A system and method for controlling temperature of an energy storage device of a vehicle via a movable device. The method includes determining a set of inputs, the set of inputs including a representative temperature of the energy storage device and a cabin temperature corresponding to an operator cabin. The method further includes generating a control signal based at least in part on the set of inputs, outputting the control signal to the movable device, and modifying a variable rate of movement of the movable device in response to the control signal such that a corresponding variable amount of operator cabin air is moved past the energy storage device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a system and method for controlling temperature of an energy storage device in a vehicle, and in particular to a system and method for controlling a movable device to selectively draw air from a vehicle operator cabin toward the energy storage device.
2. Background Art
Governmental regulations and environmental concerns have dictated the need for automobile manufacturers to develop more fuel efficient powertrains. All-electric and hybrid electric powertrains are two examples of such powertrains currently under development. All electric vehicles are generally desirable in that such vehicles offer the potential to be simply regenerated by plugging into a power outlet and may completely eliminate fossil fuel dependence. However, even after many years of research, these vehicles are currently limited by current technology and only have a limited distance range. Hybrid electric vehicles possess increased fuel economy by combining the functionality of electric vehicles with internal combustion vehicles.
Hybrid electric vehicles ("HEVs") combine an internal combustion engine or some other primary source such as a fuel cell system with a secondary power source such as a high powered battery and electric motor. This dual powering mechanism allows HEVs to have extended range and similar refueling to fossil fuel vehicles. Presently, batteries are only able to store enough energy for short trips. Therefore, the inclusion of an internal combustion engine in HEVs allows an onboard generator to recharge the battery and to be used as a power source to run the electric engine. This combination not only leads to increased energy savings but also a decrease in undesirable automobile emissions.
There are currently various designs for hybrid electric vehicles. However, HEVs generally include primary and secondary power sources, a mechanism to propel the vehicle, and one or more energy storage devices. Power sources include internal combustion engines, gas turbines, fuel cells, and the like. Electric motors are one type of mechanism used to propel HEVs and may be combined with a variety of transmission mechanisms, such as, planetary gear sets, CVTs, and other gearing for delivering tractive force to the vehicle's driveline. Although batteries are the most common energy storage devices, alternatives including ultracapacitors are possible.
The high powered batteries which are presently used tend to require cooling, because of the high current drawn to propel a vehicle, and purging of battery gases that build up around the battery. Conventional designs generally implement dedicated air conditioning units to cool/purge the battery. However, air conditioning units add cost, weight and complexity to the vehicle. In addition or in the alternative, conventional designs implement fans to draw cooled air from the vehicle operator cabin toward the battery. However, conventional designs generally implement on/off fan control that is dependent solely on the temperature of the battery. Accordingly, use of the fan may undesirably impact the temperature of the operator cabin by drawing cooled air away from the cabin and operator. Furthermore, it may be desirable to heat the high powered batteries since the discharge output and charge acceptance of a battery are reduced when the battery is cold. Conventional designs generally do not attempt to heat the battery.
Accordingly, there exists a need for improvements in all-electric (i.e., pure electric) and hybrid electric vehicle designs. In particular, there is a need for control strategies and systems that provide battery cooling, heating and/or purging while reducing negative impact on operator cabin comfort.

System and method for controlling temperature of an energy storage device in a vehicle


