An apparatus for obtaining samples from a process, and which can be located in the process, which comprises a gate which reciprocates between a first position and a second position to fill and empty a sample chamber via corresponding inlets and outlets. The gate may pivot within the chamber about a longitudinal axis through the chamber, and a dam prevents fluid flow directly between the inlets and outlets. The inlets may provide outlets, and vice versa, depending on the direction of movement of the gate. Means such as pumps may be provided to agitate the fluid samples obtained by the apparatus, and sensors mounted in the sample chamber (for example on the gate or on the dam) can perform measurements on the samples. Wipers may be provided on the gate to assist in the ingress and egress of samples into and out of the sample chamber. It is also possible to inoculate the fluid samples within the sample chamber.

In many processes, it is required to analyse a sample (e.g. liquid or other fluid) from within the process while maintaining a stable and controlled environment. Additionally, such processes may involve liquids with suspended solids, which are also required to be analysed, placing additional burden on a sampling system. Since the analysis should be performed on a sample taken from within the process the sampling system must be reliable and robust to provide extended periods of service without any intervention by the operator or remedial action.
Known systems for retrieving samples from a process include sample grabbing mechanisms and instruments which do not tend to perform well in harsh and demanding environments. Accordingly, there are problems with such systems which may be compromised in fit for purpose functionality and longevity.
One particular sampling apparatus which is known to the applicant involves a complex arrangement in which a piston and a shell are moveable relative to one another and independently actuated to selectively open, seal and evacuate a sample chamber. Such an apparatus is relatively complex and therefore may be more prone to failure, and in any case can be costly to produce and therefore unsuitable for widespread deployment.
There is presently a need for a sampling system which can be permanently inserted into a process and immersed to any depth in the process to capture samples as may be appropriate to the analysis. Furthermore, there is a need to reduce the risks of such a sampling system interfering with or being affected by the external environment.
It is also desirable to eliminate the need for external moving parts as may, for example, be required to grab samples, the control of those parts, and the removal of the inherent reliability issues of multiple moving parts.
It would be advantageous to be able to provide fresh samples for continuous or differing analysis without the necessity to manage or manipulate the sample, which might thereby affect the intrinsic nature of the sample. That being said it would also be advantageous to handle a captured sample so that it can be analysed under different conditions than those that exist in the native environment, allowing the user to predict system performance.
It is an object of at least one aspect of the present invention to obviate and/or mitigate one or more disadvantages of known/prior apparatus such as described above.
Furthermore, it is an object of at least one embodiment of the present invention to provide an apparatus that provides one or more of the above-mentioned desired features and/or advantages.
Further aims and objects of the invention will become apparent from reading the following description.

Advanced Sampling Process Instruments Ltd.


A downhole system includes a tubular having an outer surface and an inner surface defining a conduit. A terminal member is connected to the tubular. A first screen system including a first screen housing is mounted to the tubular adjacent the terminal member, and a second screen system including a second screen housing is mounted to the tubular and spaced from the first screen system. The second screen system includes a beta blaster valve operable to selectively open flow into the conduit based on a pressure differential between the first screen system and the second screen system.

In the resource exploration and recovery industry wellbores are formed for the purpose of evaluating and extracting formation fluids from a formation. Often times, the wellbores include horizontal sections. The horizontal sections may be part of a main section of the wellbore or may take the form of branches that extend off of the main section at an angle. Generally, horizontal wellbore sections do not include a casing and thus take on an open hole configuration. A tubular that may support screens is directed into the horizontal section.
Prior to extracting formation fluids, a gravel pack operation is conducted. The gravel pack operation introduces a slurry that may include sand, drilling mud and/or other substances into the wellbore. The slurry settles between the tubular and a wall defining the formation. The slurry provides support for the wall while, at the same time, acts as a pre-filter for formation fluids passing into the tubular. The slurry is pumped into a gravel pack sleeve, and down an annulus that exists about the screens. The slurry then enters into a bottom screen joint.
An alpha wave of sand settles and forms near a heel of the wellbore and grows downward toward a toe of the wellbore. The tubular includes a washpipe that forces the slurry to travel outside of the screens. After the alpha wave reaches the toe, a beta wave forms and fills the horizontal section back toward the heel. A wellbore may require 150 joints of washpipe to support a gravel pack operation. Forming and subsequently retrieving the washpipe can take significant time. The art would appreciate a system for gravel packing an open hole that could reduce the time, expense and manpower needed to deploy and then retrieve the washpipe.

Downhole system for gravel packing without a washpipe


There is provided a sol in which surface-modified colloidal particles are dispersed in a liquid, wherein the surface-modified colloidal particles are obtained by using anhydrous zinc antimonate colloidal particles, metal oxides comprising tin atom, zinc atom, antimony atom and oxygen atom, or tin oxide-doped anhydrous zinc antimonate colloidal particles as nuclei, and by coating the surface of the nuclei with an aluminum-containing substance (e.g., an aluminum chelating agent), a polymer type surfactant (e.g., a polycarboxylic acid ester or polyethylene glycol monoaliphatic acid ester surfactant) or both of them. The anhydrous zinc antimonate sol is used for several purposes such as transparent antistatic materials in the form of resin, plastic, glass, paper, magnetic tape or the like, transparent UV absorbers, transparent heat radiation absorbers, high refractive index hard coating agent, anti-reflective agent and the like.

1. Field of the Art
The present invention relates to a sol in which surface-modified colloidal particles are dispersed in a liquid, wherein the surface-modified colloidal particles are obtained by using anhydrous zinc antimonate colloidal particles, metal oxides comprising tin atom, zinc atom, antimony atom and oxygen atom, or tin oxide-doped anhydrous zinc antimonate colloidal particles as nuclei, and by coating the surface of the nuclei with an aluminum-containing substance, a polymer type surfactant or both of them. The anhydrous zinc antimonate sol according to the present invention is used for several purposes such as transparent antistatic materials in the form of resin, plastic, glass, paper, magnetic tape or the like, transparent UV absorbers, transparent heat radiation absorbers, high refractive index hard coating agent, anti-reflective agent and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are disclosed aqueous sols or organic solvent sols of anhydrous zinc antimonate. These sols include aqueous sols or organic solvent sols of anhydrous zinc antimonate that are stabilized with alkyl amine such as ethyl amine, propyl amine, isopropyl amine, diisobutyl amine or the like, alkanol amine such as triethanol amine, monoethanol amine or the like, diamine such as ethylene diamine or the like, oxycarboxylic acid such as lactic acid, tartaric acid, malic acid, citric acid or the like. The organic solvents include alcohols such as methyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol, propyl alcohol, butyl alcohol or the like, glycols such as ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol or the like, cellosolves such as ethyl cellosolve, propyl cellosolve or the like, amides such as dimethyl formamide, dimethyl acetamide or the like (JP-A 6-219743).
In addition, there are also disclosed sols in which surface-modified colloidal particles are dispersed in a liquid, and contain amine and/or oxycarboxylic acid, wherein the surface-modified anhydrous zinc antimonate colloidal particles are obtained by using anhydrous zinc antimonate colloidal particles as nuclei, and by coating the surface of the nuclei with a silicon-containing substance (JP-A11-314918).
The organic solvent sols of anhydrous zinc antimonate and the related materials thereof are used for e.g., transparent antistatic paints or transparent heat radiation absorbing paints by utilizing the characteristics that are fine particles. In this case, paints are obtained by mixing organic solvent sols of anhydrous zinc antimonate and the related materials thereof with several resins. The resulting resins are required that the particles in the anhydrous zinc antimonate sol and the related metal oxide sol are not aggregated but are dispersed in a state close to primary particles. The solvents for resins used for the purpose are hydrophobic solvents such as toluene or xylene, alcohols with a high boiling point such as isopropyl alcohol or butyl alcohol. When the solvents with a law boiling point are present in a paint, the solvents cause whitening of the coating film due to flushing, or the like. Thus, it is generally preferable to replace methanol with the above-mentioned organic solvent. Consequently, hydrophobic solvents such as toluene or xylene or solvents with a high boiling point such as isopropyl alcohol or butyl alcohol are used for the organic solvent sols of anhydrous zinc antimonate used for transparent antistatic paints or transparent heat radiation absorbing paints that are obtained by mixing with several resins.
However, the organic solvent sol of anhydrous zinc antimonate stabilized by adding alkyl amine, alkanol amine, diamine and oxycarboxylic acid that is described in JP-A 6-219743 is deficient in dispersion properties of sol particles in a hydrophobic solvent such as toluene or xylene or a liquid mixed with each resin. Thus, when it is used for transparent antistatic paints or transparent heat radiation absorbing paints, it is required to improve further transparency.

