Novel, nano-structured particles are formed by introducing a selected solid of interest into a structured fluid matrix formed by a dispersion of a small molecule host vessel components, such as a native or modified polysaccharide, cavitand, simple sugar, disaccharide, simple polyol or other similarly structured molecule known to be useful as a host vessel, in an acidic medium or other solvent, whereby the particle size of the introduced solid is reduced and or limited in the structured fluid matrix, by incorporation into or attachment to, the host vessel. The simple, one-batch mixing process results in stabilized colloidal dispersions of the nanoparticles of a variety of solids of varying scope and function and useful in a wide variety of applications, including without limitation ceramic materials, such as hexagonal boron nitride.

Nanostructures or nanoparticles are plentiful in nature and form the basic building blocks for chemical and biological compositions. Nanoparticles may also be created by artificial means, either chemical or mechanical, or both, to take advantage of property improvements associated with their use. Use of nanoparticles allows greater accessibility and availability of many components for certain applications and may reduce the amount of a component necessary to achieve a given result, thus reducing costs attendant with the use of the component. Small particle size is itself a necessary property for colloidal stability and for high performance of particle dispersions in some applications, including jetting.
Small particles, and in particular, nanoparticles, may be prepared either by reducing the size of larger particles or by constraining growth of particles as they are formed, or by a combination of techniques. For example, the size of larger particles may be reduced by any number of mechanical or physical techniques known to those skilled in the art. These techniques include, without limitation, the application of energy through milling, ultrasound or high sheer mixing, such as, but not limited to, a media mill, ball mill, an attritor, a flow jet mixer, an impeller mill, a colloidal mill, or a sand mill. Alternatively, smaller particles may be formed during synthesis by constraining their growth, for example, by formation in a micro-channel reactor. Finally, particle size may be reduced by dissolving larger particles and constraining growth during recrystallization. This may be accomplished, for example, by precipitating the particles from solution in the presence of surfactants, among other methods known in the art.
More recently, it has been reported that nanostructured particles of inorganic minerals have been formed in lyotropic liquid crystals having hydrophilic and hydrophobic domains within the crystal. This method is not used commercially.
The prior art techniques for creating small particles are not without shortcomings. Typically, the most effective commercial techniques to obtain small particles, including nanoparticles, require reduction of the size of larger particles, accomplished by the application of mechanical or physical energy or constraining particle size growth, as discussed above. These approaches require highly specialized equipment and are time consuming, and both the equipment and processes are expensive.
In addition, smaller particle sizes are generally associated with larger surface areas, and nanoparticles are no exception. Due to their larger surface areas, among other things, nanoparticles require stabilization to prevent agglomeration and maintain their dispersibility in suitable media, making them more accessible or available for their ultimate use. Hence, following reduction of particle size, it is typically necessary to stabilize the nanoparticle dispersion through a separate step.
Colloidal dispersions of small particles, including nanoparticles, may be stabilized by several different techniques, including without limitation i) the addition of polymeric or small molecule surfactants that associate non-covalently with the surface of the particle, ii) through covalent attachment of "stabilizing" small molecules, or iii) polymers to the surface of the small particle, or by encapsulation of the small particle with components that will contribute to the stabilization. Encapsulation may be accomplished, for example, by cross-linking polymeric surfactants or polymerizing monomers, which are then adsorbed to the surface of the particle.
Some stabilization examples from the prior art include U.S. Pat. No. 7,741,384, which is directed to a method of homogenizing a dispersion by coating pigment particles with a polymerized monomer. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 7,307,110 describes methods for improving dispersibility of a water-based pigment by treating the surface of the pigment particle with a water-dispersibility-imparting group or encapsulating the pigment particle with a water-dispersible polymer. U.S. Pat. No. 6,432,194 describes methods of attaching functional groups to pigment particles to improve various properties rather than relying on adsorption. U.S. Pat. No. 6,171,381 is directed to an aqueous ink composition wherein cyclodextrin is used as a coating agent; dextrins are also used as dye binders in KR 100258640.
Prior art stabilization techniques involving the addition of surfactants, covalent attachment of "stabilizing" small molecules or polymers to the surface of the particle, or encapsulation of the particle, while useful, are not without disadvantages. Surfactants may change the properties of the dispersion in undesirable ways, such as by increasing viscosity or lowering surface tension, and they may also be expensive. Practical commercial techniques to stabilize small particles by covalent attachment of small molecules or polymers and/or by encapsulation tend to require relatively complex, multi-step chemical processes and may use undesirable or dangerous solvents or reagents. There is, therefore, a need for a process for preparing stabilized nanoparticle dispersions that allow for accessibility and availability of the nanoparticle component in the selected application, without compromising the properties of the dispersion and that are simple and cost effective to produce.
Novel self-assembled nanoparticles and unique processes (methods) for preparing them have been discovered, which avoid the shortcomings of the prior art discussed above. The novel self-assembled nanoparticles of the invention are clathrates formed by the addition of a selected guest solid to a structured fluid or matrix, i.e., a semi-solid or viscoelastic gel, comprising a host vessel or molecule dispersed in an acid or other solvent medium. The host vessel may comprise a number of compounds known to one skilled in the art to be useful as host molecules in supra-molecular chemistry. These include: native or modified polysaccharides; cavitands, such as cyclodextrin, cucurbituril and calixerenes; simple sugars, such as the monosaccharides dextrose, fructose or glucose; disaccharides, such as sucrose (a combination of glucose and fructose); simple (linear, branched, or cyclic) polyols, such as ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, glycerin, sorbitol and xylitol; crown ethers, aza crowns, cryptands, cyclophanes, oligo- and poly-peptides, proteins, oligo- and poly-nucleotides, or other similarly structured molecules. The selected guest solid is entrapped or otherwise included within the host vessel to form a clathrate cage or shell having the selected solid (guest) encompassed within. The particle size of the selected solid is thus reduced or growth is limited by the structural constraints of the host molecule.
It has also been discovered that the properties of self-assembled nanostructured particles and colloidal dispersions thereof may be significantly improved as compared to that achieved by prior methods. In particular, it has been found that the inventive method achieves significant improvements in the chroma and shade of colored nanoparticles, the surface adhesion of nanoparticles prepared by the process, and the selectivity of nanoparticles for the surfaces to which they adhere. In other aspects, the inventive methods provide a means for improving the stability of colloidal dispersions of nanoparticles and storage of process intermediates prior to being put in use. The methods described herein may be used with a great number of solids having diverse, broad scope and functions. The nanoparticles and colloidal dispersions resulting therefrom may be used in a variety of applications as further described herein.
Clathrate or host/guest formations are known in the art, although none of the prior art describes the specific clathrates of the present invention, or processes, for reducing particle size of a selected solid to nanoparticle dimensions through the use of a clathrate and/or stabilizing a colloidal dispersion of nanoparticles, which do not require additional particle size reduction or stabilizing steps. For example, U.S. Patent Publ. No. 2004/265237 discloses a small molecule clathrate useful for improving the solubility and release of platinum based anticancer drugs, but the disclosed clathrate is not a nanoparticle-based clathrate. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,881,421 discloses a nano-polyalkylcyanoacrylate plus an inclusion compound useful for complexing an "active" in its hydrophobic cavity, useful as a drug carrier. U.S. Pat. No. 7,462,659 discloses uniform nanoparticles useful as pore-forming templates on wafers of electronic material, wherein cyclodextrin is combined with silica to form a low dielectric film. U.S. Pat. No. 7,829,698 describes nanoparticles comprising cucurbituril derivatives and pharmaceutical compositions in THF organic solvent for use as a drug delivery system.
With respect to inks and jetting applications in particular, none of the prior art discloses the novel nanoparticle-based aqueous colloidal dispersions of the present invention. JP 2001271012 describes a nanoparticle-based ink formulation prepared by first mechanically reducing the particle size of the pigment and combining the pigment with a number of components including amides, polyhydric alcohols, urea, glycerin, glycols, ethers, buffers, and water. Cyclodextrin or calixarene are added to aid in dispersibility and stability of the formulation in the same manner as surfactants.
By contrast, a notable feature of the methods of the invention is that they do not require or utilize separate steps to reduce the particle size of the selected solids to nanoparticle dimensions prior to addition to the gel. Rather, reduction of the particle size of selected solids to nanoparticle dimensions is accomplished in a one-step mixing/reaction process involving the addition of the selected solid to a gel comprising a host vessel or molecule dispersed in an acid medium or other solvent. Particle size reduction is accomplished by dissolving and reforming the solid in the host vessel, or by synthesizing the solid directly in the host vessel and annealing the interaction. Mechanical particle size reduction might be used prior to combining the selected solid with the gel, but only for particularly large particles or agglomerates to facilitate reduction to nanoparticles using the inventive process. The invention yields stable colloidal dispersions without the use of other steps outside of the reaction. While not required, additional components may be added at various stages of the batch mixing process or later to the colloidal dispersion to stabilize the resulting nanoparticles and colloidal dispersions thereof, change the affinity for nanoparticles to a surface, improve adhesion to a surface and modify the chroma or shade of nanoparticles.
CA2181495 discloses a water-based printing ink comprising an epoxy, an organic or inorganic pigment, a drier, cyclodextrin and water. Cyclodextrin forms an "inclusion compound" with the drier to protect it and to reduce the amount needed in the ink. Unlike the present invention, the cyclodextrin is not used as a host for the pigment, nor is it stated to reduce the particle size of the selected pigment.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,371,456 and 7,030,176 disclose new recording inks with improved properties comprising nanoparticles with colloidal inner cores used as a template to bind a series of layers of colors and a complex process for preparing them. The inks include optional "includant" compounds that may inhibit aggregation of the colors or add to the stability of the inks and cyclodextrin is listed as one such compound. Stability is primarily accomplished by charges on pre-formed polymers. Unlike the present invention, the inks require alternating layers of polymers and/or charged polymers to wrap or attach to colorants. The inks are formed in an oil/water system by high sheer emulsification, using organic solvents. In addition, preparation of the inks starts with a charged nano-particle core of either a charged polymer or a charged silica gel particle. Nothing in either of these patents teach the use of includant compounds to reduce particle size or stabilize the formulation.
The invention provides advantages over the foregoing art. The invention achieves novel self-assembled nanoparticles and colloidal dispersions thereof and provides colloidal stabilization in a single batch mixing process that is safe and environmentally friendly. The inventive processes involve the use of simple techniques to prepare nano-structured particles and stable colloids of these particles that may be easily practiced in, and are viable for, commercial manufacturing. The novel processes are also less costly, because they do not require specialized or additional equipment or separate pre-processing steps, specialized handling or additional components.
Nano-structured particles prepared by the inventive processes have many valuable uses, among them are as stable colloidal dispersions useful for application by jetting technology. Stable, colloidal dispersions of organic color pigments have been prepared using this technology. These dispersions have been used to prepare inks with excellent jetting properties, although the invention is not limited to this application.
Other non-limiting uses of the novel, stable colloidal dispersions of the present invention include, but are not limited to, other types of inks and coatings; electronic and optical materials, such as conductors, insulators, semiconductors, and the like, particularly those useful for devices or manufacturing as by jetting; inorganic, organic and ceramic materials for various other applications; biotechnology materials; antibodies; pharmaceuticals; drug carrier/delivery systems; medical diagnostics and treatment materials; bioassay agents; or imaging materials; storage, sorbent and carrier materials; thermoplastic materials; biological materials; structural applications; and nano-fabrication of devices. Other uses will be evident to one skilled in the art.
The novel, stable colloidal dispersions of the invention have comparable particle size and comparable or better stability than those produced by traditional competitive processes and have demonstrated utility in jetting applications.
It is an object of the invention to provide a simple, one batch method for reducing the particle size of a large variety of solids to nanostructured particles.
It is a further object of the invention to provide stabilized colloidal dispersions of nanoparticles from a wide variety of selected solids.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide commercially viable techniques for producing stabilized colloidal dispersions of nanoparticles of a wide variety of selected solids, which are simple, safe, cost effective and environmentally friendly to perform.
Still other objects of the invention will be evident to one skilled in the art based upon the disclosure herein.