The present invention relates to novel cosmetic and/or dermatological compositions comprising, in a cosmetically and/or dermatologically acceptable support, i) a dibenzoylmethane derivative, in particular 4-tert-butyl-4'-methoxydibenzoylmethane, ii) at least one specific 1,3,5-triazine derivative, and iii) at least one dialkyl benzalmalonate. These compositions are particularly photostable.. The invention also relates to the use of these compositions in the cosmetic and/or dermatological fields, in particular, as a sunscreen.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to novel cosmetic and/or dermatological compositions (referred to hereinbelow as sunscreen compositions) intended for protecting the skin and/or the hair against the deleterious effects of UV radiation, in particular, solar radiation. More specifically, the invention relates to novel cosmetic and/or dermatological compositions with enhanced photostability and comprising, in a cosmetically and/or dermatologically acceptable support, a combination of at least three specific UV-screening agents.
This invention also relates to the use of photoprotecting compositions in the cosmetic and/or dermatological fields.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is known to this art that light radiation of wavelengths of from 280 nm to 400 nm permits tanning of the human epidermis, and that light radiation with wavelengths, more particularly, of from 280 to 320 nm, i.e., UV-B irradiation, causes skin burning and erythema which can impair the development of a natural tan. For these reasons, as well as for aesthetic reasons, there is an increasingly constant demand for a means of controlling this natural tanning in order to thereby control the color of the skin. This UV-B radiation must be screened from the skin.
It is also known to this art that UV-A radiation, of wavelengths of from 320 to 400 nm, which tan the skin, also adversely affects it, especially in the case of sensitive skin or skin which is continually exposed to solar radiation. UV-A rays especially cause a loss in the elasticity of the skin and the appearance of wrinkles, thereby promoting premature skin aging. Such irradiation promotes triggering of the erythemal reaction or amplifies this reaction in certain individuals, they may even be the cause of phototoxic or photoallergic reactions. Thus, for aesthetic and cosmetic reasons, such as conservation of the natural elasticity of the skin, for example, an ever-increasing number of people wish to control the effect of UV-A rays on their skin, it is therefor desirable also to screen out UV-A radiation.
Thus, with the aim of providing protection for the skin and the hair against UV radiation as a whole, this protection being as full and as effective as possible, combinations of screening agents which are active in the UV-A range and of screening agents which are active in the UV-B range are generally used in the manufacture of sunscreen compositions.
In this respect, a particularly advantageous set of UV-A screening agents currently include the dibenzoylmethane derivatives and, in particular, 4-tert-butyl-4'-methoxydibenzoylmethane, which effectively have a high intrinsic power of absorption. These dibenzoylmethane derivatives, which are now products that are well known in the art as sunscreen agents that are active in the UV-A range, are described in particular in FR-A-2,326,405 and FR-A-2,440,933, as well as in EP-A-0,114,607. 4-(Tert-butyl)-4'-methoxydibenzoylmethane is currently sold under the trademark "Parsol 1789" by Givaudan.
Similarly, 1,3,5-triazine derivatives and, in particular, 2,4,6-trisp-(2'-ethylhexyl-1'-oxycarbonyl)anilino!-1,3,5-triazine, sold under the trademark "Uvinul T 150" by BASF, have a high power for absorbing UV-B radiation. It would thus be very advantageous to be able to use those compounds in combination with 4-tert-butyl-4'-methoxydibenzoyl-methane for the purpose of obtaining products offering wide and effective protection throughout the full UV radiation range.
However, the inventors have observed that when these 1,3,5-triazine derivatives are in the presence of dibenzoylmethane derivatives, in particular, 4-tert-butyl-4'-methoxydibenzoylmethane, and under UV irradiation, they have the disadvantage of undergoing considerable chemical degradation. Under these conditions, the combination of two screening agents no longer allows broad, prolonged sunscreen protection for the skin and the hair.

Compositions comprising a dibenzoylmethane derivative, a 1,3,5-triazine derivative and a dialkyl benzalmalonate, and methods of use therefor


A method of providing power via a plurality of power control systems forming a power network is provided. Each power control system includes a power controller and a power switch operable by the power controller. The method includes defining, by each power controller of the power network, a power allocation schedule for a power cycle using a dynamic load scheduling model based on a members list of the power network. The power cycle is divided into a plurality of power units, and the power allocation schedule identifies one or more designated power control systems from among the plurality of power control systems to provide power to a load during each of the power units. For the power cycle, the method includes providing power to the load by the one or more designated power control systems during a respective power unit based on the power allocation schedule.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Multiple power controllers, such as zero-crossing alternating current (AC) power controllers, can work in cooperation with one another for providing power to a load under the supervision and control of a master controller. In one exemplary application, the master controller is configured to drive each power controller ON-OFF to draw power from an AC power source. Each ON-OFF operation can cause disturbance in the power being provided. Further, if a power controller is added or removed, the master controller may need to be reconfigured, and if the master controller undergoes service, the power controllers will also be off-line. These and other issues related to power control systems are addressed by the present disclosure.

Masterless distributed dynamic load management


A method for monitoring medicine dispensing is disclosed. A set of events from an intelligent container is received. The intelligent container belongs to a set of intelligent containers, each container associated with a medicine. It is determined whether the set of events satisfies a rule associated with the intelligent container. If the rule is satisfied, a message is created to be sent to a subscribing device as a result of the determination.