Anhydrous zinc antimonate sol and process for producing same


A multi-functional tool assembly for a material processing machine includes a single tool including a head and a shaft integrally formed therein. The head has a cavity with an arcuate surface. The multi-functional tool assembly also includes a material reducer adapted to reduce material within the waste processing machine. The material reducer is disposed in the cavity and has an arcuate surface complementary to the arcuate surface of the cavity.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to material processing machines and, more particularly, to a multi-functional tool assembly for a processing tool of a material processing machine.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known to provide material processing machines to reduce materials such as a waste processing machine to reduce waste material. For a waste processing machine, the waste processing machine typically includes a rotor assembly for reducing the waste material as the rotor assembly rotates. An example of such a rotor assembly for a waste processing machine is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,863,003, issued Jan. 26, 1999, to Smith, entitled "WASTE PROCESSING MACHINE". In that patent, the rotor assembly includes a rotor having a plurality of spaced pairs of mounting arms. The rotor assembly also includes a processing tool mounted to each pair of mounting arms. An example of a processing tool is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,845,931, issued Jan. 25, 2005, to Smith, entitled "MULTI-FUNCTIONAL TOOL ASSEMBLY FOR PROCESSING TOOL OF A WASTE PROCESSING MACHINE". In that patent, the processing tool includes a tool holder attached to the mounting arms of the rotor assembly by fasteners. The tool holder has a pair of spaced arms extending radially with a tool for reducing waste product attached to one arm and a wear bar or raker for depth limiting guiding attached to the other arm. Typically, the tool has a head, a shaft, and a waste reducer attached to the head by suitable means such as brazing. The shaft of the tool is extended through an aperture in the arm of the processing tool and secured thereto by a fastener such as a nut.
In some applications, the force on the waste reducer may cause the brazing to give way and the waste reducer may become detached from the head. This is due to shear forces acting on the waste reducer. The shear forces produce a sideways force vector acting on either side of the waste reducer. This causes the brazing, which is in compression, to be tensioned and give way, which is undesired.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a single multi-functional tool assembly in a material processing machine for reducing material and aggressively outputting the reduced material. It is also desirable to provide a multi-functional tool assembly for a material processing machine that reduces or eliminates the material reducer from disengaging the processing tool when reducing material. It is still further desirable to provide a multi-functional tool assembly that reduces or redirects the shear force vector acting on the material reducer. Therefore, there is a need in the art to provide a multi-functional tool assembly for a processing tool of a material processing machine that meets at least one of these desires.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Multi-functional tool assembly for processing tool of material processing machine


Accordingly, a control system for controlling a viscous clutch of a fan is provided. The control system includes a delta speed module that determines one of an over speed condition, an under speed condition, and a steady state condition based on a desired fan speed and an actual fan speed. A mode module determines a mode of the clutch based on the one of the over-speed condition, the under-speed condition, and the steady state condition, wherein the mode is one of a pump in mode, a pump out mode, and a closed loop mode. A valve control module that controls an operational state of the clutch valve based on the mode.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Today's internal combustion engines generate a tremendous amount of heat. This heat is created when an air and fuel mixture is ignited inside the engine combustion chamber. To prevent overheating of cylinder walls, pistons, valves, and other engine components, it is necessary to dispose of the heat. Fan systems deliver air to the engine to maintain proper temperatures during engine operation.
Rear-wheel-drive vehicles with longitudinally mounted engines typically include an engine-driven cooling fan. Engine-driven cooling fans include a fan and a viscous clutch. The fan is generally located at the front of the water pump and is driven by a belt and pulley system connected to the crankshaft of the engine. The viscous clutch is positioned at the hub of the fan. The viscous clutch operates to engage and disengage the fan from the engine. When the engine is cool, or even at normal operating temperatures, the fan clutch partially disengages the fan. Disengaging the fan saves power since the engine does not have to fully drive the fan.

Fluid model control of electro-viscous fan clutch


There is provided a solid-state image sensor including a photoelectric conversion part which generates a charge corresponding to received light and accumulates the charge therein, a charge holding part in which before the charge accumulated in the photoelectric conversion part is transferred to a floating diffusion region, the charge is held for a predetermined time, a first transfer gate which transfers the charge accumulated in the photoelectric conversion part to the charge holding part, a second transfer gate which transfers the charge held in the charge holding part to the floating diffusion region, and a charge discharging gate which discharges the charge in the photoelectric conversion part. Before charge accumulation in the photoelectric conversion part for the next frame is started, part of the charge accumulated in the charge holding part is discharged.

The present technology relates to a solid-state image sensor, a method for the same, and an electronic device, and particularly relates to a solid-state image sensor, a method for the same, and an electronic device which make it possible to reduce occurrence of an after-image caused by charge overflow.
A CMOS image sensor, for example, is used as a solid-state imaging device including a solid-state image sensor. The CMOS image sensor reads out, through MOS transistors, a photocharge accumulated in a pn junction capacitor of a photodiode which is a photoelectric transducer. Since the CMOS image sensor executes an operation of reading out the photocharge accumulated in the photodiode in pixel unit, row unit, or the like, it is not possible to provide all of pixels with the same exposure time period during which the photocharge is accumulated. Accordingly, in such a case that a subject is moving, a captured image might have distortion.
Each of unit pixels of the CMOS image sensor includes a photodiode, a transfer gate, a floating diffusion (FD), a reset transistor, an amplification transistor, and a select transistor.
In this unit pixel, the photodiode is a buried photodiode, for example, by forming a P-type layer in a p-type well layer formed on an N-type substrate and by burying an N-type buried layer (N) in the p-type well layer. The transfer gate transfers the charge accumulated in the pn junction of the photodiode to the floating diffusion (FD).
A mechanical shutter method using a mechanical light shielding unit is widely used as one of methods by which global exposure is implemented for a solid-state image sensor. In the global exposure, an image is captured with all the pixels having the same exposure time period. This mechanical light shielding enables the global exposure to be executed in such a manner that all the pixels simultaneously start exposure and simultaneously terminate the exposure.
In the mechanical shutter method, the exposure time is mechanically controlled to thereby provide each pixel with the same time period in which a charge is generated when light enters the photo diode. Then, the mechanical shutter is closed, and the state changes to a state where no photocharge is substantially generated. In this state, signals are read out sequentially.
However, since the mechanical shutter needs the mechanical light shielding unit, it makes downsizing difficult, and the speed at which the mechanism is driven is limited. For this reason, the mechanical shutter method is inferior to an electrical method in concurrency.
Hence, the electrical global exposure is employed. In the electrical global exposure method, a charge discharging operation is firstly executed simultaneously in each pixel, and then the exposure is started. In the charge discharging operation, the buried photodiode is evacuated with the charge accumulated therein. Thereby, the photocharge is accumulated in the pn junction capacitor of the photodiode.
At the time point when the exposure time period ends, the transfer gate is turned ON simultaneously in each pixel to transfer every accumulated photocharge to the floating diffusion (capacitor).
By closing the transfer gate, the photocharge accumulated in the same exposure time period for all the pixels is held in the floating diffusion.
Thereafter, a signal level is sequentially read out to a vertical signal line, and then the floating diffusion is reset to read out a reset level to the vertical signal line.
When the signal indicating the signal reset level is read out, noise of the signal level is removed by using the reset level in signal processing in the subsequent stage (for example, refer to JP H01-243675A or JP 2004-140149A).
In the noise removing processing, the reset level is read out which results from reset operation executed after the signal level is read out. Accordingly, it is not possible to remove kTC noise (thermal noise) in the reset operation, and thus the image quality is deteriorated.
The kTC noise in the reset operation is random noise generated due to reset transistor switching operation in the reset operation. Accordingly, if a level before transferring the charge to the floating diffusion is not used, it is not possible to appropriately remove the noise of the signal level.
Since the charge is transferred to the floating diffusion simultaneously in each pixel, and thus the noise is removed at this time in such a manner that the signal level is read out and thereafter the reset operation is executed again. Accordingly, it is possible to remove noise such as an offset error, but not possible to remove the kTC noise.
As a technique of enabling the aforementioned kTC noise removal, a unit pixel is proposed which, for example, includes a memory part in the pixel besides a floating diffusion. The memory part is designed to temporarily hold the photocharge accumulated in a buried photodiode. The unit pixel is further provided with a transfer gate which transfers the photocharge accumulated in the photodiode to the memory part.
In executing global exposure in unit pixels each including a memory part, an OFG which resets a PD simultaneously in each pixel is firstly turned ON to execute an operation of discharging the charge in the PD.
Thereafter, the OFG is turned off to start the simultaneous exposure, and thereby the generated photocharge is accumulated in the PD.
Upon completion of the exposure, the transfer gate is driven simultaneously in each pixel to transfer the photocharge to the memory part, and then the transfer gate is turned off to hold the charge in the memory part.
After the transfer gate is turned off, the OFG is turned on to prevent a signal from overflowing from the PD into the memory part holding the charge (blooming) and to perform PD resetting for the next frame.
Thereafter, sequential operations are performed to read out a reset level and a signal level from the charge held in the memory part.
The floating diffusion (FD) is firstly reset, and then the reset level is read out.
Subsequently, the charge held in the memory part is transferred to the floating diffusion (FD) to read out the signal level. At this time, reset noise included in the signal level coincides with reset noise read out when the reset level is read out. This enables processing of reducing noise including even the kTC noise.
That is, according to a pixel structure in which a memory part temporarily holding a charge accumulated in a buried photo diode is provided besides a floating diffusion region, it is possible to achieve processing of reducing noise including even kTC noise.
Examples of an image sensor having such a configuration include JP 2004-111590A and JP 2009-278241A.

