A wobble demodulator for reproducing digital information from an optical recording medium in which a track is formed in accordance with a wobble signal that is MSK-modulated so as to contain the digital information by a carrier signal with a predetermined frequency and a sine wave signal with a frequency different from that of the carrier signal, includes: a wobble signal detector for detecting a wobble signal of the track from the optical recording medium; a wobble PLL for detecting the carrier signal based on the wobble signal detected by the wobble signal detector; a multiplier for multiplying the carrier signal detected by the wobble PLL by the wobble signal detected by the wobble signal detector and outputting a multiplied output; a MSK detector for detecting a MSK modulation mark having a phase or a frequency different from that of the carrier signal, based on an integrated value obtained by integrating the multiplied output from the multiplier on a predetermined section basis; and a MSK synchronization detector for detecting a synchronization position with respect to the digital information, based on the MSK modulation mark detected by the MSK detector, wherein the MSK detector compares a continuous predetermined number of the integrated values with a first threshold value for detecting a central portion of the MSK modulation mark, a second threshold value for detecting leading and trailing edges of the MSK modulation mark, and a third threshold value for detecting non-modulated portions before and after the MSK modulation mark, and detects the MSK modulation mark based on a pattern of a comparison result.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wobble demodulator for detecting and demodulating a wobble signal from an optical recording medium, on which digital information such as address information is recorded by forming a MSK-modulated wobble in a track, thereby demodulating digital information, and a wobble demodulation method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, the density of an optical recording medium is increasing. In general, a track groove is formed previously on a recordable optical recording medium, and information is recorded along the track groove, i.e., on the track groove or in a region (land) sandwiched by the track grooves. The track groove is formed so as to meander in a sine wave form, and information is recorded in synchronization with a dock generated based on a wobble period of the track groove. Furthermore, in order to record information at a predetermined position on a recording surface of an optical recording medium, an address is provided along the track groove. As a method for writing the address, Phase Shift Keying (PSK) (see JP 10(1998)-69646 A, for example) and Frequency Shift Keying (FSK) (see JP 2001-143404 A, for example) are known conventionally.
FIG. 20 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional wobble demodulator 90 for demodulating digital information from a PSK-modulated or FSK-modulated wobble track as described above. In FIG. 20, reference numeral 401 denotes an optical recording medium on which a wobble track is modulated to be formed, and 402 denotes an optical head for irradiating the optical recording medium 401 with a light beam and detecting the amount of light reflected from the optical recording medium 401 to output an electric signal. Reference numeral 403 denotes a wobble signal detector for detecting a demodulated wobble signal from the electric signal. Reference numeral 404 denotes a carrier signal generator for generating a carrier signal based on the wobble signal. Reference numeral 405 denotes a multiplier for multiplying the wobble signal by the carrier signal, 406 denotes an integrator for integrating a multiplied output obtained by the multiplier 406 on the basis of a carrier period, and 407 denotes a decoder for decoding digital information based on the positive/negative sign of an integrated value obtained by the integrator 406 (see JP 2001-126413 A, for example).
In a section where the frequency or the phase is different between the wobble signal and the carrier signal due to the FSK modulation or the PSK modulation, a multiplied output from the multiplier 405 is negative. By allowing the multiplied output to pass through the integrator 406 on a carrier period basis so as to remove a noise component from the multiplied output from the multiplier 405, digital information can be obtained based on the sign of a value output from the integrator 406.
Furthermore, Minimum Shift Keying (MSK) has been proposed as one of the modulation systems of a wobble signal, in addition to the above-mentioned modulation systems. The MSK modulation is one of the types of the FSK modulation with continuous phases, in which a modulation index is 0.5. According to the FSK modulation, the signs of data to be modulated "0" and "1" are associated with two carrier signals having frequencies f1 and f2, whereby modulation is performed. That is, if the data to be modulated is "0", a sine waveform of the frequency f1 is obtained. If the data to be modulated is "1", a sine waveform of the frequency f2 is obtained. Furthermore, in the case of the FSK modulation with continuous phases, the phases of two carrier signals are continuous even at a change position of the signs of data to be modulated. According to the FSK modulation, a modulation index m is defined as follows: m=|f1−f2|T, where T is a transmission speed (time of 0.1/shortest sign length) of data to be modulated. The FSK modulation with continuous phases in the case where the modulation index m is 0.5 is called MSK modulation.
FIG. 21 shows a MSK-modulated wobble signal waveform. One of two frequencies used for the MSK modulation is the same as that of a carrier signal, and the other is 1.5 times that of the carrier signal. More specifically, one of the signal waveforms used for the MSK modulation is Cos (ωt) or −Cos (ωt), and the other is Cos (1.5 ωt) or −Cos (1.5 ωt). As shown in FIG. 21, a wobble signal 211 has a waveform of Cos (ωt), Cos (ωt), Cos (1.5 ωt), −Cos (ωt), −Cos (1.5 ωt), Cos (ωt), Cos (ωt) on the basis of a carrier period. In this waveform, a 3-carrier period section having a signal waveform of Cos (1.5 ωt), −Cos (ωt), and −Cos (1.5 ωt) is referred to as a MSK modulation mark 212.
As shown in FIG. 22, address information is recorded by placing the MSK modulation mark 212 at a predetermined position, setting a 56-carrier period T22 to be one bit block. The MSK modulation mark 212 for taking bit synchronization is placed in the leading 0th to 2nd carrier periods. When the data bit of the address information is "1", the MSK modulation mark 212 is placed in the 12th to 14th carrier periods. When the data bit of the address information is "0", the MSK modulation mark 212 is placed in the 14th to 16th carrier periods.
In accordance with a technique extended from a conventional example, a wobble demodulator designed for the above-mentioned MSK modulation is configured, for example, as follows.
FIGS. 23A and 23B are timing diagrams of an operation of detecting a MSK modulation mark by a conventional wobble demodulation circuit. As shown in FIG. 23A, in a MSK modulation mark section, the frequency and the phase are different between a carrier signal and a wobble signal. Therefore, a multiplied output thereof is negative, and a S/H value obtained by integrating the multiplied output on the basis of a carrier period, in accordance with a sample-and-hold signal SH output on the basis of a carrier period, also has a negative value. The decoder 407 takes bit synchronization by measuring an output interval of a MSK detection signal output when the S/H value is negative, and decodes digital information.
FIGS. 24A and 24B show waveforms of wobble signals reproduced from wobble tracks modulated by the above-mentioned modulation systems. FIG. 24A shows a PSK-modulated wobble signal waveform, in which a phase is inverted in a PSK modulation portion. FIG. 24B is a MSK-modulated wobble signal waveform that is a kind of the FSK modulation. With respect to the wobble waveform Cos (ωt) in a non-modulated portion, a wobble waveform of Cos (1.5 ωt), −Cos (ωt), −Cos (1.5 ωt) is obtained on the basis of a carrier period in a 3-carrier period in the MSK-modulated portion.
A format has been proposed, in which address information is recorded in accordance with a position where a modulation mark by the above-mentioned PSK modulation or MSK modulation is placed.
FIGS. 25 and 26 show address formats using the MSK modulation. Address information is recorded on the basis of an address word, and the address word is composed of 83 units. The unit represents a synchronization pattern (SYNC) and a data bit in 56 carrier periods, and the address word is divided into a SYNC part of 8 units representing a synchronization position and a data part of 75 units representing an address value.
FIG. 25 shows a configuration of the SYNC part. The SYNC part is composed of 8 units: a monotone unit, a SYNC0 unit, a monotone unit, a SYNC1 unit, a monotone unit, a SYNC2 unit, a monotone unit, and a SYNC3 unit, arranged successively. At the leading position of each unit, a MSK modulation mark is placed, and in the SYNC0 unit, the SYNC1 unit, the SYNC2 unit, and the SYNC3 unit, MSK modulation marks are placed respectively at different positions.
FIG. 26 shows a configuration of the data part. The data part is composed of a monotone unit, a data1 unit, and a data0 unit. In the data1 unit and the data0 unit, MSK modulation marks are placed respectively at different positions. Furthermore, 5 units (1 monotone unit and 4 data1 units or 4 data0 units) represent an address value of 4 bits (1 Nibble). A data part (15 Nibbles) is composed of address data (9 Nibbles) and a parity (6 Nibbles). Because of this, an error can be corrected.
FIG. 27 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional wobble demodulator 90A for reproducing address information from a wobble track based on an arrangement position of modulation marks by the above-mentioned PSK modulation or MSK modulation. In FIG. 27, reference numeral 1601 denotes an optical recording medium on which a wobble track is modulated to be formed, and 1602 denotes an optical head for irradiating the optical recording medium 1601 with a light beam and detecting the amount of light reflected from the optical recording medium 1061 to output an electric signal. Reference numeral 1603 denotes a wobble signal detector for detecting a modulated wobble signal from the electric signal. Reference numeral 1604 denotes a wobble PLL for extracting a carrier signal based on the wobble signal. Reference numeral 1605 denotes a decoder for reproducing address information based on the wobble signal and the carrier signal (See JP 2002-342941 A and JP 2002-352521 A, for example).
The decoder 1605 multiplies the wobble signal by the carrier signal by the multiplier 1606. Then, in a modulated portion detector 1607, the multiplication result is integrated, and based on the sign of its output value, a modulation mark is detected. Furthermore, a modulation mark may be detected based on the number of rising edges and falling edges of a wobble signal on the basis of a period of the carrier signal.
FIGS. 28A and 28B are timing diagrams in the case where a MSK modulation mark is detected by multiplication. As shown in FIG. 28A, in a MSK modulation mark portion, a multiplied output is negative, whereby the position of the MSK modulation mark can be detected.
A SYNC detector 1608 determines the SYNC0 unit/SYNC1 unit/SYNC2 unit/SYNC3 unit based on the modulation mark position to detect a synchronization position. A wobble counter 1609 has its value pre-set in accordance with the synchronization position detected by the SYNC detector 1608, and counts one address word on the basis of a carrier period. A data decoder 1610 determines the data1 unit and the data0 unit in the data part based on the modulation mark detection position with respect to the wobble counter 1609 and demodulates them, and further corrects errors to output address information.
However, in the case where address information and the like are inserted in a wobble signal in accordance with the MSK modulation described above with reference to FIGS. 20 to 23B, a wobble signal is deformed due to a cross talk component of an adjacent track as shown in FIG. 23B. Therefore, in a conventional wobble demodulator, the output position of the MSK detection signal is shifted to and fro, which may shift a bit synchronization position. As a result, an exact recording position cannot be obtained when user data is recorded, and the performance of reproducing an address may be degraded.
Furthermore, according to the conventional system described above with reference to FIGS. 24 to 28B, immediately after a track position for irradiating an optical recording medium with a light beam is changed due to seeking or jumping to an adjacent track, the frequency and the phase of a wobble signal are changed from the previous ones. Therefore, the frequency and the phase of the carrier signal generated by a wobble PLL are not matched with those of the wobble signal. For example, as shown in FIG. 28B, a MSK modulation mark portion is detected in a shifted state or erroneously detected, whereby the SYNC0 unit/SYNC1 unit/SYNC2 unit/SYNC3 unit are erroneously determined and synchronized to a shifted position. Consequently, an address cannot be reproduced. In order to reproduce an exact address in such a state, it is required that, after a carrier signal whose frequency and phase are matched with those of a wobble signal is to be obtained, a shift of a synchronization position is first detected, and thereafter, an exact synchronization position is detected. It takes a long period of time to reproduce address information, which may degrade the access performance to the optical recording medium.
Therefore, with the foregoing in mind, it is an object of the present invention to provide a wobble demodulator and a wobble demodulation method capable of reproducing address information stably and obtaining an exact recording position.