Technical Field
This disclosure relates generally to the field of medicine dispensing, and more particularly to an intelligent container and method for controlling access to medicine and medicine dispensing.
Background of the Related Art
It is estimated that over 100 million people in the United States alone suffer from chronic illness for which medicine is prescribed to cure or ameliorate. Yet patient adherence to the medicine regimen prescribed by medical professionals is poor. Unfortunately, a major reason that patients do not adhere to the medicine regimen is forgetfulness. With aging, patients forget to take their medicine or overdose because they do not remember that they have already taken their medicine. Although many elderly patients have younger relatives, these relatives often do not live with them and so are unable to directly supervise; questioning the elderly patient can lead to inaccurate, evasive or hostile answers as to whether the proper dose of medicine was taken at the appropriate time.
Another problem is those with chronic illness often live in a facility such as an assisted living facility. Tracking the use of medicine, making sure that the correct patients receive the correct drug at the correct time consumes a great deal of the caregivers' time. Some medicines are very expensive and valuable on the black market. Workers at assisted living facilities are not well paid and the situation can lead to a diversion of drugs from the patient.
Tracking the status and location of medicines is of broad importance.

Intelligent container and method for medicine dispensing control

International Business Machines Corporation


A roller of a support arrangement includes a first unit and a second unit releasably connected to each other via a connection mechanism, the first unit including a first side flange as well as an entire peripheral contact surface of the roller, and the second unit including a second side flange of the roller. In a mounted state, the peripheral contact surface is in contact with a contact portion of a first rail member connected to a rotary platform, and a contact portion of a stationary second rail member, with the two side flanges arranged on opposite sides of the contact surface. A plurality of the rollers is arranged in a vertical space between the first and second rail members.

The present invention relates to a roller of a support arrangement for a rotary milking platform, wherein the support arrangement comprises a first rail member fixedly connected to the rotary platform, a second rail member stationarily arranged in a position below the platform, and a plurality of rollers arranged in a vertical space between the first rail member and the second rail member. The roller is one of said plurality of rollers, and comprises a peripheral contact surface to be in contact with the first rail member and the second rail member, and two side flanges arranged on opposite sides of the peripheral contact surface, wherein each side flange comprises a peripheral surface arranged at a longer radial distance from a rotation axis of the roller than the peripheral contact surface.
A support arrangement for a rotary milking platform has the tasks to support the platform, allow rotation of the platform, and maintain the platform in a position such that it rotates around a fixed centre vertical axis. The rollers support and allow rotation of the upper rail and the rotary platform on the lower stationary rail. Furthermore, the side flanges control the motion of the upper rail and the rotary platform in a horizontal plane such that the platform performs a rotary motion around a fixed vertical axis with a very good accuracy. Such a support arrangement may have a simple and reliable design.
However, certain rollers wear out faster than others, and it is desirable to be able to exchange individual rollers when they are worn out. However, it is difficult and time consuming to exchange the rollers in such a support arrangement. The upper rail and the lower rail prevent dismounting and mounting of the rollers in upward and downward vertical directions, and the side flanges prevent dismounting and mounting of the rollers in transverse directions. It is many times necessary to lift the platform and increase the vertical space between the rails for allowing exchange of the rollers. In practice, such a comprehensive measure is not performed for exchanging a few worn out rollers in the support arrangement. Instead, a part of one of the rail members is often cut out and welded back into place in order to allow exchange of a roller.

Roller of a support arrangement for a rotary milking platform


The present disclosure is an apparatus for generating a decreasing delay with increasing input voltage to a predetermined voltage value at which point the delay may remain constant. The apparatus may include a circuit comprising a voltage regulator receiving an input voltage and two paths of inverters. At least two paths of inverters may be coupled to an input signal, the input signal may be low voltage (e.g. 0) or high voltage (e.g. 1). A first path may be referenced to a reference voltage while the second path may be referenced to the input voltage. The apparatus may include logic gates for receiving the output of each of the first path of inverters and the output of the second path of inverters to generate a desired output. As the input voltage increases, delay of the apparatus may decrease until the input voltage is approximately the same voltage as the reference voltage, at which the delay may remain constant.