Solid-state image sensor, method for the same, and electronic device


In an automobile, a silencer connected to an exhaust pipe includes a casing made of thermally resistant synthetic resin and provided at an inner surface with a thermally insulating material. The silencer is disposed between a side frame and a side body and covered with an undercover from below the silencer and is disposed between a side frame and a side body of an automatic vehicle in a space behind a rear wheel.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a silencer and particularly, to an improvement in disposition of an automobile silencer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a conventional automobile, a casing of a silencer is made of metal and, hence, the shape of the casing is limited. Moreover, the temperature of an outer surface of the casing may be risen to a relatively high level, resulting in a need to avoid a damage to adjacent members due to heat. For this reason, the disposition of the silencer is also limited and, in general, the silencer is disposed in a downwardly exposed state at a rear portion of a vehicle body.
However, if the silencer is disposed in an exposed state, as described above, a flow of air is disturbed by the silencer during travelling of the vehicle, which is disadvantageous from the viewpoint of aerodynamic characteristics. In addition, the silencer can been seen in the exposed state from the rear of the vehicle, which is also disadvantageous from the viewpoint of the design of the vehicle.
In a conventional automobile, a free, or unoccupied, space is produced between a side body and a side frame in the rear of a rear wheel. If the silencer can be disposed in such free space, the problems in the viewpoints of the aerodynamic characteristic and design of the vehicle can be overcome.

Arrangement for disposing silencer of automobile


The invention is a device for multiband, multi-channel, wireless communications that automatically provides signal amplification when necessary, and that automatically avoids harmful interference to base stations and other parts of the communications infrastructure. The device is especially suitable for, but not limited to, cellular and PCS bands and channels. The invention is a unique combination of a bidirectional amplifier, a GPS receiver, a processor, and a removable, updatable memory. The memory stores comprehensive information that determines if amplification is necessary at a particular location sensed by the GPS receiver. Because the memory is removable and updatable, it therefore provides protection against piracy and unauthorized and improper use.

Wireless communication networks are limited, with respect to range and coverage, by deterioration of signals to unacceptably weak levels. Indiscriminately boosting or amplifying signals by individual subscribers, however, causes interference that can render large portions of the network useless. Such interference causes harm to both the subscriber and the service provider. The subscriber loses the service that he or she originally hoped to enhance by signal boosting. The service provider loses revenue from unrealized connections and eventually from lost subscribers dissatisfied with poor service. What is needed is a communications booster that is sufficiently "smart" and foolproof to know when and where to amplify or not to amplify.
In particular, a smart communications booster must be able to sense where it is located with respect to base stations. For example, if it is too close to a base station, then it can cause overwhelming interference to the base station with an unnecessarily amplified signal. To prevent such interference, the smart booster must have continuous access to a map so that it can compare its location with the known locations of base stations. A memory card, which is an essential part of this invention, is the ideal way to provide a map. Further, such memory cards are removable so that they can be revised or replaced as the locations of base stations, and other attributes of the communications infrastructure, change over time.
Methods presently exist to compensate primarily for the deterioration of signals, with little or no attention to the interference those methods may cause. In the case of cellular and PCS communications networks, for example, four such methods are: 1) bi-directional amplifiers, or BDAs; 2) additional cell sites; 3) femtocells; and 4) private subscriber high gain antennas. Bi-directional amplifiers boost both uplink and downlink signals, without regard to signal strength. Additional base stations can provide service at locations where coverage was not previously available. Femtocells extend coverage into small regions such as home interiors by transferring the wireless link to the internet. Individual subscribers can attach special purpose antennas to their transceivers that provide signal gain. All of these approaches, however, have significant disadvantages.
Bi-directional amplifiers, or BDAs, boost both uplink and downlink signals whether the subscriber is located far away from or in close proximity to a base station. In the latter case, the boosted uplink signal overwhelms the base station, rendering it effectively inoperative. The interfering signal may exceed that allowed by FCC regulations. Countless connections are dropped or never completed so long as the subscriber remains in close proximity. BDAs cannot sense their locations with respect to base stations. BDAs are completely uncontrolled by service providers, leaving those providers unprotected. They cannot be remotely controlled so that an adversely affected base station might switch them off. It follows that BDAs cause substantial loss of revenue to service providers.
Additional cell sites are not practical in many cases, especially at the very locations where they might do the most good. In marginal areas with few subscribers, the capital expenditure for a complete base station cannot be justified. In residential areas, restrictive zoning and public opposition, prevent the construction of new base stations.
Femtocells are by design limited to locations that can provide internet access. So, except within the confines of a small region, such as a home interior, they are not suitable for mobile use. They are certainly not suitable for wide ranging mobile stations.
Customized antennas for individual subscribers are generally not practical. They are by definition expensive compared with mass produced antennas. They require specialized engineering knowledge by the subscriber. Generally, they are large and must be carefully oriented so that they are not suitable for mobile stations. Again because of size or elevation on a tall tower, they may be prohibited by zoning restrictions.

Multi-band, multi-channel, location-aware communications booster


A rail system made of one or more flexible guide rods, each consisting of a tension rod, is used to support lightweight, mobile devices such as carriages, scanning heads or optical sensors. The rail is configured to permit movement of the mobile device, when driven by an external drive mechanism, along a main scanning direction but prohibits rotational movement of the mobile device. In this fashion, the mobile device remains substantially at the same measured distance from the flat surface of an object, e.g., moving sheet or web, being analyzed.

It is often desirable to obtain measurements of selected characteristics of sheet materials during manufacture. Although various properties of sheet materials can be detected by off-line laboratory testing, such tests often are not practical because of the time required for sample acquisition and analysis. Also, laboratory testing has the shortcoming that samples obtained for testing may not accurately represent sheet material that has been produced.
To overcome the drawbacks of laboratory testing of sheet materials, various sensor systems have been used for detecting sheet properties "on-line," i.e., on a sheet-making machine while it is operating. Typically, on-line sensor devices are operated to periodically traverse, or "scan," traveling webs of flat sheet material during manufacture. Scanning usually is done in the cross direction, i.e., in the direction perpendicular to the direction of sheet travel. Depending upon the sheet-making operation, cross-directional distances can range up to about 10 meters or more.
A wide variety of scanning sensor devices has been used for on-line measurements of sheet materials. In the papermaking industry, for example, spectrometric scanning sensors have been employed for on-line detection of characteristic sheet materials. A spectrometric scanning system typically includes a stationary frame having a pair of stiff upright end members that stand on a factory floor for supporting a pair of parallel, solid guide members or rails that extends horizontally across the opposite faces of a traveling sheet. The guide members often are quite massive. Adjustment systems may be employed to straighten the guide members independent of the upright end support structure to compensate for non-straightness of the guide member or weight deflection. A motor driven carriage is mounted to travel on the guide members. The carriage is connected to a drive system to be driven back and forth across sheet. The scanning sensor system also includes a scanning head that is mounted on the carriage member. The scanning head contains the detection components. For example, in the case of a spectrometric analyzer, the scanner head can include a source of infrared light, collimating and beam-splitting mirrors, and photosensitive detector.
In order to monitor and control a flat sheet manufacturing process, it is desirable and sometimes necessary to position across directional scanning sensors at a number of strategic locations throughout the process. However, this is often very difficult because of space restrictions in a facility. In particular, since a sensor is ordinarily influenced in some manner by the distance between it and the object being measured, the supporting guide members, e.g., beam, which span the width of the process, have typically been designed with very high structural inertia to counter the deflection caused by sag and vibration. To generate the required inertia levels, however, the dimensions of the guide members often become so large that they cannot fit within the space allotted. While sag can be compensated for with manufacturing methods, long and bulky, low inertia, guide members are still susceptible to resonant vibration deflection. Thermal distortion of the structures caused by uneven heating often times must be dealt with no matter how strongly the guide members are built.


