A kit for use in disposing of spent medical supplies, contraceptive supplies, or feminine hygiene supplies includes an outer pouch, a plurality of inner pouches, a storage pouch, and a plurality of cleaning wipes. The outer pouch retains the remaining components of the kit. The inner pouches are used to individually contain spent supplies. The storage pouch is designed to segregate the used inner pouches and their contents from the remaining components of the kit. The wipes are used for general clean up. The kit allows for the discrete storage and disposal of the spent supplies.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a compact and disposable kit containing a plurality of supplies used to collect and dispose of bodily fluids in a clean and discrete fashion. Depending upon the user's needs, such supplies can include feminine hygiene products, birth control products, ostomy products, incontinence products, or baby care products. Specifically, the present invention relates to a kit composed of an outer pouch or case for holding the remaining components of the kit as well as the supplies, a plurality of inner bags for holding used supplies, cleaning wipes or tissues, and a disposal pouch.
2. Description of the Prior Art
People value their privacy. People consider various medical situations private and try to avoid the perceived embarrassment arising from dealing with such situations in public. This is particularly true of many people who have had a colostomy or who suffer from incontinency. This is also true of women coping with menses.
A variety of hygiene products are available for collecting bodily fluids associated with various medical situations. Such items include sanitary napkins and tampons, ostomy products, condoms, sponges, as well as adult and infant diapers. People must carry such items while engaged in daily activities so such items are available when needed. People would generally prefer to be able to carry and dispose such items in a concealed and discrete fashion to avoid embarrassment.
Various kits and carrying cases have been developed over time to help people deal with such situations. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,443,161 dated Aug. 22, 1995 to David R. Jonese discloses a disposable baby changing kit. This kit includes an outer pouch specifically designed to contain (1) two diapers; (2) two moisture impermeable disposal bags; (3) two wet wiping elements; (4) baby powder; and (5) baby cream. Each of these items is intended to be used once before disposal. Soiled diapers and wiping elements can be placed in one of the two moisture impermeable disposal bags for future discarding.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,579,916 dated Dec. 3, 1996 to Katrina A. Manko discloses a feminine hygiene carrier kit. The kit includes a case made of a washable material having a plastic or similar lining. The kit is designed to contain two sanitary napkins, wiping products, and water impermeable bags for enclosing soiled hygiene articles for subsequent disposal.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,531 dated Nov. 16, 1993 to Felipe A. Nieves discloses an inexpensive feminine hygiene package and compact sanitary kit. The kit includes an outer container, a dry wipe, a wet wipe, and a sanitary napkin. The outer container can be used to dispose of the wipes and napkin after use.
None of the patents discussed above, taken separately or in combination, describe the instant invention as claimed. Nor do they disclose kits having all of the advantages of the instant invention.


An edge protector is provided for protecting an edge or corner of an article. The edge protector includes a cushion insert having an inner surface adapted to engage the corner of the article, and an outer surface provided with a pair of spaced apart retaining elements. A reinforcing body has an inner surface engaged against the outer surface of the cushion insert and a pair of spaced apart outer edges retained by the retaining elements of the cushion insert.

The present invention generally relates to elongated edge protectors for protecting an edge or corner of an item being shipped or transported. More specifically, the present invention relates to an elongated edge protector having a cushion insert to provide additional protection, durability and reinforcement at the corner of the item being shipped.
Packages, articles, products, palletized loads and the like are often subject to damage during shipping or transit. One traditional method of shipping a product, such as a large appliance, involves packaging the product within a cardboard box having cardboard inserts for positioning and holding the product within the box. After each product is packaged within a box, individual boxes or multiple boxes are assembled into an orderly stack onto a pallet or shipping crate. Once the product or products are positioned onto the pallet, the entire pallet is typically wrapped in a heat shrinkable plastic sheet to maintain the integrity of the assembled stack.
During shipment and storage, the corner edges of each box may become damaged. Thus, before the product or products are wrapped with the heat shrink plastic material, edge protectors are often used along the outside corners of the individual box or assembled stack. Edge or corner protectors are typically formed from one or more pieces of paperboard, cardboard and/or corrugated cardboard folded into a rigid V-shape member having a pair of transversely oriented leg members joined at an apex.
In certain situations and with certain products, it is desirable to provide a cushioned edge protector that enables ease of use while providing adequate strength and product protection. Although a cushioned edge protector is desirable, the edge protectors must also be stackable for storage prior to use.
Typically, cushioned edge protectors are most often formed from expanded polystyrene foam (EPS) which has good cushioning properties for protecting the product being shipped but has a tendency to break apart and lose its integrity upon contact with other articles. When this type of cushioned edge protector is used during shipment of products, the edge protector can become broken and damaged, which creates an unpleasant appearance and reduces the effectiveness of the protector.


Pattern recognition apparatus and method which provides plural pattern recognition modes, one of which is selected in accordance with characteristics of an unknown pattern to be recognized. The pattern recognition apparatus includes a pattern recognizer having plural recognition modes for comparing an unknown pattern with at least one known pattern, and a selector for selecting one of the plural recognition modes based on characteristics of the unknown pattern. In one aspect, the selection of one of the plural recognition modes is based on font size, font type and image quality, and in another aspect, selection of the recognition mode is based on the results of prior pattern recognition operations. The pattern recognition apparatus may be provided in a stand-alone device, and this device may interface to a local area network bus. Alternatively, the pattern recognition apparatus may be distributed such that individual components thereof are provided independently on a local area network bus and provided with individual servers for interface with stand-alone computers. In the case where computers perform character processing or word processing, a preview mode may be provided so that the results of character recognition may be previewed before transmitting image information to a remote location.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a method and apparatus for pattern recognition, and in particular to a system which adapts to the characteristics of an unknown pattern to be recognized.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a pattern recognition system, an unknown pattern, for example, a pattern derived from an image scanner or received by facsimile transmission, is analyzed to determine the identity of the pattern. FIG. 16 illustrates a typical pattern recognition process which identifies individual characters in an image which contains plural such characters.
As shown in FIG. 16, an image, derived for example, from an image scanner, is input in step S1601 and the individual characters in the image are segmented in step S1602. Steps S1601 and S1602 are typically performed by a general purpose host computer which then transmits the characters segmented in step S1602 to a dedicated optical character recognition device. In step S1603, the optical character recognition device subjects the segmented characters to feature extraction whereby a feature vector is derived for the unknown pattern. The feature vector represents various features concerning the pattern such as stroke position, direction, length, and so forth. Then, in rough classification step 1604, the feature vector for the unknown pattern is then compared to a dictionary which contains plural feature vectors for standard patterns. Specifically, the feature vector for the unknown pattern is compared with each feature vector in the standard pattern dictionary and a distance value is calculated representing the mathematical distance between the feature vector for the unknown pattern and the feature vector for the standard pattern. The distance values are sorted and the best candidates, for example, the 52 candidates that are nearest to the feature vector for the unknown pattern, are selected. In step S1605, the best candidates are subjected to detailed classification. In detail classification, additional discriminant functions, for example a pseudo-bayesian discriminant function, are employed to select the best candidate or candidates from among those determined in the rough classification step. The best candidate or candidates for the unknown pattern are then transmitted back to the general purpose host computer where they are subjected to post processing in step S1606. Post processing typically entails processing such as spell-checking, context checking and syntax processing and results in selection of one candidate for the unknown pattern.
While the process depicted in FIG. 16 permits identification of unknown patterns with high accuracy, there still remains a problem. Specifically, patterns to be recognized usually do not have uniform quality or characteristics, and it is not always possible to recognize unknown patterns that have characteristics other than those that are expected.

Pattern recognition method and apparatus capable of selecting another one of plural pattern recognition modes in response to a number of rejects of recognition-processed pattern segments