Power supply voltage is often determined after integrated circuit processing is complete. Voltage is tuned to optimize power and performance. Increasing voltage reduces delay, increases performance, but also increases power. There are many circuits, such as pulse generators and dynamic circuits, where some delay dependence on voltage is desired, but the circuits lose functionality if some delays in critical paths are reduced too far. These delays can cause an otherwise good chip to be discarded because the chip does not meet power, performance, and functionality specifications.

Method and apparatus to limit circuit delay dependence on voltage


Loss of oil due to oil feedback is prevented in a screw compressor in a refrigeration application due to low capacity operation. The apparent suction temperature is compared to the temperature of the water exiting the evaporator to determine the apparent superheat and the loading is increased upon the apparent superheat reaching a predetermined level. Upon sensing a predetermined difference, an electronic slide valve block is initiated to prevent further unloading and loading may be initiated in a fixed amount, incrementally or on a pulsed basis.

Screw compressors in refrigeration and air conditioning applications commonly have slide valves which are adjusted to control capacity. When the capacity is too low, oil is "lost" to the evaporator with the potential for damage to the compressor due to inadequate lubrication. At light load the sensing of the slide valve position is not good enough for proper control since the actual capacity is a function of the discharge pressure. Specifically, there is a high leakback of refrigerant and oil at high discharge pressure so the capacity is less at high head then at low head for the same slide valve position.


A method for sending information regarding an event in a critical table in a database. A receiver receives information regarding an event from a trigger corresponding to the event. The event may be one of an insert row, delete row or update row. Thereafter, a processor prepares one or more datagram packets containing the information regarding the event. Then, an event dispatcher sends the one or more datagram packets to a multicast group over a network. Finally, the multicast group forwards the datagram packets to a destination host device subscribed to the multicast group, without storing the datagram packets.

A database is a collection of information related to a subject, organized in a manner to facilitate storing and retrieving information in a scalable and robust fashion. Computerized databases are employed for storing information in many formats and providing that information to users and applications. For example, a database could contain information regarding clients and their recent purchases. The information regarding a particular client may be retrieved from database.
Computerized databases are implemented in processing systems which typically include a processor, a memory and input/output devices. The processor executes programs stored in memory, and the programs communicate with the environment using the input/output devices. The computerized databases include tools for data insertion, deletion, modification and retrieval. Programs stored in the memory can employ these tools to perform tasks on the databases, with individual tasks referred to as database events. As an example, a program in C or Java could retrieve data from a database, perform some calculations, and store the result back into the database.
Numerous users or applications may be simultaneously performing operations on a particular database. Some of the users or applications may need information about database events as they occur. For example, an application may include a facility for sending a message about packaging and shipping a product. Before sending that message, the application needs to know when payment has been received, which is an item of information stored by the database. Database triggers may be used to write the payment information to history tables, and then these tables may be polled to obtain a list of changes in the database. A database trigger is code that is automatically executed in response to certain events on a particular table in a database.
In certain situations, users and applications located remotely from the database require information regarding events in critical tables in the database. Triggers may be used to send messages using platform-specific messaging systems, like Java Messaging System (JMS), to queues which are subscribed by consuming systems, but only those systems capable of employing such messaging systems can send and receive information regarding database events. In this example, only Java programs can send or receive JMS messages.

Transmitting critical table information in databases


A semiconductor device includes a substrate and a gate structure formed over the substrate. The semiconductor device further includes an insulator feature formed in the substrate. The insulator feature includes an insulating layer and a capping layer over the insulating layer.

The semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) industry has experienced rapid growth. In the course of IC evolution, functional density (i.e., the number of interconnected devices per chip area) has generally increased while geometry size (i.e., the smallest component (or line) that can be created using a fabrication process) has decreased. This scaling down process generally provides benefits by increasing production efficiency and lowering associated costs. Such scaling down has also increased the complexity of processing and manufacturing ICs and, for these advances to be realized, similar developments in IC manufacturing are needed. For example, an advanced process for forming trench isolation structure, such as a shallow trench isolation (STI) structure, is required because the trench isolation structure may be attacked by subsequent wet cleaning processes. The wet cleaning processes may, therefore, result a different step heights of trench isolation structures within dense areas and isolation areas and increase the process complexity. In addition, the wet cleaning processes may result in divots in trench isolation structures and induce gate leakage current.
Although existing approaches to forming trench isolation structures for IC devices have been generally adequate for their intended purposes, they have not been entirely satisfactory in all respects.

