Exemplary embodiments include a method for remapping subsets of host-centric application programming interfaces to commodity service providers, the method including receiving a commodity service providers object, embedding the commodity service providers object with a handle, transforming the handle into a serialized object readable by a hardware security module, generating a virtualized handle from the transformed handle, selecting a target hardware security module based on characteristics of the serialized object and mapping the virtualized handle to the target hardware security module.

The present invention relates to cryptography, and more specifically, to implementation of subsets of enterprise-oriented cryptographic Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) from off-the-shelf, module-centric cryptographic service providers of below-enterprise reliability and commodity APIs
Mainframe cryptography follows an unusual provider model by maintaining centralized keystores on the host, relying on proprietary stateless backends. Host APIs reflect this difference, relying on host-opaque keystores and key tokens, externalizing stateless services to callers. Module-centric commodity cryptographic service providers (CSPs) operate in a different model, relying on module-resident secrets and APIs which reflect this worldview.

Scalable, highly available, dynamically reconfigurable cryptographic provider with quality-of-service control built from commodity backend providers

International Business Machines Corporation


To guarantee continuation of communications of the level of the applications, and implement smooth and seamless switching between communication terminals that execute the service.

In recent years, with rapid expansion in diffusion of network services typified by the Internet and cellular telephones, expectations have been placed on realization of more sophisticated communication services. In the cellular telephones, the so-called handover function and mobility management function have been provided such that communications are continued when a user moves while bringing a terminal. By further developing the functions to be more sophisticated, actualization and the like are desired of functions for enabling communications to be continued when the terminal is changed during the communication so as to maintain the consistent service.
When communication networks have been expanded and developed and various kinds of communication terminals can connect to the communication networks, users have many types of communication terminals connectable to the communication networks. As these communication terminals, not only portable terminals such as cellular telephones, but also stationary apparatuses such as, for example, TV receivers and the like installed in the home are expected to function as communication terminals.
Meanwhile, by providing the common IP backbone using IP (Internet Protocol) communication techniques constructed by development of the Internet on the communication network side, it is possible to receive common services in various kinds of communication terminals without much concern for differences in access means such as wireless, cable and the like, operators of the networks, and service providers.
Under such circumstances, a user uses communication terminals such as, for example, a cellular telephone, PDA, personal computer, TV receiver and the like that the user has separately without restraint corresponding to his/her own status, and such a requirement arises that the user wants to use the same service using a communication terminal that the user has and selects at this point.
Further, such a case is expected that the user switches the communication terminal being used to another communication terminal while continuing the service. In this case, it is necessary to achieve user demand for shifting the communication state to another terminal seamlessly while maintaining the communication state to use the service continuously, without disconnecting communications once and newly connecting from another communication terminal. More specifically, there is an example that a user uses the service for receiving image content in streaming distribution at a personal computer at home, and when going out, switches the reception terminal to a portable communication terminal such as a cellular telephone, PDA or the like to bring away from home so as to use the same service continuously. Further, another example is considered that a user uses video telephone service away from home, gets home while communicating with the communicating apparatus, shifts the service to a TV receiver at home, and continues the video telephone service with the communicating apparatus.
In implementing seamless switching between communication terminals as described above, when the communication service is multi-cast type distribution and the like, since data of the same content is simultaneously distributed from a communication terminal on the distribution side to a plurality of (an indefinite number of) communication terminals, the user is only required to connect the switched reception terminal to the terminal on the distribution side to receive the data in the reception terminal, and is capable of implementing switching between communication terminals relatively with ease.
However, in uni-cast type communication where specific data is distributed to some specific communication terminal or one-to-one communication, the user needs procedures for once instructing to a communication terminal on the distribution side to suspend communications, connecting to the distribution-side terminal from a desired switched terminal, notifying switching of the reception-side terminal, and resuming the communications.
FIG. 6 shows an example of switching between communication terminals in such a conventional communication network control system. In this example, such a case is shown that during communications of a communication terminal #1 with a server apparatus X, the user switches the communication terminal #1 being used in the communications to a communication terminal #2. In this case, first, the user transmits control information shown by arrow 101 to the server apparatus X on the data distribution side from the communication terminal #1 receiving the data, and instructs to suspend distribution. Next, the user transmits control information shown by arrow 102 for requesting disconnection from the server apparatus X to a control apparatus Y on the communication network, and disconnects the communications.
Then, the user designates address information of the same server apparatus X as in the foregoing as shown by arrow 103 to the control apparatus Y of the communication network from the communication terminal #2 of a switching destination, and transmits a connection request. The control apparatus Y sets a communication path between the communication terminal #2 and server apparatus X on the communication network, and further sets connection between the apparatus X and terminal #2. Subsequently, when the communication terminal #2 transmits control information shown by arrow 104 for instructing to resume the distribution to the server apparatus X, the server apparatus X transmits the data of from the time the distribution is suspended, and the user is thereby capable of receiving subsequent data using the communication terminal #2 and thus implementing switching between terminals to use the service.
Herein, the address information of the server apparatus X for the communication terminal #2 of the switching destination to connect to the server apparatus X is designated with means for the user to operate the communication terminal #2 to input and the like in a form of a telephone number, URL or the like. In this example, the control apparatus Y of the communication network only performs connection and disconnection between the communication terminal #1 or #2 and the server apparatus X, and does not have the control function to switch between terminals, and switching between terminals is achieved by functions of suspending and resuming communications in the communication terminals and server apparatus.
FIG. 7 shows a conventional example of another method of switching between communication terminals. This example also shows the case during communications of the communication terminal #1 with the server apparatus X, the user switches the communication terminal #1 being used in the communications to the communication terminal #2. In switching, the communication terminal #1 on the reception side transmits control information to instruct to suspend distribution to the server X on the distribution side as shown by arrow 201. After suspending communications with the server X, when user performs transfer operation, the communication terminal #1 transmits control information for suspending connection to the server apparatus X, establishing connection of the communication terminal #2, and requesting transfer of the communications to the control apparatus Y of the communication network as shown by arrow 202.
The control apparatus Y receiving the control information transmits control information for instructing to connect to the server apparatus X to the communication terminal #2 as shown by arrow 203 and thereby places a call to the communication terminal #2, and when the communication terminal #2 responds to the call as shown by arrow 204, the communication channel is set between communication terminal #2 and server apparatus X to establish connection.
Subsequently, by transmission and reception of the control information between the communication terminal #1 of a transfer source and control apparatus Y as shown by arrow 205, the connection between the communication terminal #1 and server apparatus X is disconnected, and the communication terminal #2 transmits control information shown by arrow 206 for requesting to resume suspended communications to the server apparatus X, and thus receives subsequent data.
In this example, the control apparatus Y on the communication network has the control function of setting call connection to another terminal to transfer, but does not have the function of controlling suspension and resuming of data transmission/reception between the communication terminal and server apparatus, not guaranteeing continuation of communications i.e. seamless switching.
Further, in this example, the control apparatus Y on the communication network only transfers call connection from one communication terminal to another communication terminal, while neither considering the speech reproduction capability and display capability of the communication terminal #2 of the switching destination nor converting to a content form suitable for the capability, and therefore, the user needs to request conversion to content data suitable for the terminal capability to the server apparatus X from the communication terminal #2 of the transfer destination.    Non-patent Document 1: Yabusaki et al. "Story on Mobile Network All-IP" NTT DoCoMo Technical Journal Vol. 10, No. 4 January, 2003, P. 6-34    Non-patent Document 2: Imai et al. "Service handoff mechanism to achieve ubiquitous applications", 4th CINAG symposium, 2002, P. 112-113    Non-patent Document 3: Kaneko et al. "Session layer mobility support for dynamic network service", 4th CINAG symposium, 2002, P. 114-115

Communication network control system, communication terminal, and communication network control method

Abstract: Provided are mobility management means (120) for performing call control and the like, service management means (130) for managing a session while controlling a start, suspension, resuming and releasing of session connection, and exerted are a function of receiving a switching request signal from the communication terminal of a switching source, and instructing the mobility management means (120) to perform call connection to the communication terminal of a switching destination that does not perform communications, another function of notifying the communication terminal of the switching destination of state information of the session executed between a communicating-apparatus communication terminal and the communication terminal of the switching source, and still another function of establishing new session connection between the communication terminal of the switching destination and the communicating-apparatus communication terminal.


A process and a device for the sorting of bottles, in which unsorted bottles received in crates and identified according to type are removed from the crates at least partly and are then inserted again into different crates according to type without intermediate storage. Due to this, crates with only one type of bottles can be produced in a small space with low cost expenditure and smooth-running bottle transport.

