A method of assessing consumer reaction to a marketing stimulus, involving the steps of (a) exposing a sample population to a marketing stimulus for a period of time, (b) interviewing members of the sample population immediately after exposure of the members to the marketing stimulus, (c) videotaping any facial expressions and associated verbal comments of individual members of the sample population during the exposure period and interview, (d) reviewing the videotaped facial expressions and associated verbal comments of individual members of the sample population to (1) detect the occurrence of action units, (2) detect the occurrence of a smile, (3) categorize any detected smile as duchenne or social smile, (4) detect the occurrence of any verbal comment associated with a detected smile, and (5) categorize any associated verbal comment as positive, neutral or negative, (e) coding a single action unit or combination of action units to a coded unit, (f) associating coded units with any contemporaneously detected smile, (g) translating the coded unit to a scored unit, (h) tallying the scored unit by scoring unit category, (i) repeating steps (d) through (h) throughout the exposure period, (j) repeating steps (d) through (h) for a plurality of the members of the sample population, (k) calculating an impact value for each scoring unit category by multiplying the tallied number of scored units for each scoring unit category by a predetermined impact factor for that scoring unit category, (l) calculating an appeal value for each scoring unit category by multiplying the tallied number of scored units for each scoring unit category by a predetermined appeal factor for that scoring unit category, (m) combining the impact values obtained for each scoring unit category to obtain an impact score, (n) combining the appeal values obtained for each scoring unit category to obtain an appeal score, and (o) representing the appeal and impact scores with an identification of the corresponding marketing stimulus to which the members were exposed.

Facial behavior has typically been gauged by using either comprehensive facial measurements or selective facial measurements. Comprehensive facial measurements include open-ended observations of what is casually seen or direct measurements such as the Facial Action Coding System ("FACS") originally described in Ekman, P., Friesen, W. V., Facial Action Coding System: A Technique for the Measurement of Facial Movement, Consulting Psychologists Press, Palo Alto, Calif. (1978). Although direct comprehensive measurements are usually both time consuming and costly, they provide a much greater opportunity to discover unexpected facial action than does mere observation.
Selective facial measurements are used when the facial behavior is known in advance. The researcher must be aware of and attend only to the specific facial actions under investigation. These include selective observer judgments, or direct measurements such as (i) the Maximally Discriminative Facial Movement Coding System ("MAX") originally described in (i) Izard, C. E., The Maximally Discriminative Facial Movement Coding System, (Rev. ed.), Instructional Resources Center, University of Delaware, Newark, Del. (1983), (ii) the System for Identifying Affect Expression by Holistic Judgment ("AFFEX") originally described in Izard, C., Dougherty, L., Hembree, E. A System for Identifying Affect Expressions by Holistic Judgments (AFFEX), Instructional Resources Center, University of Delaware, Newark, Del. (1983), (iii) the Emotion Facial Action Coding System ("EMFACS") originally described in Ekman, P., Friesen, W., Ancoli, S., Facial Signs of Emotional Experience, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 39, No. 6, pp. 1125-1134 (1980), and (iv) Ekman, P., Friesen, W., Measuring Facial Movement, Environmental Psychology and Nonverbal Behavior, 1 (1), Fall 1976, pp. 56-75, and (v) facial electromyography ("EMG"). A major limitation inherent in measuring facial behavior selectively is that this approach does not usually separate emotional facial behavior from conversational facial behaviors, and certain behaviors characteristic of emotion are emitted.
Investigators have conducted significant research into the use of electronic facial tracking and measurement for various purposes. U.S. Pat. No. 4,975,960, issued to Petajan, discloses an electrical system for obtaining an electronic image of the mouth region in order to facilitate and augment the ability to monitor speech.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,774,591 and 5,802,220, issued to Black, disclose an electronic system for tracking human head and facial features over time to capture relative motions for purposes of ascertaining when a sequence of images defines a dominant facial expression. The system seeks a correspondence between predefined facial gestures and perceived facial expressions for the purpose of determining which gestures trigger or support which expressions. The system does not seek to ascertain the underlying emotional response of a participant to a stimulus.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,802,208, issued to Podilchuk et al., discloses an electronic system for obtaining and comparing an electronic image of a face for purposes of recognition.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,088,040, issued to Oda et al., discloses an input/output control mechanism for receiving facial image information related to different facial expressions and normalizing the facial image information for subsequent comparisons.
Facial tracking and measurement have not been applied in the field of marketing analysis. Consumer reaction to a marketing stimulus (e.g., a television commercial) is typically assessed by means of exposing members of a focus group to the marketing stimulus (e.g., having the focus group watch the commercial) and obtaining the reactions and comments of the members immediately after exposure to the marketing stimulus by means of a written questionnaire and/or a personal interview. While generally effective, such focus group techniques suffer from several drawbacks, including a tendency for members of a focus group to express inaccurately or imprecisely their reaction to the marketing stimulus.
Current marketing theory suggests most consumer-purchasing behavior and brand loyalty is dependent on the many facets of the consumer's sensory experiences and take-away impressions—not merely on rational decisions. Marketing efforts seek to match their offerings to the potential consumer's experiences, but lack a sophisticated technique to measure the emotional aspects of their products or services.
Hence, a longstanding need exists for a more reliable, scientific technique and methodology for measuring a consumer's emotional reaction to marketing stimuli.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method of facial coding monitoring for the purpose of gauging the impact and appeal of commercially-related stimuli


Techniques are described for quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) processing in a rotated QAM constellation. In the techniques, one or more processors determine points within the rotated QAM constellation around a vector location of a received symbol based on a probability density function applied to the vector location. The one or more processors map the points to corresponding mapped symbols of the rotated QAM constellation, and determine a plurality of bits represented by the transmitted symbol based on the corresponding mapped symbols.

In a digital communication network, data (e.g., one or more bits) is communicated between network devices using radios and network links (e.g., channels). Each link represents a physical and/or logical communication path between two or more devices and each radio transmits and/or receives data transmitted between network devices over these links. A transmitting radio is responsible for encoding data into a radio signal (e.g., by modulating one or more subcarrier signals), and transmitting the modulated subcarrier signals over a link. A receiving radio receives the transmitted signal and decodes the signal into digital data.
Network links can be established from both wired and wireless media and some network links are more susceptible to signal degradation than others. Signal degradation, such as fading, can impact whether a receiving radio correctly decodes an intended data unit transmitted on the network. Interference and signal loss can cause a radio signal to fade and/or introduce noise into the signal. Faded and noisy signals, once decoded, can lead to inaccurate and/or corrupted data. Signals that travel in the same physical link may operate at different frequencies such that a single link may include multiple channels of communication.
Some networks utilize signal modulation and mixing techniques to improve the bandwidth and rate of a radio signal transmission and communication links. For instance, rather than serially sending or receiving individual units of data with individual signals during individual blocks of time, modulation allows a radio to send and receive multiple units of data simultaneously and in parallel by combining multiple signals that each represent individual data units into one modulated signal that is transmitted at one moment in time. The recipient of a modulated signal can receive multiple data units simultaneously by de-modulating the modulated signal into multiple individual signals that each represent single units of data.


A method for online assessing a state of health (SOH) of an electrochemical cell, comprises a step for estimating the state of health (SOH) of the electrochemical cell from thermodynamics data related to the cell the thermodynamics data including entropy and enthalpy variations ΔS, ΔH within the cell. A system for fast-charging a rechargeable battery with terminals connected to internal electrochemical cells, comprises a power supply connected to the rechargeable battery and arranged for applying a time-varying charging voltage to the battery terminals, a charging-control processor for controlling the power supply, and a system for online assessing a state of health (SOH) of the battery, the SOH assessment system comprising means for estimating the state of health (SOH) of the electrochemical cell from thermodynamics data related to the battery.

Over the last decades Energy Storage Systems (ESS) surrounded us. We are at their contact every day. With smartphones, laptops and others embedded systems hundreds of millions of lithium-ion batteries are produced each year. Moreover, with the expecting growing of electric vehicles market, even more batteries will be manufactured.
With such an amount of batteries used all over the world, it is important to ensure safety and reliability of the ESS. In order to achieve those requirements, a batteries management system (BMS) has to be used. The BMS is an electronic system that manages the battery to guarantee its safe operation. It elaborates a diagnosis from measurements and provides an optimal management of the ESS.
One part of the diagnosis is to estimate the state of health (SOH). It is a very important characteristic for a cell as well as for a pack. SOH is an indicator that evaluates the ageing of a battery compared to its fresh state. Knowing the SOH is useful for predicting when the battery should be removed. And if the battery is not operating normally, it is impacted on this indicator. Moreover to be able to perform an adaptive charging, this parameter is needed. Indeed since the battery is evolving with time, at the charging process, SOH should be used to improve battery life.
Currently SOH is assessed mostly by testing a battery during charging and discharging at a certain rate. This enables discharge capacity and voltage to be determined. Then SOH can be defined as the ratio of capacity or energy of a used battery vs. the same of a fresh one. The need to fully charge and discharge a cell is not practical to assess battery SOH on real-time basis.
This parameter SOH is difficult to estimate because it cannot be directly measured. Different estimation methods have been developed. Each of them has advantages and drawbacks.
The purpose of the present disclosure is to overcome these drawbacks by proposing a new method for assessing SOH.