Semiconductor device and method for forming the same

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


The present invention relates to a capacitive fingerprint sensing device comprising a semiconductor substrate; and an array of sensing elements formed on the semiconductor substrate. Each of the sensing elements comprises a protective dielectric top layer; a sensing structure arranged underneath the top layer; and a charge amplifier connected to the sensing structure. The charge amplifier comprises a negative input connected to the sensing structure; a positive input; an output providing a sensing signal; a feedback capacitor; and a sense transistor having a gate constituting the negative input. The sense transistor is formed in an insulated well in the semiconductor substrate. The fingerprint sensing device further comprises excitation signal providing circuitry connected to the positive input of the charge amplifier and the well for changing electric potentials of the sensing structure and the well, to thereby reduce the influence of parasitic capacitances in the sensing element.

Various types of biometric systems are used more and more in order to provide for increased security and/or enhanced user convenience.
In particular, fingerprint sensing systems have been adopted in, for example, consumer electronic devices, thanks to their small form factor, high performance and user acceptance.
Among the various available fingerprint sensing principles (such as capacitive, optical, thermal etc), capacitive sensing is most commonly used, in particular in applications where size and power consumption are important issues.
All capacitive fingerprint sensors provide a measure indicative of the capacitance between each of several sensing structures and a finger placed on or moved across the surface of the fingerprint sensor.
Some capacitive fingerprint sensors passively read out the capacitance between the sensing structures and the finger. This, however, requires a relatively large capacitance. Therefore such passive capacitive sensors are typically provided with a very thin protective layer covering the sensing structures, which makes such sensors rather sensitive to scratching and/or ESD (electro-static discharge).
U.S. Pat. No. 7,864,992 discloses an active capacitive fingerprint sensing device in which a driving signal is injected into the finger by pulsing a conductive drive structure arranged in the vicinity of the sensor array and measuring the resulting change of the charge carried by the sensing structures in the sensor array.
Although the fingerprint sensing system according to U.S. Pat. No. 7,864,992 provides for an excellent combination of fingerprint image quality and sensor protection, it would, in some applications be desirable to be able to acquire a high-quality fingerprint image without the use of a separate conductive drive structure. In particular, there appears to be room for improvement for "difficult" fingers, such as dry fingers.
An alternative active fingerprint sensing device is described in the paper "A 500 dpi Capacitive-Type CMOS Fingerprint Sensor with Pixel-Level Adaptive Image Enhancement Scheme" by Kwang-Hyun Lee and Euisik Yoon (ISSCC 2002/session 21/TD: Sensors and microsystems/21.3). In this fingerprint sensing device, an excitation pulse is applied to the sensing electrode of each pixel instead of to the finger. The potential of the finger is assumed to be substantially constant.
This fingerprint sensor would appear to be usable without a separate conductive drive structure. However, the fingerprint sensor described in "A 500 dpi Capacitive-Type CMOS Fingerprint Sensor with Pixel-Level Adaptive Image Enhancement Scheme" is said to be configured to exhibit a capacitance to the finger (the capacitance that is measured) in the range of 0 fF to 200 fF. In the field of fingerprint sensing, this is a relatively large capacitance, which indicates that the protective coating provided on top of the sensing electrodes is very thin. Actually, the protective coating is referred to as a "passivation layer", which is generally understood to be a layer of SiO or SiN that has a thickness of around 1 μm. A fingerprint sensor with such a thin protective coating would not be robust enough for many important applications, including mobile device applications.
It would thus be desirable to provide a more robust capacitive fingerprint sensing device in which the excitation pulse is applied to the sensing electrode, which is at the same time capable of achieving a high quality fingerprint representation.

