least a portion of the used catalyst is regenerated, and the regenerated catalyst is recycled as the catalyst for the reaction; or 2) the reaction between the olefin and the (poly)alkylene glycol is carried out in the presence of either or both of a (poly)alkylene glycol dialkyl ether and an alcohol.

A. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a production process for a (poly)alkylene glycol monoalkyl ether.
B. Background Art
As to processes for producing a (poly)alkylene glycol monoalkyl ether by reacting an olefin and a (poly)alkylene glycol, for example, the following processes are disclosed: a process in which strong acid cation-exchange resins are used as the catalyst (e.g. Japanese Allowable Patent Publication (Kokoku) No. 57-35687 and Japanese Patent Application Publication (Kokai) No. 2-295941); a process in which heteropolyacids are used as the catalyst (Japanese Patent Application Publication (Kokai) No. 3-148233); and a process in which benzenesulfonic acid or toluenesulfonic acid is used as the catalyst (Japanese Allowable Patent Publication (Kokoku) No. 61-51570).
However, where the strong acid cation-exchange resins, the heteropolyacids, the benzenesulfonic acid, or the toluenesulfonic acid is used as the catalyst, there are problems in that because the (poly)alkylene glycol which is a raw material is a diatomic alcohol, the reaction tends to involve a dehydration polycondensation reaction or dehydration cyclization reaction of the (poly)alkylene glycol itself as a side reaction to form water, and this formed water tends to react upon the olefin to form an alcohol as a by-product, so the resultant selectivity to the (poly)alkylene glycol monoalkyl ether is extremely low. For instance, examples of some preferred embodiments as set forth in the Japanese Patent Application Publication (Kokai) No. 2-295941 disclose that when ethylene glycol and dodecene are reacted using Nafion H (fluorine-containing strong acid ion-exchange resin), made by E. I. Du Pont DE NEMOURS & Co., Ltd., as the catalyst to produce ethylene glycol monododecyl ether, dodecanol forms as a by-product in a proportion of 7 to 10 mol % of the ethylene glycol monododecyl ether.

Production process for (poly)alkylene glycol monoalkyl ether


A transfer system comprised of an air conveyor, a servo conveyor, and a fan feeder. In a typical configuration, the air conveyor is located at a first location where it receives packaged articles from a bagger system or a conveyor system. The servo conveyor abuts the air conveyor and extends to a second location adjacent to a destination point. The fan feeder is located adjacent to the servo conveyor at an end opposite the air conveyor. The fan feeder lies over a bucket conveyor for a cartoner system.

Conveyance systems for transporting articles through an assembly, processing or packaging line are common. These conveyance systems are typically comprised of a number of different elements each working in cooperation with the other to accomplish a particular task. For many such systems, every inline element must work synchronously with each other in order for the entire system to work properly.
While these conveyance systems generally work for their intended purposes, the dependence of these systems on the synchronized performance of each element hinder their reliability, increase their cost, and make maintaining and updating these systems quite difficult. A break down in any inline element typically necessitates stopping the entire line while the broken element is repaired or replaced. Adding or replacing additional elements to a system will also typically require stopping the entire line, and in addition, will also typically require the resynchronization of the entire system. During these down periods, the entire line is shut and no products are produced.
Current systems are also typically obtrusive structures that impart a large footprint on the factory floor. This is due in part to their many redundant elements and also largely due to the length of the conveyors which communicate with every element within a system. Floor space in a factory is usually limited, so minimizing the footprint of a conveyance system provides a significant benefit. Furthermore, reducing some of the redundancies of these systems will also typically reduce the cost of such systems.
FIG. 1 shows a known configuration of a conveyance system adapted particularly for the conveyance of a packaged article to a cartoner system. This configuration will typically include one or more bagger systems, a transfer system for each bagger system, and a cartoner system. The bagger system produces a packaged article and transports it to the transfer system. The transfer system then feeds the packaged article to the cartoner system.
The bagger system is usually comprised of a bagger and a incline conveyor. Each bagger receives a product in loose form, places it in a bag, and then seals the bag. Once sealed, the packaged article is deposited onto the incline conveyor for transport.
The packaged article is then transported via the incline conveyor to the transfer system. The transfer system is typically a feeder which receives an individual packaged article from the bagger and deposits it in proper orientation onto a conveyor portion of the cartoner system. Typically, each transfer system cooperates with only one bagger system, and each is synchronized with the bucket conveyor so that it can only feed certain buckets.
The cartoner system is usually comprised of a bucket conveyor and a cartoner. A drive shaft extends from the cartoner and drives movement of the bucket conveyor and incline conveyors. The drive shaft provides timing information for each bagger sequence of production. The bucket conveyor is a conveyance mechanism having a plurality of pre-defined slots, otherwise referred to as buckets. The cartoner receives a packaged article from a bucket, places the packaged article within a carton, and then seals the carton.
In operation, an entire system is controlled by the cartoner. When the cartoner is ready to receive a packaged article, it signals a particular bagger system to create one. The bagger system creates the packaged article and conveys it to the transfer system, where the transfer system feeds it into an appropriate bucket.
After it sends a signal to the bagger system, the cartoner system is timed to receive the packaged article from an appropriate bucket. Once a packaged article is received, the cartoner places it into a carton and then seals the carton.
The need for such intimate cooperation between the three systems is often inefficient and can increase the costs for producing a packaged article. Occasionally a cartoner or a transfer may need repair, or may need a refill of carton material, or may need to be replaced. During these periods, the degree of cooperation between the elements will typically require that the entire system be stopped until the repair or replacement is completed. This inefficiency can substantially limit the productivity of the line.
Consequently, there is a need for a transfer system that is able to bridge between two elements such as the bagger and the cartoner and allow both elements to work independently of the other.
There is also a need for a transfer system that can quickly and easily adjust to any increase or decrease in the number of articles it transports.
There is also a further need for a transfer system that requires a minimum amount of floor space.
Furthermore, a transfer system is needed that eliminates unnecessary redundant elements and that can be produced at a lower cost than similar systems.