An engine compartment of a fork-lift truck has a noise-proof bottom plate for shielding the compartment bottom, and lateral intake air ports and passages for admitting outside air to the engine compartment, the incoming air being drawn over the walls of an hydraulic working oil tank mounted adjacent to the engine compartment, to continuously cool the oil within the tank. Introduction of the air through intake ports formed in the side of the truck body prevents entry of dust, splashing water and the like from the ground beneath the truck. The noise-proof bottom plate also serves to suppress noise emissions from the engine. A variety of air intake passage arrangements are described.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a structure for introducing outside air into an engine compartment of a fork-lift truck such as a diesel or gasoline powered industrial vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional fork-lift trucks are so constructed as to have an engine compartment 90 for housing an engine 91, a radiator 92, and the like as shown in FIGS. 20 and 21.
The conventional engine compartment 90 of a fork-lift truck is open at its bottom. An oil tank 96 and a fuel tank 97 are disposed at opposite sides of the engine compartment 90, so as to enclose the engine compartment 90. As FIG. 22 shows, since an open step 9420 is formed in the frame 942 of a vehicle body side, the oil tank 96 has a notch which defines a recessed area 960 serving as a portion of the open step 9420.
As FIGS. 20 and 21 show, a hood 93 covers over the upper part of the engine compartment 90. The frame 942 and a weight 95 cover the front and rear parts of the engine compartment 90, respectively.
As FIG. 20 shows, the weight 95 is provided with an exhaust port 950 through which outside air 8 introduced at the bottom into the engine compartment 90 is exhausted rearward. The flow of the outside air 8 is caused by a cooling fan 910 which is rotatably mounted on the engine 91, resulting in cooling the radiator 92, and the like.
Reference numeral 99 in FIG. 20 designates a rear wheel of the fork-lift truck. Reference numeral 930 in FIG. 21 designates a noise-proof seal. Reference numeral 98 in FIGS. 20 and 21 designates a head guard which is integrally formed with a frame of the oil tank 96, and the like.
The oil tank 96 is filled with working hydraulic oil 961 for power transmission for cargo working operations of the fork-lift truck.
In the aforementioned engine compartment of the conventional fork-lift truck, the oil tank 96 cannot be sufficiently cooled. The bottom part of the engine compartment 90 is conventionally left open to introduce the outside air 8 through the bottom for cooling the radiator. Overheating of the working oil 961 has occurred in this type of fork-lift truck. Additional oil coolers can be provided to cope with this problem of overheating, but that adds to the cost of the truck. The pipe arrangement has to be elongated for such additional oil coolers, resulting in increasing flow resistance and causing other problems.
Since the fork-lift truck is constructed to introduce the outside air 8 from the bottom part of the engine compartment 90 as FIG. 21 shows, a vortex 81 is likely to occur over the oil tank 96 and the fuel tank 97. This will promote the accumulation of dust 82, such as sand taken up from the ground, on upper surfaces of both tanks 96 and 97. Moreover, noise easiy carries from the bottom part of the engine compartment 90.

Kabushiki Kaisha Toyoda Jidoshokki Seisakusho


A bar hanger and mounting clip assembly for securing an electrical box between two opposed Tee bar elements in a ceiling structure is provided which comprises a spanning bar which spans between the two opposed Tee bar elements; first and second clips at opposed ends of the spanning bar for attaching the spanning bar to the two opposed Tee bar elements; an electrical box; and a mounting clip for securing the electrical box to the spanning bar, the mounting clip including a tension leg for initially holding the electrical box in position on the spanning bar before the clip is securely fastened to the electrical box.

The present invention relates generally to the art of support clips and brackets and, more particularly, to a box hanger and mounting clip assembly for securing an electrical box between two Tee bars or the like.
Heretofore, electrical junction boxes have been supported below grid ceilings using cumbersome support structures that are relatively difficult and costly to install. Prior methods of support involve, for example, the use of separate support members such as angle irons or unistruts which are cut to a required length at the job site. These support members are positioned on top of or above the grid ceiling at specified fixture support locations, and then they are anchored to the building superstructure by overhead load wires. Wherever an electrical feed is required, an electrical box must be installed along with the anchored support member. For this purpose, commercially available mounting rails or spanning bars that fasten to the Tee bars of the grid ceiling system are commonly used. Spanning bars are installed across the individual grids of the ceiling""s Tee bar grid structure and permit the electrical box to easily be located with selected grids. Sometimes a load wire is dropped directly to the spanning bar and attached by means of a wire clip, however, without independent support the load carrying capacity of such an arrangement is limited.
Acoustical xe2x80x9cTee Barxe2x80x9d electrical box hangers have been widely employed, in the construction of ceilings, and particularly suspended or drop ceilings. One example is the CADDY(copyright) 512 or 512A box hanger. CADDY(copyright) is a registered trademark of Erico, Inc. of Solon, Ohio. The hanger comprises two clips riveted to the ends of a spanning bar which snap on the bulb end of the stem of the Tee bar. The electrical box is held to the spanning bar by a spring finger clip embracing the bar which is secured to the back of the electrical box by a threaded fastener. To mount the clip to the box, a knock-out must be removed from the box. The spanning bar is rectangular and edgewise to the load, with the spring finger clip including a bent portion extending over the spanning bar and with a tab of the clip being inserted into the knock-out thereby engaging an inside surface of the back of the electrical box. The portion of the clip which is secured to the back of the electrical box by a threaded fastener requires lining up a threaded hole in the clip with a mating hole in the electrical box. The 512A hanger includes slotted intermediate brackets between the ends of the spanning bar and Tee bar clips. The spanning bar is secured to the brackets by threaded clamp fasteners.
As one skilled in the art can see, the above 512 box hanger assembly has a number of disadvantages. From the perspective of the installer, screws and other detached pieces of a multipart assembly can be discouraging. To install the 512 clip assembly to the electrical box, each and every piece of the entire assembly, with the tab of the clip inserted into the knock-out and the threaded hole lined up with the mating hole in the electrical box, must be carefully held together by the installer while the screw is installed through the box and into the clip. This method is very cumbersome and can be dangerous. One has to realize that this work is usually done on a ladder or scaffold and lost parts or forgotten special tools can be a real time wasting problem which can induce the installer into jury rigged unsafe shortcuts. Any slip of the bar or the assembly can result in the assembly losing its location in reference to the box. Moreover, all buildings vibrate, and suspended wire or chain drop ceilings are susceptible to special harmonics. A need therefore exists for a bar hanger and mounting clip assembly, having all the flexibility and advantages of the multipart 512 clip assembly, yet does not include the cumbersome disadvantages described above.
The present invention fulfills this need by providing a load bearing bar hanger and mounting clip assembly: that eliminates the need for the installer to carefully hold together each and every piece of the entire assembly, with the tab of the clip inserted into the knockout and the threaded hole lined up with the mating hole in the electrical box, while the screw fastener is installed through the box and into the clip; that eliminates the need for separate support structures; that can satisfy most load specifications; that offers a savings in labor and materials as compared to clip assemblies heretofore used; that can be installed using commercially available spanning bars; that can be installed relatively easily by providing a tension leg for temporarily holding the assembly in position on the electrical box as hardware is installed; that provides a means to center the point of attachment for a support wire to avoid cocked mounting of connected electrical devices; that substantially covers a knock-out opening of the electrical box to promote NEC compliance of the overall assembly; that is readily adapted for use at electrical feed locations; and that has added versatility so that it can be used to accommodate a wide variety of different structural environments and load wire configurations.
These objects and advantages are accomplished through a bar hanger and mounting clip assembly comprising a clip for securing an electrical box to a spanning bar, the clip comprising a first generally horizontally disposed flat portion engageable with an outer surface of the electrical box; an inverted generally U-shaped portion, attached to the first flat portion, sufficiently sized for receiving the spanning bar; a second generally horizontally disposed flat portion, attached to the inverted U-shaped portion, specifically configured to be received through a box knock-out opening formed in a wall of the electrical box, the second flat portion engaging an inner surface of the wall of the electrical box; and an initial holding means in the form of a tension leg for initially holding the clip in position on the electrical box before the clip is securely fastened to the electrical box. In this particular embodiment of the present invention, the tension leg comprises a first portion extending generally upwardly from the second flat portion of the clip; a second portion extending laterally outwardly and downwardly from the first portion of the tension leg; and a third portion extending generally upwardly from a lower edge of the second portion of the tension leg. The first, second and third portions of the tension leg and the second flat portion of the clip cooperate to form a channel means for receiving a peripheral edge of the knock-out opening in the wall of the electrical box. The distance of separation between the lower edge of the second portion of the tension leg and the second flat portion of the clip is preferably less than the thickness of the wall of the electrical box so that the lower edge resiliently engages the wall of the electrical box when the wall is received therein. The clip may further comprise a load wire attachment means for receiving and engaging one or more load wires. The load wire attachment means preferably comprises a generally upwardly extending wire attachment arm and at least one wire attachment hole formed in the arm for receiving one or more load wires. The wire attachment arm preferably extends generally upwardly from the inverted U-shaped portion of the clip. The clip substantially covers the knock-out opening in the electrical box once installed.
In another embodiment of the present invention, a bar hanger and mounting clip assembly for securing an electrical box between two opposed Tee bar elements in a ceiling structure is provided which comprises a spanning bar which spans between the two opposed Tee bar elements; first and second clips at opposed ends of the spanning bar for attaching the spanning bar to the two opposed Tee bar elements; an electrical box; and a mounting clip for securing the electrical box to the spanning bar, the mounting clip including initial holding means for initially holding the electrical box in position on the spanning bar before the clip is securely fastened to the electrical box. The mounting clip preferably comprises a first generally horizontally disposed flat portion engageable with an outer surface of the electrical box; an inverted generally U-shaped portion, attached to the first flat portion, sufficiently sized for receiving the spanning bar; and a second generally horizontally disposed flat portion, attached to the inverted U-shaped portion, specifically configured to be received through a box knock-out opening formed in a wall of the electrical box, the second flat portion engaging an inner surface of the wall of said electrical box. The initial holding means preferably comprises a tension leg which includes a first portion extending generally upwardly from the second flat portion of the mounting clip; a second portion extending laterally outwardly and downwardly from the first portion of the tension leg; and a third portion extending generally upwardly from a lower edge of the second portion of said tension leg. The first, second and third portions of the tension leg and the second flat portion of the mounting clip cooperate to form a channel means for receiving a peripheral edge of the knock-out opening in the wall of said electrical box. The distance of separation between the lower edge of the second portion of the tension leg and the second flat portion of the mounting clip is less than the thickness of the wall of the electrical box so that the lower edge resiliently engages the wall of the electrical box when the wall is received therein. The clip may further comprise a load wire attachment means for receiving and engaging one or more load wires which preferably comprises a generally upwardly extending wire attachment arm and at least one wire attachment hole formed in the arm for receiving the one or more load wires. The wire attachment arm preferably extends generally upwardly from the inverted U-shaped portion of the clip. The clip substantially covers the knock-out opening in the electrical box once installed.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter.