The invention relates to a process and a device for the sorting of bottles being received unsorted in crates.
It is already known to jointly remove bottles belonging to a specific type by means of an unpacking means with individually controllable gripping bells and to deposit them on a multi-track conveyor (DE-OS 25 34 183). The removed bottles are taken away by the conveyor and temporarily stored until a sufficiently great number is available, which is then inserted again into crates by means of a specific packing means. In this fashion, crates with only one type can be obtained or a bottle filling system can be fed with bottle material of only one type. However, the great machine expenditure and the large space requirements are disadvantageous, since a specific intermediate or storage conveyor and a specific packing means are required for each bottle type to be removed. In addition to this, there is the risk of disturbances due to bottles having tipped over or being jammed in the area of the intermediate conveyor, at whose end the bottles must again be sorted again into lanes so that they can be properly gripped by the gripping bells of the packing means.
The same applies mutatis mutandis to another known process and the associated device, in which, first of all, all bottles are removed from the crates in unsorted fashion by an unpacking means, reorganized to an individual rapid-speed row, checked and sorted, slowed down, stored separately and finally inserted again into crates by means of a packing means (DE-OS 29 21 640).
This invention is based on the object of providing a process and a device for the sorting of bottles with which crates with only one type can be obtained with small space and cost expenditure and smooth-running bottle transport.

Process and device for the sorting of bottles


A semiconductor component includes adjustment circuitry configured to adjust selected physical and electrical characteristics of the component or elements thereof, and an input/output configuration of the component. The component includes a semiconductor die, a substrate attached to the die, and terminal contacts on the substrate. The adjustment circuitry includes conductors and programmable links, such as fuses or anti-fuses, in electrical communication with the die and the terminal contacts. The adjustment circuit can also include capacitors and inductance conductors. The programmable links can be placed in a selected state (e.g., short or open) using a laser or programming signals. A method for fabricating the component includes the steps of forming the adjustment circuitry, and then placing the programmable links in the selected state to achieve the selected adjustment.

Semiconductor components, such as chip scale packages, ball grid array (BGA) devices, flip chip devices, and bare dice include terminal contacts, such as contact balls, contact bumps or contact pins. The terminal contacts provide the input/output configuration for a component, and permit the component to be surface mounted to a supporting substrate, such as a printed circuit board (PCB). Semiconductor components also include semiconductor dice, and the terminal contacts can be formed on substrates attached to the dice, or in some cases formed directly on the dice. For some components, such as chip scale packages, BGA devices, and bumped dice, the terminal contacts can be arranged in a dense grid array, such as a ball grid array (BGA), or a fine ball grid array (FBGA).
The terminal contacts are in electrical communication with integrated circuits, and other electrical elements, contained on the dice. Typically the components include patterns of conductors that provide separate electrical paths between the terminal contacts and the integrated circuits. The conductors can comprise metal traces formed on substrates attached to the dice, or formed directly on the dice. The physical and electrical characteristics of these conductors can affect the performance of the component, and the integrity of the signals transmitted through the terminal contacts to or from the integrated circuits on the component.
For example, plating buses are routinely used to electrically connect all of the conductors on a component during the fabrication process. The plating buses facilitate plating of bonding pads for the terminal contacts, and wire bonding pads for wire bonding the conductors to the dice. Following the plating process, the plating buses are trimmed, such that the conductors are no longer electrically connected to one another. However, portions of the plating buses can remain on some of the conductors following the trimming process. These remnant portions of the plating buses add mass and length to the conductors, which can affect electrical characteristics, such as inductance, capacitance and resistance. Other physical characteristics such as overall lengths, location on the component and proximity to other elements can also affect the electrical characteristics of the conductors.
The terminal contacts associated with the conductors will also have different electrical characteristics, and the characteristics of the signals transmitted through the terminal contacts will be different. These signal variations can adversely affect the operation of the integrated circuits on the components, particularly at high clocking speeds (e.g., 500 MHz or greater). It would be desirable to have the capability to adjust the electrical characteristics of the conductors and terminal contacts for semiconductor components, and of other elements of the components as well.
It would be also be advantageous to be able to adjust the electrical configuration of the components as well. For example, it may be necessary to electrically connect or disconnect different terminal contacts on a component to alter the input/output configuration of the component. This may be necessary because standardized components are often fabricated with different types of dice. As such, the configuration of the terminal contacts for a component containing a die with a ×4 pin assignment configuration may be different than the configuration required for the same component having a die with a ×16 pin assignment configuration. In the prior art different input/output configurations have been achieved by using different layouts for the terminal contacts and the conductors, or by using different wire bonding arrangements between the dice and the conductors.
Also in the prior art, fuses have been used for isolating defective circuitry and for substituting redundant circuitry on a component. For example, a 16 megabit DRAM memory die may have a small percentage of cells that fail following burn-in testing. Fuses can be used to isolate defective integrated circuitry, and to substitute redundant integrated circuitry. Fuses can be controlled using electrical signals, or by using a laser beam directed at a portion of the fuse.
Fuses have also been used in the art to lock in operating clock multipliers for microprocessor components. This type of microprocessor is manufactured by Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. of Sunnyvale, Calif., under the trademark "ATHLON".
The present invention provides a method for adjusting the characteristics of semiconductor components and elements thereof, and for customizing the input/output and electrical configuration of semiconductor components as well.

Method for fabricating semiconductor component with adjustment circuitry for electrical characteristics or input/output configuration


A jewelry storage apparatus is disclosed that combine a traditional jewelry storage box with a hanger to utilize vertical space in a closet. One embodiment is an apparatus for storing jewelry that comprises a hanger and a storage structure affixed to the hanger where the storage structure comprises a ring structure with a base and compression slits for holding rings in a display mode, a bracelet structure for suspending bracelets, an earring structure for displaying earrings, and a necklace structure for hanging necklaces. The apparatus is suitable for storing in a display-mode a large amount of various types of jewelry including rings, necklaces, earrings and bracelets in both a scratch-free mode and a tangle-free manner.

There is a need for an apparatus to store larger quantities and more varied forms of jewelry in an easily displayed and a space saving manner off of countertops and floors, without getting jewelry pieces tangled up.
Typically jewelry is stored in boxes and organizers. However, boxes and organizers have limited space that results in jewelry often being crowded when it is stored. Crowding causes the tangling of items especially necklaces. Additionally, existing jewelry boxes and organizers are very limited in the amount of jewelry they can hold requiring a person to purchase additional boxes. The drawback is twofold, spending more money and taking up more counter or floor space. Furthermore, rummaging through many drawers in a jewelry box is inconvenient.
The need to store more jewelry has increased. In recent years jewelry makers have increased the color, style and choices available so that women can more closely and uniquely match jewelry with their outfits and personalities. As a result, the public has been buying more than ever before. The jewelry "box" and armoires that have been the standard of containing these items in the home are causing a greater level of irritation as pieces of jewelry become more tangles and scratched and the number of boxes to search multiplies. Earring and necklace sets more often become separated.
Vertical storage devices have been known but are inadequate. These devices do not permit display of a wide enough variety of types of jewelry. Often the devices are able to display necklaces in an untangled hanging mode and bracelets suspended to avoid scratching. However, none permit easy display of rings in compression slits as seen in jewelry store boxes. Thus, sets of rings, bracelets, earrings and necklaces for various outfits are difficult to find or assemble.
There is still an increasing need for a jewelry organizer which holds large amounts of a wide array of different types of jewelry in a limited space, keeping all pieces tangle free while displaying them in open view.