A separating element for a platform cabin is provided. The separating element comprises: at least one stationary partition, delimiting a passage defining a circulation axis inside the cabin; at least one leaf, mounted transversely movable relative to the circulation axis between a closed position, in which it extends through the passage, and an open position, in which it is positioned at least partially spaced away from the passage; and means for moving the or each leaf between the closed position and the open position thereof, the or each leaf being adapted to move along the plane transverse to the circulation axis.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a separating element for a platform cabin, of the type comprising:                at least one stationary partition, delimiting a passage defining a circulation axis inside the cabin,        at least one leaf, mounted transversely movable relative to the circulation axis between a closed position, in which it extends through the passage, and an open position, in which it is positioned at least partially spaced away from the passage, and        means for moving the or each leaf between the closed position and the open position thereof,
the or each leaf being adapted to move along the plane transverse to the circulation axis.
"Platform" refers both to an aircraft and boat or, more generally, any vehicle having an enclosure that is at least partially cylindrical.
2. Description of the Related Art
Such separating elements are known. Thus for example, separating elements are known for an aircraft cabin comprising two stationary partitions defining a circulation passage through the aircraft between them, and a door formed from a single, large leaf. The leaf is movably mounted on one of the stationary partitions between a closed position, in which it extends through the passage, and an open position, in which it is positioned spaced away from the passage, retracted inside the stationary partition. Slide means allow the leaf to move between the open and closed positions thereof.
However, these separating elements are not fully satisfactory. In fact, in these separating elements, the travel of the leaf is limited by the fuselage of the aircraft, due to the substantially cylindrical configuration thereof. This limited travel restricts the width of the passage when said separating element is installed in a narrow fuselage airplane, such as a business airplane.
Furthermore, such separating elements are particularly heavy and, as a result, expensive to manufacture and install in an aircraft cabin.

Separating element for a platform cabin comprising a push rod mechanism for moving a leaf


Detection of whether more than a number N of events have occurred within a duration of time defined by a sliding time window includes performing an event detection procedure in response to each occurrence of an event. The event detection procedure includes associating a timestamp with the event, and determining a value, DeltaTimeStamp, based on a difference between the timestamp associated with the event and an earlier timestamp associated with an Nth previous event. The value DeltaTimeStamp is compared with a value representative of the duration of time defined by the sliding time window, and if a comparison criterion is satisfied then an events detected condition is indicated, wherein the events detected condition is defined as more than the number N of events occurring within the duration of time defined by the sliding time window.

The present invention relates to the detection of whether a predetermined number of events have or have not occurred within a sliding time window.
In many types of systems and apparatuses, it is often desired to detect whether a predefined number of events have taken place within a certain amount of time relative to one another. Once that condition is detected, it is often also desired to detect whether a predefined number of events are no longer occurring within a certain amount of time relative to one another. Typically, in response to each of these conditions being fulfilled/not fulfilled, a corresponding change of state or certain action is invoked.
FIG. 1 is an exemplary timing diagram illustrating occurrences of some event (depicted as solid black boxes) over some period of time. In this example, it is assumed that it is desired to detect when four events take place within a certain amount of time relative to one another. That condition is satisfied within the sliding time window 101. In response to detecting that the condition is satisfied, some action, "x", is invoked 103.
FIG. 2 is an exemplary timing diagram illustrating the situation in which it is desired to detect when it is no longer the case that four events are taking place within a certain amount of time relative to one another. In this example, that situation occurs within the sliding time window 201. In response to detecting that the condition is satisfied, some action, "y", is invoked 203.
In order to avoid a trigger-happy system, a hysteresis timer is sometimes added. FIG. 3 depicts the same situation as in FIG. 2, but here it is not desired to take action "y" immediately. Rather, a hysteresis timer is added for making sure that the system is stable over some time period 301 before taking action "y". Thus, attention is focused on a sliding time window within which a certain number of events should or should not occur (depending upon what condition is being tested). To implement the hysteresis, the start and stop points of the window of time are effectively moved, and the desired condition tested, at each of the number of points within a hysteresis time period. In FIG. 3, the condition of four events not occurring within the defined window of time is true and stable over the hysteresis time period 301. Consequently, action "y" is invoked 303.
A similar hysteresis timer could be added in those situations where it is desired to detect the occurrence of a predetermined number of events within a time window. FIG. 4 illustrates the case in which it is desired to detect that four events have taken place within a certain sliding time window, and that this condition is stable during a hysteresis time period before taking action. In this example, no action is taken because the condition is not fulfilled during the hysteresis time period.
In many systems, the length of the sliding time window as well as the number of events described above are fully configurable and can be altered at any time. To take the field of telecommunications as one example, the problem of detecting the occurrence/nonoccurrence of events arises when it is necessary to detect when the block error rate at the time of reception exceeds or falls below a certain threshold within a certain sliding time window.
Another example is when one wants to solve the Hierarchical Cell Structure (HCS) problem found in 3GPP Technical Specification 25.304. In this specification, it is requested that a user equipment (UE) be able to detect whether the number of cell reselections during a time period (T) exceeds a certain preconfigured amount (N). If so, then high-mobility has been detected. In this high-mobility state, the UE shall among other things, prioritize reselection of neighboring cells on a lower HCS priority level before neighboring cells on the same HCS priority level. When the number of cell reselections during the time period (T) no longer exceeds N, the UE shall continue these measurements during a time period THyst, and then revert to low-mobility measurement rules. In this example, a cell reselection is an event, T is the duration of a sliding time window within which N events must be detected, and THyst is the hysteresis timer for leaving the high-mobility state.
In order to solve problems like those mentioned above, the software solutions typically implement a sliding window as follows: The system is continuously awakened at periodic intervals by either an external program/device or by a timer that was started by the program itself. At each awakening, the sliding time window is shifted and the number of events/absence of events is counted within the sliding time window to decide whether to take an action. Additional timer supervision is required if hysteresis timers are to be used.
Such solutions have certain associated problems. For example, a system may have to constantly start timers, resulting in several timers running in parallel. Each timer timeout event results in processing to detect whether a given condition is satisfied. The faster one wants to detect whether a condition is fulfilled/not fulfilled, and the faster one wants to react and take an action, the more frequent (and finer resolution) the wake-up calls have to be. This results in more signaling, either from the external program/device or from the self-started timers, and an increased likelihood of more process switches.

High-resolution, timer-efficient sliding window


A tool box contains: a body, a fixing mount, a casing, a hanging seat, and a plurality of screwdrivers. The body includes two connecting notches and two limiting recesses formed on two sides of an inner wall thereof. The fixing mount includes two ends accommodated in the two limiting recesses and moving upwardly and downwardly in the two limiting recesses, and the fixing mount also includes a plurality of receiving holes and two resilient elements fitted on a bottom end thereof. The casing fits with the body and includes two cutouts, and the hanging seat includes two connection protrusions to connect with the two connecting notches of the body and the two cutouts of the casing. Each of the plurality of screwdrivers includes an extension fitted into each of the plurality of receiving holes of the fixing mount.

A conventional tool box for accommodating a plurality of screwdriver contains a body and a casing rotatably connected with the body, wherein the body includes a fixing member for fixing the plurality of screwdrivers, hence the plurality of screwdrivers are accommodated in the tool box. However, it is difficult to remove the plurality of screwdrivers from the tool box, after the casing is rotated outwardly to take the plurality of screwdrivers out of the body.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages.


An initial multi-digit contact (multi-touch) is detected on a surface of a touchscreen display during initiation of a key entry session on a transaction terminal. A reference row for a logically maintained keypad is set for the key entry session based on the multi-touch. Active rows for the key entry session are changed by swipes up or down. A given key within an active row is selected based on pressure applied by or removed from one of the digits relative to other digits in the multi-touch or based on one of the digits swiped up or down while other digits remain stationary. The key entry session terminates when the multi-digit contact is lifted off the surface without further touching for a preconfigured period of elapsed time. In an embodiment, the session terminates when a multi-touch swipe to the left and then the right is detected (or right and then left).