Threaded connections including a pin member and a box member and are mismatched. The pin member and the box member have wedge threads formed thereon with a gap formed between pin and box load flanks and/or pin and box stab flanks of the threaded connection. The mismatch may comprise different flank angles and/or different flank profiles between corresponding flanks.

Casing joints, liners, and other oilfield tubulars are often used in drilling, completing, and producing a well. Casing joints, for example, may be placed in a wellbore to stabilize a formation and protect a formation against high wellbore pressures (e.g., wellbore pressures that exceed a formation pressure) that could damage the formation. Casing joints are sections of steel pipe that may be coupled in an end-to-end manner by threaded connections, welded connections, and other connections known in the art. The connections are usually designed so that a seal is formed between an interior of the coupled casing joints and an annular space formed between exterior walls of the casing joints and walls of the wellbore. The seal may be, for example, an elastomer seal (e.g., an o-ring seal), a thread seal, a metal-to-metal seal formed proximate the connection, or similar seals known in the art.
One type of threaded connection commonly used to form a thread seal in oilfield tubulars is a wedge thread. In FIG. 1, a prior art connection 201 having a wedge thread is shown. "Wedge threads" are characterized by threads, regardless of a particular thread form, that increase in width (i.e., axial distance between load flanks 211 and 212 and stab flanks 213 and 214) in opposite directions on a pin member 203 and a box member 205. The rate at which the threads change in width along the connection is defined by a variable commonly known as a "wedge ratio." As used herein, "wedge ratio," although technically not a ratio, refers to the difference between the stab flank lead and the load flank lead, which causes the threads to vary in width along the connection. A detailed discussion of wedge ratios is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 6,206,436 issued to Mallis, and assigned to the assignee of the present invention. That patent is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Wedge threads are extensively disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. RE 30,647 issued to Blose, U.S. Pat. No. RE 34,467 issued to Reeves, U.S. Pat. No. 4,703,954 issued to Ortloff, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,454,605 issued to Mott, all assigned to the assignee of the present invention and incorporated herein by reference. Continuing with FIG. 1, on the pin member 201, a pin thread crest 239 is narrow towards the distal end of the pin member 201 while a box thread crest 243 is wide. Moving along an axis 200 (from right to left), the pin thread crest 239 widens while the box thread crest 243 narrows. In FIG. 1, the threads are tapered, meaning that a pin thread 207 increases in diameter from beginning to end while a box thread 209 decreases in diameter in a complimentary manner. Having a thread taper may improve the ability to stab the pin member 203 into the box member 205 and distributes stress in the connection.
Generally, thread seals are difficult to achieve with non-wedge threads having broad crests and roots, however, the same thread forms may have thread seals when used for wedge threads. Wedge threads do not have any particular thread form. One example of a suitable thread form is a semi-dovetailed thread form disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,360,239 issued to Klementich, and incorporated herein by reference. Another thread form includes a multi-faceted load flank or stab flank that mirror each other, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,722,706 issued to Church, and incorporated herein by reference. Each of the above thread forms is considered to be a "trapped" thread form, meaning that at least a portion of the corresponding load flanks and/or corresponding stab flanks axially overlap. An open (i.e. not trapped) thread form with a generally rectangular shape is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,578,880 issued to Watts. Further, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,767,035 issued to Hashem and incorporated by reference in its entirety, a two-start threaded connection uses a combination of open and trapped thread forms in a hybrid thread form. The above thread forms are examples of thread forms that may be used for embodiments of the invention. Generally, open thread forms such as buttress or stub are not suitable for wedge threads because they would impart a large radial force on the box member. A generally square thread form, such as that disclosed by Watts, or a trapped thread form does not impart an outward radial force on the box member. Those having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the teachings contained herein are not limited to particular thread forms.
For wedge threads, a thread seal may be accomplished as a result of the contact pressure and stress caused by interference over at least a portion of the connection between the pin load flank 211 and the box load flank 212 and between the pin stab flank 213 and the box stab flank 214, which occurs when the connection 201 is made-up. Close proximity or interference between the roots 241 and 245 and crests 239 and 243 completes the thread seal when it occurs over at least a portion of where the flank interference occurs. Generally, higher pressure may be contained with increased interference between the roots and crests ("root/crest interference") on the pin member 203 and the box member 205 and by increasing flank interference. The particular connection shown in FIG. 1 also includes a metal-to-metal seal that is accomplished by contact pressure between corresponding seal surfaces 204 and 206, respectively located on the pin member 203 and box member 205.
Wedge threads typically do not have a positive stop torque shoulder on the connection. For wedge threads that do not have a positive stop torque shoulder, the make-up is "indeterminate," and, as a result, the relative position of the pin member and box member varies more during make-up for a given torque range to be applied than for connections having a positive stop torque shoulder. As used herein, "make-up" refers to threading a pin member and a box member together. "Selected make-up" refers to threading the pin member and the box member together with a desired amount of torque, or based on a relative position (axial or circumferential) of the pin member with the box member. For wedge threads that are designed to have both flank interference and root/crest interference at a selected make-up, both the flank interference and root/crest interference increase as the connection is made-up (i.e. increase in torque increases flank interference and root/crest interference). For tapered wedge threads that are designed to have root/crest clearance, the clearance decreases as the connection is made-up. Regardless of the design of the wedge thread, corresponding flanks come closer to each other (i.e. clearance decreases or interference increases) during make-up. Indeterminate make-up allows for the flank interference and root/crest interference to be increased by increasing the make-up torque on the connection. Thus, a wedge thread may be able to thread-seal higher pressures of gas and/or liquid by designing the connection to have more flank interference and/or root/crest interference by increasing the make-up torque on the connection. However, this also increases stress on the connection during make-up, which could lead to failure during use.
Before make-up of a shouldered threaded connection, pipe dope is typically applied to both the pin member and the box member. Pipe dope provides lubrication to aid the make-up of the connection and helps prevent galling to allow for the connection to be broken-out at a later time. However, because of the close-fitting manner in which wedge threads make-up, as compared to a shouldered non-wedge thread connection, less pipe dope is required. Typically then, in a wedge thread connection, the pipe dope is only applied to the pin thread of the connection. The application of the pipe dope is also typically achieved with a brush, instead of a large swab (as is typical of other non-wedge thread connections). When a wedge thread connection is made-up, excess pipe dope may become trapped between the pin thread and the box thread, which may cause false torque readings (leading to improper make-up) or potentially damage the connection by expanding the box member. Accordingly, it would be desirable for a threaded connection to be able to control the high pressure build-up of pipe dope to avoid damage from trapped pipe dope.


A portable apparatus for pulling well pipe upwardly through a well includes a well pipe hauling head which incorporates two opposed, inwardly tapering discs which are adapted to frictionally engage well pipe therein by only a quarter-turn engagement with the pipe. This allows for easy manual engagement and disengagement of the well pipe with the hauling head. The hauler head is mounted with suitable mounting apparatus permitting the hauler head to be freely rotatable in a supported position adjacent a well. The apparatus may be provided with a reduction gear box so that it may be actuated by a portable power drill.