Disclosed is an improved poultry feed diet composition and uses incorporating the feed composition. The feed composition includes byproduct or waste material from citrus juice extraction. The citrus byproduct or waste is at a concentration characteristic of a feed supplement. These feed supplements improve poultry characteristics and enhance feed conversion when compared with traditional poultry feed diets or supplements which rely on components that are not in their respective native states as present in citrus byproduct from juice extraction equipment.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to feed for commercial poultry raising facilities, along with a process for improving and enhancing the commercial value of poultry raised on the feed. The invention also provides a valuable and economically attractive use of dried citrus peel or pulp byproduct or waste in commercial poultry raising operations. Citrus byproduct is used at relatively low levels as a feed supplement to improve the performance of the feed and add significant economic value while maintaining or enhancing bird health.
2. Description of Related Art
Current commercial-scale poultry raising operations house the poultry in confined spaces. Feed and water is made available to the chicks so they can mature into adult birds which typically are intended as a food source. Generally, these are high volume facilities, and efficiency and cost control are extremely important. While the majority of these operations are for chicken production, other poultry can be included, such as turkey, ducks, geese and less common poultry as well.
Poultry feed for these types of commercial operations is formulated in an effort to maximize feed efficiency by improving properties such as live weight gain, feed conversion, adjusted feed conversion and mortality, while seeking to avoid unnecessary feed costs and negative effects on the health of the live birds and the commercial acceptability of the carcass meat for human consumption.
Citrus byproducts have been used extensively for many years (or have been proposed for use) as feed for cattle and other mammals. These uses incorporate citrus byproduct as a food source blended with typical silage sources. Uses or proposed uses of citrus byproducts as feed components for other animals also is generally known. Prior proposals have been made with respect to poultry feed or diet uses for citrus originating materials. Information of interest in this regard includes the following.
Hutton, "Citrus Pulp in Formulated Diets", Recent Advances in Animal Nutrition in Australia: 1987, Farrell, ed, Armdale, Australia, discusses including dried citrus pulp in formulated diets for poultry. The suggestion reported in this publication is to utilize 5 percent dried grapefruit pulp. An article referenced in this connection is El Moghazy et al, "Some Neglected Poultry Feed Stuffs from Vegetable and Fruit Wastes," 1982. This article summarizes feeding trials with dried citrus sludge or dried citrus pulp as a feedstuff component at about 7.5 weight percent.
In their "Studies on Utilization of Citrus Byproducts as Livestock Feeds", Korean Journal of Animal Science, 26(3), 244–250, 1984 and 27(10), 673–678, 1985, Yang and Chung report information concerning the feeding value of citrus byproducts on broiler chicks and layer hens. Feed blends including between 5 percent and 15 percent by weight of dried citrus pulp and/or peel are noted. These articles suggest an overall conclusion that feeding dried citrus pulp or peel is detrimental to weight gain and feed conversion values. Velloso, "Use of Citrus Pulp in Animal Feeding", University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, 1985, reports that broilers that have reached twenty one days of age can utilize up to 5 percent citrus pulp in their diet. Table 6 of this article reports feeding at 20 percent, 40 percent and 60 percent as an in affect replacement of milo.
Deyoe et al, "Citrus Biflavonoids in Broiler Diets", Poultry Science, Volume 41, pages 1088–1090, 1962, reports upon a non-isocholoric addition of as low as 0.5 percent of "citrus bioflavonoids" (from Sunkist Growers, Ontario, Calif.) without specifying or identifying the bioflavonoids. This article acknowledges the bioflavonoid material hesperidin as a bioflavonoid. This article generally reports that mortality was reduced as the level of citrus bioflavonoid inclusion was increased (up to 5 percent), with a poorer feed conversion performance at higher levels.
Tamasaukas et al, "Evaluation of the Efficacy of Salstop and Digestor Broilers (Citrade C.A.), Two Products Derived From Citrus Fruit Seed Extracts, Against Avin Coccidiosis: Floor Pen Studies," FLAP, Parasitol al Dia 20: 118–124, 1996, reports on testing of citrus fruit seed extracts for use against coccidiosis in broilers. Each seed extract was added to the broiler feed at relatively low levels. The extracted components were used at levels as low as 500 grams/ton of food.
Much of this literature indicates that citrus byproducts such as dried citrus peel or pulp can be used as a feed component at levels of about 5 percent or above, but not too far above the generally satisfactory 5 percent level. Even at these relatively low levels, these reported results are mixed in that feed efficiency and bird health aspects can be inconsistent in generally providing positive results in one area at the expense of seeing negative results in another area. This problem is not clearly solved by incorporating only bioflavonoids or extracts from citrus seeds. Besides the reported mixed results, using bioflavonoids or seed extracts adds having to separate the natural combination of citrus waste into individual bioflavonoids or extracts through separation or isolation techniques.
A particularly desirable solution would be to be able to use an inexpensive natural additive to poultry feed in order to enhance feed performance without detrimentally affecting the birds' health or mortality. Effective materials which are byproducts that do not require isolation or extraction to be suitable for use in poultry feed are recognized herein as being of value in this regard when used at levels characteristic of a feed supplement rather than at levels of a component of a feed blend, typically one which is intended to provide food value.

Dried citrus peel supplement for use in commercial poultry feed


A gas turbine having internally cooled thermal barrier coated turbine blades is disclosed. The turbine blades are made from an alloy substrate exhibiting a low coefficient of thermal expansion, an intermediate bond coating and an exterior ceramic coating. Cooling fluid is supplied from the shaft of the compressor where it flows into and out of the turbine blade. Thermal barrier coated turbine blades result in more efficient gas turbine designs.

In order to increase the efficiency of gas turbine power plants, both mobile and fixed, there usually must be a concomitant increase in the operating temperatures and pressures of these devices. Components made from superalloys and coated materials have allowed increased operating parameters.
By the same token, cooling air has allowed these units to operate at higher turbine inlet temperatures. Air cooling has permitted a rise in advanced turbine design inlet temperatures from 1100.degree. C. (2012.degree. F.) for uncooled blades to 1450.degree. C. (2542.degree. F.) for air cooled blades.
In some designs, the air is exhausted through many small holes in the blade, the blade root, the vane or the vane root. For the purpose of discussion, unless otherwise indicated the terms "blade" and "vane" may be used interchangeably. The cooling air, cooler than the hot expanded turbine gas, provides film cooling as well as direct internal cooling of the blade. In other designs, the cooling air is internally routed through the body of the blade. Examples of these designs may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,415,310; 3,275,294; 4,040,767; 3,909,412; 3,782,852; 3,584,458; 2,618,120; 3,647,313; and 2,487,514. Other designs are developed in Canadian patent 991,829 and U.K. patent 602,530. The aforementioned U.K. patent utilizes thermal barrier coatings and exhausts the cooling air from the trailing edge.
Current standard uncooled turbines usually operate at about 930.degree. C. (1706.degree. F.). Cooled blades, vanes (or stators) and discs operate in the 1316.degree.-1450.degree. C. (2400.degree. F.-2642.degree. F.) range. Cooling air is bled from the compressor and routed into and around the blades and vanes. Cooling is accomplished by film, transpirational and convective modes.
Current designs have a drawback in that the cooling air exits into a relatively high pressure gas stream. This requires the full compressor pressure to be used for the cooling air. Also, any exposed holes in the blade or root of the blade that has a thermal barrier coating can lead to premature failure of the ceramic coating. The degree of cooling of the blade is mainly a function of the mass flow rate of the cooling air that flows past it and is not particularly affected by the pressure of the air. It has been determined that the performance of the blades with thermal barrier coatings are limited by the cooling air. What is needed to push the gas turbine to higher performances is to use a thermal barrier coating on the blades and vanes and to change the internal air cooling system and integrate it with the turbine system.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,900,640, commonly assigned, discloses the concept of using a ceramic thermal barrier coating on a controlled expansion alloy with a coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) such that it approximately matches the CTE of the overlaying ceramic. With the matched CTE's, the ceramic does not spall off the metal during thermal cycling. Use of the matched CTE's also allows a thicker ceramic with better insulating properties to be used than was previously the case with unmatched CTE's. The thicker thermal barrier coatings accompanied by new internal cooling arrangements disclosed and claimed here can lead to improved turbine performance.


PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an elastic nonwoven fabric with a good elasticity, adequate strength under elongation, good antiblocking property and favorable feeling, suitable for fiber products, at low cost, as well as fiber products using the same.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to elastic nonwoven fabric and fiber products manufactured therefrom. More specifically, it relates to elastic nonwoven fabric having a good elasticity, adequate strength under elongation, good antiblocking property, and favorable feeling, which is relatively inexpensive and suitable for fiber products.
2. Description of the Related Art
Elastic nonwoven fabrics have often been used recently to improve body fitting of clothes to the body. Such fabrics are particularly suitable for disposable diapers, clothes, caps, bandages and tapes due to their comfortable fit, elasticity and stretching property. While thermoplastic elastomers are often used to obtain nonwoven fabrics with such properties as mentioned above, most thermoplastic elastomers tend to show higher adhesiveness with higher elasticity. This renders elastic nonwoven fabrics made from highly elastic thermoplastic elastomers unsuitable, or at most usable only with uncomfortable feeling, for products directly applied to the skin under clothes.
Another problem of such nonwoven fabrics is the adhesiveness, by which the component fibers stick to each other during production or storage, particularly under high temperatures and the weight of a pile in storage in summer, which results in a higher tension needed for unwinding a roll of such a nonwoven fabric, thus often leading to excessive stretch or breakdown of the product. Low adhesiveness, or antiblocking nonwoven fabric is needed to solve this problem.
A method for obtaining good antiblocking property is to spin the fiber for nonwoven fabrics from a mixture of a thermoplastic elastomer with a low adhesiveness polyolefin, as disclosed in Reference 1. However, the nonwoven fabric obtained in this manner shows an insufficient antiblocking property due to scarcity of the polyolefin on the fiber surface, and a low elasticity due to the polyolefin that has only a low elasticity, and is thus unsuitable for uses mentioned above.
Another invention provides a nonwoven fabric consisting of an elastomeric fiber made from a thermoplastic elastomer blended with a nonelastomeric fiber made from a nonelastomeric thermoplastic, as disclosed in Reference 2. This product is, however, a simple mixture of the two fibers without any attempt to obtain high elasticity and antiblocking property simultaneously. In fact, a composition of elastomeric fiber/nonelastomeric fiber=30/70 on the weight basis described in the examples 1 and 2 of the invention, present in an excessive proportion of the nonelastomeric fibers, without any treatment to endow the fabric a high elasticity, cannot provide the excellent performance desired.
Patent Reference 1
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-81230
Patent Reference 2
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-242069
Problems to Be Solved by the Invention
The object of the present invention is to provide a nonwoven fabric with a good elasticity, adequate strength under elongation, good antiblocking property and favorable feeling, suitable for fiber products, at low cost, as well as fiber products using the same.
The present inventors have found that the requirements above are met by an elastic nonwoven fabric containing a long elastomeric fiber and a nonelastomeric fiber at a ratio ranging from 50/50 to 95/5 on a weight basis, wherein an elongation recovery rate of the nonwoven fabric after 50% elongation is 70% or higher, and a separation resistance of two sheets of the same is equal to or less than the strength at 50% elongation.