Wobble demodulator and wobble demodulation method

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A semiconductor device includes a first memory cell array that includes memory cells for storing data and is managed on a sector basis, a second memory cell array including memory cells storing sector protection information on the sector basis, and a control circuit checking the sector protection information stored in the second memory cell array whenever the sector to be programmed or erased is selected. Thus, the sector protection information in all the sectors does not have to be latched at the time of power on. The latch circuit equal in number to the sector does not have to be provided. It is thus possible to reduce the number of the circuits drastically and the chip area can be reduced.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to semiconductor devices and control methods of the semiconductor devices, and more particularly, to a semiconductor device having sector protection information and a control method of the semiconductor device.
2. Description of the Related Art
A flash memory, which is a non-volatile semiconductor memory, respectively performs operations in response to control commands applied from the outside such as read, program, and erase. In particular, an erase command includes a chip erase that erases all the sectors in a memory region and a sector erase that erases a designated sector. The memory region is composed of multiple sectors, and each of the sectors includes multiple memory cells. The flash memory is the non-volatile memory, and stores contents that have to be retained for a long period such as programs and control data in a system.
Accordingly, the flash memory includes a protect memory that stores protection information so as not to erase the aforementioned contents mistakenly. A memory corresponding to each sector stores the protection information and unprotection information. The protection information prohibits erasing of the sector. The unprotection information allows erasing of the sector. Before one sector is erased based on the erase command, the protection information of the protect memory corresponding to the sector is checked. Only the sector of an unprotection status is erased.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an erase operation in a conventional flash memory. A conventional flash memory 701 includes a memory cell array 702, a WP (write protect) cell array 703, latch circuits L000 through L511. The memory cell array 702 includes a memory cell in which the data is stored, and is divided into multiple sectors S000 through S511. Here, an example will be given of the memory cells divided into 512 sectors. The WP sell array 703 includes multiple non-volatile memory cells that store the protection information corresponding to each of the above-mentioned sectors. The protection information shows protect or unprotect of the sector. The latch circuits L000 through L511 are provided to be equal in number to the sectors. For example, the flash memory having 512 sectors therein includes 512 latch circuits. The erase operation shown in FIG. 1 is performed by a control circuit (not shown).
The WP cell array 703 is read to retain the protection information in the latch circuits L000 through L511, making use of a read time at the time of power-on. If the protection information of the latch circuit L511 has the unprotection status when a user enters and performs the chip erase and the sector thereof is not to be erased, the control circuit decrements a sector address counter according to a decrement signal, decrements a sector address, and shifts to the next sector for erase operation.
When the control circuit detects that the protection information of the latch circuit has the protection status, the control circuit does not perform erasing in the sector, decrements a sector address counter according to a decrement signal, decrements a sector address, and shifts to the next sector for erase operation. In the next sector, the control circuit checks the protection information. If the protection information shows the unprotection status, the erase operation is performed. If the protection information shows the protection status, the erase operation is skipped. If the protection information of the latch circuit L256 shows the unprotection status, the control circuit applies an erase stress to the selected sector S256 and the erasing is performed.
After the erasing is completed, the control circuit supplies the decrement signal to decrement the sector address counter. Also in the sector S000, when the control circuit detects that the protection information of the latch circuit L000 shows the protection status, the control circuit completes the procedure without erasing the sector S000.
FIG. 2 is a timing chart at the time of powering on a power VCC in the conventional flash memory. This example shows an input signal for reading at the time of power-on. A signal VCCOK is an internal signal and becomes High, when the power VCC reaches a given level. After the power VCC is powered on, a reset signal RST is changed from High to Low. The period of 1 ms for setting the reset signal RST to High is set to the read time of the protection information from the WP cell array 703. Therefore, the protection information of the WP cell array 703 has to be read into the 512 latch circuits L000 through L511 within 1 ms.
However, the conventional flash memory 701 has a problem in that the read time has to be created at the time of power-on and the latch circuit equal in number to the sectors is required. This is because, at the read time of power-on, the WP cell array 703 is read, the protection information is stored in the latch circuits L000 through L511, and the sector address is sequenced to check the protection information and erase the sector.