In wells including submersible pumps for pumping water up through long flexible plastic tubing (hereafter "well pipe"), pipe, removal of the well pipe is difficult as this procedure is labour intensive and time consuming. Traditional well management systems can be employed to achieve this result, e.g. a tower crane. This, however, is a costly proposition.
Various other attempts to manage the hoisting of well pipe have been made in the art such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,655,291. In this document, Cox discloses an apparatus for running pipe into or out of a well. The apparatus includes a dual roller system with a complicated network of springs, gears, chains, etc. The apparatus of this invention, since it includes numerous moving parts is susceptible to wear etc., which limits its usefulness.
In Canadian Patent No. 695,744, there is disclosed an apparatus for delivering pipe to a well which includes a spool carrying relatively inflexible well pipe to be fed into or removed from a well. This is done using a first feed-wheel which cooperates with a series of smaller straightening wheels which act as straightening rollers to deliver the pipe into the well in a linear condition. This same apparatus is said to also permit retrieval of well pipe.
Other patent documents related to the field of this invention include the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,168,287; 2,670,926; 3,809,366; 3,871,618; 4,296,916 and 3,791,625.
In Parola (U.S. Pat. No. 3,168,287) flexible well pipe is wound around a pulling drum several turns in order to lift the pipe from the well. The well pipe is grasped by the radial constrictive force caused by the encirclement of the cylindrical core of the drum by the pipe.
In Sewell (U.S. Pat. No. 2,670,926) flexible cable is drawn-in by a pair of opposed pneumatic tires that pinch the cable between the flat cylindrical faces of the two tires. The cable is fed straight through the "pinch" created by the two tires.
In Funk (U.S. Pat. No. 3,871,618) three obliquely opposed tires are used to pull well pipe in the manner of Sewell.
In Crees (U.S. Pat. No. 3,809,366) flexible electrical cable is fed by frictional engagement over a grooved spool or pulley into conduit. This pulley is shown in one embodiment (FIG. 2) as having an "arcuate" end or groove (44) for engagement of the conduit. Additional frictional engagement with the conduit is said to be effected in another embodiment (FIG. 3) by helically wrapping the conduit around the pulley for several turns. The embodiment of FIG. 1 shows a half-turn engagement between the conduit and pulley, enforced by the presence of a protective casing cover (21).
In Jewett (U.S. Pat. No. 4,296,916) a cable-carrying winch is shown mounted at a well-head for lifting a submersible well pump from the well bottom by cable.
Viljoen (U.S. Pat. No. 3,791,625) is a patent directed to hauling fish nets from the water. A powered V-shaped sheave in conjunction with a constant-pressure wheel is used to shape the net to resist shearing of the netting strands. The sheave surface is shown as being purely conical or "V"-shaped in cross-section in the region where it engages with the net.
The present invention addresses the problem of providing a hoisting mechanism for pulling from a well a length of flexible well pipe utilizing a hoisting system that allows the operator to readily engage, and disengage, the pipe as required during the well pipe removal operation. This is effected by a pipe-engaging mechanism that differs from the prior art both as to its structure and in the convenience of its use.
The invention in its general form will first be described, and then its implementation in terms of specific embodiments will be detailed with reference to the drawings following hereafter. These embodiments are intended to demonstrate the principle of the invention, and the manner of its implementation. The invention in its broadest and more specific forms will then be further described, and defined, in each of the individual claims which conclude this Specification.


A shielded circuit board connector has an interior insulative connector housing with conductive terminals supported thereon. An exterior metal shell is fitted over the connector housing and partially encloses the connector housing and its associated terminals as well as partially defines a mating end of the connector for accommodating an opposing connector. The exterior shell includes a formed metal piece that has a top wall, two opposing sidewalls and two engaging bottom wall portions. A rear wall is formed with the top wall and is bent therefrom to cover the rear part of the connector housing, The rear wall of the exterior shell further includes two side wings that overlie the sidewalls of the shell when the shell is applied to a connector housing. Two pairs of mounting legs are formed on the shell for securely mounting the connector to a circuit board.

The present invention relates generally to an electrical connector for connecting conductors of a cable to circuits on a printed circuit board, and more particularly, to an improved circuit board connector having an exterior shell covering the connector that provides a larger circuit path through the connector and which provides increased resistance to insertion and removal forces.
Conventional circuit board connectors include an insulative housing that supports a plurality of terminals. Such a connector is shown and described in published Japanese Utility Model Examined Publication No. 7-16312 and this connector includes an exterior metal cover that is press-fitted to at least part of the connector housing. A hollow, cylindrical section of the metal cover encircles the terminal contacts of the connector that are arranged at a forward part of the connector housing and further accommodates an opposing connector. The metal cover prevents electromagnetic interference from occurring in the circuits of the connector. The cover includes an inverted U-shaped section that lies adjacent its forward part, which encircles a corresponding forward part of the connector housing. This U-shaped section includes a top wall and two opposing sidewalls that overlie the top surface and opposite sides of connector housing near the rear part thereof. The opposing sidewalls of the U-shaped section each have pegs that extend from their lower longitudinal edges.
These pegs are press-fit into mounting holes of a circuit board when the connector is mounted thereon. The pegs are soldered to contact pads of a grounding circuit on the circuit board, while the solder tail portions of the connector terminals that extend out of the connector at its rear are also soldered to selected contact pads of the circuit. Such a connector is mounted on the circuit board solely by way of its two mounting pegs that are positioned at the end of the connector. Such a mounting arrangement does not have strong resistance to external forces that occur when the opposing connector is inserted into or removed from the circuit board connector. Because this connector is mounted only at its rear portion, the open end of the connector, is in effect, cantilevered out from the mounting pegs and repeated insertion and removal of an opposing connector into the hollow opening the connector metal cover will be likely to cause the board connector to either move or work loose from the circuit board, thereby causing an adverse effect on the connection between the connector terminal solder tail portions and the contact pads of the circuit board.
A need therefore exists for an improved circuit board connector that has strong resistance to external forces imparted to the connector during insertion and removal of an opposing connector thereto.

Circuit board connector with improved mounting characteristics


An infrared (IR) transceiver having a receiver chain with an isolated analog output, includes a transmission gate and a unity gain buffer interposed between the amplifier output and an analog output pad. The transmission gate behaves as a switch, passing the analog output signal to the analog output pad only when an analog output is required. The unity gain buffer has a high input resistance, a low input capacitance, a unity gain and a low output impedance, so that the load of a digital signal processing (DSP) device or measuring instrument on the analog output pad is isolated and does not affect the performance of the receiver chain. Since the transfer rates of the transmission gate and the buffer are each unity, the analog output pad provides a high fidelity analog output signal to the output buffer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to transceivers, and more particularly to an infrared digital transceiver having an isolated analog output.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional digital infrared (IR) transceivers provide only a digital output. The receiver component of the transceiver converts infrared optical pulses into discrete electrical pulses for downstream processing.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional IR transceiver receiving chain. A photodiode (unreferenced) such as a PIN diode converts the optical energy from an infrared optical signal to an electric current. An amplifier 14 converts the electric current to voltage and magnifies the voltage. The output (analog signal) of the amplifier 14 is fed to a comparator input and a threshold voltage is applied to the other input of the comparator 16.
When the analog output signal of the amplifier 14 is greater than the threshold voltage, the comparator 16 emits a digital pulse. If the analog signal amplitude is smaller than or equal to the threshold voltage, the comparator output remains low. Thus, the comparator 16 hides small signal information within the analog profile of the optical signal output from the amplifier, including base line voltage, noise variance, system gain, etc. Thus, these parameters are inaccessible and untestable.
Hence, it is very difficult to apply digital signal processing (DSP) technology to IR communication in this conventional IR transceiver receiving chain. DSP is a very powerful method of improving communication quality, sensitivity and immunity, and the advantages of DSP are well established in other types of communication systems. However, DSP usually requires an analog signal in order to effect the analog-to-digital conversion, and a conventional IR transceiver is incapable of providing an analog signal without risking disruption of the operation of the receiver chain.
Furthermore, the conventional IR transceiver is difficult to test and debug. The analog component of the receiver chain is the core of an IR transceiver. However, because the analog signal is not accessible, when the device malfunctions or experiences product quality problems common diagnostic procedures are largely unavailable because the analog signal output of the amplifier is untestable.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to add an analog output to the receiver chain in an IR transceiver. However, since in an integrated circuit design the load capability of an amplifier is limited due to restrictions in the chip die size, this is significantly more complex than merely adding a connection from an analog output pad to the amplifier output. A direct connection from the amplifier output to an analog output pad would add an additional load on the amplifier output which would affect the receiver chain performance. The extra load results not only from the parasitic capacitance of the connection trace and the pad, but also from the input impedance of external components such as a DSP device or measurement instrument. If the additional load is too heavy, the IR transceiver performance will be degraded. In extreme cases (e.g., where a large capacitance is added to the amplifier output), a conventional IR transceiver will oscillate and system failure will result.
In view of the foregoing and other problems, disadvantages, and drawbacks of the conventional methods and structures, an object of the present invention is to provide an IR transceiver having a receiver chain with an isolated analog output, and a method of implementing an analog output in an IR receiver chain.
According to the invention, a transmission gate and unity gain buffer are interposed between the amplifier output and an analog output pad. The transmission gate behaves as a switch, passing the analog output signal to the analog output pad only when an analog output is required. For example, to use the analog output signal for digital signal processing, for a relatively strong signal, it is unnecessary to use digital signal processing and the transmission gate remains off. For a relatively weak signal, the transmission gate is turned on, thereby passing the analog signal to the unity gain buffer which provides an analog signal output to the DSP device. Thus, the transmission gate minimizes the effect of the isolated analog output, and further serves as a switch and multiplexer which allows a single isolated analog output to be connected to different test points through the use of multiple transmission gates.
The unity gain buffer preferably has a high input resistance, a low input capacitance, a unity gain and a low output impedance. Thus, the load of the DSP device or measuring instrument on the analog output pad is isolated by the unity gain buffer and the transmission gate, and does not affect the performance of the receiver chain.
In the preferred embodiment, the bandwidth of the transmission gate and the buffer is wider than that of the receiver chain, and since the transfer rate of the transmission gate (when active) is unity and the transmission rate of the buffer is unity, the analog output pad provides an analog signal substantially identical to the analog output of the amplifier.
In a first aspect, the present invention provides an isolated analog output circuit for a photoelectric transceiver having a photodiode emitting a current proportional to an intensity of an optical signal to produce an analog electrical signal, with the analog electrical signal being amplified by a photodiode signal amplifier to generate an analog input signal to the circuit. The circuit includes a buffer coupled to an analog output terminal, the buffer including a differential amplifier having a very high input impedance and substantially a unity gain. When the analog input signal is coupled to an input of the differential amplifier, the buffer outputs an analog output signal substantially identical to the analog input signal while isolating the photodiode signal amplifier from a load on the analog output terminal.
In a further aspect of the isolated analog output circuit, the differential amplifier includes a first symmetrical transistor pair including an input transistor and an output transistor having a common current source or impedance for signal coupling and operating point setting, the input and output transistors passing a current in direct proportion to an amplitude of an input voltage of the input transistor, a second symmetrical transistor pair including a pair of transistors, forming a current mirror and an active load of the first symmetrical transistor pair, connected between a voltage supply and the first symmetrical transistor pair, and an output stage including an output stage transistor and a resistor forming an impedance transfer and feedback network to the output transistor, an input terminal of the output stage transistor being connected to an output terminal of the first symmetrical transistor pair and an output terminal of the output stage transistor being connected to ground through the output stage resistor and to an input terminal of the output transistor of the first symmetrical transistor pair and to the analog output terminal. When the analog input signal is applied to the input terminal of the input transistor, a current flows through the input transistor and the second symmetrical transistor pair raises the output terminal voltage of the output transistor to maintain substantially identical currents through the input transistor and the output transistor, thereby forcing a current through the output transistor to match the current through the input transistor and providing an output analog signal substantially identical to the input analog signal.
In another aspect of the present invention, a photoelectric transceiver has a photodiode emitting a current proportional to an intensity of an optical signal to produce an analog electrical input signal, having an isolated analog output circuit. The output circuit includes a buffer coupled to an analog output terminal, the buffer including a differential amplifier having a very high input impedance and substantially a unity gain. When the analog input signal is coupled to an input of the differential amplifier, the buffer outputs an analog output signal substantially identical to the analog input signal while isolating the photodiode signal amplifier from a load on the analog output terminal.
In a further aspect of the photoelectric transceiver, the differential amplifier includes a first symmetrical transistor pair including an input transistor and an output transistor having a common current source or impedance for signal coupling and operating point setting, the input and output transistors passing a current in direct proportion to an amplitude of an input voltage of the input transistor, a second symmetrical transistor pair including a pair of transistors, forming a current mirror and an active load of the first symmetrical transistor pair, connected between a voltage supply and the first symmetrical transistor pair, and an output stage including an output stage transistor and a resistor forming an impedance transfer and feedback network to the output transistor, an input terminal of the output stage transistor being connected to an output terminal of the first symmetrical transistor pair and an output terminal of the output stage transistor being connected to ground through the output stage resistor and to an input terminal of the output transistor of the first symmetrical transistor pair and to the analog output terminal. When the analog input signal is applied to an input terminal of the first symmetrical transistor pair, a current flows through the input transistor and the second symmetrical transistor pair raises the output terminal voltage of the output transistor to maintain substantially identical currents through the input transistor and the output transistor, thereby forcing a current through the output transistor to match the current through the input transistor and providing an output analog signal substantially identical to the input analog signal.
In a further aspect of the invention, a transmission gate for selectively blocking or passing the analog input signal to the buffer is provided. The transmission gate includes at least one transistor which selectively blocks or passes the analog input signal responsive to a level of a gate voltage. In a preferred embodiment, the transmission gate includes a P-type FET and an N-type FET with sources (or drains) of the P-type FET and the N-type FET connected to the circuit input and drains (or sources) of the P-type FET and the N-type FET connected to an input of the buffer, a gate of one of the P-type FET and N-type FET being connected to a switching signal through an inverter. Since the source and drain of a P-type FET and an N-type FET are symmetrical and exchangeable, the connections of the sources and drains can be reversed without affecting the operation of the transmission gate.
In further aspects of the invention, the input and output transistors of the first symmetrical transistor pair respectively include a pair of N-type FETs, a gate of the input N-type FET being connected to the analog input signal, the second symmetrical transistor pair includes a pair of P-type FETs, the gates of the P-type FETs being connected to a drain of the input NFET, the input and output N-type FETs are grounded through a DC current source providing a DC operating current to the source coupled differential amplifier, and/or the output stage includes an N-type FET having a source providing the analog output signal and a feedback voltage to a gate of the output N-type FET.
The present disclosure relates to subject matter contained in Canadian Patent Application No. 2,312,516 filed on Jun. 27, 2000, which is expressly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Infrared transreceiver with isolated analog output