Some embodiments include an imaging system. The image sensor array includes multiple image sensor sheets configured in an array grid. Each image sensor sheet of the multiple image sensor sheets can include a flexible substrate layer, and the flexible substrate layer can include a first flexible substrate side and a second flexible substrate side opposite the first flexible substrate side. Meanwhile, each image sensor sheet of the multiple sensor sheets can include multiple image sensors over the first flexible substrate side, the multiple image sensors can include multiple flat panel image detectors configured in a sheet grid, and the image sensor array can include an approximately constant pixel pitch. Other embodiments of related systems and methods are also disclosed.

Conventional systems for digital imaging (e.g., tomography), such as might be used to perform tomosynthesis for a mammogram, typically implement digital x-ray detectors (e.g., flat panel detectors) configured to be rapidly and/or mechanically repositioned about an object (e.g., a person) to capture a series of multiple x-ray images of the object. The series of multiple x-ray images are then electronically recombined to form a composite three dimensional image of the object.
Generally speaking, the rapid and/or mechanical movement of the digital x-ray detectors in conventional systems for digital imaging can limit the precision (e.g., resolution) of the x-ray images provided by conventional systems for digital imaging, such as, for example, due to alignment errors between x-ray images, vibrations, etc. that inherently occur in such conventional systems. Further, where the object being imaged is a person, the person generally holds her breath while the series of multiple x-ray images are being captured to minimize any movement that could reduce the precision of the x-ray images. Even subtle movements, like those resulting from breathing, can substantially reduce the precision of the x-ray images. However, because one can only hold her breath for so long, maximizing the imaging readout speed of imaging systems can be desirable. Meanwhile, because exposure to radiation is generally detrimental to any object, and particularly so when the object is organic, minimizing the total exposure to radiation (e.g., dose) of the object can also be desirable. However, the extent to which the radiation dose can be limited can be constrained by a quantity of electronically generated noise present in imaging systems. Consequently, reducing the quantity of electronically generated noise in imaging systems can also permit for decreased doses of radiation because less energy can be needed to compensate for the reduced quantity of noise in the imaging systems.
Accordingly, a need or potential for benefit exists for a large area digital imaging system that can image objects with high resolution, high imaging readout speed, low thermal electronically generated noise, and low radiation dose, and for methods of manufacturing and using the same.
For simplicity and clarity of illustration, the drawing figures illustrate the general manner of construction, and descriptions and details of well-known features and techniques may be omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the invention. Additionally, elements in the drawing figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention. The same reference numerals in different figures denote the same elements.
The terms "first," "second," "third," "fourth," and the like in the description and in the claims, if any, are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments described herein are, for example, capable of operation in sequences other than those illustrated or otherwise described herein. Furthermore, the terms "include," and "have," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, system, article, device, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is not necessarily limited to those elements, but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, system, article, device, or apparatus.
The terms "left," "right," "front," "back," "top," "bottom," "over," "under," and the like in the description and in the claims, if any, are used for descriptive purposes and not necessarily for describing permanent relative positions. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments of the invention described herein are, for example, capable of operation in other orientations than those illustrated or otherwise described herein.
The terms "couple," "coupled," "couples," "coupling," and the like should be broadly understood and refer to connecting two or more elements or signals, electrically, mechanically and/or otherwise. Two or more electrical elements may be electrically coupled but not be mechanically or otherwise coupled; two or more mechanical elements may be mechanically coupled, but not be electrically or otherwise coupled; two or more electrical elements may be mechanically coupled, but not be electrically or otherwise coupled. Coupling may be for any length of time, e.g., permanent or semi-permanent or only for an instant.
"Electrical coupling" and the like should be broadly understood and include coupling involving any electrical signal, whether a power signal, a data signal, and/or other types or combinations of electrical signals. "Mechanical coupling" and the like should be broadly understood and include mechanical coupling of all types.
The absence of the word "removably," "removable," and the like near the word "coupled," and the like does not mean that the coupling, etc. in question is or is not removable.