Capacitive fingerprint sensor with improved sensing element


A method, apparatus and article of manufacture for providing advertisements into a streamed media program is disclosed. In one embodiment, the method comprises the steps of transmitting a webpage to a user computer, wherein the webpage includes instructions comprising instructions for embedding a media program player in the webpage, wherein the embedded media program player comprises an embedded search utility for accepting a textual user query, receiving a search query from the user computer in a media server, the search query entered into the embedded search utility, generating search results responsive to the user search query, transmitting the search results to the media program player embedded in the webpage, rendering the search results using the media program player; and displaying the rendered search results to the user.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems and methods for providing streaming media to users, and in particular, to a system and method for presenting a search utility in embedded video.
2. Description of the Related Art
The dissemination and playback of media programs has undergone substantial changes in the past decade. Previously, media programs (which may include audio, video, or both) were disseminated either by analog broadcast (conventional, satellite, or cable) or by dissemination of films to movie theaters.
These traditional dissemination and playback means remain in use after the advent of digital technology. However, digital technologies have had a profound effect on the dissemination and playback of media programs.
First, digital technology permitted the use of digital video recorders (DVRs). DVRs, while similar in function to standard analog video cassette recorders (VCRs), provide a number of additional useful functions including live pause, the ability to record one program while playing back another, and the integration of the electronic program guides with DVR functionality (so that the recordation of media programs could be scheduled far in advance).
Second, technology also permitted the dissemination and playback of media programs via the Internet, and with improved signal processing and more and more households with high-speed Internet access (e.g. DSL, fiber, satellite), this method of dissemination and playback has become competitive with traditional means. Dissemination of media programs via the Internet may occur either by simple downloading, progressive downloading or streaming.
For progressive download, a media file having the media program is downloaded via the Internet using dial-up, DSL, ADSL, cable, T1, or other high speed internet connections. Simple downloading downloads the bytes of the media file in any convenient order, while progressive download downloads bytes at the beginning of a file and continues downloading the file sequentially and consecutively until the last byte. At any particular time during progressive downloading, portions of the file are not immediately available for playback. In some situations, the entire file must be downloaded first before a media player can start playback. In other situations, media players are able to start playback once enough of the beginning of the file has downloaded, however, the media player must download enough information to support some form of playback before playback can occur. Playback is often delayed by slow Internet connections and is also often choppy and/or contains a high likelihood of stopping after only a few seconds. Downloaded material is thereafter stored on the end-user computer.
Streaming delivers media content continuously to a media player and media playback occurs simultaneously. The end-user is capable of playing the media immediately upon delivery by the content provider. Traditional streaming techniques originate from a single provider delivering a stream of data to a set of end-users. High bandwidths and central processing unit (CPU) power are required to deliver a single stream to a large audience, and the required bandwidth of the provider increases as the number of end-users increases.
Unlike progressive downloading, streaming media is delivered on-demand or live. Wherein progressive download requires downloading the entire file or downloading enough of the entire file to start playback at the beginning, streaming enables immediate playback at any point within the file. End-users may skip through the media file to start playback or change playback to any point in the media file. Hence, the end-user does not need to wait for the file to progressively download. Typically, streaming media is delivered from a few dedicated servers having high bandwidth capabilities.
Streaming media and progressive downloading allows the media to be played back via media players that can be embedded in the web pages of third parties. For example, a first entity such as search portal GOOGLE (www.google.com) may embed a media player in one of their hosted webpages that is provided in response to a search query. Or, a commercial entity such as AMAZON (www.amazon.com) may embed a media player in one of their hosted webpages. Or, a blogger may embed a media program player to playback a video of interest to the readers.
FIG. 1 is a diagram of an exemplary browser 106 presenting a webpage 103 of a blog. In the illustrated embodiment, the browser 106 includes an address input region 102, a search query input region 104, and a search button 105. The browser may also include a scroll handle 108, which, by use of a mouse and associated pointer 116 can be selected and moved throughout the scroll region 110 to view a webpage too large to depict in the browser at one time. The blog includes an embedded media player 114, and blog text 104. Typically, the media program that is to be played by the embedded media player is provided by a third party. That is, it is not provided by the blogger or the website hosting the blog.
If the viewer of the blog is intrigued at the content of the media program player 114, they can perform a web search by entering a search query of interest into the search entry input region 104 and selecting the search button 105. In the illustrated embodiment, the user has entered the search query "show me a window" and selected the search button 105.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the probable result from an entered search query. The initial webpage 103 is no longer shown, and webpage 202 is shown in its place. Webpage 202 includes a second search query input region 202 and search button 204 that can be used to execute another search. The webpage 202 also includes search results for "show me a window" which includes a plurality of search results 206-212 responsive to the search request. The search results 206-212 include a first search result 206 which includes a thumbnail 206A and a hyperlink 206B to the media program depicted in the thumbnail 206A. Similar thumbnails 208A-212A are associated with hyperlinks 208B-212B. A new media player 214 may also be shown in the new webpage 202.
Noteworthy is the fact that after the user executes the search described above, the user is presented with a new webpage with the results of the search query. As a result, any further benefit to the blogger and the third party that provided the embedded video will be lost, as newly presented webpage 203 diverts the user to other websites. This is undesirable for both the blogger and the provider of the media program revenue, because it negatively affects metrics (e.g. page views and clickthroughs) that drive advertising revenue and the value of the website.
Accordingly, there is a need for a system and method that allows the users viewing webpages with embedded media players to perform additional searches and view the results without being redirected to a different webpage. The present invention satisfies this need.