International Business Machines Corporation


An improved disposable glucose test strip for use in a test meter of the type which receives a disposable test strip and a sample of blood from a patient and performs an electrochemical analysis using a non-conductive integrated reagent/blood separation layer (17) containing a filler, an enzyme effective to oxidize glucose, e.g., glucose oxidase, and a mediator effective to transfer electrons from the enzyme. The integrated layer formulation is printed over a conductive carbon element (16) to form a working electrode. The filler, for example a silica filler, is selected to have a balance of hydrophobicity such that on drying it forms a two-dimensional network on the surface of the conductive element. The response of this test strip is essentially temperature independent over relevant temperature ranges and is substantially insensitive to the hematocrit of the patient.

This application relates to disposable test strips for use in electrochemical determinations of blood analytes such as glucose, and to methods and compositions for use in making such strips.
Glucose monitoring is a fact of everyday life for diabetic individuals, and the accuracy of such monitoring can literally mean the difference between life and death. To accommodate a normal life style to the need for frequent monitoring of glucose levels, a number of glucose meters are now available which permit the individual to test the glucose level in a small amount of blood.
Many of these meters detect glucose in a blood sample electrochemically, by detecting the oxidation of blood glucose using an enzyme such as glucose oxidase provided as part of a disposable, single-use electrode system. Examples of devices of this type are disclosed in European Patent No. 0 127 958, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,141,868, 5,286,362, 5,288,636, and 5,437,999 which are incorporated herein by reference for purposes of those countries which permit such incorporation.
In general, existing glucose test strips for use in electrochemical meters comprise a substrate, working and reference electrodes formed on the surface of the substrate, and a means for making connection between the electrodes and the meter. The working electrode is coated with an enzyme capable of oxidizing glucose, and a mediator compound which transfers electrons from the enzyme to the electrode resulting in a measurable current when glucose is present. Representative mediator compounds include ferricyanide, metallocene compounds such as ferrocene, quinones, phenazinium salts, redox indicator DCPIP, and imidazole-substituted osmium compounds.
Working electrodes of this type have been formulated in a number of ways. For example, mixtures of conductive carbon, glucose oxidase and a mediator have been formulated into a paste or ink and applied to a substrate. EP 0 127 958 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,286,362. In the case of disposable glucose strips, this application is done by screen printing in order to obtain the thin layers suitable for a small flat test strip. The use of screen printing, however, introduces problems to the operation of the electrode.
Unlike a thicker carbon paste electrode which remains fairly intact during the measurement, screen printed electrodes formed from carbon pastes or inks are prone to break up on contact with the sample. The consequences of this breakup are two-fold. Firstly, the components of the electrode formulation are released into solution. Once these components drift more than a diffusion length away from the underlying conductive layer, they no longer contribute toward the measurement, but in fact diminish the response by depleting inwardly-diffusing analyte. Secondly, the breakup of the screen printed electrode means that the effective electrode area is falling over time.
The combination of these two effects results in current transients which fall rapidly from an initial peak over the period of the measurement, and a high sensitivity to oxygen which quickly competes with the mediator for the enzyme. This fact is clearly demonstrated by the much lower currents measured in blood samples than in plasma samples or other aqueous media, and can result in erroneous readings. A further consequence is that the transients are often "lumpy" as the electrode breaks up in a chaotic manner. Lumpy transients either give rise to erroneous readings or rejected strips, neither of which are acceptable.
In addition to the potential for electrode breakup of screen-printed carbon-based electrodes, known electrodes used in disposable glucose test strips have been kinetically-controlled, i.e., the current depends on the rate of conversion of glucose by the enzyme. Because the response measured by the instrument represents a balance between the reactions of enzyme and mediator, enzyme and glucose and enzyme and oxygen, and because each of these reactions has its own dependence on temperature, the response of a kinetically-controlled test strip is very sensitive to the temperature of the sample. Substantial variation in the measured glucose value can therefore occur as a result of variations in sample handling.
A further challenge facing sensors for electrochemical glucose detection arises as a result of interference from blood cells present in the sample. The level of red blood cells is reflected in the hematocrit reading. Typically, high hematocrit samples results in readings that are lower than the true value, while low hematocrit samples result in readings that are higher because the blood cells tend to foul the surface of the electrode and limit electron transfer. Also, oxygen bound to the hemoglobin of red blood cells competes with the mediator for the reduced enzyme, thereby further diminishing the glucose response. Attempts have been made to limit the hematocrit effect by adding a membrane to filter out blood components (see, U.S. Pat. No. 5,658,444, which is incorporated herein by reference for purposes of those countries which permit such incorporation), but this adds an extra step to the manufacturing process, with associated increase in cost and often degraded performance in other areas such as precision.
Because of the importance of obtaining accurate glucose readings to the well-being of a patient using the meter and disposable test strips, it would be highly desirable to have a glucose test strip which did not suffer from these drawbacks, and which therefore provided a more consistent and reliable indication of actual blood glucose values, regardless of actual conditions. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide disposable glucose test strips which provide a glucose reading that is essentially independent of the hematocrit of the sample, and which include an integrated reagent/blood separation layer.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved method for making disposable glucose test strips.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Disposable test strips with integrated reagent/blood separation layer


An apparatus for reducing extra large vehicle tires to particles or to prepare them for recapping comprises a tire holder assembly, made up of a set of dual jacks, in combination with a rotary cutter blade assembly made up of a side-by-side series of discs carrying cutter blades of chisel type. The set of dual jacks are preferably carried by an arbor having opposite shaft ends adapted to matingly interconnect with corresponding ends of a motivating shaft for quick and easy interchange of one size tire holder assembly for another size. When the tire is to be recapped, arcuate attachments are secured to members of the tire holder assembly that contact a tire bead so as to preserve the circumferential integrity of such bead during cutting, and the cutter blade assembly is replaced by wire buffing brushes following removal of the tread portion of the tire by cutting. An optional feature of the invention is the freezing of the tire prior to cutting, so that steel reinforcing materials as well as the elastomeric material of the tire can be easily reduced to particles.