Method and system for online assessing state of health of a battery


A device and method for increasing integrated circuit density comprising at least a pair of superimposed dice, wherein at least one of the superimposed dice has at least one bond pad variably positioned on an active surface of the die. A plurality of lead fingers from a leadframe extend between the dice. The leadframe comprises at least one lead with leads of non-uniform length and configuration to attach to the differently positioned bond pads of the multiple dice. An advantage of the present invention is that it allows dice with differing bond pad arrangements to be used in a superimposed configuration to increase circuit density, while eliminating the use of bond wires in such a configuration.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved semiconductor device and method for increasing semiconductor device density. In particular, the present invention relates to a device and method utilizing a leads-between-chip leadframe.
2. State of the Art
High performance, low cost, increased miniaturization of components, and greater packaging density of integrated circuits have long been goals of the computer industry. As a general matter, semiconductor substrate assemblies, such as motherboards or function cards to be placed in a motherboard expansion bus slot, comprise a multitude of integrated circuit chips which are coupled to each other in order to make the assembly functional. For example, a central processing unit ("CPU") or microprocessor and a plurality of memory devices or chips may be electrically coupled to each other in order to provide operational control for the semiconductor substrate assembly. Ordinarily, the CPU and the memory devices are proximate to each other on one surface or on opposing surfaces of the motherboard or function card. The terminals of the integrated circuit chips (CPU and memory chips) are coupled to each other by means of circuit traces disposed on or in the motherboard or function card and extending from one individual chip (bare or packaged) to another. However, this standard chip arrangement requires substantial surface area or "real estate" for positioning each integrated circuit chip on the circuit board. Thus, integrated circuit density on a circuit board or other carrier, for any given level of component and internal conductor density, is substantially limited by the space available for die mounting.
In order to maximize real estate utilization, vertical stacking or superimposition of integrated circuit chips or dice has become common practice. U.S. Pat. No. 5,012,323 issued Apr. 30, 1991 to Farnworth ("Farnworth") teaches combining a pair of dice mounted on opposing sides of a leadframe. An tupper die is back-bonded to the upper surface of the leads of the leadframe via a first adhesively coated, insulative layer. The lower die is face-bonded to the lower leadframe die-bonding region via a second, adhesively coated, insulative, film layer. The wirebonding pads on both upper and lower dice are interconnected with the ends of their associated lead extensions with gold or aluminum wires. The lower die needs to be slightly larger than the upper die in order that the lower die bonding pads are accessible from above through an aperture in the leadframe, such that gold wire connections can be made to the lead extensions. However, this arrangement has a major disadvantage from a production standpoint, since the different size dice require that different equipment produce the different dice and assemble some with the lead frame or that the same equipment be switched over in different production runs to produce and assemble the different dice and leadframe. Moreover, the leadframe design employed by Farnworth employs long conductor runs between the die and the exterior of the package, and the leadframe configuration is specialized and rather complex.
U.S. Pat. 5,291,061 issued Mar. 1, 1994 to Ball ("Ball") teaches a multiple stacked die device that contains up to four dice, which device does not exceed the height of then current single die packages. The low profile of the device is achieved by close-tolerance stacking which is made possible by a low-loop-profile wirebonding operation and thin-adhesive layers between the stack dice. However, Ball secures all of the dice to the same (upper) side of the leadframe, necessarily increasing bond wire length, even if some of the leads are bent upwardly, as disclosed. Moreover, Ball employs a die paddle to support the die stack, a technique which may require an extra die-attach step, and which increases the distance between the inner lead ends and even the lowermost die in the stack, resulting in longer bond wires.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,323,060 issued Jun. 21, 1994 to Fogal et al. ("Fogal") teaches a multichip module that contains stacked die devices, the terminals or bond pads of which are wirebonded to a substrate or to adjacent die devices. However, the stacked configuration of Fogal results in relatively long bond wires and requires a supporting substrate carrying conductor traces.
Each of the stacked die configurations disclosed in the above references uses bond wires which give rise to a common problem of bond wire sweep. When encapsulating a bare die assembly, the die assembly is generally placed in a mold wherein a molten filled-polymer encapsulate material is injected into the mold to surround the die assembly as it conforms to the mold. However, the encapsulant flow front attendant to this process causes stresses on the bond wires. Since the molten capsulating material is viscous, it tends to place forces transverse to at least some of the bond wires as the encasing material is injected into the mold. These directional forces cause the bond wires to flex which can, in turn, cause the bond wires to short with adjacent bond wires or bond pads.
An alternate method for lead attachment in a stacked die arrangement is the "leads over chip" ("LOC") configuration. U.S. Pat. No. 4,862,245 issued Aug. 29, 1989 to Pashby discloses an LOC configuration, wherein the inner lead ends of a standard dual in-line package ("DIP") leadframe configuration extend over and are secured to an upper or active surface of the die through a dielectric layer. The bond wire length is thus shortened by placing the inner lead ends in close proximity to a central row of die bond pads, and the lead extensions purportedly enhance heat transfer from the die. However, the Pashby LOC configuration as disclosed relates to mounting and bonding only a single die.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,438,224 issued Aug. 1, 1995 to Papageorge et al. ("Papageorge") discloses an integrated circuit package with a stacked integrated circuit chip arrangement placed on a circuit substrate. The stacked arrangement comprises a first flip chip and a second flip chip positioned face to face with a substrate interposed between the chips to provide electrical connection among the terminals of the flip chips and external circuitry. However, the Papageorge stacked arrangement uses a TAB or flex circuit substrate between the facing flip chips, and thus requires a separate mechanical support, such as a printed circuit board for the assembly. The design also renders fabrication more difficult due to the lack of rigid support for the chips.
FIG. 1 of the drawings schematically illustrates a typical prior art leadframe 100. The leadframe 100 comprises a plurality of lead fingers 102 and a die-attach paddle 104. The shaded areas 106 are removed in the post-encapsulation trim and form process. FIG. 2 illustrates the leadframe 100 utilized in a wire-bonded bare die assembly 200. Components common to both FIGS. 1 and 2 retain the same numeric designation. The assembly 200 comprises a semiconductor die 202 having a plurality of bond pads 204 on an upper surface 206 of the semiconductor die 202. The semiconductor die 202 is adhered by its back side (not shown) to the leadframe paddle 104 with an appropriate adhesive, such as a solder or an epoxy as known in the art. The semiconductor die 202 achieves an electrical connection with the leadframe 100 with a plurality of bond wires 208 connected between each bond pad 204 and its respective lead finger 102. In wirebonding, a plurality of bond wires are attached, one at a time, to each bond pad on the semiconductor die and extend to a corresponding lead or trace end on the printed circuit board. The bond wires are generally attached through one of three industry-standard wirebonding techniques: ultrasonic bonding--using a combination of pressure and ultrasonic vibration bursts to form a metallurgical cold weld; thermocompression bonding--using a combination of pressure and elevated temperature to form a weld; and thermosonic bonding--using a combination of pressure, elevated temperature, and ultrasonic vibration bursts.
With the wirebonding process, it is possible to attach the lead fingers of a leadframe to bond pads in a variety of locations on a semiconductor die. However, effective bond wire lengths are limited, and wires cannot cross or lie in too-close proximity without shorting. Further, the use of bond wires has the disadvantage of bond sweep when encapsulating a bare die, as discussed above. The problem of bond sweep is exacerbated with longer bond wires, and by bond wires which are too closely spaced. Finally, even automated wire bonding is a time-consuming process in relative terms.
FIG. 3 illustrates one type of prior art LOC-attached, bare die assembly 300. The assembly 300 comprises a semiconductor die 302 having a plurality of bond pads 304 (shown in shadow lines) on an upper surface 306 of a semiconductor die 302. The semiconductor die 302 is electrically connected to a leadframe 308 though a plurality of lead fingers 310 which extend over the die upper surface 306 to directly electrically contact and attach to their respective bond pads 304. TAB or flex circuit-type lead frames are commonly employed for such an assembly. The aforementioned wire-bonded LOC arrangement as illustrated in the Pashby patent is, however, a more common LOC structure.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to develop a technique and assembly for increasing integrated circuit density and eliminating bond sweep using non-customized die configurations in combination with commercially-available, widely-practiced die support structures and semiconductor device fabrication techniques.


In an example method, a system obtains first data indicating a plurality of properties of a wellbore, and determines a plurality of types of completion equipment available for deployment at the wellbore. Further, the system determines, using a computerized neural network, a plurality of quality metrics based on the first data. Each of the quality metrics represents an estimated likelihood of success of operating a respective one of the types of completion equipment at the wellbore. Further, the system causes a graphical user interface to be displayed to a user. The graphical user interface includes a concurrent presentation of an indication of each of the types of completion equipment, and an indication of each of the quality metrics.