Increasingly traditional keypads are being removed from electronic devices and terminals. Input from users is being driven by touchscreen displays, which have been miniaturized and are integrated into even the smallest of devices, such as smart watches. Elimination of keypads/keyboards removes the number of electromechanical and software components needed for producing and maintaining the devices/terminals.
However, Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) are one type of device where Personal Identification Number (PIN) keypads still have a substantial presence in the industry; this is for a variety of reasons.
First, ATMs are secure devices that allow consumers to withdraw currency while performing withdrawal transactions. Software that operates on the ATMs is often the target of thieves for obvious reasons. Thus, it is crucial that the ATM maintain a secure mechanism by which a user can securely enter a PIN for access to a user's account. Typically, an ATM PIN pad is referred to as an encrypted PIN pad that includes its own independent processor from the ATM's core processor. When a user enters a PIN, the ATM core processor cannot detect which keys are depressed for a PIN entry; rather, the processor of the encrypted PIN pad receives the PIN and encrypts the PIN with a transaction-specific hash. The encrypted PIN is forwarded from the processor of the encrypted PIN pad to the ATM core processor and the encrypted PIN is sent from the ATM to a servicing financial institution that verifies the encrypted PIN and provides back a validation to the ATM core processor. As a result, the encrypted PIN pad provides a secure mechanism by which PINs are received and processed by an ATM.
Second, ATMs are subject to a variety of governmental/agency laws and regulations. One important regulation in the United States is the American's Disability Act (ADA), which mandates that the ATM provide a mechanism by which sight- and hearing-impaired individuals can conduct transactions on the ATM. The encrypted PIN pad typically includes raised tactile features on the surfaces of the keys, which can be felt by a sight-impaired individual for purposes of entering a user PIN. The ATMs also include a headphone jack for use with headphones to provide audio feedback to the sight-impaired individual during a transaction.
PIN entry at ATMs is difficult for sight-impaired individuals because auditory feedback can be prohibited by regulations associated with security of PIN entry. As a result, sight-impaired individuals often encounter more PIN entry errors and mistakes then do individuals without any sight impairments because there is no key-entry feedback provided during PIN entry.
Thus, removal of the encrypted PIN pads has remained an elusive goal that faces many technological hurdles (security based, compliance based, and error-rate based).


A negative photoresist composition containing an alkali-soluble resin which is obtainable through a condensation reaction of an aldehyde with a phenol compound containing a compound of the general formula: ##STR1## wherein R.sup.1 to R.sup.9 are independently a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, an alkenyl group, an alkylcarbonyl group, a halogen atom or a hydroxyl group, provided that at least one of R.sup.1 to R.sup.9 is a hydroxyl group and, at the ortho- or para-position to the hydroxyl group, at least two hydrogen atoms are present; a cross linking agent; and a photo-acid generator, and a negative photoresist composition comprising an alkali-soluble resin, a cross linking agent and a photo-acid generator having a trifluoromethanesulfonic acid ester group, which can increase resolution and contrast of a photoresist pattern.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a negative photo-resist composition which is a pattern-forming material in the production of a semiconductor. More particularly, the present invention relates to a negative photoresist composition which has high sensitivity, high resolution and high resistance to dry etching and is suitable for far ultra-violet or excimer laser lithography.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, integrated circuits have been highly miniatuarized; but with the increase of a degree of integration it has become required to form a submicron order pattern. In particular, excimer laser lithography makes it possible to produce next-generation 64 MDRAM and 256 MDRAM. With the change of a light source, a resist should have heat resistance, a good film thickness retention and a profile and also the following properties:
a) Having a high sensitivity to the above light source, and
b) Having a high resolution.
Japanese Patent Kokai Publication No. 293339/1989 discloses a composition containing a polymer which comprises hydroxystyrene, a cross linking agent and a photo-acid generator such as p-toluene sulfonates. However, this composition has unsatisfactory sensitivity and resolution, and does not satisfy the above requirements.


A method for compressing a digitized image of a document using optical character recognition (OCR). The method includes performing optical character recognition (OCR) on the digitized image, identifying, based, at least in part, on a result of the performing step, a plurality of classes of characters comprised in the image, each the class of characters having an associated character value and comprising at least one character, pruning each class of characters, thereby producing information describing the plurality of classes of characters and a residual image, and utilizing the information describing the plurality of classes of characters and the residual image as a compressed digitized image in further processing.

The present invention relates to data compression in general, and in particular to lossy data compression systems.
Data compression systems are well-known in the art. One well-known way of classifying data compression systems includes the categories of xe2x80x9clossyxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9closslessxe2x80x9d compression systems. In lossy compression systems, when an original image is compressed and then decompressed, the resulting image has lost some information and is not identical to the original image. In lossless compression systems, by contrast, compression and decompression restores the original image without any loss. Today, many data compression systems are used for compressing images, although compression of non-image data is also well-known in the art.
Compression ratio is a well-known measure of the efficiency of a data compression system. Generally, compression ratio is taken as equal to the ratio of the size of the uncompressed image to the size of the compressed image; thus, a higher compression ratio is, all other things. being equal, taken to be better than a lower compression ratio. The compression ratio of general-purpose lossless algorithms is believed to be asymptotically bounded by the ratios achieved by Ziv-Lempel type algorithms. For binary images, that is, images having 2-valued pixels usually representing xe2x80x9cblackxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cwhitexe2x80x9d, compression ratio is believed to be bounded by the ratios achieved by G4 type algorithms.
Prior art image compression methods are described in A. N. Netravali and J. O. Limb, xe2x80x9cPicture coding: A reviewxe2x80x9d, Proc. IEEE, vol. 68, pp. 366-406, March 1980.
The disclosures of all references mentioned above and throughout the present specification are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention seeks to provide an improved system of data compression, particularly suited to the compression of images including text data.
The apparatus and method of the present invention use content specific information. Specifically, in the present invention a digital document, also known herein as a xe2x80x9cdigital imagexe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cdigitized imagexe2x80x9d, is passed through an OCR (optical character recognition) process. Classes of similar characters in the document are identified and, if the characters actually have sufficiently similar shapes, all of the characters in each class are replaced with one character template and an indication of the location of each character, with the template and the location information being stored. Characters thus stored are removed from the image, resulting in a residual image, which is also stored. Typically, both the template and the residual image on the one hand, and the location information on the other hand, are separately compressed, typically using conventional techniques, before storage.
There is thus provided in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention a method for compressing a digitized image of a document, the method including performing optical character recognition (OCR) on the digitized image, identifying, based, at least in part, on a result of the performing step, a plurality of classes of characters included in the image, each the class of characters having an associated character value and including at least one character, pruning each class of characters, thereby producing information describing the plurality of classes of characters, and a residual image, and utilizing the information describing the plurality of classes of characters and the residual image as a compressed digitized image in further processing.
Further in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention the digitized image includes a binary image.
Still further in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention the utilizing step includes storing the information describing the plurality of classes of characters and the residual image.
Additionally in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention the utilizing step includes transmitting the information describing the plurality of classes of characters and the residual image.
Moreover in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention the utilizing step includes compressing the residual image.
Further in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention the utilizing step includes compressing the information describing the plurality of classes of characters.
Still further in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention the pruning step includes producing and storing template-location information describing each class of characters, and erasing each character included in each class of characters from the scanned image, thereby producing a residual image.
Additionally in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention the producing and storing step includes identifying a template image for the class of characters, storing the template image, and storing image-location information for each character included in the class of characters.
Moreover in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention the step of storing image-location information includes storing an identifying code for each character included in the class of characters, and storing location information for each character included in the class of characters.
Further in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention the identifying code includes at least one of the following a standard character encoding code, the standard character encoding code being based, at least in part, on a result of the performing OCR step, and a customized character code, the customized character code being based, at least in part, on a result of the performing OCR step.
Still further in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention the pruning step includes for each one of the plurality of classes of characters performing a shape-matching comparison test between at least two characters included in the one class, and removing from the one class characters which fail the shape-matching comparison test.
Additionally in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention the method also includes aggregating a plurality of characters into at least one additional class of characters, each the addition class of characters being associated with a customized character code, wherein the pruning step and the storing step also operate on the at least one additional class of characters.
Moreover in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention the method also includes scanning the document to produce the digitized image.
Further in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention the compressing the residual image step includes compressing the residual image using a G4 compression method.
There is also provided in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention a compressed digital image including information describing a plurality of classes of characters, and a residual image.
Further in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention the information describing each of the plurality of classes of characters includes template information and image-location information.
Still further in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention the information includes compressed information.
Additionally in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention the residual image includes a compressed residual image.
There is also provided in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention a method for compressing a digitized image of a document, the method including for at least one class of similar characters included in the digitized image, removing all characters included in the class from the image, thus producing a residual image, and producing a template and image-location information describing the all characters included in the class, and compressing at least one of the following the residual image, the template, and the image-location information.
There is also provided in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention a method for expanding a compressed digital image including information describing a plurality of classes of characters and a residual image, the method including for each one class in the plurality of classes of characters extracting image-location information describing at least one location of an image of at least one character from the information describing the one class, extracting a character template from the information describing the one class, and inserting a character as described by the character template in the residual image at the at least one location of an image of at least one character within the residual image.
Further in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention the information describing a plurality of classes of characters includes compressed information, and the method also includes expanding the compressed information.
Further in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention the residual image includes a compressed residual image, and the method also includes expanding the compressed residual image.
There is also provided in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention apparatus for compressing a digitized image of a document, the apparatus including OCR apparatus for performing optical character recognition (OCR) on the digitized image, a class identification unit for identifying, based, at least in part, on a result of the performing step, a plurality of classes of characters included in the image, each the class of characters having an associated character value and including at least one character, a pruning unit for pruning each class of characters, thereby producing information describing the plurality of classes of characters, and a residual image, and a utilization unit for utilizing the information describing the plurality of classes of characters and the residual image as a compressed digitized image in further processing.
There is also provided in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention apparatus for compressing a digitized image of a document, the apparatus including a pruning unit operative, for at least one class of similar characters included in the digitized image, to remove all characters included in the class from the image, thus producing a residual image, and to produce a template and image-location information describing the all characters included in the class, and a compression unit for compressing at least one of the following the residual image, the template, and the image-location information.
There is also provided in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention apparatus for expanding a compressed digital image including information describing a plurality of classes of characters and a residual image, the apparatus including expansion apparatus operative, for each one class in the plurality of classes of characters to extract image-location information describing a location of an image of at least one character from the information describing the one class, to extract a character template from the information describing the one class, and to insert a character scribed by the character template in the residual image at location of an image of at least one character within the residual image.