Method and apparatus for presenting a search utility in an embedded video


A tape measure includes a novel mounting clip assembly having a distinct lever arm coupled to a base plate for movement about a pivot axis between a closed position and an open position. The lever arm has a first spring-receiving bay on a side generally facing the base plate and disposed rearward of the pivot axis. The base plate has a first fastener-receiving hole therein forward of the pivot axis, a second spring-receiving bay on a side generally facing the lever arm. A spring biases the lever arm to assume the closed position and extends from the first bay to the second bay. A centerline of a mounting hole in the base plate extends through a second hole in the lever arm when the lever arm is in the closed position. A top of a securing fastener is accessible via the second hole. Also, methods of assembly are described.

The present invention is directed generally to tape measures, and more particularly to a means, such as a mounting clip for supporting the tape measure from a structure.
Modern tape measures (or "tape rules") typically include a coiled tape that is spring-biased towards a retracted position. A housing generally surrounds and protects the tape and a retraction spring and includes an opening through which a distal end of the tape extends. During use, the distal end of the tape is pulled away from the housing; when released, the spring pulls the tape back into the housing so that the tape returns to the retracted position.
Typically, such tape measures include some form of mounting clip (e.g., a belt clip) for attaching the tape measure to a belt, the top of a thin wall, or the like. Typically, such belt clips take the form of a single piece of spring-like material formed into a modified "R" shape. Examples of such structures are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,527,334. These conventional belt clips are attached to the tape measure's housing by a screw, although other means are known in the art. While such belt clips are convenient from a manufacturing perspective, they are not ideal for all circumstances. For example, it is sometimes cumbersome to "open" such clips without sliding the relevant surface to be mounted to into the clip. That is, the operations of opening and clipping are essentially collapsed into a single step. While convenient for some situations, users sometimes desire to open the clip before sliding the relevant supporting material into the clip, and then close the clip after the supporting material is in place. As such, there remains a need for alternative mounting clips designs.