Self-assembled nano-structured particle and methods for preparing


A method for preventing read-disturb errors, a memory storage apparatus and a memory control circuit unit are provided. The method includes counting an operation numerical value when receiving an operation command from the host system, wherein a first physical erasing unit is selected for executing the operation command. The method also includes selecting a second physical erasing unit and reading data from the second erasing unit. The method further includes determining whether a data error occurs at the second physical erasing unit according to the data read from the second physical erasing unit, and if the data error occurs, selecting a third physical erasing unit, correcting the data read from the second physical erasing unit to generate corrected data and writing the corrected data into the third physical erasing unit.

1. Technology Field
The present invention relates to a method of preventing read-disturb errors for rewritable non-volatile memory module and a memory control circuit unit and a memory storage apparatus using the method.
2. Description of Related Art
Digital camera, cell phone, and MP3 player have a rapid growth in recent years and results in the need of storage medium for the consumers. Due to the fact that rewritable non-volatile memory possesses the characteristics of non-volatile data, power saving, small volume, lack of mechanical structure and fast reading and writing speed, rewritable non-volatile memory industry has become a popular role in the electronic industry. For example, the solid-state drive using flash memory as storage medium is widely used as hard drive of host computer to improve access performance of the computer.
NAND flash can be classified into the SLC (Single Level Cell) NAND flash, the MLC (Multi Level Cell) NAND flash and the TLC (Triple Level Cell) NAND flash according to the number of bits stored in each memory cell. Each memory cell of the SLC NAND flash memory stores 1 bit of data (i.e., "1" and "0"), each memory cell of the MLC NAND flash memory stores 2 bits of data and each memory cell of the TLC NAND flash memory stores 3 bits of data.
In NAND flash memory, one physical page is constituted by several memory cells arranged on the same word line. Because each memory cell of the SLC NAND flash stores 1 bit of data, the memory cells arranged on the same word line correspond to one physical page in the SLC NAND flash memory.
Compared with the SLC NAND flash memory, the floating gate storage of each memory cell of the MLC NAND flash memory stores 2 bits of data, in which each storage status (i.e., "11", "10", "01" and "00") includes LSB (Least Significant Bit) and MSB (Most Significant Bit). For example, the value of the first bit from the left in the storage status is LSB, and the value of the second bit from the left in the storage status is MSB. Therefore, the memory cells arranged on the same word line constitute 2 physical pages, in which the physical page constituted by LSBs of such memory cells is referred to as a low physical page, and the physical page constituted by MSBs of such memory cells is referred to as a upper physical page. Particularly, writing speed of the low physical page is faster than that of the upper physical page, and the data stored in the low physical page may be lost when an error occurs in the upper physical page.
Similarly, in TLC NAND flash memory, each memory cell stores 3 bits of data, in which each storage status (i.e., "111", "110", "101", "100", "011", "010", "001" and "000") includes the first bit from the left (LSB), the second bit from the left (Center Significant Bit, CSB) and the third bit from the left (MSB). Therefore, memory cells arranged on the same word line constitute 3 physical pages, in which the physical page constituted by LSBs of such memory cells is referred to as a low physical page, the physical page constituted by CSBs of such memory cells is referred to as a center physical page, and the physical page constituted by MSBs of such memory cells is referred to as a upper physical page.
However, regardless which kind of memory cell of flash memory module is chosen, after reading the data stored in the same physical block for multiple times, for example, a hundred thousand times to a million times, it is possible that the data read from the physical block is incorrect and the data stored in the block that has been read multiple times may be lost or an error may occur. Such phenomenon is referred to as "read-disturb errors" by one of skilled in the art. Particularly, system information of flash memory storage system, for example, firmware code or file allocation table, may be stored in the flash memory module, and the system information is read in a high frequency during system operation of flash memory. Because of such phenomenon, manufacturers are compelled to develop a mechanism that ensures correct data storage.

Method for preventing read-disturb errors, memory control circuit unit and memory storage apparatus


A large recreational powerboat has a forward passenger area, a helm, and a rearward passenger area. A top deck covers the forward passenger area and extends upwardly over the helm. The rearward passenger area is exposed. A large skylight window is formed streamlined with the boat and is imposed into the top deck. The window extends upwardly and forward to the helm, thereby having portions functioning as a windshield for the boat. The windshield and the skylight window transmit abundant natural light to an atrium room that is located between the helm and the forward passenger area cabin rooms. Individuals in the atrium room are shielded from the elements but at the same time can view the outside environment and communicate with people outside of the forward passenger area.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to boat layouts. Particularly, the present invention relates to a top deck layout, windshield, and helm area enclosure configuration for watercrafts in general.
2. Description of the Related Art
A typical structure for a leisure watercraft includes a deck layout with a main helm area where controls for the boat are located. Sides of the boat and the top deck cover generally define a forward passenger area, often referred to as a cabin. The cabin may be subdivided further into such spaces as sleeping rooms, kitchens, and washrooms in larger boats.
The cabin underneath the top deck of relatively large recreational watercraft may be divided into several large rooms, including full sized bedrooms, showers, and dining areas. However, such larger boats representative of the prior art do not provide for adequate means for illuminating the forward passenger cabin rooms. This area of the boat is usually so poorly illuminated that boaters descending into this area from the helm cannot see well and often lose their footing on the stairway as a result of the darkness. Additionally, people in the forward passenger area socializing, dining, or resting cannot see the environment outside the boat.
Usual methods for attempting to illuminate the forward passenger area include electric lighting, even during daylight hours, because no natural light can penetrate deep into the larger cabin rooms in the bow. The electric lighting systems used in boats however requires custom light bulbs, which do not provide enough light for larger cabin rooms, and replacement bulbs are difficult to obtain. Thus, the layout configuration for prior art recreational boats, especially relatively larger and more luxurious boats, always includes a dark and unseemly cabin space that is avoided by boaters.
In order to provide greater illumination of the spaces underneath the top deck some prior art boats were designed with structures to facilitate the transmission of natural light into the cabin rooms. For example, many boat designs in the prior art rely on a hatch built into the top deck, that when opened, allows some light to enter a minimal area of the cabin rooms. However, the hatch was also designed primarily as an opening for one average sized person to exit the cabin. Consequently, the open hatch transmits minimal natural light into the cabin. Hatches were also designed to have a small window in order to illuminate the cabin when the hatch was in a closed position. However, the amount of illumination was minimal due to the restriction of the size of the hatch door. The light transmitted through the hatch and the hatch window is limited to the immediate space underneath the hatch opening and does not sufficiently illuminate adjacent areas of the cabin room or other rooms in the cabin.
The cabin on a boat is typically accessible through an entryway from a rear area of the boat. In the prior art, the entryway from the rear area of the boat is typically designed and built as a narrow stairway in order to conserve space. Even larger motorboats built to house several people in the cabin are usually designed with relatively narrow entryways into the cabin.
The stairway is usually covered by at least a portion of the top deck. The top deck cover prohibits natural light from properly illuminating the stairway. The prior art boats use small running lights along the edges of the stairs to define and illuminate the stairway. However, the running lights only provide an outline of the stairs, and fail to illuminate the broad stepping surfaces of individual stairs. Even during daylight hours, the boat deck top cover results in the stairway being very dark, thereby causing a safety hazard.
A typical cabin entryway includes a small gate with a latch or a lock. The prior art lacks a design for windows in the gate or door to the cabin, which would allow for individuals behind the locked cabin door to see outside the door to the cabin.
The main helm area where the controls are located is usually covered with a roof enclosure. The enclosure may be removable and made of a durable weather resistant material, such as canvas. Larger motorboats usually have a top roof comprised of a rigid material, such as fiberglass or hard plastic. Additionally, a boat may have frame that is rigidly fixed in place surrounding the helm. The roof or parts of the roof may be removed depending upon weather conditions. However, removable tops, covers, or sections thereof are cumbersome. Additionally, boats lack storage space for removable covers and roofs.
There is a need in the boat industry to provide greater illumination of passenger areas that are covered, especially in order to render the forward passenger area more usable for recreational purposes. What is needed is a substantially rigid and transparent roof structure that transmits natural light into the cabin rooms and other spaces underneath the roof top deck of a leisure watercraft.