Abstract: Related methods and apparatus are also disclosed.

International Business Machines Corporation


A multi-stage compressor having at least two compressor stages comprises an inter-cooler provided between the stages for cooling a gas being discharged from a compressor in the preceding stage. The compressor stages are driven by a common electric motor, of which a rotating shaft is supported by magnetic bearings. A part of the gas cooled by the inter-cooler and a part of the work gas discharged from a bleed valve provided down-stream of a rear stage of the compressor are selectively introduced into the electric motor or the magnetic bearings. Thus, at the time of load operation the gas discharged from the inter-cooler is introduced into the motor or the magnetic bearings to cool them, and at the time of non-load operation the gas discharged from the bleed valve is introduced into the motor or the magnetic bearings to cool them. It is possible to ensure a flow rate of gas required for cooling the motor during non-load operation with economy during load operation.

The present invention relates to a multi-stage compressor, and more specifically, to a multi-stage compressor whose rotor is supported by magnetic bearings.
A compressed gas in a compressor is partially bled so as to cool a motor or magnetic bearings, bleeding as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Unexamined Publication No. 3-19498. In this prior art, a centrifugal impeller is provided on an end portion of a rotating shaft of the motor, a motor rotor is supported by the magnetic bearings to constitute the compressor which cooperates with a condenser and an evaporator to constitute a refrigerating cycle. In the refrigerating cycle, a part of refrigerant is sprayed from a spray nozzle so as to cool a coil of the motor and the magnetic bearings.
Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 64-80799 discloses a compressor, in which a compressor stage is combined with a high-frequency motor, a rotating shaft is supported by magnetic bearings, and which is covered with a integrated housing sealed against an outside. In this compressor, gas conduits provided between a plurality of compressor stages may function as a surface cooler. That is, a part of the compressed gas re-cooled by the surface cooler is supplied through a supply passage to a rotor of the high-frequency motor, a rotor of an exciter and the magnetic bearings to cool them, and then is returned through a discharge passage to a suction pipe.
When a cooling apparatus described in Japanese Utility Model Unexamined Publication No. 3-19498 is applied to a multi-stage compressor having a high compression ratio, the cooling gas must be partially bled from downstream of a final-stage to accommodate a necessary gas flow at the time of a non-loading operation, resulting in that a cooling air flows more than necessary during a loading operation, which is uneconomical. On the contrary, when the cooling gas is bled from an intermediate stage for the purpose of economy, a negative pressure prevails in an bleeding section during the non-loading operation, resulting in a disadvantage that the cooling gas cannot pass through the motor. In addition, the above-described cooling apparatus is associated with a centrifugal compressor provided in a refrigerating cycle, and premises that a refrigerant is used for cooling the motor or the magnetic bearings, so that an adequate cooling effect cannot be obtained for a compressor for compressing air or industrial gas.
The compressing apparatus described in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 64-80799 is forced to be a split casing structure, and the casing is surrounded by a coiled surface cooler, so that a large numbers of processes and labor are required for assembly. Moreover, the cooling during the non-loading operation is not considered at all. Furthermore, discharge of drainage from the surface cooler is not taken into consideration, so that when used to compress air or the like containing a water vapor, the drainage may be collected in the surface cooler, or splash of the drainage may be mixed into the cooling gas resulting in condensation within the compressor.

Multi-stage compressor having first and second passages for cooling a motor during load and non-load operation


A network-based application development and distribution platform allows application developers to build, modify, and configure dynamic content applications (especially mobile applications) remotely, and without requiring manual software coding. Smart endpoints facilitate creation of distributable applications for multiple operating systems, form factors, access methods, and/or device types, while creating only a single product and associating the product with the desired endpoints corresponding to the operating systems, form factors, access methods, and/or device types. The platform also facilitates software updates, as updates can be made to the product once, rather than once for each version of the application.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The disclosure relates generally to software development and, more particularly, to a hosted platform for developing and distributing mobile applications.
2. Brief Description of Related Technology
Mobile technology and, especially, mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets, are nearly ubiquitous. While it has not been unheard of in the past for multiple versions of any one software platform to be operating on different devices (e.g., where users have declined to upgrade and operating system to the most recent version), it is now commonplace—in part due to accelerating software design cycles—for several versions of a software platform to be in the marketplace at any give instant. Additionally, a given software platform may vary according to the device and/or the device manufacturer. Accordingly, applications designed for a software platform may require more than one version in order to account for different software platforms, different versions of software platforms, and/or different devices and/or form factors.
A variety of application development tools are available in the market. Generally, during application development an application developer executes a software development kit (SDK) application associated with a particular software platform (or associated with a particular version of a software platform) to create an application for the software platform. The SDK application generally operates on a computing device associated with the application developer. If the developer wishes to create applications for multiple versions of a platform, multiple platforms, or for different device types (e.g., smart phones and tablets), separate applications and development of applications are typically required. This labor is multiplied when a developer updates an application, as the update must be duplicated in each version of the application.


The invention provides a PCB for gallium nitride device, on which has been formed: a gallium nitride welding position to which first and second gallium nitride elements having different packages are interchangeably welded; a first/second driving circuit welding position to which a first/second driving circuit of the first/second gallium nitride element is welded; wherein the gallium nitride welding position includes: a first and second gate pad respectively welded to gate electrode of the first and second gallium nitride element and respectively connected to gate signal terminal of the first and second driving circuit; a first and a second ground pad; a first contact contactless connected to the first ground pad and directly connected to ground terminal of the first driving circuit; and a second contact contactless connected to the second ground pad and directly connected to ground terminal of the second driving circuit.

Gallium nitride is referred to as the third generation of semiconductor core materials. As compared to silicon, gallium nitride has a wider band gap, which means that gallium nitride can bear a higher voltage than silicon, and has better conductive ability. In short, if the two materials have the same volume, gallium nitride has a higher efficiency than silicon. Therefore, more and more power devices adopt gallium nitride elements.
However, in design and manufacture of most products using gallium nitride elements, the same position often shall adapt products from different suppliers of elements to avoid that the some suppliers of gallium nitride elements have issues of quality or out of stock later, thereby increasing flexibility of production materials. However, different gallium nitride factories use different packages when manufacturing the gallium nitride elements, so a single position on the circuit board cannot adapt to the gallium nitride elements having different packages.
Regarding this, currently, the common method is to reserve welding positions for the gallium nitride elements having different packages on the printed circuit board, or provide conversion boards corresponding to the gallium nitride elements having different packages to weld the gallium nitride elements to a same welding position on the printed circuit board via the conversion boards. However, since the current products are miniaturized gradually, an area on the circuit board is quite limited, so it is difficult to reserve two or more welding positions on the printed circuit board, and if the method of different small conversion boards is used, it causes difficulty and waste of the materials, and increase of cost.
Therefore, it is necessary to develop a printed circuit board for a gallium nitride element, which can be compatible with gallium nitride elements having different package manufactured by two different factories, save a wiring space, and miniaturize products while not increasing cost of materials.