Elastic nonwoven fabric and fiber products manufactured therefrom

Abstract: SOLUTION: An elastic nonwoven fabric comprising long elastomeric fiber and nonelastomeric fiber in a weight ratio within a range from 50/50 to 95/5, which has an elongation recovery rate of the elastic nonwoven fabric after 50% elongation equal to or higher than 70%, and a resistance to peel two sheets of the nonwoven fabric apart equal to or lower than the strength of the fabric under 50% elongation; as well as fiber products using the same.


A medicament-free device (e.g., a smartphone device) for simulating a medicament dispenser may include a sensing device and a processor. The sensing device may sense a user action performed upon the medicament-free device and may output sense data. The processor may receive the sense data, compare the sense data with predefined data, and provide feedback based on how the sense data compares to the predefined data. The predefined data may be indicative of a model user action associated with the medicament dispenser.

It is important that patients properly adhere to medicament usage advice. For example, adhering to advice regarding medicament usage with respect to prescribed and/or recommended techniques of dispensing a medicament may be a significant factor in improving the results of medical treatments. Non-adherence to medicament usage advice may negatively affect health outcomes and the effectiveness of therapeutics.


An integrated test device reduces external wiring congestion to a memory. The integrated test device provides for separate decoder testing and debugging to find specific errors in the memory. The device also helps in reducing the complexity of the test of external BIST. Furthermore, the number of clock cycles required for the decoder testing for an N-address memory is reduced from 4N cycles to N clock cycles. Additionally, the access time for the memory is reduced as the test device is used as a pipelining device in normal operation mode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to improved area efficient memory architecture with decoder self test and debug capability. More particularly, it relates to providing an integrated test architecture/methodology within the memory for high-speed address decoder testing and high speed memory operation.
2. Description of the Related Art
Over the years, semiconductor devices have become considerably smaller and faster. The semiconductor technology trends have consistently followed Moore's Law as the technology has shrunk by a factor of 1.5 every year. The miniaturization of devices has also resulted in increased complexity and consequently higher clock speeds for integrated circuits. For instance, complex application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) today have several million transistors on a single chip. Since these chips can hold more transistors, a single chip has more logic blocks. As a result, on-chip memories have become extremely popular for fast memory access in System on Chip (SoC) devices. Each memory block takes up significant silicon area and as a result, most of the silicon area on ASICs is dedicated to these embedded memories. As ASIC designs become more memory dominated, the probability of memory errors has increased due to manufacturing faults and process variations. Hence, Design for Test (DFT) and test reliability are very important aspects in the ASIC design process.
The testing is done using on-chip test devices called Built in Self Test (BIST) devices. These BISTs perform failure testing on the memories at very high clock speeds. This is a major bottleneck for the development of reliable high-speed ASICs as most of the current BIST architectures do not provide reliable memory testing at high clock speeds. The few current BIST devices that do provide reliable testing are very inefficient in terms of operation speed.
Today's embedded memories are full custom volatile random access memories (RAMs) that are designed and optimized for high speed, low power and small area. These memories are categorized by their operation mode as synchronous or asynchronous memories. While the synchronous memories perform operations on the edges of the input clock, the operations inside the asynchronous memories are independent of the input clock. The memories are also categorized by their storage means and detection techniques into static or dynamic RAMs (SRAMs/DRAMs). DRAMs occupy less silicon area but the storage elements in DRAMs have to be refreshed at regular intervals. SRAMs are larger memories that do not require regular refreshes and as a result, they have faster access times and are ideal for high speed ASICs. The present invention is discussed in relation to synchronous memories, but the same fundamentals can also be applied to the asynchronous memories as well.
FIG. 1 illustrates the structure of a known single port embedded memory 10. The memory contains a data input port (DATA INPUT), an address port (ADDRESS), a memory select port (CSN), an output enable port (OEN), an external clock port (CLOCK), a write enable port (WEN), and an output port (DATA OUTPUT) or a subset of these I/O ports. The structure has an address decoder 12, a control/clock generator 14, a memory core 16, and I/O port blocks 18. Similarly, a dual port memory structure contains two decoders (X and Y decoders), a control/clock generation circuitry, a memory core, I/O port blocks, and several dummy paths. All mentioned blocks are made in form of leaf cells and are abutted to form a memory block of desired word×bit configuration. Hence, full memory design process involves designing all the leaf cells in a new technology and altering the design parameters for interaction between leaf cells for proper memory functioning.
Correct operation of the address decoder and all other leaf cells is very important for proper functioning of the memory. A normal address decoder in a memory contains latches to store the addresses. These addresses are statically decoded and the valid decoded value is clocked to select a row or column (or both) in the memory core to write onto or read from the memory cells. In dynamic decoders the row select signal called the wordline is subjected to a precharge mechanism using an internally generated memory clock. The decoder outputs or the word lines are then used to select the memory cell enable pins. Manufacturing defects in the address decoder can result in faults like stuck-at on the word lines, wrong selection and multiple word line selections. These faults arise when the setup or hold time requirements for decoder latches are not met or there are some other timing problems with the block.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,470,475 relates to a synthesizable synchronous static random access memory that comprises custom built memory cells and a semi-custom input/output/precharge section in bit slice form, a semi-custom built decoder connected to the bit slice, and a semi-custom built control clock generation section connected to the semi-custom built decoder and input/output section. The components may be arranged to provide high-speed access, easy testability, and asynchronous initialization capabilities while reducing design time, and in a size that is significantly smaller than existing semi-custom or standard cell based memory designs. The limitation of the aforementioned patent document is that it does not suggest high speed and minimal clock cycle testing of the memory address decoder.
In prior art, a Built in Self Test (BIST) device performs fault testing for all leaf cells in a memory and generates results for memory as a block. The most common way to detect the address decoder faults is to use some standard march algorithms which contain special march elements in a specified order. These algorithms have several disadvantages as they are highly unreliable in detecting the address decoder faults. As mentioned in book 'Testing Semiconductor Memories: Theory And Practice' by A. J. Vande Goor, the disadvantages of current memory testing devices and more specifically decoder testing are as follows:
The tests take about four operations per word to detect the address decoder faults. Hence, the test time for memory address decoder is very large if the memory size is big.
Some other kinds of faults like coupling faults or IO faults may mask the address decoder faults as the fault is detected through the memory output port.
There is no way of viewing the address decoder faults as the paths come out through the memory core.
Debugging the address decoder faults is very hard as segregating the decoder faults from other faults is not possible.

Area efficient memory architecture with decoder self test and debug capability


A flywheel uninterruptible power source has a charging system that uses a high frequency pulse width modulated inverter inside the motor drive with a very low frequency, line commutated converter that regulates by switching the alternating current from the utility power at frequencies under 200 Hz and 60 Hz. The placement of the motor power regulation switching is moved from the motor drive preferably to the input AC line current that provides power to charge the flywheel system. The switching is preferably done using natural commutation so that the devices are turned off when the current passes through zero for very low loss and device stresses. Preferable devices for switching include thyristors or triacs. The turn on switching can be accomplished using phase angle firing or in one embodiment zero cross over switching is employed to reduce harmonic distortion and radio frequency interference to the primary source.