A well is used to bring natural resources, such as oil or natural gas, from a subsurface formation to the surface of the earth. A well can be created and utilized according to several stages, including a drilling stage, a completion stage, and a production stage.
During the drilling stage, a wellbore is formed by drilling a hole through the surface of the earth and through a portion of the subsurface formation, such that the contents of the subsurface formation can be accessed. Further, the wellbore can be reinforced, for example by installing casing or pipe along its length.
During the completion stage, the well is made ready for production. For example, the bottom of the wellbore can be prepared to particular specifications. As another example, production tubing and other downhole tools can be installed in or around the wellbore to facilitate the extraction of natural resources from the well.
During the production stage, natural resources are extracted from the subsurface formation and brought to the surface of the earth. For example, oil or natural gas contained within the subsurface formation can be brought to the surface of the earth, such that they can be refined and used as sources of energy or used as a part of other industrial applications.

Systems and methods for evaluating and selecting completion equipment using a neural network


A content selecting and recommending method includes a step of generating a log table using information sent as a log from each of a plurality of users' terminals, each user's state being classified into one of a plurality of state patterns, the log table including information indicating a correspondence between each of the state patterns and a piece of content played back in the case of the state pattern; and a step of receiving a content recommendation request which is sent from a requesting user's terminal and includes a state detection signal generated as a result of detection of the requesting user's state, selecting a piece of content, from the log table, appropriate for the requesting user's state indicated, and sending a recommendation of the selected piece of content to the requesting user's terminal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and a system for selecting and recommending content such as a piece of music in accordance with a user's request for recommending content (the term "a request for recommending content" will hereinafter be referred to as "a content recommendation request").
2. Description of the Related Art
Since a number of new pieces of content such as music (pieces of music) are produced on a daily basis and are enjoyable in a variety of situations such as while walking, jogging, playing sports, traveling by car, and resting, various methods have been proposed for recommending content such as pieces of music to users or selecting content at the users' end.
More specifically, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-54023 discloses that each of a plurality of users carries a list of music recommendations, which he/she recommends, in his/her portable terminal unit, and the users' lists of music recommendations are exchanged among the users' portable terminal units. It also discloses that, in a portable terminal unit of one user, the other users' lists of music recommendations are collected to generate a collected list of music recommendations, and thus selection of a piece of music can be made on the basis of the number of users who have recommended each of the pieces of music.
Moreover, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-173350 discloses that, as a content recommending service provided over the Internet, a service provider recommends content such as new pieces of music appropriate for a user on the basis of a watching and listening history of the user sent to the service provider.
In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-113552 discloses that a list of pieces of music at a tempo substantially the same as that of a user's walking is displayed on a display section, and the user can select a piece of music from the list to play back and the selected piece of music is played back such that the tempo of the piece of music accords with that of the user's walking.

Method for selecting and recommending content, server, content playback apparatus, content recording apparatus, and recording medium storing computer program for selecting and recommending content


The present invention relates to novel substituted tetrahydroisoquinoline compounds, pharmaceutical compositions containing the compounds, methods of making the compounds, and methods of using the compounds to destroy a target cell, such as a cancer cell, and to treat or prevent a cancerous condition.

Despite decades of research, the prognosis of most of the 17,500 patients diagnosed annually with brain cancer is very poor. The mortality rate of brain cancer patients is about 80 percent, second only to lung cancer patients whose moratality rate is about 85 percent (Bethune et al., Pharm. Res. 16(6):896-905 (1999)). The standard treatment is surgical excision and radiation therapy with or without adjuvant chemotherapy. Unfortunately, the Food and Drug Administration has not approved many new drugs for treatment of brain cancer over the last three decades. As of 1997, carmustine ("BCNU"), lomustine ("CCNU"), procarbazine, and vincristine were still the most commonly used drugs for both newly diagnosed and recurrent gliomas (Prados et al., Sem. Surgical Oncol. 14:88-95 (1998)). The use of adjuvant chemotherapy is currently controversial because very few patients respond to the standard chemotherapeutic protocols (Mason et al., J. Clin. Oncol. 15(12):3423-3427 (1997), although assay have been developed to identify which patients are likely to respond to chemotherapies. While these assays have improved survival rates slightly, the responsive tumors are in the minority and mortality rates remain high.
Numerous experimental trials have been attempted over the years with limited success. The most successful protocols (i.e., those that progressed to phase II clinical trials) involved combination therapies. The majority of single therapies did not pass phase I trials. Molecules such as the prototypical isoquinoline PX1195, benzodiazepine R05-4864, and the recently reported pyrrolobenzoxazepine NF 182 (Zisterer et al., Biochem. Pharmacol. 55:397-403 (1998)) form a class of agents that bind to the peripheral benzodiazepine receptors ("PBR") and possess antiproliferative activity toward C6 glioma cells. The EC50 values for these agents are 73 μM, 95 μM, and 37.5 μM, respectively. While these PBR ligands have been useful as brain cancer imaging agents (Olsen et al., Cancer Res. 48:5837-5841 (1988)), they have not been demonstrated to be useful for treating cancer. Thus, a need exists to identify compounds having improved antiproliferative/cytotoxic activity on brain and/or other forms of cancer.
The present invention is directed to overcoming these and other deficiencies in the art.

Substituted tetrahydroisoquinoline compounds, methods of making, and their use

University of Tennessee Research Foundation


A method of image/video compression by analysis of variability of block DCT coefficients in a strip of (macro)blocks to decide on treatment of the blocks in the strip as either encoding each block or approximation of all blocks in the strip by the corresponding strip of (macro)blocks of a prior image.

This invention relates to integrated circuits, and more particularly, to integrated circuits and image and video compression methods.
Recently, Digital Still Cameras (DSCs) have become a very popular consumer appliance appealing to a wide variety of users ranging from photo hobbyists, web developers, real estate agents, insurance adjusters, photo-journalists to everyday photography enthusiasts. Recent advances in large resolution CCD arrays coupled with the availability of low-power digital signal processors (DSPs) has led to the development of DSCs that come quite close to the resolution and quality offered by traditional film cameras. These DSCs offer several additional advantages compared to traditional film cameras in terms of data storage, manipulation, and transmission. The digital representation of captured imges enables the user to easily incorporate the images into any type of electronic media and transmit them over any type of network. The ability to instantly view and selectively store captured images provides the flexibility to minimize film waste and instantly determine if the image needs to be captured again. With its digital representation the image can be corrected, altered, or modified after its capture. See for example, Venkataraman et al, "Next Generation Digital Camera Integration and Software Development Issues" in Digital Solid State Cameras: Design and Applications, 3302 Proc. SPIE (1998). Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,528,293 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,412,425 disclose aspects of digital still camera systems including storage of images on memory cards and power conservation for battery-powered cameras.
Further, DSCs can be extended to capture video clips (short video sequences) and to compress images/video with methods such as JPEG for (sequences of) still images and MPEG for video sequences. In DCT-based video compression such as H.261, H.263, MPEG1, MPEG2, and MPEG4, or image compression such as JPEG, a picture is decomposed into macroblocks. Each macroblock contains a certain number of 8×8 blocks, depending upon the chroma-format used. For example, in the case of 4:2:0 chroma-format a macroblock is made up of four 8×8 luminance blocks and two 8×8 chrominance blocks. FIG. 3 depicts in block diagram a DCT-based video or image sequence encoding camera system. In order to reduce the bit-rate, 8×8 DCT (discrete cosine transform) is used to convert the blocks into the frequency domain for quantization. The first coefficient in an 8×8 DCT block is called the DC coefficient; the remaining 63 DCT-coefficients in the block are called AC coefficients. The DCT-coefficient blocks are quantized, scanned into a 1-D sequence, and coded by using variable length coding (VLC). For predictive coding in which motion compensation (MC) is involved, inverse-quantization and IDCT are needed for the feedback loop.
In some cases, however, processors may have limited processing power, which could make real-time video or still-image sequence encoding impossible. Similarly, other digital cameras, such as cameras in a network, may have limited processing power which impairs video encoding.

Image compression by differences within a strip


Example sealed electronics modules are described. The sealed electronics module may include electronics components. The sealed electronics module may also include one or more connectors configured to provide one or more detachable liquid connections to a liquid transporting apparatus. The liquid transporting apparatus may provide liquid communication between the sealed electronics module and an external liquid cooling module. The sealed electronics module may also include an apparatus for the cooling electronics components in the electronics module using liquid that is transported between the sealed electronics module and the external liquid cooling module.