Semiconductor memory device and control method having data protection feature


The device includes first and second ferrules, first and second housings, and first and second holders. The first and second ferrules have respective first and second mating ends. The first housing has a first cantilever spring, a second cantilever spring, and a first recess for accommodating the first ferrule. The second housing has a third cantilever spring, a fourth cantilever spring, and a second recess for accommodating the second ferrule. The first holder is interposed between the first ferrule and the first and second cantilever springs. The second holder is interposed between the second ferrule and the third and fourth cantilever springs. In a connected state, the first mating end of the first ferrule contacts the second mating end of the second ferrule so that the first ferrule is in optical communication with the second ferrule.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to fiber optic connectors and components of fiber optic connectors. The invention more particularly concerns components used to make an optical connection between two ferrules.
2. Discussion of the Background
Connectors which mate MT style ferrules are known in the art. One such connector 10 is shown in FIG. 1. The connector 10 includes a ferrule 12, a spring 22, alignment pins 14, 18, alignment pin holders 16, 20, and housing halves 24, 26. Each housing half 24, 26 is hermaphroditic. The housing halves 24, 26 retain the ferrule 12, the spring 22, the alignment pins 14, 18, and the alignment pin holders 16, 20. The ferrule 12 conforms to the MT standard. The spring 22 is a coiled, compression spring having closed ends.
When another connector similar to connector 10 is introduced to connector 10, the other connector does not have alignment pins 14, 18 since the ferrule of the other connector has alignment pin receiving holes which accept the alignment pins 14, 18 of connector 10 so as to align the two connectors. Alignment is critical so that optical communication is realized between the optical fibers of the two mating ferrules.
Also, when the two MT style ferrules mate, the mating ends 13 of the ferrules butt up against one another. For continuous optical communication between the two ferrules, the two ferrules must maintain contact with one another. The housing, formed of housing halves 24, 26, contains the spring 22 which contacts the ferrule 12. When connector 10 is mated with the other connector, the ferrule 12 compresses the spring 22 so that a force is transmitted between the mating end 13 of each ferrule so as to keep the mating ends 13 in contact with one another.
When the connector 10 is attached to a fiber optic ribbon cable, the ribbon cable must be thread through the spring 22 before the ferrule 13 is attached to the ribbon cable. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the assembly of the ferrule 12 to a fiber optic ribbon cable 30. One end of the ribbon cable 30 is pig tailed into an optoelectronic device 36. The other end of the ribbon cable 30 has multiple optical fibers 32 ready for termination to a ferrule. Since the ferrule 12 is larger than the inside diameter of the coiled spring 22, the ribbon cable 30 is thread through the inside diameter of the coiled spring 22, and then the multiple optical fibers 32 of the ribbon cable 30 are terminated with the ferrule 12. Once this procedure is complete, then the alignment pins 14, 18, the alignment pin holders 16, 20, and the housing halves 24, 26 are added so as to complete the termination of the ribbon cable 30.
Some optoelectronic devices are pig tailed and pre-terminated with an MT ferrule. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of such a device. Also, some jumper cables are pre-terminated with each end of the jumper cable being terminated with respective MT ferrules. Optoelectronic devices 36 and jumper cables terminated in such a way can not be used with the components shown in FIG. 1 since the ferrule 12 will not fit through the inside diameter of the coiled spring 22. To salvage such devices, the ribbon cable 30 is cut so as to expose the optical fibers, then the ribbon cable 30 is threaded through the inside diameter of the spring 22, and then the optical fiber of the ribbon cable 30 are terminated to the ferrule 12. The labor involved in such work is expensive.
Another draw back to the connector 10 of FIG. 1 is that in extreme shock, vibration, and thermal environments, the mating ends 13 of two mating ferrules 12 may lose contact with one another. In shock and vibration environments, the mass of the ferrule 12 may be accelerated which generates a force. If the force is great enough, the ferrule 12 will further compress the spring 22 thus causing the ferrule 12 to move away from the other ferrule. Such loss of contact results in a loss of optical communication between the two ferrules. In an extreme thermal environment, the housing halves 24, 26, the ferrule 12, and the spring 22 may grow or shrink relative to one another at various rates due to different values of the respective coefficients of thermal expansion of the materials that make up each of the listed piece parts. If the piece parts grow or shrink too much relative to each other, the spring 22 will lose its compressive load. Once the compressive load is lost, the mating ends 13 of the ferrules 12 will lose contact with each other. If the mating ends 13 of the ferrules 12 lose contact with each other, then the ferrules lose optical communication with one another. The loss of optical communication is not desirable.


A method of optimizing call dialing may include receiving a first call including one or more of a session identification number, a contact identification number, a contact name and a direct inward dialing number, determining a caller provider and a callee provider based on the first call, determining cost information associated with one or more numbers corresponding to a callee and routing a second call between the caller and the callee based on one or more of the caller provider, the callee provider and the cost information.

As the mobile telecommunication industry grows, mobile subscribers are becoming increasingly more aware of their leverage in the market. They carefully compare service providers and call plans, and make educated choices before subscribing to a carrier and a service. Subscribers also continuously seek new and improved features to integrate into their mobile service such as enhanced chat, long distance service options, customized graphical user interfaces and the like.
Despite being informed consumers, mobile subscribers are often disadvantaged in the mobile market. For example, although a subscriber may be knowledgeable about their own calling plan subscription, subscribers are usually unaware of the cost per minute of a call to the calling destination. This puts a mobile subscriber at a disadvantage in making educated and economical calling choices.
Mobile subscribers would also welcome more long distance service options. A subscriber to a telecommunication carrier service typically needs a local access number to utilize the service. This usually involves selecting a number from a list of regional or area numbers, such as a preprinted list on a calling card, to find the access number closest to the subscriber's current location. The subscriber dials the local access number and is usually connected to a long distance service provider via a telephony network. Typically, the subscriber can then enter a target long distance telephone number, and the long distance service provider will route the call to a subscriber-specified number. The current approach has many disadvantages, however, such as having to purchase a phone care and locating a local access number. In addition, a subscriber who accidentally places a call using a non-local access number may incur long distance charges.
It is common for a subscriber to experience a significant delay after powering on his mobile device before he is able to access updated contact information in his address book. This is because the mobile device must contact and retrieve an updated contact list from a server. As such, subscribers may desire to access his address book while the contact information is being updated.
To keep pace with the constant evolution of mobile telephony, mobile subscribers are treated to a variety of applications designed to optimize their mobile communication experience. For example, subscribers can access the Internet with the mobile device, send chat messages to their contacts and the like. Subscribers can glean relevant and up-to-date information about their contacts in their address books by viewing presence-statuses, away messages, sometimes referred to as status messages, mood messages or the like. However, it is common for a subscriber's status message to read the same regardless of which contact views it. As such, a subscriber cannot customize his status message based on the contact who is viewing it.
A mobile subscriber may have one or more contacts in an address book that belong to different networks than the subscriber. It is often difficult for a subscriber to determine which network a contact is subscribed to, which precludes the subscriber from making informed decisions about how to optimally call the contact. As such, a subscriber would like to ascertain to which network a contact belongs so that the subscriber can optimize call-dialing to this contact.
It is often difficult to determine the origin of a Voice over IP call because the call usually does not contain typical country code identifiers. As such, service providers would like to determine the origin of incoming calls to determine whether to accept or reject the call.
A mobile subscriber may only have limited contact information for a callee. A subscriber may want to obtain further information associated with the callee in order to decide how best to contact the callee.