This invention pertains to a flywheel uninterruptible power source and more particularly to a flywheel energy charging system that provides increased life, reliability and efficiency over previous designs. The charging system also includes a safety mechanism that prevents operation of the flywheel when the vacuum surrounding the flywheel is degraded.
Flywheel uninterruptible power supplies have emerged as an alternative to electrochemical batteries for prevention of power interruptions to critical loads. Electrochemical batteries used in these applications, in particular, valve regulated lead acid batteries, have many undesirable traits. The life of batteries is short, typically between 1 to 7 years depending on the environment and use. They require periodic maintenance and inspection, are subject to thermal degradation and can fail unpredictably. Lead acid batteries and other types as well are also environmentally noxious. However, lead acid batteries are relatively inexpensive. Flywheel systems show promise to eliminate the disadvantages of batteries with the expectation of achieving 20 year lives with minimal or no maintenance, temperature insensitivity, previously unachievable reliability while being environmentally benign.
A flywheel uninterruptible power source is shown in FIG. 1. The power source 10 includes a high-speed flywheel 12, in which energy is stored in the form of rotating inertia. Flywheels can be either constructed of metal or of composite materials. The flywheel is supported for rotation using upper and lower bearings 14 and 15. The flywheel can be supported on mechanical bearings, magnetic bearings or a combination. An attached motor/generator 16 is used to accelerate and decelerate the flywheel 12 for storing or retrieving energy. Many designs of motor/generators exist and can be employed. Motor/generators can also be made as separate components. To reduce the losses from aerodynamic drag, the interior 13 of the housing 11 surrounding the flywheel 12 is maintained at a low pressure, or for slower flywheels it can be filled with a gas of small molecule size such as helium. The flywheel uninterruptible power supply 10 includes electrical connection for operation and conversion of power. Utility power 21 is input to the input conversion 20 and power is supplied to a critical load 19 through output conversion 18. A system control 17 provides control for the system 10. The system control 17 controls the operation of the flywheel 12 by limiting currents 22, controlling speed 23 and also by monitoring parameters through diagnostics 24.
Regardless of the physical design employed, the operating life of the power source and its components is preferably maximized in order to offset the higher initial cost of the flywheel system over batteries by actually becoming cheaper when considered over the life of the power source. One element of flywheel uninterruptible power supplies that deserves particular attention is the power system electronics. Designing electronics for an operating life that is preferably greater than 10-20 years without failures is challenging.
A power system configuration of previous flywheel uninterruptible power supplies is shown in FIG. 2. The power system 30 takes in utility power 31 and supplies protected direct current power at the output 32. For many telecommunications systems such as telephone and wireless, the output voltage 32 required is xe2x88x9248 volts or 24 volts. For other applications, such as high power ride-through for data centers or critical manufacturing, the input and output voltages are higher. The input voltage 31 is rectified to a DC bus 34 using a rectifier 33 which can be either controlled or uncontrolled. The DC bus 34 supplies power to a PWM (pulse width modulated) inverter 36 also known as a servo amplifier. The servo amplifier 36 converts the DC current in the bus 34 to synchronous alternating current 37 that provides power to the flywheel motor/generator to accelerate the flywheel to normal operating speed. When the utility power is operating normally, the DC voltage in the bus 34 is converted to the output voltage 32 using a DC-DC converter 35.
During an interruption in the utility power 31, energy from the rotating flywheel supplies power to the output 32 by providing power to the DC bus. The inverter 36 provides power to the DC bus instantly and automatically when the utility power is discontinued typically by the antiparallel diodes included with the H-bridge, not shown, inside the inverter 36 or through use of a paralleled separate rectifier, not shown. Power automatically flows back and is rectified to the DC bus whenever the generator voltage is greater than the DC bus 34. As the flywheel speed slows, the voltage to the DC bus drops. The output DC-DC converter 35 maintains the constant output voltage 32 during discharging of the flywheel.
The charging of the flywheel uninterruptible power source 30 is regulated through use of the PWM inverter 36. The PWM inverter uses high frequency (xe2x88x9220 kHz) switching that chops the DC bus voltage 34 into varying width pulses that are combined to provide regulation that results in current control and speed control for the flywheel. The high frequency switching yields in several trillion cycles on the semiconductor switches in the inverter over a 20 year system life. The high number of switching cycles of the direct current stresses the inverter and could potentially result premature failures of the flywheel power source. The diagnostics of the flywheel system can also potentially have components with operating lives of concern. This is especially true if vacuum monitoring gauges are used. Vacuum gauges such as ion and thermocouple gauges are unlikely to last for the life of the power system and also are expensive
The invention is a flywheel uninterruptible power source having a charging system that provides increased life and reliability compared to previous systems. The charging system works by replacing the current regulation and/or speed control normally accomplished by a high frequency pulse width modulated inverter with a very low frequency, line commutated converter that regulates by switching the alternating current from the utility power. Pulse width modulation inverters or motor drives for high speed motors have typically 3 phase designs that invert a DC input voltage from the supply bus to a high frequency synchronous alternating current that drives the motor. In most applications, the voltage of the DC bus is fixed because it is typically the output of a fixed DC power supply.
The speed control and current control for the motor are achieved by using high frequency (xcx9c20 kHz) pulse width modulation inside the motor drive. The very high frequency is required so that the speed of the motor can be held nearly constant and free of pulsations. In contrast, the invention takes into account the very unusual application of flywheel systems. An energy storage flywheel is a unique application for a high-speed motor. The high-speed motor is coupled to a very large rotational inertia for the sole purpose of storing energy. Such flywheels can take 8 hours or more to accelerate from stopped to 30,000 rpm. Because of the large inertia coupled to the high-speed motor, speed fluxuations and pulsations are not an issue. Regardless of any torque pulsations, the only goal is to store energy in the rotating flywheel and if the energy is added in pulses, it makes no difference because the energy is being added. Therefore, the disclosed invention makes use of the uniquely stable rotational speed of energy storage flywheels by reducing the speed regulation frequency to conventional line current frequencies, frequencies under 200 Hz and 60 Hz in particular.
By reducing the switching frequency, the switching losses are reduced and the life and reliability of the switches are greatly extended. The switching losses are linearly proportional to the switching frequency. The drawback of the lower frequency switching is increased size of the inductor and capacitor filter components, however the increased life is more important for flywheel systems. The larger filter components can also be included inside the already large and heavy flywheel unit. The placement of the motor power regulation switching is moved from the motor drive preferably to the input AC line current that provides power to charge the flywheel system. The switching is preferably done using natural commutation so that the devices are turned off when the current passes through zero for very low loss and device stresses. Preferable devices for switching include thyristors or triacs. The turn on switching can be accomplished using phase angle firing or in one embodiment zero cross over switching is employed to reduce harmonic distortion and radio frequency interference to the primary source.
In another embodiment, the direct current voltage that is supplied to the inverter controlling the motor is increased by 1.5 times or more than if the primary source voltage was directly rectified. The advantage of increasing the voltage sent to the inverter is that the resistive losses in the motor/generator and other components can be reduced, the wire size and vacuum wire feedthrough sizes can be reduced and depending of the output conversion method, more energy can be extracted from the flywheel by allowing it to be discharged over a greater range of speed. The voltage can be simply increased by a use of a voltage multiplier rectifier and a version of voltage doubling rectifier can also allow for dual voltage installation. Alternatively, the voltage can be increased using a step up transformer, which has the benefit of providing isolation for the flywheel system.
In yet another embodiment, the charging system of the flywheel uninterruptible power source prevents acceleration of the flywheel if the drag is determined to be above a certain level. This is an important safety feature in preventing the flywheel from overheating. Drag can be caused by the bearing system, inadequate vacuum level or other sources. The charging system can measure the drag on the flywheel through the acceleration at a given speed and charging current. The threshold level of drag that signals to prevent accelerations can increase as the speed increases. By this method, the rotating flywheel can detect the level of vacuum and importantly can detect if the vacuum level is insufficient prior to acceleration to high speeds. This is particularly important for composite flywheels which can easily over heat and fail with a poor vacuum due to the high speed and low thermal capability and conductivity. Alternatively, the flywheel drag can be found by the level of current required to maintain a certain speed. The advantage of determining drag from the flywheel""s performance is that conventional vacuum gauges can be eliminated and the life of the system greatly increased. Vacuum gauges such as thermocouple and ion gauges are expensive and not robust. The invention is applicable for use in types of flywheel systems including long term and short term, high power and low power flywheel uninterruptible power sources.


This invention relates to methods of making visually uniform, light transmitting panels and to the resulting panels, which include a cellular core sandwiched between two light transmitting sheets and possess improved light transmitting characteristics.