Printed circuit board for gallium nitride elements


A cable connector (100) in accordance with the present invention includes an insulative housing (1) defining a number of channels (13) therethrough, a number of contacts (2) assembled to the insulative housing and respectively received in the channels, a cable (5) including a number of conductors (50) respectively electrically connecting with connecting portions of the contacts to form a number of junctions, an inner mold (6) enclosing the junctions of the cable and the contacts, a magnetic ring (7) assembled to the cable, and an outer cover (8). The magnetic ring is located adjacent to the inner mold and is enclosed by the outer cover together with the inner mold.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a cable connector, and more particularly to a cable connector with improved EMI repression.
2. Description of Related Art
To satisfy current particular commands in market, in April 2002, Hitachi, Panasonic, Phillips, Sony, Thomason, Toshiba and Silicon Image et al. found High-definition Digital Multimedia Interface (HDMI) Association to develop new standard for high-definition video and channel audio. An HDMI cable assembly comprises an insulative housing, a plurality of contacts assembled to the insulative housing, a conductive shell surrounding the insulative housing, a cable electrically connecting with the contacts, a magnetic ring for shielding the cable and an outer cover. In high-definition video signal transmission, the reliability of signal transmission is highly demanded to assure the image quality, thus, a magnetic ring is particularly needed for EMI repression. Usually, the magnetic ring is arranged to encircle the cable and spaced from the junctions of the cable and the contacts a certain distance. Then, the magnetic ring is molded to be fixed to the cable, and the outer cover is molded to cover the rear end of the insulative housing, the junctions of the cable and the contacts. However, the EMI repression effect is not perfect since the certain distance between the magnetic ring and the junctions of the cable and the contacts. In addition, the double mold process complexes the manufacture flow and thus, is not in favor of the improvement of the production efficiency.
TW Patent No. 230849 discloses an electrical connector directly arranging the magnetic ring in the electrical connector. However, with the miniature trend of the electric industry, the inner space of the electrical connector is too limited to arrange the magnetic ring, otherwise, the size of the electrical connector is increased to breach from the current trend. Therefore, a cable connector with improved structure for EMI repression is highly desired to address above problems.

Cable connector with improved EMI repression


A clamshell container for food is formed of a single sheet of thermoplastic material thermoformed to have a concave base with an upwardly extending sidewall with an outwardly extending peripheral flange. A hinge attachment segment extends outwardly from the base flange, and a lid is connected to the hinge attachment segment along an integral hinge which allows pivoting of the lid to cover and uncover the base. Intermittent perforations in the plastic define a line of weakened material between the base flange and the hinge attachment segment. A tab extends from the hinge attachment segment. Pulling on the tab causes the hinge attachment segment to separate from the base flange along the line of weakened material, to thereby remove the lid from the base, leaving a dining dish which has insubstantial indications of its former connection to a lid, thereby better simulating conventional dinnerware. The hinge is preferably formed with stiffening hinge walls which, while not interfering with the hinging of the lid over the base, contribute to the stiffness of the hinge when it is torn from the base.

The pressing demands of work and family commitments in a modem economy often encroach upon time traditionally set aside for meal preparation. Exacting business and recreational activities can make it difficult to assemble a nutritious and satisfying dining experience while still fulfilling commercial and social obligations. One alternative to preparing a meal at home is to dine out at a restaurant. Yet restaurant dining is not always an acceptable substitute for eating at home. Aside from the costs for food and tips, dining out requires all members of the family to travel outside the home. Furthermore, many restaurants require levels of dress and deportment which may not be suited for a particular family situation.
Carry-out restaurants provide the alternative of restaurant food in a home environment. Yet typically the food packaging of the carry-out restaurant is distinctively disposable and conveys an ambiance distinctly at odds with the home dining experience. Supermarkets and speciality take-out restaurants are appealing to the home meal replacement market by providing prepared entrees for eating at home. What is needed is a food container which is economical and conveniently filled by the preparer of the meal, yet which is attractive and not out of place in a home setting.


A semiconductor body having a base carrier portion and a type III-nitride semiconductor portion is provided. The type III-nitride semiconductor portion includes a heterojunction and two-dimensional charge carrier gas. One or more ohmic contacts are formed in the type III-nitride semiconductor portion, the ohmic contacts forming an ohmic connection with the two-dimensional charge carrier gas. A gate structure is configured to control a conductive state of the two-dimensional charge carrier gas. Forming the one or more ohmic contacts comprises forming a structured laser-reflective mask on the upper surface of the type III-nitride semiconductor portion, implanting dopant atoms into the upper surface of the type III-nitride semiconductor portion, and performing a laser thermal anneal that activates the implanted dopant atoms.

Ion implantation is used to form doped regions in semiconductor devices. According to this technique, impurity atoms are implanted into a semiconductor body by injecting accelerated atoms into the surface of the semiconductor body. After the atoms are implanted, a dopant activation step is performed. The dopant activation step applies heat to the semiconductor body. This thermal energy repairs the crystal damage caused by the atom implantation. Moreover, this thermal energy induces the implanted dopant atoms to move into substitutional lattice sites, thereby producing electrically active donors or acceptors in the semiconductor material. One challenge associated with ion implantation is that the thermal budget required for dopant activation step can damage other components of the semiconductor device.


Golf putting apparatus having a putting surface on which a plurality of support springs and corresponding screws are provided proximate the periphery of the putting surface for enabling the user to quickly and easily create, or selectively alter, undulations in the putting surface.

Golf putting devices having a selectively variable surface are well known. Numerous kinds of means for selectively varying the surface of these devices have been developed over the years. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,761,039 issued to Hazeltine and 3,727,917 issued to MacLean disclose variable contour golf putting devices with hinged panels and pegs for propping up various sections of the putting surface at the hinge joints; U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,690,673 issued to Occhipinti and 3,892,412 issued to Koo disclose variable contour golf putting devices with inflatable air sacs disposed at various locations under the putting surface; U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,582,183 issued to Maurer, 3,170,694 issued to Dolce, 4,222,568 issued to Russo and 4,790,538 issued to Gettelfinger disclose variable putting surfaces using a variety of gears, shafts, cams and levers to distort the putting surface; U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,595,581 issued to Andersen, 3,658,343 issued to Rogers and 4,247,112 issued to Del Raso disclose variable putting surfaces using a series of jacks to prop up various sections of the putting surface; U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,118,084 issued to Heinzelmann, 2,334,540 issued to Buffham, 3,601,407 issued to Lorrance, 4,743,027 issued to Simjian, 5,002,280 issued to Hines and 5,172,914 issued to Prinerano disclose variable putting surfaces which use a variety of levers and rods to push up on the underside of the putting surfaces; U.S. Pat. No. 3,871,661 issued to Korff which discloses a kidney shaped putting green under which an angled panel is swiveled to raise portions of the putting green; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,240,637 issued to Cross which discloses a coin operated putting apparatus which is tilted using a crank shaft which communicates with a threaded bolt around which a nut affixed to the putting surface is rotated thus increasing or decreasing the elevation of the putting surface. However, these designs for varying the contour of the putting surface are unwieldy, require numerous interlocking parts and are costly to manufacture and assemble. In contrast, there are a few relatively simple designs which are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,318,303 issued to Kim discloses a hinged putting surface and a canopy from which strings with hooks are hung to selectively engage and hold up the panels; U.S. Pat. 3,508,756 issued to Bedford discloses a flexible horizontal putting surface, suspended by loops under tension between vertical arms, which is contoured by raising and lowering the loops on the arms causing the surface to torque; and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,211,417 issued to Brown and 4,988,106 issued to Coonrod disclose a putting surface which is contoured by pushing a wedge-shaped device under the bottom of the putting surface. However, these simplistic designs do not provide the user with potential surface variations adequate to recreate actual putting conditions encountered on the golfing green.

Golf putting apparatus with variable surface


A system and method for synchronizing shared content served in embedded inline frames (iframes) via a page on a third-party service is provided. The system includes an iframe request receiver to receive an iframe request from a first iframe embedded in the third-party service in response to a third-party service visitor accessing the first iframe, the iframe request being directed to a content item sourced via a content sharing service; a token analyzer to create or update a token identifying the third-party service visitor and the page; a shared content receiver to receive shared content based on the token; and a shared content transmitter to communicate the shared content to the third-party service, the shared content being communicated with the content retrieved from the content sharing service.