A linear motion guide device includes a slider slidably attached onto a guide rail, an end cap having an inner side attached to the slider, the end cap includes an inlet for receiving a lubricating fluid, two chambers formed in two legs, a passage communicating with the chambers, a guiding pathway communicating with the inlet and the passage for separating the passage into two passageways which are communicating with the chambers of the end cap respectively, and a follower is slidably engaged in the guiding pathway and movable toward either the passageways of the end cap for partially blocking and for limiting the flowing of the lubricating fluid to the passageways of the end cap.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a linear motion guide apparatus, and more particularly to a linear motion guide apparatus including a lubricating device or arrangement or structure designed and arranged for suitably and uniformly sending or applying or supplying the lubricant or lubricating oil or fluid to various portions or positions or locations of the linear motion guide apparatus, particularly when the linear motion guide apparatus is disposed and located or supported on a tilted or inclined position or posture or status relative to the supporting ground or surface.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various kinds of typical linear motion guide devices have been developed and comprise a slider or follower or slide block slidably attached onto a guide rail, and normally, a ball bearing device is disposed between the slider and the guide rail for facilitating the sliding movement between the slider and the guide rail and for allowing the slider and the guide rail to be smoothly moved relative to each other.
For example, the applicant has also developed various kinds of typical linear motion guide devices or apparatuses as disclosed in the following patents, U.S. Pat. No. 7,044,641 to Scotte et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,556,430 to Wu et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,658,544 to Chen et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,686,514 to Hung et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,736,059 to Chen et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 8,082,814 to Jiang et al. disclose several of the typical linear motion rolling guide units or devices or apparatuses each comprising a slider or slide block slidably attached onto a guide rail, and a ball bearing device disposed and engaged between the slider and the guide rail and engaged in the endless ball guiding raceway for facilitating the sliding movement between the slider and the guide rail and for allowing the slider and the guide rail to be smoothly moved relative to each other.
Normally, the slider and the guide rail and/or the ball bearing device are moved in a fast speed relative to each other, and a lubricating device is required to be provided or disposed or engaged in the slider and/or the guide rail for filling or supplying the lubricant or lubricating oil or fluid into the endless ball guiding raceway and the slider and for suitably lubricating the ball bearing device or the like.
However, the lubricant or lubricating oil or fluid is normally required to be filled or supplied into the endless ball guiding raceway with a greater or higher pressure, and the lubricant or lubricating oil or fluid may have a good chance to flow out through the gaps formed between the parts or elements of the linear motion guide apparatus. In addition, the lubricant or lubricating oil or fluid may not be suitably and uniformly sent or applied or supplied to various portions or positions or locations of the linear motion guide apparatus, particularly when the linear motion guide apparatus is disposed and located or supported on a tilted or inclined position or posture or status relative to the ground.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages of the conventional lubricating structures or devices for linear motion guide devices.

Lubricating structure for linear motion guide apparatus


A measurement system includes: a tube; a bluff body, situated in the lumen of the tube, for generating vortices in a flowing fluid such that a Karman vortex street is formed downstream of the bluff body; a vortex sensor, having a mechanical resonant frequency, for providing a vortex sensor signal which changes over time and contains a first component representing the vortex shedding frequency and which contains a second component representing the mechanical resonant frequency of the vortex sensor; and transducer electronics for evaluating the at least one vortex sensor signal and configured to do the following: to determine vortex frequency measurement values representing the shedding frequency using the first component and, if the first component is not present, not to provide flow parameter measurement values and to generate a message indicating the current flow speed is not lower than the current acoustic velocity of the flowing fluid.

In process measurement and automation technology, measurement systems designed as vortex flow meters are often used for the measurement of flow velocities of fluids flowing in pipes, especially fast-flowing and/or hot gases and/or fluid flows of high Reynolds number, or of flow parameters corresponding to a respective flow speed, such as volume flow rates or mass flow rates or totaled volume flows or mass flows. Examples of such measurement systems are known, inter alia, from EP-A 666 467, US-A 2006/0230841, US-A 2008/0072686, US-A 2011/0154913, US-A 2011/0247430, US-A 2017/0284841, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,003,384, 6,101,885, 6,352,000, 6,910,387, 6,938,496, 8,010,312, 8,200,450, 8,370,098, 8,447,536, WO-A 98/43051 or WO-A 2017/153124 and are also offered, inter alia, by the applicant, for example under the trade name "PROWIRL D 200", "PROWIRL F 200", "PROWIRL O 200", "PROWIRL R 200".
Each of the measurement systems shown has a bluff body, which protrudes into the lumen of the respective pipe, for example specifically designed as a system component of a heat supply network or of a turbine circuit or into a lumen of a measurement tube used in the course of said pipe, against which bluff body fluid, for example a (hot) steam, flows to generate vortices that are lined up to form a so-called Kármán vortex street within the partial volume of the fluid flow flowing directly downstream of the bluff body. As is known, the vortices are generated at the bluff body at a shedding frequency (fV) that depends on the flow speed of the fluid flowing through the measurement tube in a main flow direction and, with the Strouhal number (Sr˜fV/u) as a proportionality factor, is proportional to the flow speed (u) of the fluid flowing past the bluff body, at least for high Reynolds numbers (Re) of more than 20,000. Furthermore, the measurement systems have a vortex sensor protruding into the flow and therefore into lumens of the region of the Kármán vortex street, for example positioned downstream of the bluff body or integrated therein. Said vortex sensor is used especially to sense pressure fluctuations in the Kármán vortex street formed in the flowing fluid and to convert them into a vortex sensor signal, for example an electrical or optical vortex sensor signal, which represents the pressure fluctuations and corresponds to a pressure prevailing within the fluid and subject to periodic fluctuations downstream of the, typically prismatic or cylindrical bluff body as a result of vortices in the opposite direction, such that the vortex sensor signal contains a useful component, specifically a spectral signal component having an amplitude that represents the shedding frequency and at the same time differs significantly from the signal noise.
In the case of the measurement system disclosed in each of U.S. Pat. No. 6,352,000, US-A 2006/0230841 or US-A 2017/0284841, the vortex sensor has a sensor assembly formed by means of a deformation element, usually in the form of a thin and substantially flat diaphragm, and a, usually planar or wedge-shaped, sensor lug that extends from a substantially planar surface of said deformation element, said sensor assembly being configured to sense pressure fluctuations effective in a detection direction transversely to the actual main flow direction in the Kármán vortex street, namely to convert them into movements of the deformation element corresponding to the pressure fluctuations such that the sensor lug, as a result of the pressure fluctuations, executes pendular movements in the detection direction that elastically deform the deformation element, as a result of which the deformation element and the sensor lug are excited into forced, but non-resonant, oscillations, typically specifically below a lowest mechanical resonant frequency of the vortex sensor, around a common static rest position. The deformation element further has an outer edge segment, usually circular-ring-shaped, which is configured to be hermetically sealed, for example integrally bonded, to a socket that is used to hold the deformation element and the sensor formed therewith on the wall of a tube such that the deformation element covers and hermetically seals an opening provided in the wall of the tube and that the surface of the deformation element supporting the sensor lug faces the fluid-carrying lumen of the measurement tube or the pipe, and therefore the sensor lug projects into said lumen. In order to generate the vortex sensor signal, the vortex sensor further comprises a corresponding transducer element, which is for example formed specifically by means of a capacitor mechanically coupled to the sensor assembly or integrated therein or by means of a piezoelectric stack acting as a piezoelectric transducer and is configured to detect movements of the deformation element, not least also movements of the deformation element corresponding to pressure fluctuations, or of the compensating element that may be present, and to modulate them to form an electrical or optical carrier signal. As shown, inter alia, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,352,000 or US-A 2017/0284841, the sensor assemblies or the vortex sensor formed therewith can also have a usually rod-shaped, planar or sleeve-shaped compensating element that extends from a surface of the deformation element facing away from the surface supporting the sensor lug and is used especially to compensate for forces or moments resulting from movements of the sensor assembly, for example as a result of vibrations of the pipe, or to avoid undesired movements of the sensor lug resulting therefrom.
On a side facing away from the fluid-carrying lumen, the vortex sensor is furthermore connected to transducer electronics, which are typically encapsulated in a pressure-tight and impact-proof manner and optionally also hermetically sealed towards the outside. The transducer electronics have a corresponding digital measurement circuit, which is electrically connected to the vortex sensor or its transducer element via connection lines, optionally with the interposition of electrical barriers and/or galvanic isolation points, for processing or evaluating the vortex sensor signal and for generating digital measurement values for the flow parameter to be detected in each case, for example the flow speed, the volume flow rate and/or the mass flow rate. In particular, the transducer electronics are configured to determine digital vortex frequency measurement values representing the shedding frequency using the at least one vortex sensor signal and to calculate, using one or more vortex frequency measurement values, measurement values for the at least one flow parameter and to output same, for example to a display element provided correspondingly in the measurement system. As is also shown in the aforementioned documents U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,938,496, 6,910,387, 8,010,312, 8,200,450, 8,370,098 or 8,447,536, measurement systems of the type in question can also have a temperature sensor, for example arranged downstream of the bluff body or therein, and/or a pressure sensor, for example arranged downstream of the bluff body or therein, and the transducer electronics can additionally be configured to calculate measurement values for the at least one flow parameter also using a temperature sensor signal provided by the temperature sensor or using a pressure sensor signal provided by the pressure sensor. The transducer electronics, usually accommodated in a protective housing made of metal and/or impact-resistant plastic, of measurement systems suitable for industry or established in industrial measurement technology also usually provide external interfaces conforming to an industry standard, for example DIN IEC 60381-1, for communication with higher-level measurement and/or regulator systems, for example formed by means of programmable-logic controllers (PLC). Such an external interface can be designed, for example, as a two-wire connection that can be incorporated into a current loop and/or be compatible with established industrial field buses.
Investigations on measurement systems of the type in question, which are also used in steam applications, inter alia, have shown that, when used for measuring totaled volume flow rates or mass flow rates, occasionally excessive measurement errors, specifically far beyond a specification of the measurement system in question, can occur. Furthermore, it has been shown that particularly high measurement errors can be recorded, for example during the startup of the plant in question, such that the totaled volume flow rate or mass flow rate measured for this has been estimated to be much too low in comparison with the actual volume flow rate or mass flow rate; this not least because incorrect, especially erroneously zero-estimated, measurement values for the shedding frequency were occasionally ascertained at very high flow speed and used for measuring the totaled volume flow rate or mass flow rate.