Methods and systems of processing mobile calls


A method for applying a coating solution onto a substrate to form a coated portion thereon includes a dipping device for dipping and removing the substrate into and from the coating solution; and a heating device for inductively heating the substrate while the dipping device removes the substrate from the coating solution to uniformly dry an inner surface of the coated portion, the inner surface being adjacent to the substrate. The method advantageously may include a drying device for blowing hot gases onto the coated portion of the substrate while the dipping device removes the substrate from the coating solution. The drying device for blowing hot gases onto the coated portion of the substrate includes a plurality of slits arranged so that a plurality of hot gas streams flowing through corresponding ones of the plurality of slits impinge and exert a gas pressure on the coated portion, the plurality of slits being arranged so that a collective gas pressure from all hot gas streams is uniformly applied across the coated portion along a transverse direction so that the coated portion is squeezed to a uniform thickness as the dipping device removes the substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for manufacturing drum and flexible belt charge receptors for photocopiers. More particularly, the invention relates to an efficient method and a modular thermal circumference dryer for processing cylindrical or belt-like substrates to apply a coating material to the substrate.
2. Description of Related Art
A photoreceptor is a cylindrical or belt-like substrate used in a xerographic apparatus. The photoreceptor substrate is coated with one or more layers of a photoconductive material, i.e., a material whose electrical conductivity changes upon illumination. In xerographic use, an electrical potential is applied across the photoconductive layer and then exposed to light from an image. The electrical potential of the photoconductive layer decays at the portions irradiated by the light from the image, leaving a distribution of electrostatic charge corresponding to the dark areas of the projected image. The electrostatic latent image is made visible by development with a suitable powder. Better control of the coating quality yields better imaging performance.
One method of coating substrates is to dip the substrate in a bath of the coating material. This method is disadvantageous because it usually results in a non- uniform coating. In particular, when the substrate is oriented vertically and dipped into a bath, the coating thickness tends to "thin" or decrease at the top of the substrate and "slump" or increase at the base of the substrate due to gravity induced flow of the coating material as the substrate is lifted from the bath. Thickness variations also occur even when the photoreceptor is oriented horizontally and dipped into the bath due to the formation of a meniscus as the substrate is removed from the bath. This variation in coating thickness causes variations in the performance of the photoreceptor.
In another method, an air assisted automatic spray gun uses high velocity air to atomize the coating formulation which is sprayed onto a substrate. Due to high mass transfer rates intrinsic to the use of atomizing air, this method entails considerable evaporative loss of solvent from the spray droplets and requires the use of slow evaporating solvents to prevent excessive solvent loss before the droplets arrive at the substrate. It is difficult to use this method in a sealed environment, and thus difficult to control the solvent humidity surrounding the substrates prior to, during, or after the coating process. In addition, the air atomized spray method creates a considerable amount of overspray which results in higher material usage.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,456,632 to Amberkar discloses a method and apparatus for fabricating electrosensitive paper with a white finish comprising a base layer of paper, a solvent-based resin coating, and a thin layer of aluminum, optionally including a white overcoat. The patent states that a mixture of solvents, having different evaporation rates, are employed to provide a white appearance and that the mixture may include a volatile true solvent as well as a less volatile diluent. The patent discloses that after the application of the resin coating to the paper base, the solvents are evaporated by a three- stage drying process where the first stage involves an elevated temperature with turbulent air flow.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,975,352 to Anayama et al discloses an electrophotographic photosensitive member comprising a conductive support, and having thereon a charge generation layer formed by coating, and then followed by drying, and further comprising a charge transport layer formed by coating, and then followed by drying. The patent states that the drying process is carried out by heating a freshly dipped cylinder at 80.degree. C. for 10 minutes.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,543,314 to Maxwell discloses a process for preparation of an electrostatographic photosensitive device comprising: (1) combining a sodium additive with trigonal selenium particles, an organic resin binder and a solvent for the binder to form a milling mixture, (2) milling the mixture to form a uniform dispersion, (3) applying the dispersion to a substrate, and (4) drying the layer. The patent states that in the prior art the trigonal selenium layer can be dried at 60.degree. C. in a forced air oven for 18 hours, and discloses that conventional drying methods can be employed such as oven drying, radiant heat drying, forced air drying and the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,069,356 to Fischer discloses a method for rapidly forming photoconductive layers for integrated circuits wherein powders of component materials are mixed with a copper halide powder and formed into pellets. The pellets are used as an evaporant source for vacuum deposition of a photoconductive layer onto a prepared substrate. The patent states that the photoconductive layer and substrate are then baked in an oxygen- rich atmosphere at a temperature between 300.degree. and 550.degree. C.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,855,203 to Badesha et al discloses a layered photo responsive imaging member comprised of: (1) a supporting substrate, (2) an amorphous photoconductive layer, and (3) a hole transporting layer dispersed in a resinous binder. The patent states that a solution is deposited on the supporting substrate and subsequently heated to dry the layer to the member.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,943,447 to Nelson et al discloses a process for heat treating a coating applied to an automobile body which is carried out with an apparatus comprising radiant heating elements for generating radiant heat in a predetermined path and convection heating elements for generating a flow of heated air.
The related art described above does not disclose a manufacturing process or apparatus for practicing the manufacturing process with low cost high quality efficient drying of dipped photoreceptors.


A socket is attached to an end of one pipe and a plug is attached to an end of another pipe. The socket is provided with a pair of notched grooves at peripheral faces on both sides opposed to each other and a stopper constituting a U-shape is mounted onto the notched groove. The plug is provided with a first taper portion, a flat portion, and a second taper portion continuously from a front end side thereof in a sectional shape thereof along an axial direction, and a groove having the stopper inserted therein is formed at a ridge portion of the second taper portion. An inner periphery of the socket is arranged with a seal ring for sealing an interval between the inner periphery of the socket and an outer periphery of the plug in an airtight connection.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a piping connector preferably used in a fluid pipe in, for example, a cooling system or an intake system of an engine of an automobile.
2. Description of the Related Art
In connecting to, for example, a radiator hose or the like of an automobile, there is widely utilized a piping connector (pipe joint) made to be connected in one touch motion by only inserting a plug attached to an end portion of other pipe into a socket attached to an end portion of one pipe.
For example, in JP-A-10-9470, there is disclosed such a piping connector in which an outer peripheral groove is provided at an outer periphery of a female pipe (socket), the outer peripheral grove is provided with notched grooves penetrating inner and outer diameters and opposed to each other by a necessary angle, a stop piece arm (stopper) is engaged with a valley peripheral diameter portion of an unnotched groove portion, respective locking arms extended from the stop piece arm are made to span the respective notched grooves to lock, and portions of the respective locking arms are projected into the female pipe and fit to a groove at an outer periphery of a male pipe (plug).
According to such a piping connector, in order to facilitate the stopper projected to an inner periphery of the socket through the notched groove of the socket to engage with the groove at the outer periphery of the plug, the plug is formed with a taper wall for guiding the stopper to the groove.
A seal ring is arranged between an inner periphery of the socket and an outer periphery of the plug in order to seal in airtight such that a fluid flowing at inside of a pipe does not leak in a state of connecting the connector.
Further, in order to facilitate to insert a front end of the plug into the socket, insert the front end of the plug into the seal ring and fit the stopper to the groove of the plug, the plug is provided with a first taper portion, a flat portion, and a second taper portion continuously from a side of the front end in a sectional shape along an axial direction thereof.
In this case, the first taper portion is operated to facilitate to insert the front end of the plug into the seal ring, the flat portion is arranged with the seal ring at an outer periphery thereof and operated to seal an interval between the outer periphery of the flat portion and the inner periphery of the socket in airtight, and the second taper portion is operated as a guide face for expanding a diameter of the stopper to drop to the groove of the plug.
However, according to the piping connector of the prior art, in a procedure of inserting the plug into the socket, before the seal ring passes a portion of shifting from the first taper portion to the flat portion, the diameter of the stopper is expanded while being brought into contact with the second taper portion and therefore, there poses a problem that an inserting resistance becomes extremely large.
That is, FIG. 5 illustrates an inserting resistance A brought about by the seal ring, and an inserting resistance B brought about by the stopper, and an inserting resistance C as a whole including a total thereof.
When the seal ring passes the portion shifting from the first taper portion to the flat portion, the inserting resistance becomes a curve constituting a peak by a dotted line X in the drawing. When the seal ring rides over the flat portion from the first taper portion, the inserting resistance A is rapidly reduced and finally becomes substantially a constant value.
In contrast thereto, the inserting resistance B in accordance with rise thereof while the stopper is being brought into contact with the second taper portion to expand the diameter, is generated before the inserting resistance A by the seal ring constitutes the peak and is gradually increased and constitutes a peak at a portion thereof indicated by a dotted line Y in the drawing which is slightly retarded from the peak of the inserting resistance A.
As a result, the inserting resistance C as a hole including the total constitutes a peak at a position X substantially overlapping the peak of the inserting resistance A and a magnitude thereof becomes the inserting resistance A+the inserting resistance B at the position X and therefore, the magnitude is considerably increased by adding the both resistances.
Since the inserting resistance is large as described above, the plug needs to be pressed into the socket by a strong force, which may constitute a hindrance when operation is carried out by putting the hand into a narrow gap arranged with an engine of an automobile or the like.


A disc player for use in playback of both a minidisc and a compact disc is formed with an opening formed on a panel for loading a minidisc and another opening formed on the panel for loading a compact disc. A chassis is provided in an orthogonal direction with respect to the panel. Mounted on the chassis is a turning frame that is horizontally turnable on the chassis. Provided on the turning frame are a rotary unit for rotating the minidisc and another rotary unit for rotating the compact disc. The turning frame is turned horizontally to move at least either the rotary units to a predetermined information reading position. The disc player has a first and a second turntable (rotary unit) on which the minidisc and the compact disc are loaded, respectively, by a loading mechanism. The loading mechanism has a first roller to transfer the compact disc and a second roller the minidisc. The second roller is provided as parallel to the first roller and within a lateral length of the first roller. The minidisc is held by a holder provided as close to the first turntable from the second roller. The first and second rollers are rotated by one actuator.