Imaging system and methods of manufacturing and using the same

ARIZONA BOARD OF REGENTS, A BODY CORPORATE OF THE STATE OF ARIZONA, ACTING FOR AND ON BEHALF OF ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY


A surgical draping method for a patient on an operating table and an adjacent movable medical tool may include positioning a patient drape having a surgical access opening in a medial portion thereof over the patient on the operating table so that the surgical access opening exposes a surgical site on the patient. Opposing medial side portions of the patient drape may be fastened together underneath the operating table to provide a pathway thereunder for passage of at least one portion of the medical tool therethrough. An equipment drape may be positioned adjacent a side of the operating table aligned with the pathway to cover the at least one portion of the medical tool when moved through the pathway.

Drapes are used during a variety of surgical procedures to protect sterile surgical zones from microbial invasion. One example of a surgical draping system is disclosed in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2005/0022822 to Santilli et al. This draping system includes a first, closed container within which a first sheet is disposed. The first sheet has first and second opposed ends, the first end of the first sheet being removable from the container to remove a desired portion of the first sheet from the container, the second end of the first sheet remaining within the container. The first container is laid across a desired portion of the table prior to placing the patient on the table. After the patient has been positioned properly and prepped, the first sheet can be pulled from underneath the patient and pulled out of the first container so that the sheet covers the table in the area of surgical interest and then covers the entire side or end of the table down to the floor. A second sheet may also be included to cover other portions of the operating table, as well as a third sheet to cover portions of the patient during pre-operation preparations.
Another surgical draping system is disclosed in published U.S. Patent Publication No. 2003/0028196 to Bonutti. This surgical draping system is intended for use in knee operations and includes a first drape that is positioned over the patient and an operating table so that the patient's leg extends out of an opening in the first drape. A second drape is connected between the first drape and a gown on a surgeon to isolate the patient from the surgeon and/or an assistant. The first and/or second drapes may include attachments for surgical instruments such as suction, Bovie, arthroscopic equipment, etc. The second drape may have a large pouch to collect fluids, blood, etc., so they do not drain onto the floor and are instead collected for disposal. Moreover, the second drape may also include a drain, with or without active suction, to remove fluid and other debris.
Another type of surgery in which drapes play an important role is spinal surgery. During many spinal surgeries, a fluoroscopy (i.e., x-ray) machine is used to take various pictures of the patient's spine. This may be important for determining whether devices implanted in the spine are correctly positioned and installed, for example. A typical fluoroscopy machine used during spinal surgeries has a "C" shape, as illustrated in FIG. 1. This shape allows it to be rotated around the patient's back to take x-rays anteriorly/posteriorly, or from the side of the patient.
A traditional prior art surgical draping system for use in spinal surgery is a large, rectangular drape that covers the patient and hangs down over the sides of operating table. The drape has a surgical access opening therein exposing the patient's back, and the hanging portions of the drape hang approximately to the surgeon's knee level. One significant drawback of this arrangement is that it may be difficult to freely rotate the C-arm underneath and/or around the patient during surgery without brushing the hanging drape. Not only is this an inconvenience, but if the drape were to get caught up with the C-arm, this could lead to movement of the drape, and potentially its removal from the patient. This, in turn, could lead to an increased chance of microbial invasion and, therefore, infection.