1. Field
The invention is in the field of usefully disposing of used vehicle tires by at least partially subjecting them to disintegration by cutting particles therefrom as an assembly of cutter blades is rotated against a rotating tire.
2. State of the Art
Many types of vehicle tire-cutting machines have been developed in the past f or the purpose of so-called "shredding" of tires to be disintegrated. The most usual arrangements provide for feeding the tires between a rotating assembly of circular blades and a stationary assembly of heavy discs spaced apart to receive the blades and to provide anvils against which the tires are pressed by the rotating blades as they cut through the tire bodies, see my U.S. Pat. No. 3,578,252 issued May 11, 1971. However, these shredding machines cannot handle the very large and heavy tires used on various industrial vehicles.
The closest prior art known to applicant is Willette U.S. Pat. No. 3,693,894 of Sep. 26, 1972 entitled "Tire Shredder", wherein a number of tires to be shredded are arranged side-by-side on a tire holder having extendable and retractable hydraulic ram members radiating from a central hub and carrying respective longitudinal arms that extend transversely through the interiors of the several tires to collectively clamp against the circumferential beads thereof for holding the tires during the cutting operations, the length of such arms being dependent upon the number of tires held side-by-side on the tire holder which is rotated relative to a rotating assembly of elongate serrated blades, the longitudinal length of such blades also being dependent upon the number of tires held by the tire holder. This apparatus is incapable of handling the very large and heavy tires that have heretofore not been capable of being effectively disintegrated.

Apparatus and method for reducing vehicle tires to particles


An insulation detection circuit suitable for detecting an insulation status between a high voltage power and a low voltage power of a vehicle is disclosed. The circuit includes a first energy storage unit, a second energy storage unit, a constant current unit, and a detection unit. The first energy storage unit is coupled to the high voltage power. The second energy storage unit is coupled between the first energy storage unit and the low voltage power. The constant current unit is coupled between the first energy storage unit and the second energy storage unit. The detection unit is coupled to the second energy storage unit for detecting a current change of the second energy storage unit. When the detection unit detects that current flowing through the second energy storage unit is smaller than a predetermined value, a detection signal representing that the insulation status is abnormal is outputted.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to an insulation detection circuit and method thereof; in particular, to an insulation detection circuit and method thereof which are applied between a high voltage power and a low voltage power of a vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
According to the progress of the technology, the transportation vehicle is provided with versatile electric instruments such as the illumination lights, the electromotive windows, the digital video/audios, the navigation systems, or the isothermal air conditioners, etc. Those electric instruments are operated by using the power supplied from the battery, the electricity generator, or the high voltage to low voltage converter. Of course, there needs a good insulation between the high voltage power and the low voltage power of the vehicle, for making people use versatile electric instruments safely.
However, the progression of the vehicle goes toward the hybrid vehicles or electric vehicles of green energy industry, and the electric vehicle may output a high voltage of about 60 to 600 volts by means of, for example, a driving chain including the high voltage battery and the high voltage to low voltage converter. However, the high voltage exceeding 60 volts is considered to be harmful to people.
When the insulation between the high voltage power and the low voltage power of the vehicle is damaged, the current may leak to the chassis or the shell of the vehicle, thus the chassis or the shell of the vehicle may contain the charges which are harmful to human body. If the user touches any part of the chassis or shell of the vehicle, the user may be hurted by electric shocks.
For example, when the vehicle is subject to strong vibrations, thus the insulation body is abraded or cracked mechanically, such as the insulation body damage of the high voltage cable of the vehicle. Thus, the current of the high voltage power may leak to the shell of the vehicle. For warning the user, driver, and passenger of the vehicle about the leakage current caused by the damaged insulation body, the vehicle needs to be installed with the insulation detection circuits for detecting the condition of damaged insulation which may happen.
Therefore, the abnormal insulation status between the high voltage power and the low voltage power of the vehicle is a serious problem which needs to be detected, for ensuring the safety of the people who may touch the vehicle. Thus, how to improve the accuracy of the insulation detection circuits during operation is an important topic.

Insulation detection circuit and method thereof


An actuator is designed to control airflow in HVAC systems by opening and closing a damper. A slippage detector may be secured to a damper shaft to measure movement of the damper shaft. This measured movement may be compared to the expected movement of the damper shaft as indicated by the movement of a rotatable output of the actuator.

Heating, Ventilation, and/or Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems are often used to control the comfort level within a building or other structure. In some cases, HVAC systems include dampers within air ducts to control relative air flow through the air ducts. The dampers can be actuated between a closed position in which air flow through a particular air duct is restricted and an open position in which air flow through the particular duct is not restricted or is less restricted. Dampers are driven between the closed position and the open position via actuators that employ a motor to drive an output that engages a damper shaft in order to move the damper. In some cases, the damper shaft can slip relative to the output of the actuator. Improvements in the hardware, user experience, and functionality of damper actuators, including detecting such slippage, would be desirable.


The present disclosure describes a method to a metallization process with improved gap fill properties. The method includes forming a contact opening in an oxide, forming a barrier layer in the contact opening, forming a liner layer on the barrier layer, and forming a first metal layer on the liner layer to partially fill the contact opening. The method further includes forming a second metal layer on the first metal layer to fill the contact opening, where forming the second metal layer includes sputter depositing the second metal layer with a first radio frequency (RF) power and a direct current power, as well as reflowing the second metal layer with a second RF power.

Contact openings are progressively becoming more challenging to fill in integrated circuit (IC) fabrication due to their demanding geometry. Consequently, a metal deposition may be unable to fill a contact opening without the formation of voids or seams. Voids in contacts are undesirable because they may increase the contact's resistance and adversely affect the IC's reliability.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.


A method of increasing the cell retention capacity of a silicon nitride read-only-memory on a wafer. The method includes carrying out a baking process after performing the last plasma treatment of the wafer but before a wafer sort test.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a method of fabricating memory. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method of increasing the data retention capacity of a silicon nitride read-only-memory cell.
2. Description of Related Art
Flash memory is a type of programmable/erasable non-volatile memory. Aside from power down data retention capacity, flash memory also has in-circuit electrical programming and erasing capability. Thus, flash memory is deployed as a non-volatile memory device inside most personal computers and electronic equipment.
Flash memory can be classified into two major types, including doped polysilicon floating gate read-only-memory and silicon nitride read-only-memory with the silicon nitride layer serving as a charge-trapping layer. The electrons for injecting into the silicon nitride charge trapping layer of the silicon nitride read-only-memory is concentrated within a localized region.
For a silicon nitride read-only-memory, data retention period in excess of ten years is often demanded besides the normal reliability requirements in all memory devices. Furthermore, the silicon nitride read-only-memory must operate normally after numerous programming and erasing operations. To meet such stringent conditions, the silicon nitride read-only-memory must undergo a cell retention check during a reliability test. In general, the cell retention check is carried out during a wafer sort test. The check includes heating the finished wafer product to a temperature of about 250° C. and maintaining at this temperature for a 24-hour period. During the check, a high voltage is applied to the memory to conduct data programming.
In the process of fabricating the silicon nitride read-only-memory, the two outermost word lines located on each side of the memory cell array are vulnerable to various types of in process damages, ultimately damaging the tunnel oxide layer. Moreover, some of the steps may require a plasma treatment leading to some holes trapped within the damaged tunnel oxide layer. In a convention fabrication process, the silicon nitride read-only-memory wafers are sorted after conducting a wafer acceptance test (WAT) and a quality control visual inspection. If the wafer is damaged so that the tunnel oxide layer contains trapped holes, these holes may induce the charges within the charge-trapping layer to leak into the substrate through the tunnel oxide layer during a cell retention check. Ultimately, there is a loss of charges leading to a lowering of memory retention capacity and threshold voltage.