This application relates to light transmitting panels useful in the architectural and design fields.
Many applications in the architectural and other design fields benefit from visually uniform, rigid, lightweight, light-transmitting structural panels that can be utilized not only to divide space or provide support, but also to transmit or manipulate light and provide privacy. For example, light transmitting panels may be incorporated into furniture, exhibits, residential or office walls, fixed or movable partitions, ceiling panels, work surfaces, shelving, sign panels, light diffusers, flooring, roofing and the like.
There are a number of qualities which are desirable in such light transmitting panels. They are preferably visually uniform to provide the finished product with a high level of quality, but not unduly expensive to manufacture. In addition, they should provide characteristics comparable to those of conventional panels in terms of workability during on-site fabrication by the end user and architectural properties such as strength and stiffness.
Light transmitting panels comprising a light-weight honeycomb structure or other cellular structure, sandwiched between two light transmitting plastic sheets have been used in the past, but such prior panels have not possessed the combination of visual uniformity and structural performance of the present invention.
A major problem with prior light transmitting panels is the presence of fillets of glue (narrow areas of glue) which, because of past manufacturing techniques, tend to occur at places where the light transmitting sheet touches the edges of the cellular structure. The glue, not necessarily being perfectly transparent and having an index of refraction different from air, tends to prohibit, bend or deflect the flow of light. These fillets may be in the range of about 0.030 to 0.125 inches wide. Also using previous manufacturing techniques, the exact size and opacity of the fillet was difficult if not impossible to control due to the uneven migration of adhesive to the point of contact between the cell wall and face sheet. Liquid adhesives or adhesives that liquify during heating could tend in previous processes to run or drop to the lower face sheet due to gravity, resulting in larger fillets on one side of the panel. In addition, air trapped between an adhesive film and a translucent sheet can cause bubbles and other visual non-uniformities in a light transmitting panel. Previous methods of manufacture had a tendency to produce such defects, reducing the desirability and value of the panels in the architectural and design fields.
Another major problem occurring in current light transmitting panels, also due to manufacturing techniques that utilize adhesive films between the translucent sheet and the cellular structure, is the tendency of the film to separate from the sheet in areas between the edges of each cell. Because these separations alter the transmission and reflective properties of the panel, such panels have a visually non-uniform appearance.
While such non-uniformities may be acceptable for applications where panels do not transmit light, they are undesirable for panels in architectural and other design uses that transmit light and where visual consistency is important.
Methods of making honeycomb core panels have been known, but they have failed to provide the high degree of visual uniformity and other characteristics of the present invention. For example, Meier U.S. Pat. No. 5,667,867 relates to the use of two adhesive films, one applied to a sheet for an outer layer and one to a honeycomb core. The adhesive film on the core is treated to form droplets of adhesive at the edges of the cells of the core. The sheet and core are then brought into contact, and the droplets result in an adhesive contour, which is undesirable from the point of view of visual uniformity.
As another example, Fornier et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,888,610 relates to using an adhesive film to bind a skin to a core, but the patent teaches heating the film to make the glue flow and bind the sheet to the core by forming a meniscus at the skin/core interface. Again, this flow and meniscus are undesirable in terms of visual uniformity of a light transmitting panel.
In another example, epoxy adhesive have been used to bind transparent sheets to cores. The epoxy has been applied to the sheet as a liquid and the core has been placed next to the sheet before the epoxy cures. In such cases, the liquid epoxy adhesive has flowed to areas of sheet/core contact, creating undesirable glue fillets.
As a final example, thermoplastic adhesive films have been merely placed between a translucent sheet and a honeycomb core, without first adhering the film to the sheet. This combination has then been heated above the flow temperature of the adhesive to bind the sheet to the core. The adhesive, however, has failed to adhere uniformly to the sheet, trapping air and causing bubbles and other visual non-uniformities. In addition, adhesive has migrated to areas of sheet/core contact, causing glue fillets and failing to provide the visual uniformity and other desirable characteristics of the present invention.
A preferred method of manufacturing light transmitting panels according to the present invention makes it possible to minimize or preferably eliminate glue fillets, bubbles or other trapped air, and film separations and to provide for substantial increases in the uniform transmission and reflection of light. Panels of this invention preferably may also provide other improved properties and interesting visual effects, including (a) directional translucency, wherein the structure of the cellular core produces different degrees of translucency depending upon the line of sight of the viewer through the panel, (b) translucency in proportion to the distance of the viewer from the panel, and (c) an effect that may be referred to as pixelation. Pixelation is the visual effect produced by capturing within each individual cell of the panel the color, intensity and movement of the light directly behind that cell. When viewed in conjunction with other contiguous cells within the context of a large panel, this property of the panel produces a visual effect simulating that of a digitized image composed of individual points of color and light, i.e., pixels.
This invention also makes it possible to obtain improved visual uniformity; to utilize economical raw materials; and to achieve a final product which is easily handled as a building or construction material.
The present invention includes a process for manufacturing a visually uniform, light transmitting architectural panel which comprises at least one light transmitting sheet, a film of adhesive, and a cellular structure. Typically, the cellular structure is a honeycomb panel which is sandwiched between two light transmitting sheets. That assembly is held together by two adhesive films, one on each side of the honeycomb panel. The adhesive film is adhered to the light transmitting sheet and the cellular structure, preferably without creating glue fillets or otherwise substantially altering the thickness of the film in large areas. This invention may be accomplished for example by using a heat sensitive adhesive film that has a flow temperature and heating the combination of sheet, film and cellular structure while in contact with each other to a temperature slightly below the flow temperature. Thereafter the temperature may be raised for a minimal time to above the flow temperature. As a result, the film does not alter its shape substantially, creates minimal or no glue fillets, results in little or no trapped air or bubbles, and does not have a significant tendency to separate from the sheet in areas that are not in contact with the edges of the cellular structure. Typically, the adhesive film initially has a uniform thickness which preferably it substantially retains throughout the manufacturing process.
In this manner a panel with a high degree of visual uniformity and/or a high degree of light transmission may be obtained. The panel may also possess novel or improved properties of pixelation, directional translucency and other desirable visual properties.


A water-cooling heat dissipation device adopted for a lighting module that includes a plurality of LEDs modulized together, and includes a heat dissipation plate, at least one curved canal recessed inside the heat dissipation plate, at least one inlet formed on one of the sides of the heat dissipation plate selectively, and at least one outlet formed on one of the sides of the heat dissipation plate selectively. The curved canal created as a part of the heat dissipation plate runs laterally and includes at least one bending portion arranged thereon. The inlet and the outlet communicate with the bending portion and a free end of the curved canal in alternative manners, respectively. The lighting module contacts a top of the heat dissipation device directly.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a heat dissipation device, and particularly relates to a water-cooling heat dissipation device that can dissipate heat from modulized LEDs.
2. Background of the Invention
As technology develops, not only a single LED can be applied to electronic devices as indication lamps, but a plurality of LEDs can also be modulized instead of conventional lamps for lighting, advertising, large advertising displays or for indicating for traffic lights for example. An LED is a lighting device that is more efficient than a conventional lamp. It has low power consumption, is lightweight, has a long service life and so on. Nevertheless, a plurality of LEDs modulized together result in excessive heat due to the need for an individual current supply for each LED. The modulized arrangement of the LEDs retains the heat that should be dissipated to protect the LEDs. In addition, the LED is designed with high luminance to meet requirements, that means, besides the original characteristic of the single LED, the current supplied to the LED will rise correspondingly; the heat will be increased thereby, particularly to the modulized LEDs. Furthermore, too much heat will reduce the luminance.
A conventional method for dissipating heat from modulized LEDs is to enlarge a heat dissipation plate. This increases the direct contact area between the modulized LEDs and the heat dissipation plate. Furthermore, a fan providing an air-cooling function can be added. In addition to incurring further costs, significant heat still remains thereby reducing luminance.
Hence, an improvement over the prior art is required to overcome these disadvantages.

Water-cooling heat dissipation device adopted for modulized LEDs


A stabilized DC power supply device that maintains an output voltage thereof at a constant level despite a fluctuation arising in a power supply voltage fed thereto comprises a control circuit that compares the output voltage with a reference voltage so as to output a control signal by which the output voltage is maintained at a predetermined level, and a ripple cancellation circuit that amplifies an undulating component included in the power supply voltage at a predetermined gain and that feeds out a resulting signal as an undulation compensation signal for correcting the output voltage, wherein the undulation compensation signal for correcting the output voltage is superimposed on the reference voltage so as to prevent an undulation arising in the power supply voltage from appearing in the output voltage.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a stabilized DC (direct current) power supply device that supplies a stabilized DC voltage to a load.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A conventional stabilized DC power supply device as shown in FIG. 4 is described hereinafter as an example. As shown in FIG. 4, a base, an emitter, and a collector of an NPN transistor 1 are connected to an output terminal of an operational amplifier 2, an output terminal O, and a power supply voltage VCC respectively. At the same time, the emitter of the transistor 1 is connected to ground via resistors 3 and 4, each of which has a large resistance and is connected in series so as to detect an output voltage VOUT (a voltage supplied to a load 100) at the output terminal O. A DC voltage Vref is applied to a noninverting input terminal (positive input terminal) of the operational amplifier 2. A node between the resistors 3 and 4 is connected to an inverting input terminal (negative input terminal) of the operational amplifier 2.
In the circuit configuration as described above, a current IOUT is supplied from the power supply voltage VCC via the transistor 1 to the load 100 that is connected to the output terminal O. It can be assumed that the current IOUT passing through the load 100 is nearly equal to an emitter current IE passing through the transistor 1 because the resistors 3 and 4 have a large resistance. Therefore, if it is assumed that the load 100 has an impedance of Z, then the output voltage VOUT is given by
VOUT≈IExc3x97Z
The emitter current IE of the transistor 1 is controlled by a control circuit 10 comprising the transistor 1, operational amplifier 2, resistors 3 and 4, and connections arranged therein so that a voltage measured at the node between the resistors 3 and 4 becomes equal to the DC voltage Vref. As a result, the output voltage VOUT is stabilized at a constant voltage even if the power supply voltage VCC fluctuates in DC voltage or at an extremely low frequency.
Here, it is possible that the power supply voltage VCC fluctuates at a frequency ranging from approximately 10 Hz to 10 KHz due to noise or the like. However, the aforementioned conventional stabilized DC power supply device has a problem in which the output voltage VOUT fluctuates in phase with the power supply voltage VCC when the power supply voltage undulates at the aforementioned frequency. This is caused by the control circuit 10 not capable of controlling the emitter current IE of the transistor 1 in response to the frequency, thereby vibrating the emitter current IE accordingly. Consequently, if a ripple voltage arises in the power supply voltage VCC, a resulting ripple voltage also arises in the output voltage that can not be cancelled satisfactorily.
An object of the present invention is to provide a stabilized DC power supply device having a high capability of removing a ripple voltage from an output voltage even if the ripple voltage arises in a power supply voltage.
To achieve the above object, according to one aspect of the present invention, a stabilized DC power supply device that maintains an output voltage thereof at a constant level despite a fluctuation arising in a power supply voltage fed thereto comprises a control circuit that compares the output voltage with a reference voltage so as to output a control signal by which the output voltage is maintained at a predetermined level, and a ripple cancellation circuit that amplifies an undulating component included in the power supply voltage at a predetermined gain and that feeds out a resulting signal as an undulation compensation signal for correcting the output voltage, wherein the undulation compensation signal for correcting the output voltage is superimposed on the reference voltage so as to prevent an undulation arising in the power supply voltage from appearing in the output voltage.
In this structure, the reference voltage of the control circuit that controls the output voltage is automatically compensated so that the output voltage can be maintained at a constant level if the power supply voltage fluctuates or even if the power supply voltage undulates at a higher frequency.