Surgical draping system for a patient on an operating table and an adjacent movable medical tool and related methods


An apparatus in one example comprises a substitute manager component that upon failure of a first manager component, obtains management responsibility for a distributed software application from the first manager component and queries one or more software components of the distributed software application for state information of the one or more software components. The substitute manager component employs the state information to determine whether one or more recovery actions are needed for the distributed software application to recover from the failure of the first manager component.

In known distributed software applications, software components are distributed among a plurality of executables (i.e., software capsules or software entities). Each of the executables contains one or more software components that perform some portion of the functionality of the distributed software application. The software applications may comprise management software and in one example backup copies of the management software. If the management software fails, then one of the backup copies of the management software becomes active and substitutes for the failed management software.
Prior to a failure of the management software of the software application, the management software performs frequent periodic check pointing of its view of the state of all software components of the software application. The management software stores the state of all software components to stable storage. Upon a failure of the management software, the backup management software component accesses the stored state information and assumes that the most recent copy of the state information is correct. The backup management software may use state information of the software application acquired prior to the failure. As one shortcoming, the state information may have changed since the last check pointing of the state information before the failure.
To save the state of the software components in case of a failure, the management software and/or the software components are continuously interrupted during normal operation. The frequent periodic check pointing of the state of all software components wastes time and resources of the management software and/or the software components. As another shortcoming, the time and resources used to save the state of the software components could otherwise be used for operation of the software application.
Thus, a need exists for management software that obtains accurate state information of a software application for use during recovery from failure. A further need exists for a reduction in a number of interruptions of management software and/or software components to obtain the state information for recovery.

Substitute manager component that obtains state information of one or more software components upon failure of a first manager component


A system and method are described for analyzing the performance of a network while processing an application. The method involves measuring and calculating the amount of time nodes are active processing and sending frames, as well as the amount of time that frames spend traversing the network. Graphical user interfaces are provided to effectively present significant measurements and calculations.

One method of monitoring network performance is by measuring the processing time on a first node, such as a client, and the processing time on a second node, such as a server. In conventional approaches, this approach was applied where the client and server were on the same local area network (LAN), so that factors such as network delay external to the LAN did not need to be considered.
Realistic implementations involve networks that generally include multiple LANS and interconnecting equipment and/or communications links. Thus, there is a need for an improved system and method of monitoring network performance whereby network delay is considered when monitoring network performance.

Response time analysis of network performance


A small utility tractor having a front-end loader which is modified to include a backhoe digger mounted on the front-end loader is disclosed. The backhoe digger is readily attached to or detached from the front-end loader to provide a digging function at the front of the tractor. The backhoe bucket is coupled to the front-end loader using an attachment device which releasably attaches the backhoe bucket to the front-end loader so that the backhoe bucket is located below the bottom of the front-end loader and the bucket front opening faces in the opposite direction to which the front-end loader opening faces.

Small earth working machinery for use on farms, cottages and the like such as tractors having wide front-end buckets or loaders are well known. Various known types of tractors include a narrower backhoe bucket extending rearwardly away from the tractor which dig and scrape by being drawn toward the tractor. The backhoe bucket is useful in applications not readily accomplished using the wider front-end loaders such as digging narrow trenches and working around tree trunks and the like. In general, tractors provided with both a backhoe digger and a front-end loader are more expensive than tractors provided with front-end loader alone. Another drawback to this type of tractor is that an operator must adjust his or her seating 180 degrees in order to utilize the backhoe digger.
Tractors having a standard backhoe digger alone attached to the front end of the tractor are known but provide a device of reduced utility with the front-end loader being absent. A further disadvantage of this type of tractor is that the backhoe digger usually has a cutting edge having an orientation which is fixed with respect to the rest of the tractor so that when the tractor is on a slope, the backhoe digger enters the ground at an angle to the horizontal equal to the angle of the slope on which the tractor is sitting.
It is known that earth working vehicles may be modified to provide dual function attachments to the front end of the vehicle. U.S. Pat. Ser. No. 2,863,233 discloses a bulldozer comprising a standard wide front-end loader or bucket with the bulldozer modified to include a narrower front-end trench digger pivotally mounted to the side wall of the front-end lobe for digging narrower and deeper trenches than achievable with the standard front-end bucket. A drawback to this type of device is the trench digger is large and opens in the same directions as the front-end loader and therefore not suitable for certain applications such as working around tree trunks.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a backhoe bucket which can be readily attached to, and detached from, a front-end loader of a tractor so that the backhoe bucket may be utilized by an operator without having to rearrange his or her seating. Further, it would be advantageous to provide a means for adjusting the orientation of the backhoe digger with respect to the terrain to be worked.