Content sharing services serve content, such as pictures, videos, text, or combinations thereof, to visitors who access the content sharing service. The content may be sourced from a publisher, automatically generated, or uploaded by one of the visitors to the content sharing service. The content may be represented as digitally encoded information. The content sharing service may store the content, or link to other services and subsequently retrieve the content prior to serving the content to the visitors.
The visitor may employ various techniques to access the content. For example, the visitor may access the content sharing service through a browser. In another example, the visitor may access the content sharing service via an application installed on a mobile device. The visitor may use any sort of device enabled to interact with the content sharing service, such as a personal computer, mobile phone, or an Internet enabled television, for example.
The content sharing service may serve content via a third-party service, such as a blog or social networking site. The third-party service may employ an inline frame (iframe) embedded on a personal page, and serve content via the iframe.
In response to a visitor accessing the iframe, the visitor may be served a thumbnail or a static image associated with the content. When the visitor engages an option to play the content, the iframe may invoke a scripted command based language, such Asynchronous JavaScript (AJAX), to access the content sharing service to retrieve the content to serve.
The third-party service, such as a social network, may provide dynamically created pages by collaboratively provided content via the various visitors to the third-party service. For example, each registered user with the third-party service may have a publically available page in which commercial entities and other visitors may add content. In certain cases, a page may have added content from multiple sources, such as a friend, a group in which the register user is a member of, and a commercial entity seeking exposure to a product or service.
The content sharing service may serve shared content along with content. The shared content may be served before, during, or after the serving of the content. The shared content may be associated with meta information, and when the shared content is clicked-through by a visitor, the visitor may be redirected to additional content associated with the shared content. The shared content may provide information associated with a product or service related to the content.
The content sharing service may monetize serving the shared content. Specifically, the content sharing service may monetize whether the visitor clicked-through the shared content.
In cases where the content sharing service serves content to a third-party service, the content sharing service may also provide shared content as well. Thus, even though the content is not accessed via a portal set up to access the content sharing service, the content sharing service may still realize the benefits of serving shared content.

Synchronizing shared content served to a third-party service


A semi-automatic cardiac tissue removal device for obtaining biopsy samples and/or creating revascularization pathways in the myocardium of the heart, mechanically cuts the pathways using a handpiece with a cutting tip assembly having a hollow needle with an angled, sharpened edge rotatable mounted around a separately advancable stylet. The stylet defines a piercer to spread the myocardium prior to insertion of the needle and to allow creation of a pathway only within the myocardium. The stylet further defines a plug at the cutting edge of the needle to finish the cutting cleanly and to plug the hollow needle thereby forming a closed chamber for excised tissue. A single button on the left or right handed handpiece actuates movement of the stylet into the myocardium, movement of the needle into the path produced by the piercer, and rotation of the needle to cut tissue.

Heart disease is a significant health problem which has been the subject of substantial medical study. Bypass surgery has become commonplace; yet such surgery may be unavailable to many patients, either because of the nature of the occlusions or the physical condition of the patient.
One promising alternative technique for treating such cases is known as transmyocardial revascularization (TMR). Although this technique was considered as early as the work of Dr. C. Beck "the Development of a New Blood Supply to the Heart By Operation", Annals of Surgery, Vol. 102, No. 5 (11/35) pp. 801-813, the method was not extensively studied until the work of Dr. M. Mirhoseini and M. Cayton, an example of which is found in "Lasers in Cardiothoracic Surgery in Lasers in General Surgery (Williams and Williams; 1989) pp. 216-223.
Clinical tests have demonstrated that TMR channels, which generally communicate with the ventricle, facilitate revascularization of the heart muscle and recovery of heart function. Recent studies further demonstrate that beneficial revascularization also occurs following creation of channels that do not remain patent and channels that do not communicate with the ventricular chamber.
A laser device to perform TMR is described in Aita et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,380,316, issued Jan. 10, 1995. In the procedure described in that patent, a number of channels are formed through the epicardium by means of a laser apparatus to extend through the myocardium to communicate with the ventricle. Other laser patents describing surgical transmyocardial revascularization include U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,554,152 and 4,658,817.
Unfortunately, laser techniques have some attendant difficulties. The laser equipment for performing such procedures is generally expensive, and, in some cases the lasers are large and cumbersome. Such lasers may be unavailable to smaller and more remote medical facilities. Some patients may therefore find it difficult to gain access to a properly equipped medical facility when treatment is needed. Additionally, lasing through the epicardium or endocardium, as described in many laser TMR procedures, may result in some destruction of viable vascular tissue contiguous to the epicardium or endocardium.
One alternative to the use of lasers would be to use a mechanical cutter to produce the channels. Early prior art methods of mechanical piercing and cutting of the heart wall were not pursued further because mechanical cutting did not produce patent channels.
A recent laser TMR device to perform transmyocardial revascularization includes some non-laser mechanisms and is described in PCT Patent Application Publication No. WO 96/35469. The PCT application briefly shows a mechanical auger, mechanical abrasion device, heat, a fluid jet, and a rotary toothed blade for mechanical TMR using a percutaneous approach. The mechanical devices described may produce an irregular cut in the myocardium which may result in leaving tissue flaps or fragments in the channel or ventricle. Such debris possibly could lead to life threatening emboli.
Commonly owned, co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/713,531, filed on Sep. 13, 1996, describes mechanical TMR using cutting devices comprised of inner hollow needles or drill tipped devices mounted within outer hollow needles for transmyocardial revascularization. Additionally, a single rotating, hollow needle is described. A sharp cutting blade is used to produce a clean cut, although no specific mechanism is provided to positively ensure that tissue flaps do not remain. Commonly owned, copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/773,778, filed on Dec. 26, 1996, also describes a mechanical cutting device used in conjunction with a laser to create drug delivery pockets and/or stimulation zones within myocardium. The laser is used to introduce the cutting device into the myocardium, and the cutting device defines two, hollow halves that snap together to cut tissue, which is trapped between the halves, to form pockets.
It would be desirable to produce clear, clean revascularization pathways that may be formed only in myocardium, if desired, while ensuring that excised tissue is cleanly removed without leaving tissue flaps and debris behind, using a relatively inexpensive and easily transportable mechanical heart surgical device suitable for heart biopsy and non-laser myocardial revascularization.

Method and apparatus for myocardial revascularization and/or biopsy of the heart


Provided is an apparatus for establishing a caster angle of a vehicle suspension system. The apparatus includes two air reservoirs, each reservoir having an extendable piston rod. The air reservoirs are juxtaposed, and are pivotally connected to a single bell crank. In particular, the bell crank is pivotally connected to each piston rod, and to a control arm of the vehicle suspension system for establishing the caster angle. Concerted pressurizing and exhausting of the air reservoirs extends and retracts the piston rods, causing the bell crank to rotate. Rotation of the bell crank induces movement of the control arm which translates into a rotation of an axle to a desired caster angle. In one embodiment, one air reservoir is a multi-chamber reservoir capable of doubling the force used to extend the piston rod, rotate the bell crank and adjust the caster angle.

Large vehicles such as semi-trailer trucks and tractors often include or require a steerable suspension system. A steerable suspension system often improves the maneuverability of the vehicle by reducing its turning radius and providing a mechanism for the vehicle to maneuver around tight corners, for example by making small adjustments in the alignment of the vehicle wheels. In many instances, the steerable suspension system includes one or more auxiliary axles to enhance greater control over vehicle movement.
The term "steerable" suggests an ability to establish and maintain a desired caster angle of an axle, relative for example to an axis substantially perpendicular to the contact or driving surface of the vehicle. In particular, it is desirable to set the caster angle of an axle such that the wheels attached to the axle will not laterally deflect under self-energizing friction forces. Suspension systems known in the art provide a mechanism for establishing and maintaining a "positive" caster angle when the vehicle moves forward. Positive caster is a setting where the steering axis is inclined rearward at the top, as viewed from the side. Positive caster makes possible the self-centering force that tends to return the wheel to the direction the vehicle is traveling. Typically, a positive caster angle is on the order of five degrees.
An interesting problem arises, however, when a vehicle travels in a reverse direction to back up. Many prior art systems simply "lock" the caster angle/suspension system in the forward, or positive caster, position, thereby making it impossible for the wheels to move laterally as the vehicle travels in reverse. While effective at preventing lateral movement of the wheels, this approach reduces the overall maneuverability of the vehicle and eliminates advantages recognized with a steerable suspension system.
Other systems known in the art provide a mechanism for changing or reversing the caster angle by as much as five to ten degrees, thereby establishing a "negative" caster angle. By reversing the caster angle, the wheels accommodate the backward movement of the vehicle without lateral movement. Known systems for establishing both a positive and a negative caster angle are typically very complex, for example including multiple pivot arms and linkages coupled through a plurality of pivot points. These systems often require a plurality of air chambers and air bellows, and combinations thereof.
Structurally, the suspension systems known in the art require air chambers, air bellows or other actuation mechanisms that are positioned opposite one another. As can be appreciated, opposing components of the size and complexity of an air chamber or air bellows occupy a relatively large physical space in the suspension system. If the size of an air chamber or bellows is minimized for packaging purposes, often the mechanical force provided to rotate and maintain the caster angle is inadequate.

Apparatus for establishing a caster angle of a vehicle suspension system