Conventionally, electronics systems like computer systems have been air cooled. Some systems have been liquid cooled. Migration paths between air cooled and liquid cooled systems have been restricted. This has limited system architecture design, which has in turn limited scaling and interchangeability in installed systems. Additionally, electronics design has been intertwined with heat dissipation design, further limiting design options.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A mask (2) having a predetermined pattern formed on a work surface of amagnetic head slider substrate (1) containing aluminum oxide and titanium carbide as main constituents. The magnetic head slider substrate (1) with the mask (2) formed thereon as set on an electrode disposed inside an etching apparatus. While a reactive gas an insert gas are introduced into an excitation chamber (14) of the etching apparatus to cause plasma excitation of said gases to occur, a radio frequency power is applied to the electrode. Hereupon, reactive gas ions (4) and inert gas ions (5) that are generated by the plasma excitation are drawn to the magnetic head slider substrate (1), causing reactive etching by the reactive gas ions (4) and sputter-etching by the inert gas ions (5) to proceed concurrently.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of fabricating a magnetic head slider for use in recording information in a magnetic disk, tape, and the like and playing back the information, and particularly to a method of working on an air bearing surface of a thin film magnetic head slider, which is a component of a magnetic head.
2. Description of the Related Art
A flying magnetic head for use in, for example, a hard disk drive is provided with a magnetic head transducer and a magnetic head slider (hereinafter sometimes referred to merely as "slider"). The slider is a component that flies by the agency of air pressure caused by the magnetic disk rotation so as to keep the magnetic head transducer distanced from the magnetic disk and is provided with grooves (air bearing grooves) on a back surface (air bearing surface) thereof for controlling the air pressure.
As a result of a recording density of the magnetic disk becoming higher in recent years, it is now required that a flying height of the magnetic head from the magnetic disk be reduced. A negative pressure cavity slider as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,811,856 etc. represents an art meeting such requirement.
The negative pressure cavity slider is structured such that the air pressure occurring on the air bearing surface thereof is precisely controlled by the calculated effect of specifically-shaped grooves formed on the air bearing surface. As a result, variation in the flying height of the magnetic head caused by variation in a linear velocity and skew angle of the magnetic disk is minimal, thereby enabling variation in spacing loss between the magnetic head and the magnetic disk to be minimized.
It was difficult to fabricate the negative pressure cavity slider by mechanical working with the use of a grinder and the like since the air bearing grooves thereof are formed in a complex shape of a curve combined with a plurality of straight lines, unlike conventional linear-shaped grooves called slider rails.
Thereupon, a method of working on the negative pressure cavity slider has been proposed whereby the air bearing grooves are formed thereon with the use of the so called sputter-etching method. In this method, the air bearing grooves are etched on a slider substrate utilizing the effect of sputtering by argon plasma.
For example, an ion beam etching process and ion milling process with the use of a thin film or a photo resist as a mask were disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication Nos. 56-74862 and 60-205879. Also, another ion beam etching process with the use of a dry film resist as a mask was disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 61-120326. These processes all belong to the sputter-etching method since in an ion beam etching apparatus and ion milling apparatus employed, respectively, in carrying out said processes, the slider substrate is etched by means of ion bombardment by argon ions evolved when plasma excitation of argon gas is caused to occur.
However, there have been pointed out a few problems with such methods as described above relying on the sputter-etching by argon plasma.
A first problem is so called "redeposition" wherein compounds sputtered out of the slider substrate by the ion bombardment are deposited back on the slider substrate again. The "redeposition" has been described in "Electron-Ion Beam Handbook, second edition", p. 487, published by Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun, and also in a number of technical publications.
A typical example of the redeposition is described hereinafter with reference to FIGS. 23A and 23B. Along with progress in the etching process by argon ions 25, molecules and atoms sputtered out of a slider substrate 1 build up mainly on a wall face 26 of a mask 2 such as a resist and the like, and a wall face 27 of each of the air bearing grooves 29 formed by the etching process, thus forming a redeposition layer 28.
Meanwhile, as the etching process by the argon ions 25 proceeds substantially in parallel with formation of the aforesaid redeposition layer 28, the removal of the redeposition layer 28 through the etching process hardly occurs (FIG. 23A). Consequently, when the mask 2 is removed upon completion of the etching process, parts of the redeposition layer 28 remain as "burrs" 28a, protruding from the air bearing surface 11 (FIG. 23B).
In the negative pressure cavity slider of which the flying height of 0.1 .mu.m or less is recently required the, presence of the burrs 28a as described above prevent air pressure distribution over the air bearing surface 11 from conforming to a design calculation, resulting in instability of the flying height of the magnetic head. This has caused an output of the magnetic head to fluctuate, thereby causing errors in recording and reading. Furthermore, there was even a risk of the burrs 28a damaging the magnetic disk surface, and causing such a critical failure as erasure of data recorded in the magnetic disk.
Accordingly, the conventional practice was to remove the burrs 28a by lapping the air bearing surface 11 of the slider substrate 1 using a grinder and the like after completion of the etching process. Such an additional step of processing, however, results in an increase in the production cost and a decrease in the yield because satisfactory jig positioning accuracy was not obtainable when changing over from jigs for etching to same for mechanical grinding.
During the conventional etching process, a practice of controlling generation of burrs 28a by use of the so called oblique working has also been employed, thereby rotating the slider substrate 1 at a predetermined tilt angle to the direction in which the argon ions 25 are coming in. It is an attempt to remove by etching the redeposition layer 28 building up on the wall face 26 of the mask 2 and the wall face 27 of the air bearing groove 29 by injecting the argon ions 25 obliquely.
However, when the argon ions are injected so as to strike obliquely and evenly against the wall faces 26 and 27 that are oriented in various directions by rotating the slider substrate 1, edge portions in the air bearing groove 29 are temporarily shaded from the ion bombardment depending on the tilt angle of rotation. As illustrated in FIG. 24, each of the edge portions 29a temporarily shaded makes a slope because a processing rate in this region becomes less than that for another bottom surface region 29b of the air pressure groove 29.
In designing the negative pressure cavity slider, the air pressure distribution is calculated on the assumption that the edge portions 29a of the air bearing groove 29 are properly worked. Accordingly, the aforesaid slope of each of the edge portions 29a leads to errors in the air pressure distribution, making it difficult to provide the magnetic head with the flying characteristic as expected.
A second problem as pointed out is a rate of processing by the sputter-etching method, that is, a low etching rate. Very fine composite ceramic material containing aluminum oxide (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "alumina") and titanium carbide as main constituents has lately come into wider use for making the slider substrate. The time required for processing such a composite ceramic material as described above through the etching process utilizing the effect of sputtering by argon ions becomes considerably lengthened.
In the case of processing the composite ceramic material described above by use of the ion milling process belonging to the sputter-etching method, a depthwise etching rate is normally in the order of 20 to 30 nm/min. Consequently, it took many hours to complete the negative pressure cavity slider provided with the air bearing grooves (usual depth: 5.about.20 .mu.m).
This has resulted in not only considerably lower productivity but also intense depletion of the etching apparatus due to continuous operation for many hours, necessitating frequent replacement of electrodes, filaments, and the like, thereby complicating maintenance work.
A third problem, as pointed out, is roughness of a work surface after etching. Specifically, in the composite ceramic material made mainly of aluminum oxide and titanium carbide, crystal grains of respective constituents are present in a state independent from each other. It is known that when the sputter-etching method is applied to the composite ceramic material described above, aluminum oxide grains are preferentially removed by etching. As a result, only titanium carbide grains remain on an etched surface, causing the work surface to become rough. Furthermore, as the titanium carbide grains were often in a state about to be broken away from the work surface, they posed a risk of damaging the magnetic disk surface when they were in fact broken away in the course of the magnetic head being driven in operation. In addition, there was a strong likelihood that fine debris would find their way into ragged parts of the etched surface, creating a cause for concern with unstable flying characteristic of the magnetic head.
As described in the foregoing, with the conventional method of working on the magnetic head slider with the use of sputter-etching method utilizing argon plasma, there have been pointed out such problems as protruding burrs remaining on the air bearing surface, lower productivity due to longer processing time required, the need for complicated maintenance work, and rough etched surfaces.
It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide a method of fabricating a magnetic head slider having high reliability as well as stable flying characteristic in a short time, solving the problems as described above.

Method of fabricating magnetic head slider


Use of a flexible, nonconductive, porous, and thermally tolerant ceramic material as a separator in a lithium-ion battery or lithium-sulfur battery is described. The separator can be made of aluminum oxide and provides excellent mechanical and thermal properties that prevent wear and puncture of the separator caused by particles removed from the electrodes during the charging and discharging process. The separator is designed to mitigate effects of melt shrinkage and facilitate the lithium ion transport, in contrast to separators that include a polymeric material, thus preventing short-circuiting between the positive and the negative electrode. Improved wetting and filling of the separator with electrolyte solution are provided, for improved rate capability of the battery (fast charging and discharging). The separator further reduces the potential for thermal runaway in Li batteries.