An automotive lamp unit to be mounted in a vehicle includes a plurality of bus bars embedded in a molded resin and used for switching on an automotive lamp. The plurality of bus bars formed integrally with each other via a bridge portion are embedded in the molded resin, and are electrically separated from each other by being separated from each other at the bridge portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to automotive lamps to be mounted in automotive vehicles. In particular, the present invention relates to an automotive lamp unit and a method for manufacturing the same, in which bus bars are integrated with a resin base member (hereinafter referred to as a base member) and lamps, such as passenger compartment lamps, map lamps, vanity-mirror lamps, door lamps, and trunk compartment lamps, are mounted on the bus bars.
2. Description of the Related Art
An automotive lamp unit, in which a room lamp and a map lamp are mounted on one base member and are individually switched on and off by a switch unit, is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 11-161944 applied by an applicant the same as the assignee of the present application.
The configuration of the automotive lamp unit disclosed in the above-described application is described below with reference to FIGS. 10 to 14.
In FIGS. 10 to 12, a bus bar 2 is formed integrally with a base member 1 by molding, symmetrical with respect to a longitudinally intermediate part of the base member 1 (see FIG. 13). Push switches (hereinafter referred to as switches) 3 and 4 are disposed so that protrusions 3a and 4a of the switches 3 and 4, respectively, are disposed at the rear sides of lenses 7 and 8 (described below), respectively, the switches 3 and 4 being connected to terminals 2a and 2b, respectively. Lamps 5 and 6 are resiliently supported by raised tabs 2c and 2d, respectively, of the bus bar 2.
Terminals 2e are connector terminals connecting to an in-vehicle battery, to a door switch for switching on-and-off by opening-and-closing of a door, and to the ground. A lamp lighting circuit including the bus bar 2, the switches 3 and 4, and the lamps 5 and 6 is shown in FIG. 14, the operation of the circuit being described below.
A pair of the lenses 7 and 8 are formed in a size sufficient to cover the front side of the base member 1. Bearings 7a and 8a are formed at the longitudinal sides of each lens 7 or 8 at a longitudinally intermediate part of the base member 1 for rotatably supporting shafts 1aand 1b protruding from the longitudinal sides of the base member 1 at longitudinally intermediate parts thereof.
Anchoring parts 7b and 8b including hooks 7b1 and 8b1, respectively, are movably provided at the sides of the lenses 7 and 8, respectively, toward the ends thereof, so that the hooks 7b1 and 8b1 do not remove from fixing shafts 1c and 1d, respectively.
The lenses 7 and 8 are provided with projections 7c and 8c, respectively, at the rear sides thereof, opposing the protrusions 3a and 4a of the switches 3 and 4, respectively. The lenses 7 and 8 are supported at the projections 7c and 8c, respectively, in a manner such that the anchoring parts 7b and 8b are pressed upwardly by a resilient force applied to the protrusions 3a and 4a, respectively, with the lenses 7 and 8 pivoting on the bearings 7a and 8a, respectively.
A gap G is formed between the lenses 7 and 8 so that the lenses 7 and 8 can pivot. The lamp unit is provided with screw-passing holes 1e therein for fixing the lamp unit to the ceiling at the front side thereof.
The lamp lighting circuit shown in FIG. 14 is described below.
The terminals 2a and 2b shown in FIG. 12 are connected to the switches 3 and 4. When the protrusions 3a and 4a of the respective switches 3 and 4 are not pressed, contact points 3b1 and 4b1 and contact points 3b2 and 4b2 are connected, respectively, to each other via a contact plate which is movable by being pressed by the protrusions 3a and 4a, and when the protrusions 3a and 4a of the switches 3 and 4, respectively, are pressed, the contact points 3b1 and 4b1 are connected to contact points 3b3 and 4b3, respectively, to each other via the contact plate.
A terminal 2e1 included in the terminals 2e is grounded via a door switch 9 which is put on when a door is open. A terminal 2e2 is connected to the positive pole of an in-vehicle battery 10. A terminal 2e3 is grounded.
The operation of the circuit is described below. When the protrusions 3a and 4a of the respective switches 3 and 4 are not pressed, as shown in FIG. 14, and the door is open, thereby closing the door switch 9, the current from the positive pole of the battery 10 flows so as to split into two flows through lamps 5 and 6, the flows passing to the ground via switches 3 and 4, respectively, and the door switch 9, thereby turning on the lamps 5 and 6 and illuminating the compartment.