A segmented guard bar and skin flow control members disposed in the spaces between the guard bar segments. Though not limited to any specific type of razor, the present invention is particularly suited for use with a flexible safety razor having a cap member at least one and preferably two blades separated by a spacer, and a blade seat having a plurality of blade support portions separated by corrugations and a segmented guard bar with each segment independently connected to the blade support portions. Skin flow control members having at least one groove join the adjacent guard bar segments.

In recognition of the fact that surfaces being shaved are not perfectly planar, a razor head comprising a cap, two blades separated by a spacer, and a guard bar have been designed such that the entire razor head flexes as a unit during shaving. In order to maximize the flexibility of the blade seat, one design includes a guard bar formed of a plurality of discrete segments. These segments are independently supported by the blade seat. Adjacent segments of the guard bar are thus separated by spaces. This segmented guard bar design has proven very successful in providing overall flexibility to the razor head without noticeable distortions to the blade geometry during shaving.
The consistent achievement of a close, comfortable shave depends upon careful control of the blade geometry. To this end, the present invention is directed to further improvements in razor heads utilizing segmented guard bars.
Those skilled in the art appreciate that a guard bar, which is designed to be the first element of a safety razor to contact a given area during a shaving stroke, affects the manner in which the skin approaches the edge of the seat blade. During a shaving stroke, skin typically flows over a guard bar and into the space between the guard bar and seat blade some distance below a tangent drawn from the top of the guard bar to the blade edge. The degree to which skin may flow below such a tangent line depends upon the seat blade span, i.e. the distance between the guard bar and seat blade edge.
Though the spaces between segments of a segmented guard bar have been designed to minimize the amount of skin which is not actually contacted by the guard bar segments during a shaving stroke, variations in the skin flow may still result. The skin flowing through the spaces between the segments may contact the seat blade edge at a different angle than the skin flowing over the guard bar segments. Additionally, when a flexible razor head having a segmented guard bar flexes in response to forces encountered during shaving, the space between at least some of the segments increases. This space increase further increases the possibility of a non-uniform skin flow immediately forward of the seat blade. A non-uniform skin flow may adversely affect the comfort of the shave.
It would therefore be desirable to provide greater skin flow control to a segmented guard bar to further minimize and preferably eliminate potential variations in skin flow over a segmented guard bar and thereby provide better control of the blade geometry during shaving.

Segmented guard bar with improved skin flow control


Systems and methods for tracking off of the dribble shooting statistics are provided. An ejector launches basketballs to a user selected subset of pass receipt locations spaced apart about a basketball playing area. A controller receives data from an interface representing the user selected subset of the pass receipt locations and certain of the pass receipt locations in the subset where the player intends to perform a pre-shooting basketball move immediately before receiving the pass or making the shooting attempt and commands the ejector to launch at least one basketball to each of the pass receipt locations in the subset. Data is received from a detector indicating made basketball shots, and a performance report is generated with feedback for each of the pass receipt locations in the subset with a qualifier associated with at least some of the feedback indicating off of the dribble shooting.

Basketball return machines exist which assist a basketball player by returning made shots, and usually at least some missed shots, to the player such that the player does not have to spend time retrieving the basketballs. This way, the player is able to fit more shots into a given practice session. Some basketball return machines use a guide or track to direct basketballs towards a player. Other basketball return machines use launching devices to eject basketballs in various directions on a playing area. Exemplary basketball return machines include, without limitation, THE GUN machines available from Shoot-A-Way, Inc. of Upper Sandusky, Ohio (shootaway.com/) and DR. DISH machines available from Airborne Athletics, Inc. of Minneapolis, Minn. (www.drdishbasketball.com/).
In order to provide the player with feedback regarding his or her shooting performance during a given practice session, detection devices are sometimes used to monitor the player's performance. Such detection devices may take the form of flappers which are placed along the route a basketball would take during or after passing through the rim and are physically moved or contacted when a basketball moves along such a route, thus indicating a successfully made shot. Such devices are subject to physical wear, jamming, and may disrupt the basketball's travel. Other exemplary detection devices include photo-eyes. Such photo-eyes may be mounted in close proximity to a basketball hoop and monitor for changes in the ambient light created when a basketball passes through the hoop. Such photo-eyes are subject to inaccurate readings due to changes in ambient lighting conditions which may be caused, for example, by the net shifting in front of the photo-eye, reflections, flash photographs, or lights being turned on or off. Additionally, all of the above detection devices may be difficult to appropriately position in relation to the basketball goal. What is needed is a basketball launching device with a camera for detecting made shots.
A basketball launching device with a camera for detecting made shots is provided. The basketball launching device may comprise an interface for selecting pass receipt locations on a playing area where basketballs will be ejected for a player to receive and shoot towards a basketball goal. The interface may comprise a rendering of a basketball playing area. The interface may be configured to receive a user's selection of one or more of a number of selectable areas on the rendering where the selectable areas are positioned to correspond with actual locations on the playing area so that the player knows where to stand to receive the ejected passes.
The camera may be mounted on the basketball launching device and may be positioned to capture images of the underside of the rim. The camera may be configured to capture images as basketballs are shot by a player towards the basketball goal. The camera may feed the captured images to a controller. The controller may comprise a machine learning model configured to determine if no basketball is detected within the image, a basketball is detected but has not passed through the rim, or a basketball is detected that has passed through the rim. A made shot may be determined where captured images are received with a basketball in the frame which has passed through the rim. Otherwise, a missed shot may be recorded. The machine learning model may comprise a neural network trained from a large dataset of images. The controller may record a made shot or a missed shot as determined by the model.
A performance report may be generated comprising percentages of successfully made shots for each pass receipt location the basketballs were ejected and/or shooting location where shots were taken. The performance report may comprise a rendering which may substantially match the rendering on the interface. The percentages of successfully made shots may be provided on the rendering of the performance report at the pass receipt location and/or the shooting locations the basketballs were ejected to so that a user can quickly asses their areas of strength and weakness.
In many cases, it may be desirable for users to practice shooting off the dribble. Such off the dribble shooting may include, for example without limitation, where a player takes a shot while moving or in an otherwise non-stationary position. Such off the dribble shooting may include, alternatively or additionally, as another example and without limitation, where the player takes a shot after performing a pre-shooting basketball move and/or performing such a pre-shooting basketball move immediately before receiving a pass and immediately taking a shot. Such pre-shooting basketball moves may include any athletic, basketball related movements other than movements between the various pass receipt locations of the shooting drill. For example, without limitation, such pre-shooting basketball moves may include performing a simulated cut between pass receipt locations but exclude simply walking, jogging, running, or otherwise directly moving between the pass receipt locations. Such off the dribble shooting may include, for example without limitation, types of basketball shots to be taken such as, but not limited to, layups (e.g., reverse layup, finger roll, tear drop, power layup, double clutch, combinations thereof, or the like), bank shot, putback and tip in, jump shots, slam dunks, fade away jumpers, combinations thereof, or the like. Such off of the dribble shooting may include, for example without limitation, other basketball actions taken pre- or post-receiving the pass, such as, but not limited to, movements (e.g., simulated or actual pick drill, roll, dodge, euro step, pro-hop, pro-hop euro step, power up, over-the head, combinations thereof, or the like) passing to another player or location (e.g., bounce pass, chest pass, over the head pass, touch pass, baseball pass, jump pass, blind pass, behind the back pass, combinations thereof, or the like), dribbling (e.g., cross over, between the legs dribble, behind the back dribble, wraparound, in and out dribble, v dribble, different heights dribble, ankle breaker dribble, hesitation move, combinations thereof, or the like), triple threat positions (e.g., pivot, jab step, pump fake, drawings contact, shuffle, combinations thereof, or the like), posting up (e.g., up and under, hook shot, drop step, power move, spin and dive, sikma move, dream shake, combinations thereof, of the like), two person games (e.g., give and go, dribble pitch or handoff, pick and roll, backdoor, alley-oop, combinations thereof, or the like), various combinations of the foregoing, or the like. Such off of the dribble shooting may include, for example without limitation, various drills incorporating one or more of the same. One or more of the foregoing examples may constitute a basketball move, for example without limitation. One or more of the foregoing examples, except for the types of basketball shots examples, may constitute a pre-shooting basketball move, for example without limitation. In exemplary embodiments, without limitation, such pre-shooting basketball moves comprise dribbling after receiving a pass from the launching device but before making a shooting attempt. Alternatively, or additionally, without limitation, such pre-shooting basketball moves comprise athletic movements of the user after making a shooting attempt at a first one of the pass receipt locations, but before making a shooting attempt at a second one of the pass receipt locations, that is not direct movement between the first and second one of the pass receipt locations and/or movement solely intended for transportation of the player between the first and second one of the pass receipt locations. Such pre-shooting basketball moves may be made immediately before and/or after receiving a pass at a pass receipt location.
In exemplary embodiments without limitation, such pre-shooting basketball moves may be those which are configured to simulate game conditions and may exclude exercise-related movements. For example, without limitation, the pre-shooting basketball move may be performed to simulate game conditions such as dribbling to get open, performing a juke, pick and roll, running off a pick, combinations thereof, or the like. As a further example, without limitation, such pre-shooting basketball moves may exclude purely exercise-related movements such as line drills, jogging laps, pushups, crunches, weight lifting, combinations thereof, or the like.
Such off the dribble shooting may be in contrast to stationary shots such as, but not limited to, free throws, planted feet shots, stationary catching and shooting attempts, combinations thereof, or the like. Such off of the dribble shooting may more realistically simulate game conditions, provide an increased workout, combinations thereof, or the like. However, particularly in an environment where shooting statistics are tracked and reported for the player or a third party to view, such as but not limited to, in a ranking across a team, group, multiple sessions, for a coach, parent, or other third party to view, a user may be reluctant to incorporate such off of the dribble shooting practice as their shooting performance statistics are likely to decrease due to the increased difficulty of such shooting attempts. Therefore, what is needed is separate tracking of off of the dribble shooting statistics.
Systems and methods are provided for tracking such off of the dribble shooting statistics, particularly in an automated fashion. Such systems and methods may track and/or provide such off of the dribble statistics in a manner which indicates the off of the dribble nature of such statistics or otherwise distinguishes such statistics from other shooting statistics. The interface associated with the basketball return machine may comprise options to select, or provide instruction for, such off of the dribble shooting. Such instructions may, in exemplary embodiments without limitation, be provided in the form of selectable areas, travel paths, and/or action markers. Shooting statistics for such off of the dribble shooting attempts may be separately tracked, or otherwise so categorized in a performance report such as by the controller and/or report generator. Such statistics may be tracked for the user across a team, group, multiple sessions, for a coach or third party to review. In exemplary embodiments, multiple such basketball launching devices may be utilized in a space, such as in a gym, and such statistics may be transmitted to a scoreboard at the space. The scoreboard may be configured to separately display such off of the dribble shooting statistics.
Further features and advantages of the systems and methods disclosed herein, as well as the structure and operation of various aspects of the present disclosure, are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying figures.