This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
A secondary lithium-ion battery is a rechargeable power source that can be implemented into a wide variety of stationary and portable applications. The structure and electrochemical reaction mechanism of this type of battery provide several desirable characteristics, including a relatively high energy density, a relatively low internal resistance, a general nonappearance of any memory effect as compared to other types of rechargeable batteries (e.g., a nickel-cadmium battery), and a low self-discharge rate. These characteristics make the lithium-ion battery a preferred mobile power source for portable consumer electronics such as laptop computers and cell phones. Larger-scale versions that interact with a multitude of interconnected systems are employed in the automotive industry to improve vehicle fuel efficiency and reduce atmospheric pollution. The powertrains of hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) and extended range electric vehicles (EREV), for example, can rely on the cooperative effort of multiple lithium-ion batteries and a hydrocarbon-fueled internal combustion engine to generate power for vehicle operation.
A lithium-ion battery generally contains one or more electrochemical battery cells that each include a negative electrode, a positive electrode, and a porous separator sandwiched between confronting inner face surfaces of the electrodes. Each of these battery components is wetted with a liquid electrolyte solution that can communicate lithium ions. The negative and positive electrodes are formed of different materials that can intercalate and de-intercalate lithium ions and, when connected, establish an electrochemical potential difference. An interruptible external circuit connects the negative electrode and the positive electrode to provide an electrical current path around the separator to electrochemically balance the migration of lithium ions through the separator between the electrodes. Metallic current collectors intimately associated with each electrode supply and distribute electrons to and from the external circuit depending on the operating state of the electrochemical battery cell. The external circuit can be coupled to an electrical load (during discharge) or an applied voltage from an external power source (during charging) through conventional electronic connectors and related circuitry.
The porous separator includes opposed major face surfaces that intimately contact the confronting inner face surfaces of the electrodes. Functions of the separator include providing a porous and electrically insulative mechanical support barrier between the negative and positive electrodes to prevent a short-circuit. Conventionally, the porous separator has been composed of a polyolefin such as polyethylene and/or polypropylene. A number of fabrication methods exist for making a polyolefin separator with its intended porosity. For example, the separator can be formed by a dry technique in which a polyolefin polymer is melted, extruded into a film, annealed, and then uniaxially stretched. The separator can also be formed by a wet technique in which a polyolefin polymer is mixed with a hydrocarbon or other low-molecular weight liquid substance. The mixture is then heated, melted, extruded into a sheet, and biaxially stretched. Afterwards, the hydrocarbon or other low-molecular weight liquid substance is extracted.
A polyolefin separator, however, can be susceptible to certain performance declines when heated excessively. Exposure of the electrochemical battery cell to temperatures of 80° C. and above can cause the polyolefin separator to shrink, soften, and even melt. Such high temperatures can be attributed to charging-phase heat generation, ambient atmospheric temperature, or some other source, Physical distortion of the polyolefin separator can ultimately permit direct electrical contact between the negative and positive electrodes and cause the electrochemical cell to short-circuit. Battery thermal runaway is also a possibility if the electrodes come into direct electrical contact with one another. The inability of a polyolefin separator to maintain thermal stability at temperatures exceeding 80° C. for prolonged periods can be a limitation in certain lithium-ion battery applications.


A lance tube formed of a tubular conduit having an inner end to be joined to a source of pressurized fluid, a closed distal end, a continuous wall between the inner and distal ends, and a plurality of tube discharge openings in the continuous wall; and a plurality of axially positioned fluid direction tubes within the conduit, each tube having a straight intake section generally axially aligned with the conduit and having an intake opening toward the conduit inner end, a straight discharge section having a discharge opening at one of the discharge openings in the conduit wall, and an intermediate curved section joining the intake and discharge sections, whereby fluid entering the conduit will be directed through the fluid direction conduits, and will be discharged in laminar flow from the discharge openings.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an apparatus for cleaning sludge and other particles from heat exchanger surfaces and, more particularly, to a fluid discharge lance head of the type that is used for cleaning the heat exchanger surfaces of steam generators, e.g., nuclear steam generators.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Steam generators, such as are found in nuclear power stations, generate steam used to drive turbines by heating water with heat exchangers. These heat exchangers are comprised of bundles of tubes with a heated liquid flowing therethrough. Steam is generated by water contacting the outer surfaces of the heat exchangers. The high temperatures and severe operating conditions incurred during steam generation cause sludge and other particles to accumulate on the surfaces of the heat exchangers, reducing heat transfer efficiency. Therefore, it is the practice to periodically remove accumulated deposits.
Sludge removal is normally effected using a device known as a lance connected to a source of pressurized fluid, e.g., water, steam or a gas. The lance may be permanently located in the generator, but is usually inserted through an opening is the generator wall when the heat exchanger surfaces are to be cleaned, and removed after cleaning.
The lance is normally comprised of a main tubular section or conduit having an inner end connected to a source of pressurized liquid, and a distal end that is closed. At least one, and generally a plurality, of nozzles or openings are located in the conduit wall between the inner and distal ends of the conduit for the purpose of discharging jets of liquid from the conduit interior into the steam generator and against the surfaces of the heat exchangers. Impact of the liquid, as a result of its physical force, normally removes a large percentage of the particles from the heat exchanger surfaces.
In some instances, however, the removal efficiency is less than desired, particularly when the position of the heat exchanger surfaces prevent the lance nozzles from being placed close to the surfaces. This lower efficiency is due to the fact that the force of the cleaning liquid decreases dramatically over even distances of a few inches. It has been recognized in the prior art that this loss in force, or jet decay, is primarily attributable to turbulence of the fluid exiting the lance nozzle.
Various attempts have been made in the prior art to reduce this turbulence, i.e., to produce discharge streams that are more laminar in nature, by different designs of the lance, and in particular the lance nozzle configuration. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,230,306 to Barringer et al; 5,241,723 to Garrabrant; and 5,505,163 to Jameel, all describe lance nozzle constructions that are said to improve the coherence and force of the discharge jet. The structures described in these patents, however, still do not provide optimum force.
Thus, there remains a need for a new and improved lance which improves the flow characteristics of the fluid being discharged from the lance onto heat exchanger surfaces in a steam generator while, at the same time, is simple to construct and use.


A state detecting system which can detect state of power storage at high precision even with lesser characteristic data to be used for calculation, and a device employing the same. The state detecting system has a memory for storing a characteristic data, calculation information, and set information, an arithmetic unit for calculating state information indicative of state of said power storage and calculating correction information for performing correction, a first correcting unit for correcting input of said arithmetic means, and a second correcting unit for correcting information stored or set in the storage.

The present invention relates to a novel state detecting device for detecting states such as charge condition, residual capacity in a power storage means such as a lithium secondary battery, a nickel hydride battery, a lead seal battery, an electric double layer capacitor, and to a power source unit, a distribution type power storage device, and an electric vehicle which use the state detecting device.
In a power source unit, a distribution type power storage device and an electric vehicle employing power storage means, such as a battery, a state detecting device is employed for detecting state of the power storage means in order to safely and effectively use the power storage means. The state of the power storage means represents state of charge (hereinafter abbreviated as "SOC" indicative how much charged or how much dischargeable charge amount resides, residual capacity, or state of health (hereinafter abbreviated as "SOH") indicative of how much exhausted or weakened or degree of deterioration.
The SOC in the power source unit of a portable equipment, an electric vehicle and so forth can be detected by integrating a discharge current from a fully charged state and calculating a ratio of a charge amount residing in the power storage means (hereinafter referred to as "residual capacity") versus a maximum chargeable charge amount (hereinafter referred to as "full capacity). However, many power storage means varies the full capacities depending upon SOH, temperature and so forth, it is difficult to accurately detect SOC with respect to secular change and variation of environment.
In order to solve such problem, as conventional residual capacity predicting method in consideration of deterioration of battery, there has been known one disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Heisei 10-289734. FIG. 10 is an illustration showing a residual capacity predicting method of the above-identified publication. In this method, an initial battery characteristics is corrected by a temperature correction coefficient derived on the basis of a temperature of the battery and a deterioration correction coefficient derived based on deterioration of the battery, and a residual capacity of the battery is derived on the basis of the corrected battery characteristics, a discharge current during discharging and a terminal voltage.
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Heisei 11-218567, there is shown a method for deriving a battery characteristics upon occurrence of deterioration by correcting an initial battery characteristics in relation to a temperature correction coefficient, an internal resistor deterioration correction coefficient, a capacitor deterioration correction coefficient.
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-166105, there has been disclosed a control unit detecting a charge condition on the basis of charge and discharge current, detecting a power storage condition on the basis of a voltage and controlling a charge condition on the basis of such detections.
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-166109, there has been disclosed a charge condition detecting device deriving an electromotive force based on a charge and discharge current and voltage and having a calculating means for deriving a charge characteristics on the basis of the electromotive force and the charge characteristics.
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-85071, there is disclosed a temperature detecting device predicting respective temperatures of a set battery modules on the basis of voltages between terminals and currents flowing therethrough.
In the residual capacity predicting method disclosed in the foregoing Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Heisei 10-289734, in consideration of influence for temperature or deterioration, these influences are taken in as temperature correction coefficient or deterioration correction coefficient for correcting parameters necessary for calculation of the residual capacity with these correction coefficients derived through complicate derivation processes. Therefore, it is concerned whether the value per se of the correction coefficient is correct or whether all battery characteristics are corrected.
In addition, the power storage means of some kind also has characteristics, such as charge efficiency, memory effect and so forth, and is required to make correction in consideration of these characteristics in precision of residual capacity with high precision. On the other hand, the initial characteristics of the power storage mean generally contain individual difference. Correction for individual difference is also necessary in prediction of residual capacity with high precision.
Namely, in order to perform state detection, such as prediction of residual capacity with high precision, it becomes necessary effect accurate modeling of the characteristics to take in a plurality of parameters. Furthermore, it is required to perform correction associated with secular change or environmental variation of these parameters.
Therefore, significant time and attention have to be paid for obtaining the initial characteristics and a plurality of parameters of the power storage means. However, no matter how complicate it is, the result of arithmetic operation is nothing but prediction on the basis of the theory or model of the battery characteristics. Therefore, it is stilled concerned whether the result of prediction is correct with respect to a true value.
Therefore, it has been found that, in order to realize state detection of the power storage means at high precision and simply in calculation with characteristic data to be used in arithmetic operation, correction by comparing the result of state detection with the true value or logic and feeding back to subsequent arithmetic operation with learning the difference, is required, and break through thereof is necessary. Since it is not possible to directly measure the state of the battery, such as SOC or SCH, an important problem is how to derive the true value or logic.
On the other hand, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Heisei 11-218567, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-166105, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 20000-166109 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-85071, it is failed to disclose to perform correction feeding back a correction information obtained through arithmetic operation to subsequent arithmetic operation, and to correct storage information necessary for the arithmetic operation, and to perform state detection of the power storage means on the basis of a plurality of particular arithmetic operation and a plurality of varying information.