Measurement system for measuring a flow parameter of a fluid flowing in a pipe


A method for controlling gear-shifting processes of a powershift gearbox which can be coupled to a drive motor and has gear steps including two friction clutches and a plurality of clutches, and at least one gearbox actuator for actuating the gear steps. The method includes the following steps: the torque of the drive motor is received by the new friction clutch associated with the new gear step to be engaged; before the disengagement of the old gear step and before or during the torque reception, a pre-determined pre-tensioning force is applied to the clutch of the old gear step by the gearbox actuator; and the old gear step is disengaged when the motor torque and the clutch torque are balanced.

Powershift gears, in the form of, for example, an uninterruptible gearbox, have already become known along with the previously known manual gearboxes, for instance, for passenger cars, where the speed is changed or where the gearshift process is performed by the vehicle's driver by actuating a gearshift lever as well as automatic gearshifts in the form of planetary gears. Such a powershift gearbox displays a start element in the form of a friction clutch and has a second friction clutch by means of which it is possible, when the starting clutch is depressed and when a torque acts upon the primary gear shaft, to transmit the torque between the primary shaft and the output shaft of the gear so that a switching process can be brought about without any interruption in the traction force.
Gears by means of which one can perform power shifts have already also become known under the term of the "double-clutch gear." Such a double-clutch gear can be construed as two series-nested automated gears, where gear pairs as well as a friction clutch are associated with each gear input shaft by means of synchronized claw clutches or clutches.
The gears or gear steps of such a double-clutch gear can be connected by at least one gear actuator and the clutches can be connected by, for example, one clutch actuator each.
In a routine driving mode, the drive moment of the combustion engine is transmitted via one of the two clutches, the pertinent primary gear shaft as well as a gear step that is associated with the particular primary gear shaft to the differential, and from the latter, it is further passed on to the wheels.
When a gear-shifting process is to take place and when the vehicle is in the normal driving mode, then the friction clutch, associated with the engaged gear step, is closed and the other friction clutch is opened and the pertinent target gear step can be engaged. By depressing the new friction clutch associated with the target gear step, said new friction clutch determines the flow of moments via the new target gear step and thus also the flow of moments via the old gear step that is still engaged. The new friction clutch here is first of all in a state of slippage that later on changes into stiction, or static friction, state. After the new target gear step or the new friction clutch has completely taken over the moment, the friction clutch, associated with the old gear step, is released and, as a result, the corresponding gear part is uncoupled from the moment transmission. After a synchronization process between the engine revolution number and the gear revolution number, the vehicle then runs in the new target gear step and the friction clutch, associated with the latter, will no longer slip.
A so-called overlap gearshift was described above, where, however, as a result of inexact overlaps, there can be moment jolts, something that in the final analysis can be illustrated as an acceleration change when the gear is shifted.

Method for controlling gear-shifting processes of a powershift gearbox and corresponding powershift gearbox

Luk Lamellen und Kupplungsbau Beteiligungs KG


The present invention provides an insecticidal emulsion cleansing system comprising a clear oil-in-water (o/w) emulsion wherein the oil phase contains an ionic surfactant and an insecticide suspended together as nanometer sized particles in the water phase; and wherein the water phase contains an oppositely charged polymer. The insecticide is preferably a pyrethroid such as a natural pyrethrin or a synthetic pyrethroid. Suitable pyrethroids include pyrethroid esters and pyrethroid ethers.

This invention relates to an insecticide composition for use especially as a cleansing system, and intended in particular for destroying and repelling particularly resistant insects such as fleas and ticks. Generally, the topical insecticide formulations of the present invention are suitable to use on house pets such as cats and dogs.
As most insecticidal active ingredients found in cleansing systems such as shampoos are lipophilic, their water solubility is quite limited. To obtain a homogenous and stable product, the active ingredient is generally dispersed in the cleansing system with the aid of surfactants (e.g., wetting agents, emulsifiers, dispersants, and the like). However, formulating such a dispersion is challenging and also requires a high level of surfactants to cover the large surface area. Typically, a clear shampoo usually remains clear upon dilution without the insecticide precipitating out. In addition, most cleansing systems contain one or more "cleaning agents," which are also surfactants capable of removing lipophilic matter such as oils, from hair or skin. In addition, the amount of cleaning agent within the cleansing system is usually a high percentage of the total weight of the formulation. With this large amount of surfactant contained within the cleansing system, a substantial amount of the active ingredient is washed away with the surfactant molecules when rinsed, potentially leading to environmental contamination. This also leads to a short duration of insecticidal activity.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for a pet cleansing system having longer duration of insecticidal activity. Further, there is a need to enhance the physical stability and aesthetics of a product as well as the uniform coverage of the active ingredient on the hair or skin, and thus it is desirable to disperse the active ingredient into a nanometer sized range within the cleansing system so that the product appears clear and homogeneous. The present invention satisfies these and other needs.


A system and method for identifying one or more characteristics of a structure formed into a substrate is herein disclosed. Surface and bulk acoustic waves are induced in the substrate and travel past a structure of interest where the acoustic waves are sensed. Information concerning one or more characteristics of the structure is encoded in the wave. The encoded information is assessed to determine the characteristic of interest.

Acoustic measuring systems operate by nondestructively penetrating solid materials to collect information regarding internal features, including defects such as cracks, delaminations and voids. Because of their ability to find and collect information nondestructively, acoustic microscopes for example have been used in the production of electronic components and assemblies for quality control, reliability, and failure analysis. There is a growing need in the field for further improvements in optical acoustic metrology systems and methods to both keep pace with, and drive advancements in, the semiconductor fabrication industry.

Optical acoustic substrate assessment system and method

THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO, A BODY CORPORATE


The invention provides gallium nitride material devices, structures and methods of forming the same. The devices include a gallium nitride material formed over a substrate, such as silicon. Exemplary devices include light emitting devices (e.g., LED's, lasers), light detecting devices (such as detectors and sensors), power rectifier diodes and FETs (e.g., HFETs), amongst others.