When the door is closed, thereby opening the door switch 9, and an end of the lens 7 of the driver""s seat side is pressed, thereby pressing the protrusion 3a of the switch 3, the contact point 3b1 comes into contact with the contact point 3b3, whereby the current from the positive pole of the battery 10 flows to the ground through the lamp 5 and the switch 3, thereby switching on the lamp 5 so as to be used as a map lamp of the driver""s seat side.
Regardless of whether the switch 3 is put on or put off, the contact point 4b1 comes into contact with the contact point 4b3 when an end of the lens 8 of the passenger""s seat side is pressed, thereby pressing the protrusion 4a of the switch 4, whereby the current from the positive pole of the battery 10 flows to the ground through the lamp 6 and the switch 4, thereby switching on the lamp 6 so as to be used as a map lamp of the passenger""s seat side.
In the automotive lamp unit in which the lamps are switched on and off as described above, six bus bars 2 are required, as shown in FIG. 13. When the bus bars 2 are disposed in the lamp unit, the six bus bars 2 must be manually placed in an injection mold. Therefore, a problem occurs in that the preparation for molding is laborious.
Another problem is that the bus bars 2 set in the injection mold move in the mold while injecting a resin, thereby producing defective products.
In order to overcome these problems, a technology disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 7-323784, may be used, in which a plurality of the above-described bus bars are connected with each other via bridge portions so as to form one integral bus bar unit. The bus bar unit is set in an injection mold, and is integrated with the base member by an injection molding.
In the subsequent process, the bridge portions are cut by using a press or the like, thereby electrically dividing the bus bar unit into a plurality of bus bars. However in this method, two processes, namely, an injection-molding process and a cutting process of the bridge portions, are required, and a blanking die is necessary, whereby the manufacturing cost is increased. Moreover, metallic particles of the cut bridge-portions must be disposed of as wastes.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an automotive lamp unit and a method for manufacturing the same, in which one integral bus bar unit including a plurality of bus bars connected at bridge portions is placed in an injection mold and the plurality of bus bars are separated from each other at the bridge portions without cutting away the bridge portions, then a resin is injected into the injection mold, thereby forming a product. The product can be manufactured in one process, whereby the manufacturing cost can be reduced, waste in material is not produced, and it is not necessary to dispose of metallic particles, because the bus bars are divided at the bridge portions without cutting away the same.
To these ends, according to an aspect of the present invention, an automotive lamp unit to be mounted in a vehicle comprises a plurality of bus bars embedded in a molded resin and used for switching on an automotive lamp. The plurality of bus bars formed integrally with each other via a bridge portion embedded in the molded resin are electrically separated from each other by being separated from each other at the bridge portion. The automotive lamp unit may be a passenger compartment lamp, a map lamp, a vanity-mirror lamp, a door lamp, or a trunk compartment lamp.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a method for manufacturing an automotive lamp unit to be mounted in a vehicle comprises the steps of preparing a plurality of bus bars formed integrally with each other via a bridge portion; setting the plurality of bus bars in an injection mold; electrically separating the plurality of bus bars by separating the same in the injection mold at the bridge portion; and embedding the plurality of bus bars in a molded resin by charging a resin into the injection mold.
The step of electrically separating the plurality of bus bars by separating the same in the injection mold at the bridge portion may include the step of cutting and raising the plurality of bus bars by a pin mounted on a fixed mold member of the injection mold. The bridge portion may be formed so as to have a reduced width, or may.be provided with a groove for cutting and raising thereat so that the bridge portion has a reduced thickness, thereby facilitating separation of the plurality of bus bars from each other.
The plurality of bus bars may be embedded in a molded resin by the injection mold, except for a lamp-holder member and a connector-terminal member of the plurality of bus bars. The plurality of bus bars having at least a lamp-holder member in a raised state may be set in the injection mold, and be embedded in a molded resin, except for a raised portion of the lamp holder member.

Automotive lamp unit and method for manufacturing the same