State detecting system and device employing the same


An image capture device includes an audio depression formed into the housing with a drainage microphone mounted therein. A cover protects the drainage microphone disposed beneath the cover from an environment external to the image capture device. The cover and audio depression define a drainage channel extending from a channel entrance, through a channel volume, and out a channel exit. The surface area of the opening of the channel entrance is proportioned relative to the channel volume such that the ratio of the surface area to volume is greater than ten percent. This allows the cover to shift resonance outside of a desired frequency band.

Photography during physical activity has been improved by use of simple-to-operate, lightweight, compact cameras. These cameras can be used in a variety of environments, including environments where the camera will be exposed to water such as beaches, lakes, pools, oceans, etc. In these environments, the camera can be splashed, submerged, or otherwise inundated with water, impacting performance of a microphone assembly within the camera that relies on air as a transmission medium to provide ambient audio, for example, in the form of audio signals and/or sound waves to the audio assembly. The presence of liquids such as water can distort or block the ambient audio from reaching the microphone assembly within the camera. Techniques for addressing the presence of liquid near the microphone assembly can interfere with the audio assembly's ability to capture resonance-free ambient audio when liquid is not present.

Camera microphone drainage system designed for beamforming


A new and distinct cultivar of Campanula plant named ‘Viking’, characterized by its upright plant habit; freely basal branching habit; freely flowering habit; and violet-colored campanulate-shaped flowers.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Campanula plant, botanically known as Campanula hybrida and hereinafter referred to by the name 'Viking'.
The new Campanula plant originated from a cross-pollination in IJsselstein, The Netherlands in May, 2004, of a proprietary selection of Campanula hybrida identified as code number Ca 402-01, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with a proprietary selection of Campanula hybrida identified as code number Ca 406-01, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Campanula was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant from within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination grown in a controlled greenhouse environment in Zuidwolde, The Netherlands in June, 2007.
Asexual reproduction of the new Campanula plant by tissue culture in The Netherlands, since October, 2007, has shown that the unique features of this new Campanula plant are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.


A downhole tool for use in a gas or oil well is provided. The tool comprising a length of tubing having at least one annular sealing means mounted on the outer surface thereof. The annular sealing means, which are formed from a eutectic/bismuth based alloy, serve to secure the downhole tool in position within an oil or gas well during so that the tool can carry out its function.

In order to access oil and gas deposits located in underground formations it is necessary to drill bore holes into these underground formation and deploy production tubing to facilitate the extraction of the oil and gas deposits.
Additional tubing, in the form of well lining or well casing, may also deployed in locations where the underground formation is unstable and needs to held back to maintain the integrity of the oil/gas well.
During the formation and completion of an oil/gas well it is crucial to seal the annular space created between the casing and the surrounding formation. Also the annular space between the different sizes casings used as the well is completed. Additionally the annular space between the production tubing and said casing needs to be sealed. Further seals may be required between the underground formation and the additional tubing.
One of the most common approaches to sealing oil/gas wells is to pump cement into the annular spaces around the casing. The cement hardens to provide a seal which helps ensure that the casing provides the only access to the underground oil and gas deposits. This is crucial for both the efficient operation of the well and controlling any undesirable leakage from the well during or after the well is operated.
Eventually, once the necessary tubing is secured within an oil or gas well, the operation of a well can commence and extraction can begin. Over the operational lifetime of an oil/gas well situations can arise where it is necessary to deploy downhole tools into the tubing.
One common task is the carrying out of repairs to the tubing, which due to the downhole environment can develop fractures/leaks over time. Another common task is to isolate (whether temporary or semi-permanent) a region of a well from the rest of the production tubing.
Various downhole tools are employed in such situations, with some of the most commonly used including bridge plugs, patches, scab and straddles. In order to secure the downhole tool within a well such tools are typically provided with hydraulically actuated means that can be operated to engage with the surface of a surrounding tubing (e.g. a well casing, liner or production tubing).
A plurality of these engagement means, which are commonly referred to as 'dogs' or 'slips', are normally provided on a downhole tool so that once the tool is in place they can be actuated to lock the tool in position relative to the surrounding tubing.
Once the required task has been completed by the downhole tool the 'dogs' or 'slips' can be retracted and the tool can be retrieved from the well.
Although the 'dogs' or 'slips' are suitable to retain the position of a downhole tool within a well they are not capable of providing a gas tight seal with the surrounding tubing. In view of this, on occasions where a gas tight seal is desirable the downhole tool is provided with additional sealing means. This can increase the possibility for a malfunction of the downhole tool.
Some types of downhole tools, such as expandable patches, are secured in position by expanding the main body of the downhole tool so that it pushes against the inner surface of the outer tubing.

Downhole well tools and methods of using such


A lathe machine includes a tailstock unit having a bottom seat driven by a saddle of a turret unit to move longitudinally relative to a headstock by means of a first coupler unit, and a tailstock mount mounted on the bottom seat and driven by a turret mount to move transversely by means of a second coupler unit such that a selected one of a centering mandrel and a drilling tool holder disposed on the tailstock mount is in line with a spindle axis of the headstock. A positioning unit includes blocking and abutment members respectively disposed on the bottom seat and the tailstock mount and having rightward- and leftward-facing inclined surfaces which matingly abut against each other to permit the centering mandrel to be kept in line with the spindle axis, thereby rendering the centering process easy and precise.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a lathe machine, more particularly to a lathe machine adapted for processing a deep internal bore in a workpiece.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional lathe machine 10 for internal bore processing as disclosed in Taiwan Publication No. 200940219 is shown to include a headstock 11, a turret 12, and a tailstock 13. The headstock 11 is fixedly mounted on a machine bed (not shown) for rotatably holding a workpiece 100. The turret 12 includes a saddle 121 movably disposed on the machine bed along a Z-axis direction, and a rotatable turret mount 122 movably disposed on the saddle 121 along an X-axis direction for mounting a plurality of cutting tools (not shown). The tailstock 13 includes a bottom seat 131 movably disposed on the machine bed along the Z-axis direction, a tailstock mount 132 movably disposed on the bottom seat 131 along the X-axis direction, and a centering mandrel 133 and a drilling tool holder 134 which are disposed on the tailstock mount 132 and which are juxtaposed to each other. A first plug 124 and a first socket 135 are disposed on the saddle 121 and the bottom seat 131, respectively, and are engageable with each other such that the tailstock 13 is driven by the saddle 121 to move in the Z-axis direction. A second plug 125 and a second socket 136 are disposed on the turret mount 122 and the tailstock mount 132, respectively, and are engageable with each other such that the tailstock mount 132 is driven by the turret mount 122 to move in the X-axis direction. A selected one of the centering mandrel 133 and the drilling tool holder 134 is used according to the machining process to be performed. When it is desired to use the centering mandrel 133, the tailstock mount 132 is displaced in the X-axis direction to bring the centering mandrel 133 in line with a spindle axis of the workpiece 100. Then, a positioning member (not shown) disposed on the bottom seat 131 is driven to secure the tailstock mount 132 in place. When it is desired to perform a deep internal boring, the saddle 121 is engaged with the bottom seat 131 so as to control the amount of movement of a drilling tool mounted on the drilling tool holder 134 in the X-axis direction.
However, as the saddle 121 is engaged with the bottom seat 131 only by means of the first plug 124 and the first socket 135, the first plug 124 and the first socket 135 have to bear the weight of the entire tailstock 13, so that shaking and intermittent separation of the saddle 121 and the bottom seat 131 may occur during machining processes. Moreover, it is difficult to displace the centering mandrel 133 to be precisely in line with the spindle axis of a workpiece 100, thereby adversely affecting the centering effect.