Gallium nitride materials include gallium nitride (GaN) and its alloys such as aluminum gallium nitride (AlGaN), indium gallium nitride (InGaN), and aluminum indium gallium nitride (AlInGaN). These materials are semiconductor compounds that have a relatively wide, direct bandgap which permits highly energetic electronic transitions to occur. Such electronic transitions can result in gallium nitride materials having a number of attractive properties including the ability to efficiently emit visible (e.g., blue, green) or UV light, the ability to transmit signals at high frequency, and others. Accordingly, gallium nitride materials are being widely investigated in many semiconductor device applications such as transistors, field emitters, and optoelectronic devices.
Gallium nitride materials have been formed on a number of different substrates including silicon carbide (SiC), sapphire, and silicon. Silicon substrates are readily available and relatively inexpensive, and silicon processing technology has been well developed. However, forming gallium nitride materials on silicon substrates to produce semiconductor devices presents challenges which arise from differences in the lattice constant, thermal expansion, and band gap between silicon and gallium nitride.

Gallium nitride material devices and methods of forming the same


A method and apparatus for creating and rendering multiple-view images. A camera includes an image sensor to receive images, sampling logic to digitize the images and a processor programmed to combine the images based upon a spatial relationship between the images.

A panoramic image of a scene has traditionally been created by rotating a vertical slit camera about an optical center. Using this technique, film at the optical center is continuously exposed to create a wide field of view (e.g., a 360° field of view). Because of their specialized design, however, vertical slit cameras are relatively expensive. Further, because the panoramic image is captured in a continuous rotation of the camera, it is difficult to adjust the camera to account for changes in the scene, such as lighting or focal depth, as the camera is rotated.
In a more modern technique for creating panoramic images, called "image stitching", a scene is photographed from different camera orientations to obtain a set of discrete images. The discrete images of the scene are then transferred to a computer which executes application software to blend the discrete images into a panoramic image.
After the panoramic image is created, application software may be executed to render user-specified portions of the panoramic image onto a display. The effect is to create a virtual environment that can be navigated by a user. Using a mouse, keyboard, headset or other input device, the user can pan about the virtual environment and zoom in or out to view objects of interest.
One disadvantage of existing image stitching techniques is that photographed images must be transferred from the camera to the computer before they can be stitched together to create a navigable panoramic image. For example, with a conventional exposed-film camera, film must be exposed, developed, printed and digitized (e.g., using a digital scanner) to obtain a set of images that can be stitched into a panoramic image. In a digital camera, the process is less cumbersome, but images must still be transferred to a computer to be stitched into a panoramic view.
Another disadvantage of existing image stitching techniques is that the orientation of the camera used to photograph each discrete image is typically unknown. This makes it more difficult to stitch the discrete images into a panoramic image because the spatial relationship between the constituent images of the panoramic image are determined, at least partly, based on the respective orientations of the camera at which they were captured. In order to determine the spatial relationship between a set of images that are to be stitched into a panoramic image, application software must be executed to prompt the user for assistance, hunt for common features in the images, or both.
Yet another disadvantage of existing image stitching techniques is that it is usually not possible to determine whether there are missing views in the set of images used to create the panoramic image until after the images have been transferred to the computer and stitched. Depending on the subject of the panoramic image, it may be inconvenient or impossible to recreate the scene necessary to obtain the missing view. Because of the difficulty determining whether a complete set of images has been captured, images to be combined into a panoramic image are typically photographed with conservative overlap to avoid gaps in the panoramic image. Because there is more redundancy in the captured images, however, a greater number of images must be obtained to produce the panoramic view. For conventional film cameras, this means that more film must be exposed, developed, printed and scanned to produce a panoramic image than if less conservative image overlap were possible. For digital cameras, more memory must typically be provided to hold the larger number of images that must be captured than if less conservative image overlap were possible.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


An equalization circuit that allows particularly for lowpass filtering by transmission lines comprises a compensating equalizer controlled according to whether the edges between bits in the data waveform are early or late. Adjusting the equalization causes edges to appear in the same place, whereas if the adjustment is incorrect certain edges will be late and certain edges will be early depending on the history of “1”s and “0”s in the data stream. This is an effect of so-called intersymbol interference. The control mechanism includes circuits for recognizing patterns of “1”s and “0”s in the recent history of the data waveform whose occurrence is used to trigger the adjustment of the equalizer.

FIG. 1 shows the waveform of an idealized data signal waveform. In this case, binary "1"s are represented by a particular relatively high voltage level and binary "0"s by a particular relatively low voltage level. However, when such signals are transmitted through real data transmission lines, the waveform can become filtered; in particular at high data rates the capacitance of the transmission lines can be significant and acts to give the transmission lines a low pass characteristic. Such a situation arises, for example, in the data transmission lines of the backplane of a multi-card electronic system.
FIG. 2 shows a data waveform like that of FIG. 1 after it has been passed through a transmission line of significant capacitance. (There are approximately 50 bits in the time frame of the figure.) As can be seen, there is a difficulty in sampling the data because the sections of the waveform representing "1"s are not always above the threshold level and the sections representing "0"s are not always below the threshold level, the threshold level being that used to discriminate between "1"s and "0"s, which in this case is zero volts. This means that "1"s can be incorrectly sampled as "0"s and vice versa.
A known solution to this problem is to pass the data waveform through an equalizing filter before it is sampled. The equalizing filter is given an inverse filter characteristic to that of the transmission line, thus compensating for it and restoring the waveform to something near ideal (i.e. like FIG. 1), which can then be cleanly sampled. A problem with this approach is that the amount of equalization required can vary from installation to installation of even nominally the same equipment and can vary with time, even in the same installation. If insufficient equalization, or indeed too much equalization, is provided, then data sampling errors can still occur.
A known equalizing filter employed to solve this problem is shown in FIG. 3. Here the data waveform received from a transmission line 1 is applied in parallel to a set of band pass filters 2, which have neighbouring pass bands. The outputs of the filters are recombined with a summing amplifier 3. Each filter 2 has its gain set by an automatic gain control so that each band contains the same signal power.
A problem with the circuit of FIG. 3 is that the assumption that each band has the same signal power is incorrect. The signal spectrum is not always flat and, of course, the spectrum also depends on the channel coding scheme used and can vary from time to time with the content of the data stream.
The invention therefore provides a different kind of equalization that attempts to avoid this problem and which has other advantages, as will become apparent.


The present invention relate to liquid cleansing compositions comprising 12-HSA which are both processable and stable. Applicants have defined a specific composition window (defined by specific types and ratios of fatty acid and/or fatty acid soaps, as well as critical ceiling for 12-HSA and floor levels of polyol) where these objectives can be met.

In liquid cleansing compositions suitable for the consumer, the compositions should be processable (e.g., have a rheology such that all ingredients can be mixed without the mixing blade getting stuck), stable (e.g., not phase separate over a defined time at a defined temperature), and have rheological properties that provide a suitable sensory experience. It is desirable to add ingredients having skin health or other benefits.
One molecule that is particularly beneficial for incorporation into such liquids is 12-hydroxystearic acid ("12-HSA"). 12-HSA is a well-known peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor ("Ppar") activator than can influence skin health.
However, incorporation of 12-HSA into liquid formulations provides challenges because it can impact formulation structuring, formulation viscosity, processing and stability. In the absence of any direction on how to incorporate, use of 12-HSA typically will lead to thickening or thinning of the formulation and/or to phase separation (instability) over time.
Specifically, in formulations with low synthetic surfactant concentration, predominantly fatty acid and fatty acid soap based compositions (i.e., compositions having the combination of fatty acid and fatty acid soap, preferably C8 to C20 fatty acids and soaps, which is greater than 50% of the combination plus other surfactant), the use of 12-HSA typically will lead to compositions which are not processable, not stable (i.e., not "stress" stable as defined), or both.
Quite surprisingly and unexpectedly, applicants have found a formulation window wherein, in such predominantly fatty acid and fatty acid soap based, low synthetic surfactant compositions, 12-HSA can be used while compositions retain both processability and stability. The formulation window comprises specific selection of fatty acids such that specific amounts of myristic acid (from 45 to 65% by wt. of all fatty acids used) must be used in combination with a floor level (20% or greater, preferably 21 to 40%, most preferably 25 to 35% by wt. of compositions) of polyol. Compositions which do not fall within this specific myristic acid window or which do not have floor levels of polyol (e.g., glycerine, polyalkylene glycols) do not meet requirements of both processability and stability.
The use of 12-HSA in soap bar compositions is not new.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,730,643 to Chokappa et al. discloses transparent soap bars comprising 30 to 60% total fatty matter ("TFM") wherein from 1 to 15% by weight is the salt of 12-hydroxystearic acid or a precursor thereof. These compositions are bars and issues of stability, for example, and selection of myristic acid at defined level of fatty acid to stabilize liquid compositions are irrelevant.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,876,705 to Uchiyama et al. discloses conditioning shampoos, which may comprise 0.9 to 10% fatty compounds, including 12-HSA. These are not fatty acid based systems and neither problems associated with compositions of the invention, nor the solutions, are contemplated.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,885,948; 6,080,707; and 6,080,708, each to Glenn, Jr. et al., each discloses liquid compositions comprising 0.5 to 10% by wt. of crystalline hydroxyl-containing liquids including 12-HSA as liquid stabilizer. None disclose fatty acid based compositions; none recognize problems associated with such compositions; and none contemplate the specific solutions of our invention (i.e., window of myristic acid, floor levels of polyol).