The present invention relates to a disc player for use in playback of both a minidisc (MiniDisc, MD) and a compact disc (Compact Disc, CD).
FIGS. 1A and 1B show arrangement of a minidisc and a compact disc on a conventional disc player for use in playback of both a minidisc and a compact disc.
In FIG. 1A, a minidisc 100 and a compact disc 101 are arranged side by side on one and the same plane. Reference numeral 100a designates a center hole of the minidisc 100; 100b a shutter of the minidisc 100; 100c a housing of the minidisc; and 101a a center hole of the compact disc.
Let A be the dimension of one side of the housing 100c of the minidisc 100, B the clearance between the minidisc 100 and the compact disc 101, and C the dimension of the outside diameter of the compact disc 101, then the dimension D1 for arranging the minidisc 100 and the compact disc 101 in plane is A+B+C. The dimensions A and B are those determined in accordance with the standard (A=72 mm, C=120 mm). For example, when dimension B is set to 5 mm, dimension D1 needs to be (D1=72 mm+5 mm+120 mm) 197 mm.
The disc player for use in playback of both a minidisc and a compact disc to be mounted on vehicle cannot be mounted on a console box in almost all of vehicles unless they conform with the DIN Standard (West Germany Standard). For example, "1DIN size" set forth in the DIN Standard is 178 mm (width).times.53 mm (height) in front panel size, which is outside the "1DIN size" in the above-described arrangement. Therefore, the disc player corresponding to the DIN Standard cannot be prepared.
The inventors of the present application have repeated their studies, and proposed the arrangement of the minidisc 100 and the compact disc 101 by making an optical pickup 103 for use in playback of both a minidisc and a compact disc the smallest dimension.
In FIG. 1B, the minidisc 100 and the compact disc 101 are arranged side by side on one and the same plane. In consideration that the minidisc 100 and the compact disc 101 are not used simultaneously, the pickup 103 provided between the minidisc 100 and the compact disc 101 is miniaturized to the smallest limit whereby the center holes 100a and 101a of the minidisc 100 and the compact disc 101 are brought close to each other so that the distance L1 between the centers in FIG. 1A is changed to the distance L2 between the centers in FIG. 1B.
Let E be the dimension where the minidisc 100 and the compact disc 101 overlap, then dimension D2 is A+C-E, which indicates the dimension shortened by B+E from the dimension D1 (A+B+C) shown in FIG. 1A. With this, D2 is the dimension of more or less 180 mm, which is however not within the "1DIN size".

Disc player for minidisc and compact disc playback


Systems and methods of monitoring logical block address (LBA) activity are disclosed. In an embodiment, a pattern of a data storage device may be monitored. An LBA may be detected that is accessed based on the pattern. The LBA may be added to a list of LBAs stored in a memory.

Metrics can be used to measure factors affecting a user's experience with an electronic device. For portable devices, battery life and data access time are important to many users. Battery life can be extended by configuring portable devices to hibernate or enter a reduced activity state during periods of inactivity. However, when a user is ready to resume using a portable device, an extended delay in restoring the device to a pre-hibernation state can negatively impact the user's experience. Hence, there is a need for an improved system and method of monitoring data storage activity.

System and method of monitoring data storage activity


An object of the invention is to provide a spark plug having a discharge portion made of a precious metal tip, in which peeling of the precious metal tip from a surface of the discharge portion can be suppressed while spark abrasion, oxidation abrasion and abnormal abrasion of the discharge portion can be suppressed.

A spark plug used for ignition in an internal combustion engine such as an automobile engine has a tendency toward increase in temperature inside a combustion chamber for the purposes of increase in engine output and improvement in fuel efficiency. An engine of the type having a combustion chamber into which a discharge portion of a spark plug is protruded while located opposite to a spark discharge gap of the spark plug has been used widely in order to enhance ignitability. Under such circumstances, the discharge portion of the spark plug is apt to be worn out acceleratedly by spark discharge because it is exposed to a high temperature. In order to improve spark resistance of the discharge portion opposite to the spark discharge gap, a large number of proposals have been made for a spark plug of the type in which a precious metal tip mainly containing Ir or the like is welded to a leading end of an electrode.
For example, in Patent Document 1, a precious metal tip containing Ir as a main component, Rh and Ni has been described. This is for the following reasons. Good durability against abrasion caused by spark discharge (hereinafter also referred to as spark abrasion) can be used wisely since Ir has a high melting point (2410° C.). In addition, resistance to abrasion caused by volatilization of Ir oxidized at a high temperature (of not lower than 900° C.) (hereinafter also referred to oxidation abrasion) can be improved since Rh is added to Ir in order to prevent the oxidation abrasion of Ir. In the spark plug having such a discharge portion made of a precious metal tip containing Ir as a main component, and Rh, however, abnormal abrasion still occurred in accordance with the condition of use so that an outer circumferential side surface of the discharge portion which was not a discharge surface located in a position opposite to the spark discharge gap was gouged out circularly after operation. In Patent Document 1, therefore, attention has been paid to Ni as a component for suppressing the abnormal abrasion. That is, since Ni was further added to the precious metal tip containing Ir as a main component, and Rh, the abnormal abrasion could be suppressed while both spark abrasion and Ir oxidation abrasion could be prevented.
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-359050


An embedded microcircuit for producing an improved cooling film over a surface of a part, comprising an inlet through which a coolant gas may enter, a circuit channel extending from the inlet through which the coolant gas may flow, and a slot film hole formed at a terminus of the circuit channel through which the coolant gas may exit a part.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a microcircuit cooling passage fabricated in a part and terminating in a slot film hole providing increased film coverage created by the rapid expansion and expulsion of a coolant gas through the slot film hole and across the surface of the part. More specifically, this invention relates to a method of incorporating microcircuits comprising slot film holes into parts requiring cooling so as form a protective film of cool air across the surface of the part as well as facilitate the convective transfer of heat from within the part.
2. Description of Related Art
Film cooling of airfoils depends on the gas-path momentum of a gas traveling across the surface of the airfoil to interact with the film air momentum and force the film air over the surface of the airfoil. If the momentum of the film air is too high, the film air will penetrate into the gas path air and not adhere to the surface. This phenomenon is called blow-off and is detrimental to film cooling.
Film holes and slots through which film air may exit are discrete features on the airfoil surface. A row of holes is often defined perpendicular to the gas path flow direction. This row of holes ejects a film cooling the area down-stream of the holes. Between holes in a row, there is no film from that row. This area depends on the conduction within the metal to cool the surface and therefore the metal sees something slightly higher than the average of the film temperature and the gas temperature. By increasing the size of the exits of the film holes, the coverage of the holes can be increased. This can be done by using more holes, and more cooling flow, or by diffusion the air exiting the hole so that the same amount of flow requires more area, and that area can be extended perpendicular to the gas path flow direction, increasing the coverage of the film row. This will increase the percentage of the airfoil surface covered by film, decreasing the average film temperature, and reducing the amount of surface relying on conduction for cooling.
With reference to FIGS. 1a and 1b, there is illustrated a cooling channel known to the art. Coolant gas 27 is circulated through the interior of a part and exits as exit gas 28 through a hole 22 permeating the part surface 12. Gas flow 24 is pulled across part surface 12 and is illustrated herein as moving from left to right across part surface 12. Gas flow 24 is usually generated as the result of the part moving, often in a rotary fashion, through a gas. Exit gas 28 exits the hole 22 in a direction that is substantially normal to part surface 12. As exit gas 28 exits the hole 22, it reacts to gas flow 24 and proceeds to move generally in the direction corresponding to the direction in which gas flow 24 is moving. As a result, exit gas 28 is pulled across the part surface 12 and tends to hug closely thereto forming a film 26.
It is therefore advantageous to configure the placement of holes 22 through a part surface 12 such that the resulting film 26, consisting of cool air, forms a protective coating over the part. One configuration known to the art is illustrated in FIG. 1c. A plurality of holes 22 are arranged along an axis 20 wherein axis 20 extends generally perpendicular to the direction of gas flow 24. Each hole has a width equal to break out height 16. Pitch 18 is computed as the distance along axis 20 required for a single repetition of a hole 22. Therefore the linear coverage afforded by such a pattern of holes is equal to break out height 16 divided by pitch 18. As defined, coverage increases if the holes are spaced closer together (the pitch decreases) or, maintaining a constant pitch, the width of the holes 22 is increased (the break out height 16 is increased). It is therefore preferable to configure holes 22 in a pattern in such a way that the coverage is maximized. Such a configuration provides for the greatest coverage by film 26 of part surface 12.
Unfortunately, as mentioned, it is common in the art for exit gas 28 to exit hole 22 in a direction normal to part surface 12. If the velocity of exit gas 28 is too great, exit gas 28 tends to extend for a distance above part surface 12 before reacting with gas flow 24. In such an instance, it is possible that gas flow 28 will fail to form a film 26 hugging the part surface 12. As noted, this phenomenon is referred to as "blow-off". Blow-off results in a failure of exit gas 28 to effectively form a protecting cooling film 26. It is, in theory, possible to construct holes 22 with apertures that increase in diameter as they approach part surface 12. Such an increase in aperture would serve to reduce the velocity of the exit gas 28 and increase the formation of film 26. However, the degree to which the aperture may be increased is constrained by the physics of fluid dynamics to a relatively small value. Slowing the velocity of exit gas 28 by decreasing the rate of flow by which cooling gas is pumped through the part merely decreases the amount of cool gas available to spread over part surface 12. It is common practice to configure the circuit channels through which cooling gas is pumped so that the flow of cooling gas remains attached and slowly diffuses through the channels and over the part's surface.
A conventional row of holes 22 arranged along an axis 20 typically results in coverages averaging 50%. With reference to FIG. 6a, there is illustrated a graphic depiction of the temperature gradient arising in a film resulting from the exit of cool gas through a hole. Regions 61′–61′″ represent regions of increasing temperature present in a film formed on a part surface and extending away from a hole in the direction of gas flow 24. Note that the width of the regions 61′–61′″ is not significantly wider than the hole through which the gas exits. Therefore, the conventional configuration of holes creates a film of cool air with a coverage of approximately 50%.
There therefore exists a need for the design of cooling channels, through which may move a cooling gas, capable of absorbing the heat generated in a moving part, such as a turbine, which provides for an exit velocity of the gas low enough to ensure the formation of protective film of cool air over the surface of the part. There is further needed a configuration of the exit points of such cooling channels that provides a coverage greater than the 50% coverage achieved by conventional means.