Lathe machine for internal bore processing

Alex-Tech Machinery Industrial Co., Ltd.


The present disclosure provides a method for processing carrier activation at user equipment (UE) and a corresponding device. The method implemented at the user equipment comprises: acquiring an indication related to deactivation of a currently activated carrier, wherein the carrier is a carrier in a carrier group consisting of a plurality of carriers; and if a random access procedure is ongoing, then ignoring the indication.

A new research project on 5G technical standards (see non-patent literature: RP-160671: New SID Proposal: Study on New Radio Access Technology) was proposed by NTT DOCOMO at the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) RAN #71 plenary meeting held in March 2016, and was approved. The goal of the research project is to develop a New Radio (NR) access technology to meet all of the application scenarios, requirements, and deployment environments of 5G. NR mainly has three application scenarios: Enhanced Mobile Broadband Communication (eMBB), massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC), and Ultra Reliable and Low Latency Communication (URLLC). According to the planning of the research project, the standardization of NR is conducted in two stages: the first-stage standardization will be completed by the middle of 2018; the second-stage standardization will be completed by the end of 2019. The first-stage standard specifications need to be forward-compatible with the second-stage standard specifications, while the second-stage standard specifications need to be established on the basis of the first-stage standard specifications and to meet all requirements of 5G NR technical standards.
In NR, providing adaptive adjustment to the frequency band size of user equipment (UE) by dividing a wideband carrier with a large bandwidth into a plurality of bandwidth parts is supported. The UE can also be configured with one or a plurality of bandwidth parts, which may be in an activated state or a deactivated state under network side-based control.
However, in the prior art, solutions to activate/deactivate bandwidth parts in a specific scenario (e.g., in a random access procedure) do not exist.

Method and device for processing carrier activation


4-Cyano-4-deformylsordaricin derivatives are antifungal agents useful in the treatment and/or prevention of human and animal fungal infections, as well as in the control of phytopathogenic fungi in crops.

Sordarin is an antifungal antibiotic isolated from the mould Sordaria araneosa (see GB 1,162,027 and Helvetica Chimica Acta, 1971, 51:119-20). Other compounds having the sordarin skeleton have also been reported as antifungal agents. Japanese Kokai J62040292 discloses the compound zofimarin isolated from Zofiela marina sp.; Japanese Kokai J06157582 discloses the compound BE-31405 isolated from Penicillium sp.; and SCH57404 is reported in J. Antibiotics, 1995, 48:1171-1772. Semi-synthetic sordarin derivatives are reported in PCT Applications WO96/14326 and WO96/14327.
Sordaricin, the aglycon, may be obtained from sordarin by acid hydroylsis (Hauser and Sigg, Helvetica Chimica Acta, 1971, 51:119-20); similarly sordaricin methyl ester is obtained from sordarin methyl ester. The total synthesis of sordaricin methyl ester is reported in Kato et al., J. Chem. Soc., Chem. Communi., 1993, 1002-1004, which also discloses O-methoxymethyl sordaricin methyl ester. The diacetate of 4-desformyl-4-hydroxymethyl sordaricin is disclosed in Mander and Robinson, J. Org. Chem., 1991, 56(11):3395-3601. Neither sordaricin nor the reported derivatives thereof has been shown to have biological activity. Cyano derivatives of the formyl group have not been previously described.


Methods, computer-readable media, software, and apparatuses may receive, at a field vehicle, field data from one or more unmanned autonomous vehicles, where the field data may be indicative of an item for assessment. Edge-computing, based on machine learning techniques, may be performed at the field vehicle to identify one or more characteristics of the assessment, and a projected cost may be determined. An estimate may be sent to a consumer. In some aspects, the projected costs may be based on local data related to a geographical location of the item. In another aspect, underwriting tasks may be performed at the field vehicle, and a quote may be sent to a consumer.

Home inspection, commercial property inspection, claims assessment, and underwriting are generally time consuming, may not be cost-effective, and may be inefficient. Data is generally collected manually on-site and sent to a central processing unit for analysis. In some instances, multiple data collection efforts may be required over time to gather relevant data. Also, in some instances, insurance estimates may be generated without an assessment of local costs of materials, labor, and availability of the same. Also at least part of the assessment workflow may be manual, expensive and time consuming.

Inspection and assessment based on mobile edge-computing


An internal combustion engine includes a variable valve system wherein each cam opens and closes an intake valve and an exhaust valve via each rocker arm. A variable valve system of an internal combustion engine E includes rocker arms rocked by the action of valve driving force of cams with each lift quantity variable mechanism varying a maximum lift quantity of an intake valve and an exhaust valve. The lift quantity variable mechanism includes a lifter that is driven by the cam, and makes the valve driving force act on the rocker arm and a lifter holder that supports the lifter, and is driven by an electric motor and is rocked. The lifter is movably supported by the lifter holder. Maximum lift quantity is varied by varying a position in which the lifter abuts on the rocker arm according to a position in which the lifter holder is turned.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to variable valve systems that can vary a valve operational characteristic such as maximum lift quantity and opening/closing timing of an engine valve which is an intake valve or an exhaust valve in an internal combustion engine. More specifically, the invention relates to the variable valve system provided with a lift quantity variable mechanism that can vary the maximum lift quantity of the engine valve.
2. Description of Background Art
A variable valve system of an internal combustion engine provided with a cam provided to a cam shaft is known wherein a rocker arm is rocked by the action of a valve driving force of the cam and a lift quantity variable mechanism varies maximum lift quantity of an engine valve. See, for example, JP-A No. 2002-276315.
In addition, a variable valve system is known wherein a timing variable mechanism is provided with a hydraulic actuator. When the actuator operated according to the supply and the exhaust of hydraulic fluid rotates a camshaft, a phase of the camshaft with a crankshaft of an internal combustion engine is varied and the opening and closing timing of an engine valve is varied. See, for example, JP-A No. 2000-227033.
As the whole rocker arm is moved together with a rocker shaft with the cam shaft provided to a cylinder head of the internal combustion engine in the center by the lift quantity variable mechanism of the variable valve system and a space for moving the whole rocker arm and the rocker shaft is required to be secured around the cam shaft when the maximum lift quantity of the engine valve is varied, the cylinder head is large-sized. As a result, the internal combustion engine is large-sized.
In addition, in the valve system in which the cam opens and closes the engine valve via the rocker arm, it is desirable that the inertia mass of members including the rocker arm between the cam and the engine valve is reduced so as to enhance the responsiveness of opening and closing the engine valve during a high-speed operation of the internal combustion engine.
Further, in the variable valve system in which the maximum lift quantity of the engine valve is continuously varied, as the maximum lift quantity is continuously reduced to approximately zero by the lift quantity variable mechanism when the engine valve is halted, it takes much time since an operated condition in which the engine valve is operated at the large maximum lift quantity till a halted condition or since the halted condition till the operated condition at the large maximum lift quantity and the time lag of switching between the operated condition and the halted condition may increase.
In addition, when the lift quantity variable mechanism is provided with a rocking member that can rock the camshaft to vary the maximum lift quantity, a part for supporting the rocking member is provided to the camshaft or is provided alongside in an axial direction of the camshaft together with a bearing of the camshaft in a cam holder that rotatably supports the camshaft, thereby, the length of the camshaft is extended, and the internal combustion engine may be large-sized in the axial direction of the camshaft in the body (for example, a cylinder head) provided with the camshaft of the engine.
Further, when the variable valve system is provided with a hydraulic actuator that drives the lift quantity variable mechanism, the compact arrangement and the miniaturization of the hydraulic actuator are required in view of the miniaturization of the internal combustion engine.

Variable valve system of internal combustion engine


It is proposed according to the invention to record, in an image recording device for recording X-ray images, offset frames for different operating modes of said device according to a current sequence, wherein said current sequence can, by taking into account a new sequence in a comparison procedure, be changed into an updated sequence. The new sequence is based on the frequency with which the individual operating modes are used.