The disclosed computer-implemented method for filtering interprocess communications may include (1) identifying a service process that provides a service on the computing device, (2) authenticating the service process, (3) identifying a request by a client process to use the service provided by the service process, (4) authenticating the client process, (5) receiving an interprocess communication from the client process directed toward the service process, (6) determining that the interprocess communication is malicious, and (7) in response to determining that the interprocess communication is malicious, blocking the interprocess communication from being communicated to the service process. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.

The rapid move from the dominant personal computing model to the widespread use of mobile computing has led to a proliferation of operating environments—combinations of processor types, operating systems, and hardware features. Due to the need to minimize memory usage and maximize battery life, these operating environments necessarily face strict limitations on the size of the operating system, and therefore features that may be included in the operating system. One of the neglected areas of many of these operating systems is the security of interprocess communications.
Software programs installed on a computing device may provide a service that may be used by other software programs. The operating system executing on the device may also provide services. Typically, when an application is installed, the user is presented with a list of services requested by the application, and the user is asked to grant permission for the application to use the enumerated services. Subsequently, either the client application or the service-providing application may use data in unsecure or malicious ways, whether by design of the software developer or under control of a malware infection. Applications may use the interprocess communication system provided by the device's operating system to transmit sensitive data from the device and/or to perform other malicious activities. Accordingly, the instant disclosure identifies and addresses a need for additional and improved systems and methods for filtering interprocess communications.

Systems and methods for filtering interprocess communications


A semiconductor device having one or more through-silicon vias (TSVs) is provided. The TSVs are formed such that sidewalls of the TSVs have a scalloped surface. In an embodiment, the sidewalls of the TSVs are sloped wherein a top and bottom of the TSVs have different dimensions. The TSVs may have a V-shape wherein the TSVs have a wider dimension on a circuit side of the substrate, or an inverted V-shape wherein the TSVs have a wider dimension on a backside of the substrate. The scalloped surfaces of the sidewalls and/or sloped sidewalls allow the TSVs to be more easily filled with a conductive material such as copper.

Since the invention of the integrated circuit (IC), the semiconductor industry has experienced sustained rapid growth due to continuous improvements in the integration density of various electronic components (e.g., transistors, diodes, resistors, capacitors, etc.). For the most part, this improvement in integration density has come from repeated reductions in minimum feature size, which allows more components to be integrated into a given area.
These integration improvements are essentially two-dimensional (2D) in nature, in that the volume occupied by the integrated components is essentially on the surface of the semiconductor wafer. Although dramatic improvement in lithography has resulted in considerable improvement in 2D integrated circuit formation, there are physical limits to the density that can be achieved in two dimensions. One of these limits is the minimum size needed to make these components. Also, when more devices are put into one chip, more complex designs are required.
In an attempt to further increase circuit density, three-dimensional (3D) ICs have been investigated. In a typical formation process of a 3D IC, two dies are bonded together and electrical connections are formed between each die and contact pads on a substrate. For example, one attempt involved bonding two dies on top of each other. The stacked dies were then bonded to a carrier substrate and wire bonds electrically coupled contact pads on each die to contact pads on the carrier substrate. This attempt, however, requires a carrier substrate larger than the dies for the wire bonding.
More recent attempts have focused on through-silicon vias (TSVs). Generally, TSVs are formed by etching a vertical via through a substrate and filling the via with a conductive material, such as copper. The TSVs may be used to provide an electrical contact on a backside of the semiconductor substrate to semiconductor circuitry on an opposing side of the substrate or another die. In this manner, dies may be stacked while maintaining a smaller package size.
The conductive material of the TSV, however, may exhibit a tendency to delaminate from the sidewalls of the TSVs or slide during high-low temperature cycles or thermal shock tests, thereby reducing the reliability of the TSVs. Furthermore, filling the via with a conductive material requires forming a barrier layer and/or a seed layer on the vertical sidewalls of the via. Due to the vertical nature of the sidewalls, however, it may be difficult to form a barrier layer and/or a seed layer with good adhesive properties and, as a result, difficult to fill the TSV.
Accordingly, there is a need for a TSV that reduces or prevents these issues.

Through-silicon via with scalloped sidewalls

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


A stack loading apparatus for receiving and aligning a stack of similarly shaped sheet-like objects into a uniform stack having several elongate aligner actuators which are rotatably fixed to a base plate is disclosed. The base plate permits rotation of the aligner actuators about their longitudinal axes which are positioned perpendicular to the base plate. The aligner actuators are arranged on the base plate about a polygon perimeter corresponding in shape and size to the sheet-like object perimeter. Each aligner actuator has an aligner actuator track disposed on its outer surface. A movable guide plate is positioned substantially parallel to the base plate and includes several aligner actuator-receiving apertures which each have an inner perimeter having a ball bearing rotatably mounted therein for engaging the aligner actuator tracks. Elongate aligners are fastened to the aligner actuators. Supporting means are disposed on the guide plate substantially at the center of the aligner actuator polygon for supporting the stack of sheet-like objects in an orientation substantially parallel to the guide plate. Moving means moves the guide plate relative to the base plate along the aligner actuator longitudinal axis while maintaining a substantial parallel relationship between the guide plate and the base plate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to packaging systems, and more particularly, to a stack loading apparatus capable of receiving, aligning, and delivering a stack of sheet-like objects to a package.
2. Description of the Related Art
Pre-sliced luncheon meat, such as bologna, salami, and ham, is often packaged in pre-fabricated rigid plastic containers which conform to the shape of the meat slices. These plastic containers allow the consumer to remove a few slices of meat at one time while providing a convenient container for storage of the remaining slices.
At the processing plant, the meat is usually vacuum packed in the plastic containers to prevent spoilage during distribution. Vacuum packing causes the plastic containers to collapse a small amount and to surround the stacks of meat slices very tightly. In order for the containers to retain their shape after the package is opened and the vacuum is broken, there must be a low tolerance between the walls of the plastic container and the meat. The use of containers with low tolerance requires that the meat slices be accurately cut, stacked, and concentrically aligned so that the stack of meat slices will fit into the plastic container.
Luncheon meat is usually sliced by feeding long "logs" of meat into a slicing machine which produces unaligned stacks of slices. In certain automated meat-packaging facilities, the unaligned meat stacks exit from the slicing machine via an output conveyer belt. Assembly line workers then manually remove the unaligned stacks from the output conveyer belt and align each stack of meat slices with their fingers so that the stack will fit into the rigid plastic containers. The workers then press the stack into the containers by hand.
The use of assembly line workers to manually package stacks of meat slices has many disadvantages. Because the slicer machine conveyer belt moves continuously, the workers must align each stack of meat very quickly. This fast pace and the repetitive motion causes the work to be tedious. This can result in the stacks not being aligned in a uniform manner. Non-uniform stacks will not fit properly into the low tolerance containers.
The tedious nature of the work also creates a need for the workers to take several rest breaks during their work shift. The rest breaks are necessary because the stacking/packing work requires long periods of repetitive limited movements of the workers' muscles. The workers must have a few minutes to relax; otherwise, their muscles will become strained. These rest breaks slow production and reduce yield.
Other events also reduce yield. If a worker spends too much time aligning any one particular stack, the slicing machine may have to be stopped in order for the worker to "catch up." This also slows production and frustrates the worker.
Thus, there exists a need for an apparatus which can receive an unaligned stack of meat slices, align the stack, and deliver the stack to a container.