Method of increasing cell retention capacity of silicon nitride read-only-memory cell


A system and method for performing a failure analysis on a computing system uses a Bayesian network that is generated from a correlation directed acyclic graph (CDAG) of nodes that represent entities in the computing system with edge weights for edges between the nodes. The CDAG is generated using log entries of the computing system with reference to a dictionary file, which specifies entity types, dependency types of the entity types, expressions that return values representing prior probabilities of failure for the dependency types, and the edge weights for the dependency types. The Bayesian network generated from the CDAG includes conditional probabilities for edges of the Bayesian network based on the edge weights of the CDAG. The Bayesian network is used to compute posterior probabilities of possible causes of a new failure event in the computing system and output at least one probable cause with an associated posterior probability for the new failure event.

Troubleshooting a highly dynamic computing environment, such as a Kubernetes environment, is a challenging task, due to a complex network of references across various resources in the computing environment, e.g., Deployment, Services, Ingress, Pods, ConfigMaps, PersistentVolumes, etc. in the Kubernetes environment. Due to this complex network of resource dependencies, trying to find the root cause for a failure in such a computing environment requires not only knowledge about the resource dependencies, but also the dependencies that are most likely involved in the failure.
There are a number of tools that are currently available to help analyze the dependencies in a computing environment. However, these tools merely provide visualization of the resources and their performance metrics so that a user can determine the most probable cause among potential causes for a failure event in the computing environment. Thus, there is a need for a better solution to find the root causes of failures in a highly dynamic computing environment.

System and method for performing failure analysis on a computing system using a bayesian network


The present invention is a device and method to change the reflection time of a bidirectional signal so as to cause a false data value to be correctly seen as the proper data value when the bidirectional signal travels between a first semiconductor chip and a second semiconductor chip, through a transmission line between the two semiconductor chips. The reflection time is adjusted by coupling an electrical network to the transmission line to cause an early electrical reflection. In one embodiment, the network is coupled to establish an impedance discontinuity between the board trace and the package trace.

Problems can occur in high-speed bidirectional buses between two semiconductor chips when the transmission line electrical length exceeds the rise-time or fall-time of the signal. Setup times may not be met for the first bit received after a bus turnaround. The problem arises when the bus electrical design is such that the same electrical condition is used both for termination of the bus in its characteristic impedance and for driving one of the two logic levels. With buses of this design, when a bus turnaround occurs, the driving chip which is relinquishing the bus turns off its output driver and turns on its terminator, and the chip which is taking over the bus turns on its output driver.
When one chip drives the bus at the non-terminating electrical level (for example, a zero) and relinquishes the bus, at the end of its last bit time, the former driving chip will turn on its bus termination in preparation for receiving signals from the other chip. Since the same electrical condition is used both for termination of the bus in its characteristic impedance and for driving one of the logic levels, the chip that is relinquishing the bus actually drives an electrical signal transition (for example, from a zero to a one) down the bus during the transition period. This signal can be thought of as a transitional value. If the new bus master chip drives the opposite logic level (for example, a zero) during this transition time, the value driven by the new chip will not be seen at the relinquishing chip in time to be properly detected. This is because the relinquishing chip continues to see the transitional value that it is driving until that transitional value travels to the new bus driver and is reflected back to the relinquishing chip.
The length of the transmission time between the chips determines the length of time the relinquishing chip will receive the transition value and, therefore, the time during which it will be unable to detect the correct value from the new driving chip.
Prior solutions to this problem have been to shorten the distance between the two semiconductor chips or to slow down the clock to ensure the data arrives timely and accurately. For example, the clock could be slowed down to around 440 megahertz versus the more ideal operating frequency of 500 megahertz.
Another prior solution involves reducing the delay associated with the circuit logic through which the signal travels.
Another prior solution is to add an idle cycle as the first bus cycle after bus turnaround, thus ignoring bus activity during this cycle at the expense of decreased performance.

Device and method to cause a false data value to be correctly seen as the proper data value

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A sealing web is useful for installation in the joint areas of floors or walls, to which layers of plaster, tiles or boards may be applied with an adhesive, especially if layers or coverings are produced in connection with the sealing of the floor or wall surface. The sealing web includes a stretchable plastic sheet having an uncovered center section located between two marginal sections which are coated with fiber material.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sealing web for bridging expansion joints in structures comprising a stretchable plastic sheet bridging the area of the joint. This plastic sheet is impermeable to moisture, and the marginal sections of this plastic sheet are coated with fiber material solidly secured to the plastic sheet. The marginal sections have at least partly projecting zones of fibers for attaching the plastic sheet to the substrate under it, while leaving uncovered a stretchable center section of the plastic sheet on the top side in the running direction of the sealing web.
2. The Prior Art
Such a sealing web is known from DE 93 17 637 U1. The sealing strip according to this prior art document consists of a plastic sheet web, on which provision is made on both of its sides for an adhesive base for gluing and sealing compounds. The adhesive base is formed by the surface of strips of fleece which have marginal areas that protrude laterally beyond the edge of the web sheet. On their inner sides the strips of fleece are vulcanized into the surface of the web sheet. This is done in such a way that the surface of the web sheet is structured and formed within the zone of its marginal sections by protruding fleece fibers. Good adhesive conditions are available within the area of the adhesive base for gluing the base to a wall covering, for example such as tiles. The elasticity of the web sheet is preserved within the center section.
The drawback with this known sealing web is that the plastic sheet is glued to the ground or substrate under it with the fleece sections serving as an adhesive base like a block of pavement, covering the expansion joint on the top side. Thus, it is possible for fleece strip sections to project beyond the plastic sheet solely for the purpose of securing the plastic sheet onto the substrate. Gluing of the plastic sheet with the sheet resting on the substrate, so as to prevent moisture from penetrating the expansion joint laterally, is not possible with the adhesive intended for gluing the sections of fleece material. The lateral penetration of water seeping into the expansion joint is at best reduced only in that the plastic sheet is marginally pressed onto the substrate by the projecting fleece arranged on the top side. However, as a rule, effective sealing can not be assured due to the roughness of the substrate. In any case, even with such a solution, a hollow marginal space remains, in which water, for example coming from cross joints can circulate in such a hollow space between the fleece material and the plastic sheet, and penetrate into the expansion joint.
The sealing web according to DE 93 17 637 U1 is suitable for application to a wall area. However, the known sealing web is unsuitable for application in the floor area particularly if the floor is subjected to certain types of loads, for example shipping traffic across the floor. The plastic sheet is readily deformable relative to the projecting fleece material which has been hardened by the adhesive. Thus, the plastic sheet represents a substrate that is flexible within certain limits versus other types of zones. Especially with load bearing industrial floors, which, for example, are covered with tiles, and where load bearing traffic takes place on such floors, the tiles in these marginal zones will rest upon a substrate that is yielding to different degrees. This poses the risk that the tiles may break in such transitional zones.
DE-design patent 88 14 650 describes a sealing web intended for area sealing of entire floor sections. However, such a sealing web is unsuitable for bridging expansion joints because they lack elastic properties.

Sealing web with fiber coated marginal areas


A semiconductor luminous element has cladding layers on both sides of its active layer; and it has a multi-quantum barrier layer which is in contact with the active layer on at least a portion of at least one of the cladding layers. This multi-quantum barrier layer is formed of an alternating stack of superlattice barrier layers and superlattice well layers. The energy gap of the well layers is smaller than that of the active layer, and the quantized energy gap of the multi-quantum barrier layer is larger than the energy gap of the active layer. A superlattice structure for semiconductor devices, which confines electrons and holes, is formed out of the active layer and a cladding layer provided on at least one side of that active layer. A multi-quantum barrier layer is in contact with the active layer on at least a portion of the cladding layer. This multi-quantum barrier layer is formed of an alternating stack of superlattice barrier layers and superlattice well layers. The energy gap of the well layers is smaller than that of the active layer, and the quantized energy gap of the multi-quantum barrier layer is larger than the energy gap of the active layer.

In semiconductor luminous devices like semiconductor lasers and light-emitting diodes, a double heterostructure is often used to efficiently confine within the active region the electrons or holes which are injected, so as to maximize the luminescence. The injected carriers are confined by the potential barrier in the hetero junctions between the active layer and the cladding layers.
The height of this potential barrier is essentially determined by the physical constants of the semiconductor materials of which the active and cladding layers are formed. It will assume a value corresponding to the difference between the energy gap of the cladding layers and that of the active layer. The luminescent wavelength can be shortened by increasing the energy gap of the active layer. When this is done, however, there is no way to increase the potential barrier, so the carriers cannot be sufficiently confined.
To address this problem, a multi-quantum barrier (or MQB) has been proposed which makes use of the wavelike character of electrons. See Laid-Open Japanese Patent Application No. 63-46788. The thickness of each layer is chosen so as to form a multi-quantum barrier. The electron waves reflected by each hetero surface of a multi-quantum barrier interfere with and reinforce each other. In this way the reflectivity of electrons leaking from the active layer to the cladding layer can be increased. Thus an MQB offers the possibility of raising the potential barrier while sufficiently confining the carriers within the active layer.
However, if the energy gap of the active layer is increased still more, the virtual potential barrier cannot be increased using a multi-quantum barrier.
The height of the virtual potential barrier produced by a multi-quantum barrier as mentioned above is strongly dependent on the potential difference between the well and barrier layers of the superlattice. This potential difference is the difference within the discontinuous energy band which appears at the lower edge of the conductive band. This band is shown as U.sub.o in FIG. 2(A). The larger this difference, the higher the virtual potential barrier will be.
In the existing multi-quantum barriers described above, the same material was used as the semiconductor in the well layers and the active layer, thus causing their energy gaps to be equal. If the energy gap of the active layer were made larger, that of the well layers would also increase, and the potential difference between the well and barrier layers within the multi-quantum barrier which constituted the virtual potential barrier would decrease. This appears to be a reason why the virtual potential barrier cannot be increased above a certain level by the multi-quantum barrier. As a result, the degree to which the potential barrier could be increased using a multi-quantum barrier was limited.