This invention aims to provide an efficient means of performing a document search wherein relevance between plural document databases is examined. A summary making module and a search module are provided to document databases, and these are connected to a network as a server. A client obtains a relevant set of documents in a specified document database via this summary from a set of documents in the specified document database. The summary obtained is sent to another server, and a search is performed according to the summary in a document database in the server to which the summary is transferred.

This invention relates to a document searching method for changing over between plural document databases, and constructing relationships between plural document databases.
As more and more document information is converted to electronic format, a greater need is emerging to search different types of document database simultaneously. For instance, users often wish to look up dictionaries relating to newspaper articles which they may find of interest.
In the past, it was possible to perform a search independently by changing over between plural document databases, but there was no way of examining the relevancy of sets of documents in other databases to a set of documents in one particular database.
If however the search is limited to the same document database, it is possible to search other document sets within that database. In this case, sufficient search speed is often obtained by calculating the relevance between documents before searching. Even with different databases, it is possible to search plural document databases at the same time if such a calculation is performed beforehand, but since the need for calculation increases as the number of databases increases due to increasing numbers of combinations, this method is not realistic.
It is also possible to first analyze the set of key documents on the user side to compose a search input, and then search in other document databases by using the input, but in this case, the user side has to receive all the information about the set of key documents, and if the document databases are on a network, the amount of traffic would be huge.

Method of searching documents and a service for searching documents


A disclosed vertical planter box assembly includes perimeter walls defining an interior space for holding plants. The perimeter wall includes openings aligned around the interior space. A water basin is provided at a top side for communicating water into the interior space. A drip tray is supported below a bottom side for capturing draining water from the interior space. A plurality of pins extend through the openings and across the interior space to hold the plant structures in place within the interior space.

One method of displaying succulent plants is to support them within a box that can be mounted to a wall or stood up in a vertical configuration on a horizontal surface. Currently, a box is placed on a horizontal surface, filled in with potting soil and then covered with a wide mesh screen. Cuttings from plants are inserted through the screen and into the potting soil. Only after the cuttings have matured and rooted sufficiently within the wire mesh is the box ready for vertical display. Rooting and maturation of the plants can take weeks or months. Most consumers do not have weeks or months to devote to a single project and would enjoy a more time efficient method and system for creating a vertical planter display.


Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to the field of spatial positioning, and disclose a method and apparatus for spatial positioning based on augmented reality. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the augmented reality based method for spatial positioning including: acquiring an offset angle of a dual-camera coordinate system relative to a world coordinate system, wherein the world coordinate system is a coordinate system that is preset by using a known target position of a positioning photosphere as a reference coordinate; acquiring an actual position of the positioning photosphere in the world coordinate system; calculating a coordinate value of the dual camera in the world coordinate system in accordance with the offset angle, the actual position of the positioning photosphere, and the target position; and determining a position of a virtual object in a virtual space in the world coordinate system in accordance with the coordinate value of the dual camera in the world coordinate system. Embodiments of the present disclosure further disclose the apparatus for spatial positioning based on augmented reality.

AR (Augmented Reality) is a technology that calculates the position and angle of a camera image in real time and adds corresponding images, videos and 3D models. A purpose of this technology is to put the virtual world into the real world in a screen and interact with it. With the improvement of CPU (Central Processing Unit) computing power of a portable electronic product, it is expected that augmented reality will be used more and more widely.
An AR head-mounted device used by users in the existing technologies usually adopts the Inside-Out scheme to locate a virtual object. However, when the Inside-Out positioning scheme is applied in an AR scene, the positioning of the virtual object and a real object needs to be achieved by a dual camera device and a positioning photosphere.
However, the inventor of the present disclosure found that at least the following technical defects still exist in the existing technologies: when the dual camera device is displaced or rotated relative to the positioning photosphere, an object in the virtual scene cannot coincide with the position of the positioning photosphere, thus causing the object in the virtual scene cannot be tightly combined with the object in a real scene.

Augmented reality based method and apparatus for spatial positioning


Methods and systems for treating a waste substance containing perfluoro- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and mineralizing the PFAS, at least partially. The method includes combining the PFAS with a first amendment in a reactor to create a combination, heating and pressurizing the combination to hydrothermal conditions, and holding the combination at hydrothermal conditions for a holding time sufficient to at least partially mineralize the PFAS to create a treated combination.

Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances ("PFAS") are man-made chemicals with exceptional stability used in a variety of consumer and industrial products, including use as coatings (e.g., Teflon™), electronics, and as key ingredients in aqueous film forming foams ("AFFF") used to fight fuel fires. Military specifications often require the use of fluorinated chemicals in AFFF used to fight fires. Both civilian and military airports follow the military specification by law and have historically maintained fluorinated AFFF stockpiles at airports. The federal government recently adopted regulations allowing civilian airports to use non-fluorinated foams, possibly leading to upcoming needs to destroy large amounts of fluorinated AFFF when substitutes become available. For several decades, fire training activities at military bases and other facilities have released large volumes of AFFF containing PFAS into soils and water.
Industrial sources of PFAS contamination have also been found throughout the nation at manufacturing sites. In 2016, the United States Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") issued lifetime health advisory levels for two PFASs in drinking water, perfluorooctane sulfonate ("PFOS") and perfluorooctanoic acid ("PFOA"), at the stringent level of 70 ng/L combined, and the agency is considering adopting regulatory limits on these compounds. This finding has generated a great deal of concern and the need to cleanup contaminated sites at military and industrial sites.
Unlike most organic chemicals, many PFAS are not biodegradable and are also extremely resistant to chemical degradation due to their highly fluorinated structure. Thus, it is commonly thought that PFAS may remain in the environment indefinitely without active efforts to remove or destroy the chemicals. Unfortunately, existing technologies for treatment of other organic chemicals are inadequate for PFAS due to their high chemical stability. PFAS could be managed in a number of different ways, but complete destruction of stockpiles and wastes is most desirable because it would reduce potential liabilities in the future if the managed wastes were to be inadvertently released (e.g., from a leaking landfill). Although there is currently a lack of toxicity data on these other PFASs, their continued presence in waste materials raises concerns about potential future liabilities. Recognizing this, the Department of Defense (DoD) is pro-actively supporting development of more comprehensive strategies aimed at addressing PFASs more broadly, including ionic and neutral structures, branched and linear isomers, and long- and short-chain structures.
Most existing treatment technologies only transfer PFAS from water to a solid phase adsorbent or partially degrade the compounds, where the byproducts are of unknown toxicity. There are reports of dry thermal destruction processes, including with lime, and reports of hydrothermal reactions amended with metallic iron and sometime persulfate (a strong oxidizing agent), but these reagents are expensive. Dry thermal treatment also requires removal of water from all samples and high operating temperatures. Off-site disposal in hazardous waste landfills is costly and does not completely eliminate liabilities. Incineration can lead to complete PFAS destruction, but is costly and requires large energy inputs for water samples and soil samples with high moisture content.
Due to their high chemical stability, treatment of PFAS contaminated water has been limited mostly to physical adsorption processes (e.g., activated carbon, ion exchange) that serve to transfer PFASs to a solid phase, which must be frequently replaced and disposed. As a result, there is considerable interest in technologies that can not only remove PFASs from environmental media but also mineralize the chemicals so that they pose limited future risk or liability. Recent studies have reported on PFAS transformations via electrochemical, UV photochemical and photocatalytic, sonochemical, plasma, and mechanochemical technologies. However, most of these reports indicate incomplete mineralization (defined as conversion to inorganic carbon, fluorine, and other elemental components of the PFAS chemical structures) of PFASs and/or ineffectiveness for some PFASs, e.g., such as PFOS during activated persulfate treatment. Slow or incomplete PFAS transformation is often accompanied by detection of shorter-chain fluorinated compounds that may still pose environmental risks.
Conventional physical-chemical approaches to destroy PFASs in-situ have also met with limited success. In situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) with activated persulfate has received considerable attention, but while results to date show some success destroying PFOA and related perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs), the more widely detected perfluoroalkyl sulfonic acids (PFSAs) like PFOS remain resistant to treatment. Reactions with zerovalent iron (ZVI) at ambient environmental conditions, an effective option for treating chlorinated hydrocarbon contaminants (e.g., PCE, TCE), is completely ineffective for treating fluorinated chemicals like PFASs due to the much stronger C—F bonds. SERDP- and AFCEC-supported work by the PI and other groups has begun to show that reductive treatment by hydrated electrons (eaq), a potent reducing agent (EH=−2.9 V) can be broadly effective for degrading and defluorinating PFASs, but these processes are limited to treating aqueous streams (e.g., groundwater, concentrate brine streams) only due to the need to photo-generate the eaq− with ultraviolet light. Similarly, electrochemical treatment systems that rely on reactions of PFASs at electrode surfaces, can be expected to be of limited utility treating on-site waste samples containing a mixture of solids and water. A technology that can mineralize PFAS would be attractive to site managers who wish to reduce potential future liabilities.
Currently, one option for complete destruction and mineralization of PFAS in chemical stockpiles, wastes, and concentrate streams (e.g., ion exchange regenerant waste stream) would be high temperature thermal decomposition or incineration processes that require drying of the materials. While this may be practical for PFAS-containing solid wastes, incineration of wet wastes and concentrate solutions is inefficient because of the high energy requirements for vaporizing water. Other approaches for treatment cannot ensure complete mineralization of the PFAS chemicals. Other disposal options would include landfilling in hazardous waste landfill, but this may be undesirable for any parties that want to ensure there remains little future liability associated with the wastes.
Cost-effective methods, systems and processes of mineralizing or destroying PFAS on-site are needed.

Hydrothermal technology for decontamination and mineralization of perfluoro- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) in wastes, concentrate solutions, and chemical stockpiles


A corner crackstop is formed in each of the four corners of an integrated circuit (IC) chip, in which the corner crackstop differs structurally from a portion of the crackstop disposed along the sides of the IC chip. Each corner crackstop includes a plurality of layers, formed on a top surface of a silicon layer of the IC chip, within a perimeter boundary region that comprises a triangular area, in which a right angle is disposed on a bisector of the corner, equilateral sides of the triangle are parallel to sides of the IC chip, and the right angle is proximate to the corner relative to a hypotenuse of the triangle. The plurality of layers of the corner crackstop include crackstop elements, each comprising a metal cap centered over a via bar, in which the plurality of layers of the corner crackstop is chamfered to deflect crack ingress forces by each corner crackstop.

The exemplary embodiments generally relate to a corner crackstop and a method of making the corner crackstop in each of the four corners of an integrated circuit (IC) chip, in which the corner crackstop differs structurally from a portion of the crackstop disposed along the sides of the IC chip. More specifically, each corner crackstop includes a plurality of layers disposed between a silicon layer and a final passivation layer of the IC chip. The plurality of layers of the corner crackstop include crackstop elements, each comprising a metal cap centered over a via bar. Yet more specifically, the plurality of layers of the corner crackstop is chamfered to deflect crack ingress forces by each corner crackstop.

Chamfered corner crackstop for an integrated circuit chip


Zoom projection lens systems are provided which have 1) an entrance pupil which remains at a substantially fixed position as zooming takes place, and 2) a operative aperture stop, distinct from the system's physical aperture stop, which moves through lens surfaces as zooming takes place. The fixed entrance pupil allows for efficient coupling to a light source throughout the magnification range of the system. Methods which can be used to design and produce zoom lens systems of this type and which employ a pseudo-aperture stop are also disclosed.