The Internet provides communication between a plurality of service sites and a plurality of equipment sites at which equipment needing periodic service and emergency service are operated. Each piece of equipment includes a sensor array and a manual actuator that is activated when an abnormal mode of operation of the equipment is experienced. When the manual actuator on a piece of equipment is actuated, the equipment's operating conditions that are sensed by the sensor array are stored in memory. Later, when a request to service the equipment is sent from an equipment site to a service site, the service site queries the equipment site as to equipment symptoms. Upon receiving this query, an operator at the equipment site causes the symptoms stored in memory to be transmitted to the service site. Based upon the symptoms received at the service site, a service plan for the equipment is formulated.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to interactive computerized systems and methods for obtaining and processing information. More particularly, the invention pertains to an interactive system and method for receiving information regarding a customer, equipment such as an automobile, a tractor and/or trailer, a fork lift, cherry picker or front loader, and symptomatic problems that prompt the need for service or repair of the equipment, and the processing of the symptomatic information to generate equipment work and parts orders for the customer, for parts suppliers, and for service personnel. The invention further pertains to the transmission of work completion data to accounting and/or quality control subsystems. While the invention is usable for servicing a variety of equipment, it will be primarily described here in terms of automobiles because the description of this example addresses most, if not all, of the problems relative to a large repair shop for such equipment.
2. Description of the Related Art
Dropping off equipment at a dealership or service site for service can be a time consuming and frustrating activity. Even through such organizations may open as early as 7 a.m. and stay open until 6 p.m. or so in order to accept equipment for service, these hours are not always long enough to accommodate all customers. Consequently, some customers find it necessary to drop off their equipment off during hours that the service centers are closed. With automobiles, for example, the driver usually leaves the automobile keys in an envelope upon which the driver writes observed problems, and requests service of these problems. The envelope is usually then put into a cubicle, which locks on closure. In such instances, the symptom situation is not always communicated effectively. Even when the repair shop is open, the customer may need to wait some time in order to provide the necessary information to a service manager or other representative, thus creating further delays. The above process is improved by using the modern computer technology of this invention.
The present invention provides an interactive, user friendly, symptomatic recording system for the driver or other equipment operator, i.e. the customer. The customer can answer basic menu-driven queries and/or prompts, and the system prepares and transmits to the repair center a preliminary symptomatic report including the symptom or symptoms that prompted the need for repair or service, including the frequency of occurrence of the problem symptoms. For example, problems could be hard starting in the cold, which problem has never happened before. The system of the invention is particularly useful for use outside of the normal operating hours of the repair facility.
Representative of the art is;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,214,582, issued to Gray, teaches interactive diagnostic systems and methods for automotive vehicles of the type having networks of sensors and actuators for sensing and actuating various functions in the vehicle and onboard computers for monitoring sensors and controlling the actuators. An external computer is used to control selected actuators independent of the onboard computer and for simulating operation of selected sensors. At the same time, the electronic data entering and existing the onboard computer is monitored and analyzed by the external computer for trouble shooting purposes.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,513,107, issued to Gormley of Ford Motor Co., teaches methods and apparatus for controlling operating subsystems of motor vehicles. Diagnostic maintenance services for the vehicles are provided by monitoring various operating subsystems connected to a vehicle controller and recording diagnostic data. Such data can be periodically communicated to a service center which determines the service(s) needed and communicates their conclusions back to the vehicle controller where it is displayed to the vehicle operator.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,557,268, issued to Hughes et al. of Exxon, teaches an automatic vehicle recognition and customer automobile diagnostic system. Each vehicle includes a transponder that transmits a Radio Frequence (RF) code so that vehicle diagnostic measurements made upon entry to the service facility can be associated with the specific vehicle and displayed to the customer in their service area.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,058,044, issued to Stewart et al., teaches a system for automatically identifying vehicles assimilating data from the identified vehicle, correlating the data with predetermined data and providing a statement of account for a transaction involving the vehicle. A service record for the vehicle is prepared by the system for use in connection with such transactions. Data for the service record is provided primarily by onboard sensors, but may be augmented by data submitted via an onboard keyboard.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,602,127, issued to Neely et al., teaches a vehicle diagnostic system comprising a portable communications control station and a remote data processing station. A portable communications controller is connected to a vehicle data terminal to obtain data from the vehicle's onboard computer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,975,847 and 5,065,023 both issued to Abe et al., teach motor vehicle diagnosis systems.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,541,840, issued to Gurne et al. of Chrysler Corporation, teaches a hand-held automotive diagnostic service tool which can operate with a matter station to monitor, display, and process vehicle data and diagnose fault conditions. Service manual pages can be displayed and parts ordered on-line.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,533,093 teaches an automated troubleshooting mechanism incorporated into portable test and communications equipment for telephone lines. Work order manager software is employed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,916,441 teaches a hand-held pocket terminal having a display screen and bar code reader for use in conjunction with patient medical care.
Various aspects of interactive CRT touch panel displays are taught by U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,449,186 (to Kelly et al.), 5,404,443 (to Hirata), 5,488,575 (to Danielson et al.), 5,499,707 (to Steuryl) 1 5,537,315 (to Mitcham) and 5,539,429 (to Yano et al.). Such touch panels have been found useful in facilitating communications in a variety of customer service contexts.
The Super Advisor System marketed by Automatic Data Processing, Inc., of Hoffman Estates, Ill., USA, allows Service advisors to use a hand-held, wireless pen pad computer system to select or decline maintenance items displayed on the computer's screen and to describe vehicular problems via a series of checklists and multiple choice questions. The system also provides customer appointment management, etc., using Microsoft Windows.

Interactive symptomatic recording system and method utilizing symptomatic memory


A system including a conferencing telephone coupled to or in communication with an identification service. The identification service is configured to poll user devices of conference participants to determine or confirm identities. In response, the user devices transmit audio electronic business cards, which can include user voice samples and/or preprocessed voice recognition data. The identification service stores the resulting audio electronic business card data. When the corresponding participant speaks during the conference, the identification service identifies the speaker.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to telecommunications systems. More particularly, the invention relates to a method and apparatus for automatically identifying participants in a conference call.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conference calling is an important and increasingly useful business tool, particularly with the advent of new multimedia conferencing applications that allow for advanced collaboration, whiteboarding, and video conferencing. Often, multiple parties in multiple locations engage in such calls. That is, a group gathers in a conference room at one location while another group gathers in a conference room at another location.
Often it is desirable to explicitly identify all parties to the conference. While a party designated as a moderator or host could individually poll all participants to verbally identify themselves, this can take an extended period and occupy valuable working time.
As such, there is a need for an improved method for identifying participants in a conference.

Method and apparatus for identification of conference call participants


A power driven floor and baseboard scrubber is provided having reciprocating plates with scrubbing pads thereon arranged to clean an area at an intersection of the floor and the baseboard, on a stair step and its riser. A handle is provided for operational purposes and wheels for transportation.

The instant invention relates generally to polishing, sanding and cleaning devices and more specifically it relates to a power driven floor and baseboard scrubber, which provides reciprocating plates with scrubbing pads to clean the floor and baseboard, the step and riser on stairs.
There are available various conventional polishing, sanding and cleaning devices which do not provide the novel improvements of the invention here in disclosed.


An annular light guiding unit for portable electronic device comprises a first surface, a second surface located opposite to the first surface, and a wall connecting the first surface and the second surface together. The wall is defined a plurality of first wedged walls therein.

1. Field of the Invention
The exemplary embodiment relates to light guiding units and, particularly to a light guiding unit for an indicator light of a portable electronic device.
2. Description of Related Art
Light guiding units are widely used in portable electronic devices such as mobile phones. Light guiding units are typically used to guide light to illuminate objects such as keys of the mobile phone.
The mobile phone often includes an indicator light for indicating a status such as an incoming call. A light guiding unit guides light emitted from light sources (e.g., LEDs). Thus, the light guiding unit can guide light to the indicator light to display an incoming call signal.
However, non-illuminated areas can exist when light sources are distant from the light guiding unit. As such, an indicator light may need many light sources to enlarge the illuminating scope of the light guiding unit.
Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art.

Indicator light using light guiding unit


It has been found that basalt particles, when combined with a resin binder and a reinforcing material, such as fiberglass, provide unexpected strength, fire-resistance, radiation impermeability, and projectile shielding for ballistic armor/shields, fire-resistant building panels, construction blocks and protective coatings on substrates. The armor panels can be worn, as in a bullet-proof vest, or can be used as a shield to protect a vehicle, aircraft or other structures as projectile penetration-resistant and fire and radiation resistant materials.

Basalt is an igneous mineral ore that can be melted and formed into continuous fibers, staple fibers, e.g., 30 mm in length, micro fibers of, for example, 0.42 μm in diameter, and intermediate lengths and diameters. Basalt fibers have been (a) used to make papermaking fabric, see U.S. Pat. No. 6,926,221; (b) zirconia coated for alkali resistance, see J. Mater. Res., Vol. 9, No. 4, p. 1006 (1996); (c) used for internally reinforcing cement in concrete see U.S. Pat. No. 4,304,604, to reinforce thermosetting resins, particularly epoxy resins and polyester resins, see Popular Plastics, February, 1982, pages 6-8; and (d) formed from a melt of both glass and basalt rock, UK published application 2,019,386 A (1979).
Basalt also has been cut, like granite, to form decorative floor and wall tiles, counter tops, vanities, and the like, and has been smelted at 2,400° C. and cast into tiles for kitchen, baths, churches and cathedrals. Fused basalt powder beads also have been incorporated into thermosetting resins to produce shaped articles, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,114,464. Basalt powder also has been mixed with glass powder, ground to a fineness of 1.35 m2/g BET and processed into a foamed glass, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,178,163.
Protective armor for heavy but mobile military equipment, such as tanks, high mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles, e.g., Humvees, aircraft and ships, is known. Such armor usually comprises a thick layer of alloy steel, which is intended to provide protection against heavy and explosive projectiles. Due to its weight, such armor is quite unsuitable for light vehicles such as automobiles, jeeps, light boats, or aircraft, whose performance is compromised by steel panels having a thickness of more than a few millimeters.
Armor for light vehicles is expected to prevent penetration of bullets of any weight, even when impacting at a speed in the range of 700 to 1000 meters per second.
Another consideration in armor design is compactness. A thick armor panel, including air spaces between its various layers, increases the target profile and the wind resistance of the vehicle. In the case of civilian retrofitted armored automobiles which are outfitted with internal armor, there is simply no room for a thick panel in most of the areas requiring protection.
Fairly recent examples of armor systems are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,084, disclosing an armor plate composite including a supporting plate consisting of an open honeycomb structure of aluminum; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,868,040, disclosing an antiballistic composite armor including a shock-absorbing layer. Also of interest is U.S. Pat. No. 4,529,640, disclosing spaced armor including a hexagonal honeycomb core member.
Other armor plate panels are disclosed, e.g., in British Patents 1,081,464; 1,352,418; 2,272,272, and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,061,815 wherein the use of sintered refractory material, as well as the use of ceramic materials, are described.
Ceramic materials are nonmetallic, inorganic solids having a crystalline or glassy structure, and have many useful physical properties, including resistance to heat, abrasion and compression, high rigidity, low weight in comparison with steel, and outstanding chemical stability. Such properties have long drawn the attention of armor designers, and solid ceramic plates, in thicknesses ranging from 3 mm. for personal protection to 50 mm. for heavy military vehicles, are commercially available for such use. Ceramic shields, however, shatter when struck by a fast moving projectile and, therefore, cannot protect against multiple projectiles that strike in close proximity, as occurs with automatic weapons fire.
Much research has been devoted to improving the low tensile and low flexible strength and poor fracture toughness of ceramic materials; however, these remain the major drawbacks to the use of ceramic plates and other large components which can crack and/or shatter in response to the shock of incoming projectiles.
A known form of armor plating using ceramics is produced in Israel by Kibbutz Beit Alpha. It comprises cutting 5 mm steel plates to the sizes required, heat-treating the steel and adding a ceramic coating. One disadvantage of this type of panel is that on completion, the panels are almost impossible to modify. In use, the ceramic coating performs well against the first bullet, but tends to shatter, and thus fails to protect against further projectiles.
Light-weight, flexible armored articles of clothing have also been used for many decades, for personal protection against fire-arm projectiles and projectile splinters. Examples of this type of armor are found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,090,005. Such clothing is certainly valuable against low energy projectiles, such as those fired from a distance of several hundred meters, but fails to protect the wearer against high-velocity projectiles originating at closer range. If made to provide such protection, the weight and/or cost of such clothing discourages its use. A further known problem with such clothing is that even when it succeeds in stopping a projectile, the user may suffer injury due to indentation of the vest to the body, caused by too small a body area being impacted and the inability to absorb the energy of a bullet.
A common problem with prior art ceramic armor concerns damage inflicted on the armor structure by a first projectile, whether stopped or penetrating. Such damage weakens the armor panel, and so allows penetration of a following projectile.
The basalt particle-containing composite articles described herein cause an array of incoming projectiles to pancake or flatten without shattering the articles, while protecting a person or structure without requiring frequent replacement.