Semiconductor luminous element and superlattice structure


The invention features compositions and methods that are useful for precisely determining the amount of one or more analytes present in a sample. In one aspect, the invention provides a composition for measuring the abundance of one or more target analytes in a sample, where the composition contains a set of detection units for each analyte fixed to a substrate (e.g., a membrane, bead, filter, chip, polymer-based film or glass slide, or other printable surface), where each detection unit contains a discrete amount of a capture agent that specifically binds the target analyte, and the amount of capturing agent varies over the set to form a concentration gradient.

Recent advances in human understanding of disease have shown that most, if not all diseases, are associated with changes in biological pathways that involve various genomic and proteomic targets. Changes in the level of expressions and alteration of structures of these molecular targets are often associated with and indicative of the initiation, development, and progress of disease, responses to treatment, or long-term outcomes. Multiplexed assay formats have been recently developed to allow the simultaneous analysis of multiple analytes using a single specimen in a single run using various affinity capturing methods. There are, however, limitations to the current technologies. First, the number of tests that can be simultaneously analyzed is still limited and second, the analytical performances in terms of precision, reproducibility, and usable dynamic range are also limited.
In a complex specimen, the targets for multiplexed affinity capturing are typically present at varying concentrations and often have very different biochemical properties and/or other characteristics. The disparate properties of these targets can result in difficulties in providing one assay with capturing conditions that are appropriate for all capturing agents and target analytes.
Advances in high-density affinity-capturing based technologies, such as protein microarrays, have made it possible to quickly spot tens of thousands of affinity capturing agents on a single array. Fluorescent signals that are theoretically proportional to the abundance of the targets are scanned into images to provide readouts of the relative abundance measurements through software tools. Such technologies have become important research assay platforms for profiling the expression of up to tens of thousands of targets simultaneously. However, with such high density, the individual units of affinity capture provide a relatively small area of contact surface for target capturing which in effect limits the dynamic range of target detection and measurement. Variability in the coupling/printing of capturing agents to this limited surface can also result in the underrepresentation of a particular analyte in the final numerical readouts of signals. Such underrepresentation is compounded by variability in the processing of such assays. These factors reduce the analytical performance of the assays and limit there use in applications (e.g., clinical laboratory tests) that require a high degree of precision, reproducibility, and dynamic range. These issues affect not only high-density microarrays, but also to varying degrees other multiplex assay platforms, such as the beads based Luminex technology or the electrochemiluminescence detection based Mesoscale (MSD) technology.

High precision quantitative assay composition and methods of use therefor


According to one embodiment, a carbon dioxide recovery device includes an absorption tower configured to cause carbon dioxide-containing gas to come in contact with absorbing solution and to generate rich solution absorbing the carbon dioxide, a regeneration tower configured to heat the rich solution, to disperse steam containing the carbon dioxide, and to generate lean solution from which the carbon dioxide is removed, a heat exchanging device configured to exchange heat between the lean solution and the rich solution, to supply the rich solution after the heat exchange to the regeneration tower, and to supply the lean solution after the heat exchange to the absorption tower, and a cooling device configured to cool a part of the rich solution discharged from a first place of the absorption tower and to supply the cooled rich solution to a second place higher than the first place of the absorption tower.

In recent years, with regard to recovery of carbon dioxide, carbon dioxide recovery storage technique attracts attention as an effective measure against problem of global warming which is worried about in global scale. In particular, for thermal power plants and process exhaust gas, a method for recovering carbon dioxide using aqueous solution has been studied. For example, a carbon dioxide recovery device is known, which includes an absorption tower and a regeneration tower. The absorption tower generates rich solution by absorbing carbon dioxide-containing gas to absorbing solution. The regeneration tower disperses and separates the carbon dioxide with steam by heating the rich solution discharged from the absorption tower, and returns the generated lean solution back to the absorption tower.
However, in the conventional carbon dioxide recovery device, when carbon dioxide-containing gas is provided to the absorption tower at the start of operation, rapid heating occurs in the absorbing solution because of carbon dioxide absorption reaction, and there is a problem in that abnormally high temperature may damage the absorption tower equipment or may degrade the absorbing solution. This problem occurs not only at the start of operation but also when the carbon dioxide content in the exhaust gas rapidly increases.

Carbon dioxide recovery device and carbon dioxide recovery method


An optical bulb for a medical device includes first and second bodies. The first body has a substantially hemispherical distal side. The second body extends from the first body and includes a mechanical connection point at or near the proximal side of the second body. An instrument channel extends through the optical bulb from the proximal side of the second body to the distal side of the first body. An imaging channel extends an aperture defined in the proximal side of the second body and terminates between the proximal and substantially hemispherical distal sides of the first body. The distal end of the imaging channel is substantially hemispherical. The first body is configured and arranged to provide a substantially uniform image path within a field of view of a camera disposed in the imaging channel.

Instrument guides or ports can be used to guide the insertion of surgical instruments into a surgical site. Examples of procedures where such instruments ports or guides are used are beating-heart, minimally-invasive cardiac procedures to repair heart defects or to treat vascular heart disease. To position an instrument port at an appropriate location near the surgical site, current systems rely on either the operator's vision or a secondary optical system, such as an endoscope, that is inserted next to or into the instrument guide.
Positioning an instrument using the operator's vision is limited to procedures where the surgical site is within the operator's line-of-sight, and thus cannot be done for most internal surgical sites. One problem with secondary optical systems is that they require a separate imaging channel in the instrument guide to receive the optical system (e.g., an endoscope). This causes the instrument guide to be larger in diameter and more expensive in order to accommodate the separate imaging channel. When the secondary optical system is located next to the instrument guide, it is exposed to the body fluids (e.g., blood) near the surgical site, which limits the clarity, field of view, and/or depth of view of the secondary optical systems. When the secondary optical system contacts body fluids, it increases the risk of infection. This risk is compounded each time that the secondary optical system is introduced to the surgical site.
Current surgical imaging solutions are unable to function effectively in an environment containing body fluids or other biological or surgical debris, contaminants or obstructions. Such fluids and contaminants are generally not optically transparent and have other mechanical and optical characteristics that degrade the functioning of imaging systems during surgery, e.g., in the presence of blood at the aperture of the imaging system, lens or other optical components. This makes the imaging system useless or ineffective in such environments.
Current surgical imaging solutions also suffer from image distortion and/or other issues.
It would be desirable to overcome one or more of these deficiencies.

Optical bulb for surgical instrument port

The Children's Medical Center Corporation


A semiconductor device including a high voltage element and a low voltage element, including: a semiconductor substrate having high voltage element region where the high voltage element is formed, and a low voltage element region where the low voltage element is formed; a first LOCOS isolation structure disposed in the high voltage element region; and a second LOCOS isolation structure disposed in the low voltage element region, wherein the first LOCOS isolation structure includes a LOCOS oxide film formed on a surface of the semiconductor substrate and a CVD oxide film formed on the LOCOS oxide film, and the second LOCOS isolation structure includes a LOCOS oxide film.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a semiconductor device and a method of manufacturing the same, and more particularly, to a semiconductor device, such as a high voltage IC equipped with a high voltage element and a low voltage element, and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
The progress of a high voltage IC (HVIC) has been remarkable over these years. In a high voltage IC, a single chip seats low voltage elements, such as a control circuit and various types of protection circuits, and high voltage elements. For instance, high voltage elements include those elements utilizing a resurf technique such as a horizontal MOS transistor while low voltage elements include CMOS transistors, bipolar transistors, and the like.
FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view of a conventional semiconductor device (a high voltage IC), generally denoted at 500, which includes a high voltage element region 510 and a low voltage element region 520 and which is an example that a horizontal n-ch MOS FET is used as a high voltage element and a CMOS transistor is used as a low voltage element. The semiconductor device 500 includes a p− semiconductor substrate 1 of silicon. An n+ buried diffusion layer 2 and n− epitaxial layer 3 are formed on the semiconductor substrate 1. A p− diffusion region 4, an n+ diffusion region 5 and a p+ diffusion region 6 are formed in the epitaxial layer 3, and a polysilicon electrode 7 and an aluminum electrode 8 are disposed on the epitaxial layer 3. Further, silicon oxide films 9a and 9b are formed on the epitaxial layer 3 by using a LOCOS method. The film thickness of the silicon oxide film 9b formed in the low voltage element region 520 is sufficiently thinner than that of the silicon oxide film 9a formed in the high voltage element region 510 (JP 64-77941, A).

Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing the same