Basketball launching device with off of the dribble statistic tracking


Methods, devices, and systems for forming atomically precise structures are provided. In some embodiments, the methods, devices, and systems of the present disclosure utilize a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) system to receive a sample having a surface to be patterned. The system positions a conductive tip over a pixel region of the surface. While the conductive tip remains laterally fixed relative to the surface, the system applies a bias voltage between the conductive tip and the surface such that a current between the conductive tip and the surface removes at least one atom from the pixel region. The system stops applying the voltage and current when it senses the removal of the at least one atom. The system then verifies that the at least one atom has been removed from the pixel region.

Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM)
The ability to image surfaces at atomically precise levels stems from the capabilities of the STM. While there have been many different implementations since its invention in 1982, the fundamental operating principle of an STM is as follows. A conductive tip—often tungsten or platinum-iridium—that has been prepared so as to have a nanoscopic portion of the tip allows electrons to tunnel to or from the nanoscopic portion of the tip to a sample. The tip is brought in close proximity (e.g., within a few nm) to a surface of a sample. Due to the principle of quantum electron tunneling, a current flows across the gap between tip and the sample when a bias voltage is applied between the tip and the sample. The bias voltage applied between the tip and the sample can be either polarity. If the sample is negatively biased with respect to the tip, then electrons flow from the filled electronic states on the surface into the tip. If the sample is positively biased, then electrons flow from the tip into the empty electronic states of the surface. The magnitude of the bias voltage determines the surface states that are available to tunnel into or out of. Thus, the STM provides information about the electronic states as well as the topography of the surface of the sample.
The resulting current between the tip and the sample based on the applied bias voltage varies exponentially relative to the distance between the tip and the surface of the sample. As a result of this strong dependence on the relative position of the tip to the sample, the height of the tip above the surface can be precisely controlled. Often, a piezoelectric element is used to control movement of the tip up and down (i.e., z-direction) until the measured tunnel current matches a set point value, which is in the range of 0.01-100 nA. Piezoelectric elements are also commonly used to move the tip sideways (i.e., x-y directions) across the surface of the sample. As a result, topographic images of the surface are commonly generated by performing a raster scan of part of the surface. In some embodiments, images of the surface are generated by performing spiral, Lissajous or other tip motions across the surface which cover every part of a portion of the surface.
In order to have the tip access larger areas of a sample and to allow the tip to approach a sample, many STM systems also include both fine motion control and coarse motion control for the X, Y, and Z axes. For instance, coarse motion is in the range of tens of nanometers to tens of millimeters, with a precision finer than the maximum fine motion range. In contrast, the fine motion may be precise enough to position the tip at specified locations between atoms. Most STM systems include some vibration isolation mechanisms to prevent external vibrations from disturbing the system operation.
Hydrogen Depassivation Lithography
Hydrogen depassivation lithography, where an STM is used to remove hydrogen atoms from a silicon surface has been established since the mid-1990s. See, for example, Snow, E. S., et al., "Fabrication of Si nanostructures with an atomic force microscope," Appl. Phys. Lett., Vol. 64, No. 15, 1932 (1994), which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Further, Lyding and Hersam demonstrated that individual hydrogen atoms could be targeted and removed from a silicon substrate such as in Hersam, M. C., et al., "Silicon-based Molecular Nanotechnology," Nanotechnology, Vol. 11, No. 2, 70 (2000), which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Since then, a number of practitioners have demonstrated the ability to form patterns using hydrogen depassivation for various purposes.
Hydrogen depassivation lithography can be accomplished at different biases and set point currents. There are several different regimes that are distinct from one another in important aspects. Typically, during depassivation lithography the sample is positive with respect to the tip so that electrons flow from the tip to the sample. At biases below 7V, the hydrogen depassivation efficiency is a strong function of the bias and is also dependent on the current. For example according to Shen, T. C., et al., "Atomic-Scale Desorption Through Electronic and Vibrational Excitation Mechanisms," Science Vol. 268, 1591 (1995) (which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety), at 3V and 1 nA more than 10 billion electrons are required to depassivate a single hydrogen atom. The depassivation efficiency rises dramatically with bias until 7V where approximately half a million electrons are required to depassivate a single hydrogen atom and there is no longer a dependence on current. From 7-12V the depassivation efficiency is essentially constant and does not depend on current.
There is also significant difference in how the electron reaches the sample from the tip at the lower biases versus higher biases. At low positive sample biases, the electrons tunnel from the tip to the sample and the physics favors most electrons finding the shortest path resulting in most electrons tunneling to the same nanoscopic area with very few electrons reaching the surface outside of this very small area. Because of this process, at biases of approximately 4 volts and below, atomic precision patterning is possible. Indeed, single hydrogen atoms may be targeted and removed at low biases. Also, it is possible to create patterns where all hydrogen atoms are removed (fully saturated depassivation) within the desired area and no atoms removed outside the pattern or at most the edge of the pattern will deviate by no more than the distance of one atom from the designed pattern.
At higher biases, there is the opportunity for field emission (Fowler Nordheim tunneling) of electrons from the tip into the vacuum and then a short trip along field lines to the sample. This electron path, along with the fact that the tip will generally be further from the sample at higher biases, results in electrons reaching the sample over larger areas.
Hydrogen depassivation has been reported with a negative sample bias. However, the depassivation efficiency may be lower than that of a positive sample bias. On the other hand, the low depassivation efficiency at low negative sample biases permits effective imaging without inadvertent depassivation. It is also possible to image the sample with little or no depassivation at low positive sample biases with low set point currents.
Hydrogen depassivation lithography has demonstrated atomic resolution patterning, and it has the advantage of having the same tool that does the patterning, the STM, to also be capable of examining the patterning area before and after exposure.

Depassivation lithography by scanning tunneling microscopy


For charging casting machines with non-ferrous molten metals, melt (S) is supplied from a withdrawal chamber (6) of a melting furnace (1) having a gas atmosphere to the filling hole (18) of a casting machine. To achieve an economic, easily dosable charging of the melt, the metered melt (S) is pumped up inside the withdrawal chamer (6) via a metering pump (12) and is drained towards the filling hole (18) via a discharge pipe (15) extending through the furnace wall, where through inlet nozzles (11) opening into the withdrawal chamber (6) a pulsed supply of gas to the withdrawal chamber (6) is effected to support the melt flow.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method for charging casting machines with non-ferrous molten metals, according to which melt is supplied batchwise from a withdrawal chamber of a melting furnace having a gas atmosphere to the filling hole of a casting machine, and to an apparatus for carrying out this method.
2. Description of the Prior Art
For the batchwise charging of casting machines, melt has so far been discharged from a melting furnace by means of gas pressure conveyance (EP-A 0,252,318) or by means of piston pumps or spiral pumps (DE-B 1,134,183) via pump components extending beyond the cover of the melting furnace, so that long conveying distances along with the difficulties of an undesired premature slag formation and solidification have to be accepted and expensive holding and conveying means are required. The charging of the melt thus requires very much handling and maintenance above all in the case of easily oxidizable non-ferrous metals, impairs the availability of the machine, and there is also a poor metering accuracy.

Process and device for charging foundry machines

Ing. Rauch Fertigungstechnik Gesellschaft m.b.H.