Basalt particle-containing compositions and articles for protective coatings and ballistic shield mats/tiles/protective building components


An active vibration control system includes a plurality of actuators corresponding to and disposed adjacent each engine of an aircraft, at least one sensor located within a passenger cabin of the aircraft and configured to detect a magnitude and frequency of one or more of vibration and sound produced by a respective engine and generate one or more of a vibration and sound feedback signal, and a controller connected to each of the plurality of actuators and each of the at least one sensor, the controller being configured to effect control of no more than two of the plurality of actuators for a respective engine based the feedback signal where the no more than two actuators effect suppression of one or more of vibration and sound of a respective engine due to rotating axis of the respective engine.

1. Field
The exemplary embodiments generally relate to active vibration control and, more particularly, to actuator mounting brackets for active vibration control systems.
2. Brief Description of Related Developments
Generally active vibration control systems in aircraft use shakers or actuators (e.g. active vibration elements) to vibrate a structural component at a discrete frequency to cancel the input disturbance (noise/sound and/or vibration), solely related to rotating axis of an aircraft engine. These actuators are mounted to a portion of the aircraft using brackets that generally do not provide easy installation or removal of the actuators and/or brackets especially in retrofit applications.
It would be advantageous to have an active vibration control system actuator mounting bracket that provides substantially unhindered installation and removal of the actuators.


In one embodiment, a ground-based sky imaging and irradiance measurement and prediction computing device: obtains, from an omnidirectional ultra-panoramic camera located at a ground-based mounting location, an image having a view of an entire sky located above the camera and a horizon-to-horizon view of ground and ground-based objects surrounding the camera; calibrates a relationship between locations of pixels of the image and real-world three-dimensional coordinates based on intrinsic/extrinsic properties of the camera; identifies image pixels that contain clouds; georegisters, the clouds to real-world three-dimensional coordinates; and estimates, cloud attenuation levels. A solar irradiance map can then be generated based on the georegistration of the clouds, sun position, and estimated attenuation level of the clouds, where the solar irradiance map indicates an estimation of solar irradiance to reach an area of ground surrounding the camera.

Photovoltaic (PV) power output is directly related to the amount of sunlight, or irradiance, striking the panel. Irradiance itself is primarily a function of the position of the sun and atmospheric attenuation due to transparency of the atmosphere (that is, absorption and scattering of light by water or ice particles in clouds). Short-term PV power fluctuations (ramps) can significantly influence the stability of electric grids and limit the deployment of solar power systems. For example, problematic high voltages on the circuits due to excess energy can be generated around midday hours, with over 1 megawatt (MW) fluctuations being possible due simply to the presence of large clouds in the sky. Instability of this magnitude can be particularly difficult for smaller grid infrastructures, such as those of small communities (e.g., the Hawaiian island grids, Alaskan towns, and so on).
Currently, total sky imager (TSI) systems are the best option to predict short-term fluctuations for ramp prediction, as will be understood by those skilled in the art. However, TSIs are not a cost effective option for widespread, operational solar forecasting, as a single TSI system can be an expensive and complicated weather instrument, and requires additional and expensive instrumentation for cloud geolocation (e.g., a ceilometer). Various low-cost sky imager options have also been proposed in recent years, but they lack accuracy and robustness. In particular, such systems are generally focused on determining irradiance levels at the device itself, and cannot be extended for use with distributed PV systems due to their simplicity (e.g., lacking any sort of geolocation).

Ground-based sky imaging and irradiance prediction system


A photographic polyester support is disclosed which hardly curls when heat-treated at a temperature of from 50.degree. C. to the glass transition temperature thereof in the form of a bulk roll, its thickness pattern satisfying the conditions of (1) Max-Min in the whole widthwise direction (TD R value): 8 .mu.m or less, (2) Max-Min of 5 m length in the lengthwise direction (MD R value): 10 .mu.m or less, (3) the difference in thickness between the adjacent hill and hollow (MD fluctuation): 8 .mu.m or less, and (4) the maximum value of hills above a base line of the average thickness of both ends (TD base line value): 5 .mu.m or less. The surface flatness of the heat-treated support is good. When the support is coated with photographic emulsions, the surface of the coated photographic material is even.

In general, a photographic material is produced by coating at least one photographic layer on a plastic film support. As the plastic film for a photographic support, a cellulosic polymer such as typically triacetyl cellulose (hereinafter referred to as "TAC") and a polyester polymer such as typically polyethylene terephthalate (hereinafter referred to as "PET") are generally employed. Recently, the use of polyethylene naphthalate having higher heat resistance than PET as a photographic support has been investigated.
A photographic material is generally grouped into one of two groups: one being in the form of a sheet film such as an X-ray film, a film for photomechanical processes and a cut film, and the other being in the form of a roll film such as typically a color or black-and-white negative film having a width of 35 m/m or less. The latter is generally housed in a patrone (cartridge) and is charged in a camera for picture-taking.
As a support for a roll film, heretofore, TAC has been used essentially. The characteristics of TAC film as a photographic support are that TAC has no optical anisotropy and has a high transparency and that TAC has an excellent property of easily smoothing the curl of a developed photographic material having it as a support. The excellent property of TAC of easily smoothing the curl of a developed photographic material having it as a support results from the molecular structure of the TAC film itself. Specifically, since a TAC film has a relatively high water-absorbing property, though being a plastic film, because of its characteristic molecular structure, the molecular chain of the film comes to be fluid after the support film of TAC has absorbed water during development of a curled roll film so that the curl of a long-time stored roll film may be smoothed by rearrangement of the molecular chain as fixed in the long-time stored and curled roll film.
If a photographic material having a film support not having an uncurling property is used as a roll film, it would involve problems of having scratches and out-of-focusing during the printing step of forming an image on a photographic paper from the developed roll film and also a problem of jamming during feeding of the roll film.
The use of photographic materials has been diversified widely in these days, and the technology for rapid feeding of a photographic film in a camera or the like during picture-taking with it, elevation of the image magnification and reduction of the size of picture-taking devices has advanced noticeably. Under the advanced technology, the support of photographic materials is needed to have high strength and high dimension stability and to be thin as much as possible.
Since a TAC film has a rigid molecular structure, the film quality of it is brittle. Therefore, at present, use of the film involves various difficult problems.
As opposed to a TAC film, a polyester film has excellent producibility, mechanical strength and dimension stability. Therefore, it has heretofore been considered that such a polyester film would be substitutable for a TAC film.
Since a polyester film strongly curls and the curl of the film remains much when it is rolled, handling of a developed photographic material having a support of the film is troublesome. Therefore, despite the above-mentioned excellent properties, use of the film as a support for a roll film was unfavorable. As a means of overcoming the curling property of the film, U.S. Pat. No. 4,141,735 has proposed heat treatment of the film for reducing the curl of the film. However, if a bulk roll of the film is simply heated on an industrial scale, it would be shrunk, spotted or wrinkled to cause unevenness of an emulsion layer to be coated thereover. Because of this reason, such a heat-treated bulk roll of the film could not be put to practical use.