Methods of this kind are generally known. Correction frames need to be recorded in particular when using digital solid state detectors for X-ray imaging, since uncorrected X-ray images cannot be used for diagnostic purposes. It is only after X-ray images have been corrected with the aid of such correction frames that said X-ray images can realistically be post-processed using organ-specific image processing software and can then be diagnostically interpreted.
The necessity for correction frames arises from the physical characteristics of the solid state detectors used for X-ray imaging. In the case of said solid state detectors the optical and electrical properties of the individual pixels can show marked variations. For instance the leakage currents of the photodiodes and the switching transistors used for readouts can vary. Furthermore resistors and capacitors used for readouts can vary row by row and column by column. Also the amplifiers used for readouts can be embodied in different designs. Moreover the solid state detectors are occasionally made up from different sub-matrixes that exhibit different properties. These and other circumstances are the reason why among other things what is referred to as the offset varies widely across solid state detectors.
Furthermore the offset of the individual pixels is not constant, but varies over time. These variations can be provoked by temperature fluctuations, such as temperature changes in the sub-matrixes or temperature fluctuations in the electronic modules, or can also be dependent on the operating modes in which the solid state detector is operated. For example the offset can depend on the frame frequency, which in the case of fluoroscopy typically varies between three and sixty images per second. In other applications, images with X-ray windows of up to 2.5 seconds are recorded every half to three seconds. This is the case for instance with blurred image tomography. The offset can however also depend on the radiation dose, the readout mode, the readout range used and the radiation period.
Due in particular to the strong dependency on temperature, offset frames need to be created contemporaneously in relation to the X-ray plates being recorded in different operating modes or sequences. This is particularly true in the case of uncooled solid state detectors, since the variations in their temperature depend on the ambient temperature and the operating mode of the solid state detector concerned.
Furthermore devices for recording high energy images support a considerable number of operating modes. X-ray equipment for vascular angiography or cardiology can typically be operated in 30 to 40 different operating modes. Frequently it is not enough to take only one offset frame for all the various operating modes. Instead, up to 60 offset frames are recorded in order to suppress noise as far as possible. In the operational pauses between acquisitions of X-ray images of an object under investigation there is often not enough time available to create offset frames for all operating modes.

Method for recording correction frames for high energy images


A safety cart for use by repair persons along a travelled highway is constructed of heavy steel plate to carry cones, flags, and an illuminated sign from the repair vehicle up the road to warn approaching motorists of the work site. The cart is carried to the site while attached to the front of the repair vehicle and a support device is attached to the front of the vehicle which tilts down out of the way of the forwardly tilting engine hood. The cart includes a pivoting handle which pivots to bring an engaging rod upwardly to a height of mounting slots in the supporting device on the vehicle. The handle is then used as a lever to lift the safety cart upwardly to abut the support device on the vehicle to be releasably interlocked on the support device.

This invention involves a cart device and a device for attachment of the cart to the outside of a motor vehicle. More specifically, this invention involves a safety cart attachable to the outside of a truck preparing to undertake work proximate a highway wherein the cart includes various safety devices including a warning sign on the cart itself.
There is a continuing need for workers and particularly repair persons to work immediately next to or even on a portion of a highway with motor vehicles continuing to travel along the highway while the work is being carried out. This work includes repair of electric lines, telephone lines, gas pipes, water pipes, sewer pipes, and the like. Many times, this work is of an emergency nature and is begun immediately upon the repair truck arriving at the scene. In order to warn and control traffic, it is common to set out signs warning approaching motorists of the encroachment onto the highway, many times narrowing the roadway by reducing at least one of the lanes of travel. The sign is placed at a certain distance while rubber or plastic brightly colored cones are used to delineate the work area and to move the motor vehicles into the more restricted travel lane. Sometimes flashing lights or even flares are used to warn the approaching motorists.
The problem with the present system is that the signs are typically not resistent to winds and are easily blown over, exacerbated by the air flow of passing motor vehicles. Further, the setting out of the signs and the cones is a particularly hazardous undertaking. Without the sign at the end, the passing motorist is not forewarned. Further, the repair person must make multiple trips carrying the sign and cones to various distances away from the work site. There is an additional problem in that repair persons are not necessarily skilled in estimating distances and it is most important that the sign and the cones be spaced sufficiently away from the work area to provide the motorist with sufficient warning.
None of the prior devices satisfy these needs nor do they attain the objects described hereinbelow.


A climbing device for a tree or other vertical columnar member having a platform fashioned from fiber-reinforced composite material. The platform is a one-piece structure having a peripheral skin with bi-directionally oriented reinforcing fibers and longitudinally extending reinforcing fibers. The back bar is also fashioned from fiber-reinforced composite material having a peripheral skin with bi-directionally oriented reinforcing fibers and longitudinally extending reinforcing fibers. Fiber-reinforced members include a foam core for shape retention. The manufacturing process permits use of T-shaped joints in fiber-reinforced structures.

In its broadest aspects, this invention deals with joints in fiber reinforced composite materials. In an intermediate aspect, the present invention relates generally to auxiliary equipment used by active outdoorsmen. More specifically, this invention pertains to portable tree stands used by hunters, photographers, and naturalists, as well as methods of making fiber composite elements therefor.
Hunters, photographers and naturalists have realized the importance of obtaining a high viewing position to avoid detection and increase their visibility of animals. There have been numerous previous patents involving a variety of construction techniques and art forms for tree climbing devices, portable tree stands, platforms, seats, and hand-held climbing devices. This invention represents a significant improvement in weight reduction of tree climbing devices.
Climbing platforms are, of course, known in the prior art. See for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,856,111 to Baker issued Dec. 24, 1974, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,168,765 to Ferguson issued Sep. 25, 1979.
The prior art has also taught use of two separate platforms, a lower one for the users feet, referred to as a foot climber, and another upper device, or stand, used to sit on. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,485,320 to Jones issued Dec. 23, 1969; U.S. Pat. No. 3,960,240 to Cotton issued Jun. 1, 1976; U.S. Pat. No. 4,137,995 to Fonte, issued Feb. 6, 1979; U.S. Pat. No. 4,230,203 to Sweat et al., issued Oct. 28, 1980; U.S. Pat. No. 4,316,526 to Amacker, issued Feb. 23, 1982; U.S. Pat. No. 4,321,983 to Nelson, issued Mar. 30, 1982; U.S. Pat. No. 4,331,216 to Amacker, issued May 25, 1982; U.S. Pat. No. 4,417,645 to Untz, issued Nov. 29, 1983; U.S. Pat. No. 4,452,338 to Untz, issued Jun. 5, 1984; U.S. Pat. No. 4,942,942 to Bradley, issued Jul. 24, 1990; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,953,662 to Porter, issued Sep. 4, 1990. See also U.S. Pat. No. 4,427,092 to Tentler, issued Jan. 24, 1984; U.S. Pat. No. 4,597,473 to Peck, issued Jul. 1, 1986; U.S. Pat. No. 3,955,645 to Dye, issued May 11, 1976.
Generally speaking, the known tree climbing devices and elevated platforms have a substantially planar foot support platform made from a sheet of plywood, from a plurality of parallel wooden slats, from a plurality of metal slats, or the like. Typically, the platform portion of these devices represents a significant portion of the weight.
Weight reduction is a significant feature in these portable devices since the hunters, outdoorsmen, and photographers that use them ordinarily must carry the devices considerable distances, often over rough terrain. While some weight reductions have been accomplished in the past by using hollow structural members, and selecting lightweight metal members such as aluminum, these efforts have only been marginally successful. An overriding consideration is safety of the person using the device--which necessitates a rigid platform for supporting body weight and rigid structural members to both support the platform and engage the supporting tree, pole, or the like.
Thus, the need continues to exist for an improved, lightweight climbing device.

Portable tree stand having fiber composite platform


In a connection structure, electric wire includes an inclined sheath section between an exposed core wire section and a whole circumferential sheath section. In the inclined sheath section, an end surface of the insulating sheath on one end side in a longitudinal direction inclines in a direction intersecting the longitudinal direction and thereby a portion of the core wire is exposed. Each of crimping pieces of a terminal has a core wire crimping section that crimps the exposed core wire section, a whole circumferential sheath crimping section that crimps the whole circumferential sheath section, and an inclined sheath crimping section that crimps the inclined sheath section. The terminal is crimped to the electric wire so that the end surface of the inclined sheath section faces a base plate section of the terminal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connection structure between an electric wire and a terminal.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the related art, various aspects are known as a connection structure between an electric wire having a core wire and an insulating sheath that covers an outer circumferential surface of the core wire, and a terminal crimped to the electric wire (refer to PTL 1).


A method is provided, such as for mobile augmented reality personalization. A front-facing camera of the mobile device acquires a first view of a user of the mobile device. A personal characteristic of the user of the mobile device is identified from the first view. A location of the mobile device may be determined. A back-facing camera of the mobile device may acquire a second view of a region at the location. Augmented reality information is selected as a function of the personal characteristic. A second view is displayed with the augmented reality information.

The present invention generally relates to data content for augmented reality. For example, augmented reality data used with navigation and/or mapping systems is provided.
Navigation systems or devices provide useful features, including the identification of routes to destinations or points of interests. The navigation system determines the optimum route to be taken to travel from the origin to the destination from map data. A database of locations (e.g., nodes) and streets (e.g., links) is used by the navigation system. The navigation is presented to the user. The locations may be augmented with further information in the presentation, providing augmented reality. Information about points of interest may be presented on a display of the mobile device based on the location of the mobile device. However, the augmented reality information may be cluttered on the display or not useful for the user of the mobile device.