As is well known, projection lens systems are used to form an image of an object on a viewing screen. The basic structure of a projection lens system is shown in FIG. 8, wherein 10 is a light source (e.g., a tungsten-halogen lamp), 12 is illumination optics which forms an image of the light source (hereinafter referred to as the "output" of the illumination system), 14 is the object which is to be projected (e.g., a matrix of on and off pixels of a LCD panel), and 13 is a projection lens system which forms an enlarged image of object 14 on viewing screen 16.
Viewing screen 16 can be viewed from the front or the back depending upon the particular application of the projection lens system. Also, instead of being viewed, the image can be recorded on a recording medium, e.g., film, in such applications as a photographic enlarger.
For many applications, the light source, the illumination optics, and the location and size of the both the object and image are fixed. For a variety of other applications, however, it is desirable to be able to vary the size and location of the image. In particular, projection lens systems often need to be used with different size screens or in rooms having different dimensions. The parameters of this problem are often expressed in terms of providing variable image distance to image width ratios, which typically run in the range from 7:1 to 1.5:1 (hereinafter the "ID-IW ratio").
In the past, various approaches have been used to vary the ID-IW ratio. The most basic approach has been to use a set of interchangeable fixed focal length projection lens systems with a particular member of the set being chosen to match the ID/IW value of a particular room/viewing screen configuration. The disadvantages of this approach include the facts that only a finite number of ID-IW ratios can be satisfied so that in general the image size is smaller than the projection screen, the setup time for the system is often significant, and the number of components which must be transported and stored is large.
To avoid these problems, zoom projection lens systems have been developed in the art. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,920,315. These lens systems have followed zoom lens technology developed in the area of "taking" or "objective" lenses, e.g., camera lenses. Examples of such zoom taking lenses can be found in, for example, E. Betensky, "Zoom Lens Principles and Types", SPIE, Vol. CR41, Warren J. Smith, Editor, 1992.
The zoom projection lens systems which have followed the taking lens approach have employed a zooming unit, a compensating unit, a focusing unit which has been either separate from or part of the compensating unit, and a fixed unit containing an aperture stop. As a result, these zoom projection lens systems have been highly complex containing many lens elements. Also, for low ID/IW values, these design forms would require excessively large diameters for the lens elements which would significantly increase manufacturing costs.
Zoom lens objectives have been developed for camera applications which employ a moving physical aperture stop. Such a stop can be used to minimize both element size and aberration variation during zooming. Reduced aberration variation, in turn, reduces lens complexity. By means of this approach, significant simplification in terms of both economy of elements and motions of elements has been achieved. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,838,669. A related approach has employed multiple physical stops at different locations in the zoom lens system, with different stops controlling the aperture and vignetting of the system as zooming takes place. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,749,265.
As discussed in detail below, in accordance with the invention, it has been determined that the moving aperture stop approach is not suitable for zoom projection lens systems. Specifically, such a stop generally results in a moving entrance pupil which leads to a variety of problems when used with fixed illumination optics having an output at a fixed location, the most serious of which is that small ID/IW values cannot be achieved. Although multiple physical aperture stops can in theory be used to address the moving entrance pupil problem, the result of this approach would be an unnecessarily complex and expensive zoom projection lens system.
The problems resulting from a zoom projection lens system having a moving physical aperture stop can be addressed by using illumination optics having a moveable output location. However, this simply transfers the problem to the illumination portion of the overall projection system making that portion complex. In addition, illumination systems having moveable outputs are inefficient in terms of illumination at the viewing screen per unit of energy consumed, i.e., higher wattage lamps must be used to achieve the same level of screen illumination.
Zoom projection lens systems specifically designed for use with LCD panels have been disclosed in Japanese Patent Publications Nos. 4-172416, 4-83215, and 3-293612. The '416 publication uses the classical approach of a fixed aperture stop and thus the resulting lens system is highly complex including four units and ten elements. The '215 publication has a moving aperture stop resulting in a moving entrance pupil which limits its ability to achieve low ID/IW values. The '612 publication similarly has a moving aperture stop and thus entrance pupil which again limits the range of ID/IW values. Moreover, the lens systems of this publication exhibit variations in light level at the screen as the lens is zoomed.
Projection systems which employ LCD panels present special problems for a zoom projection lens system. For example, beam splitting optics are often used with LCD panels so that three colors can be projected using one projection lens system. For these applications, there needs to be a large space between the object and the first lens element of the zoom projection lens system.
The corresponding problem for a taking or objective lens involves creating a large back-focal-length to focal-length ratio. For wide angle taking lenses, an inverted telephoto design composed of a negative first unit followed by a positive second unit containing an aperture stop can be used for this purpose. Such lenses, however, always have a moving exit pupil, or entrance pupil in projection lens terminology. This means that conventional inverted telephoto zoom lenses cannot be directly applied to the problem of providing a large space between the object and the first element of a zoom projection lens system.
Another problem associated with zoom projection lens systems which are to be used with LCD panels, as well as in other applications, is that in some cases it is necessary for the entrance pupil to be at infinity or at least at a great distance from the object, a condition referred to as telecentric. This is either to minimize the angle of the principal ray at the object, or to minimize the change of magnification for an out of focus condition. To achieve this condition, the aperture stop is usually placed at the back focus position of the rear lens unit. Depending upon the size of the object, and the distance from the object to the first lens surface, the back focus position could be a considerable distance from the rear lens unit, thus requiring a large physical size for the lens barrel. In the case of a zoom projection lens system designed in accordance with prior art approaches, this problem is exacerbated because the moving elements would have to be on the image side of the aperture stop.


An apparatus and method for calculating a cumulative histogram of an image are provided. A cumulative histogram calculation apparatus may include a cumulative value selecting unit to select cumulative data obtained by accumulating input data, based on a number of combinations of the input data, and a loading unit to load the selected cumulative value in a corresponding bin of a histogram.

1. Field
Example embodiments of the following description relate to an apparatus and method for calculating a cumulative histogram of an image, and more particularly, to a technology that may reduce hardware costs by applying a scheme of calculating a cumulative value obtained by accumulating data associated with a number of combinations of the input data and of selectively loading the calculated cumulative value in a corresponding bin of a histogram.
2. Description of the Related Art
A histogram is frequently used in an image processing field, and may be generated based on a predetermined reference in a part of or all of areas of an image.
In this instance, the predetermined reference refers to dividing a part of or all of the areas of the image into a finite number of bins, and corresponds to an x-axis of the histogram of the image. A value obtained by adding, to a corresponding bin, information indicated by pixels in an area of the image that generate the histogram refers to a value of a y-axis.
The above histogram may also be used to generate a feature point based on the image and to represent information on feature points neighboring the generated feature point, namely a descriptor.
For example, a scale-invariant feature transform (SIFT) algorithm is widely used in the image processing field, to match feature points, and may provide stable processing results. The SIFT algorithm may generate a descriptor of a feature point, and the descriptor may be represented using a histogram for a gradient of pixels in an area neighboring the feature point.
A histogram in the image processing field is widely used in real-time color correction, tone-mapping, and the like, and is representative of schemes of expressing a characteristic using a distribution of image information.
The above histogram may be generated and processed for all areas of an image, however, may be generated only for a predetermined area of the image.
A feature-based image matching scheme may be used in various image processing fields, for example, motion tracking, detection and recognition of an object or a face, restoration of three-dimensional (3D) space, synchronization of stereo images, and the like.
The feature-based image matching scheme may enable matching of feature points using at least two images, and may use the histogram using a descriptor representing properties of feature points.
To use the SIFT algorithm in high-speed processing of a high-quality, high-capacity image, processing using hardware may be required due to complexity of the SIFT algorithm. In this instance, when a histogram of a predetermined area of an image, for example a descriptor, is generated, when the histogram is implemented using hardware, an adder may be used as a structure allocated to a predefined bin, based on a size of an area.

Apparatus and method for calculating cumulative histogram of image


The present disclosure relates to a feedforward structure for controlling water level, in particular to a feedforward structure for controlling a steam drum water level in a steam turbine FCB test and a control method therefor. The feedforward structure includes a steam drum provided with a steam drum water level measurement sensor therein, a feed water pipe provided with a feed water flow measurement sensor therein, and a steam inlet pipe provided with a steam flow measurement sensor therein. A steam drum water level measurement value I in the steam drum water level measurement sensor is compared with a set value of the steam drum water level.

During a fast cut back (FCB) test or a load rejection test, an over-speed protection control (OPC) function is triggered at a steam turbine side in advance, to quickly close a steam inlet control valve, quickly open high and low pressure bypasses, and open a pressure control valve at boiler side, so that a main steam pressure at the steam turbine side rises sharply and then drops sharply. Meanwhile, a main steam flow is dropped sharply so as to cause a steam drum water level to rise rapidly, resulting in a false water level. In the cast that the steam drum water level is controlled in a conventional three-impulse mode, a feed water control system will quickly reduce water supply to cause the water level to rise briefly and then drop sharply, leading to the fact that the drum water level is low, which triggers a main fuel trip (MFT) protection action of a boiler.

Feedforward structure for controlling steam drum water level in steam turbine FCB test and control method for the same

China Energy Engineering Eastern Electric Power Testing Research Institute Co., Ltd.


A method of making very long, double-stranded synthetic poly-nucleotides. A multiplicity of short oligonucleotides is provided. The short oligonucleotides are sequentially hybridized to each other. Enzymatic ligation of the oligonucleotides provides a contiguous piece of PCR-ready DNA of predetermined sequence.

1. Field of Endeavor
The present invention relates to constructing DNA sequences and more particularly to constructing DNA sequences using ligase enzymes.
2. State of Technology
U.S. Pat. No. 6,375,903 issued Apr. 23, 2002 to Francesco Cerrina et al. for a method and apparatus for synthesis of arrays of DNA probes provides the following background information, "The sequencing of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a fundamental tool of modern biology and is conventionally carried out in various ways, commonly by processes which separate DNA segments by electrophoresis. . . . One such alternative approach, utilizing an array of oligonucleotide probes synthesized by photolithographic techniques is described in Pease, et al., "Light-Generated Oligonucleotide Arrays for Rapid DNA Sequence Analysis," Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, Vol. 91, pp. 5022–5026, May 1994."
International Patent Application WO 02/095073 by Peter J. Belshaw et al. published Nov. 28, 2002 for a method for the synthesis of DNA sequences provides the following background information, "Using the techniques of recombinant DNA chemistry, it is now common for DNA sequences to be replicated and amplified from nature and for those sequences to then be disassembled into component parts which are then recombined or reassembled into new DNA sequences. While it is now both possible and common for short DNA sequences, referred to as oligonucleotides, to be directly synthesized from individual nucleosides, it has been thought to be generally impractical to directly construct large segments or assemblies of DNA sequences larger than about 400 base pairs. As a consequence, larger segments of DNA are generally constructed from component parts and segments which can be purchased, cloned or synthesized individually and then assembled into the DNA molecule desired."

Derivatized versions of ligase enzymes for constructing DNA sequences

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