An edge protector for protecting goods having at least one edge against damage of the edge by a strap wrapping the goods comprises a force-distributing member for distributing a force applied by a wrapping strap to goods wrapped by the strap in such a manner as to protect the edge from damage by the strap. A spring clip connected to the force-distributing member and engageable with the strap secures the edge protector to the strap. The clip comprises a proximal portion attached to the force-distributing member and a distal portion spaced apart from the proximal portion and adjacent to but detached from the distal portion. The clip is formed with a cam that is contoured so that the strap can be pressed against the cam to elevate the distal portion of the clip relative to the force-distributing member and slid between the clip and the force-distributing member, thereby securing the strap and the edge protector together and militating against their inadvertent separation even upon removal of the strap from the goods.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to edge protectors for protecting goods having at least one edge against damage of the edge by a strap wrapping the goods and more particularly to a novel and highly effective edge protector constructed to prevent its inadvertent detachment from the wrapping strap even upon removal of the strap from the goods.
2. Description of the Prior Art
When certain goods are packaged for handling in a warehouse or for shipment they are often banded with a steel or plastic strap or tether. The goods may be stacked on a wooden, metal or plastic pallet, and several straps are passed through or around the pallet and around the goods to secure the goods so that they can be handled safely by a forklift or crane and thereby moved around a warehouse, loaded into a standard 20 foot or 40 foot container, or lowered into the hold of a ship.
Roll goods such as paper or sheet steel are often secured by wrapping straps extending longitudinally through the center and along the outside of the roll and radially along opposite ends of the roll.
In order to ensure that the goods are held securely, the bands are tightened with a considerable force, usually generated by a banding machine or similar equipment. The force supplied by a banding strap to the goods is highly concentrated where the strap bears against an edge of the banded goods, and to prevent damage to the edge of the goods, an edge protector is employed. Edge protectors are placed between the straps and the edges of the goods, and the straps bear on the edge protectors instead of directly on the banded goods.
An edge protector includes a plate or similar structure to distribute over a relatively large area the force that would otherwise be applied directly to a small part of an edge.
Conventional edge protectors, however, have some inconvenient aspects. One is that they are awkward to put into service.
Certain edge protectors are for example put into service by threading an end of a banding strap through a first aperture in the edge protector from the bottom side to the top side of the edge protector, passing it over the top of the edge protector, and threading it through a second aperture from the top side to the bottom side. The part of the edge protector between the two apertures is placed over an edge to be protected. In many facilities, hundreds of edge protectors are used per day, and the aggregate time devoted to the threading operation is considerable and adds commensurately to the cost of handling the goods.
Another type of conventional edge protector is provided with tabs that can be raised by hand to accept a banding strap and then lowered on the strap to connect the edge protector and the strap together. This has the advantage that the strap can be connected to the edge protector by a relative lateral movement; in other words, it is not necessary to thread the end of the strap through an aperture. However, it is awkward to raise the tabs by hand while engaging the straps; typically one or more digits of one hand must push down on a first part of the edge protector and one or more digits of the same hand must pull up on another part of the edge protector while the other hand inserts the strap. This requires enough manual dexterity that some people find it objectionable and accomplish it only with difficulty. Even those who are quite dextrous find that a certain amount of time and patience is required to accomplish the task. If the task must be repeated hundreds of time in an eighthour work shift, there is some risk of developing tunnel carpel syndrome or other injury due to repetitive motion.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,073,439 discloses an edge protector having an opening 30 so that masking tape 32 (FIG. 2) can be employed to prevent the edge protector from moving relative to the protected goods. In the modification of FIG. 5, an adhesive patch 134 is employed.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,152,693 discloses an edge protector having tabs 15 that can be manually pivoted about flexible hinges 16 to accept a strap 13. When the strap 13 is inserted, the tabs 15 prevent it from becoming dislodged.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,908,850 discloses a protector having shoulders 32 that position it with respect to a strap 20 and teeth 38 for securing it to a wooden crate or the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,960,091 discloses a rope hook mount having a lip 17 formed with a free end 20 extending over a central aperture 16 so that a rope 19 can be anchored under the lip 17 and used to stabilize cargo in a vehicle such as a truck or boat.
U.S Pat. No. 4,011,632 discloses a protector having a lip 28 that can be slipped between adjacent cartons 14 in a stack of cartons.
U S. Pat. No. 4,938,357 discloses an edge protector formed with a slot 9 for a strap 2 and with a tab 12 that extends over the strap 2. However, the tab 12 is not formed with a cam at its distal end. Moreover, the strap 2 does not overlie any part of the arm 6 between the slot 9 and the edge 10. While this device may stay attached to the strap 2 after the strap 2 is cut, the method of attachment is relatively cumbersome and requires that the tab 12 be bent out manually to receive the strap 2 or that the strap 2 be threaded through the slot 9 from the bottom.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,056,664 discloses an edge protector formed with openings 14 and 15 so that a tether 17 can be passed through the openings to secure the protector to a stack 16. While the strip 11 will not separate from the tether 17 when the tether 17 is cut, the tether 17 can be secured to the strip 11 only by threading it through the openings 14 and 15, which is a relatively cumbersome procedure.

c/o Badger Plug Company, 1850 W. Reeve St.


A system and method for predicting yield of integrated circuits includes at least one type of characterization vehicle which incorporates at least one feature which is representative of at least one type of feature to be incorporated in the final integrated circuit product. The characterization vehicle is subjected to at least one of the process operations making up the fabrication cycle to be used in fabricating the integrated circuit product in order to produce a yield model. The yield model embodies a layout as defined by the characterization vehicle and preferably includes features which facilitate the gathering of electrical test data and testing of prototype sections at operating speeds. An extraction engine extracts predetermined layout attributes from a proposed product layout. Operating on the yield model, the extraction engine produces yield predictions as a function of layout attributes and broken down by layers or steps in the fabrication process. These yield predictions are then used to determine which areas in the fabrication process require the most improvement.

The present invention pertains to fabrication of integrated circuits and more particularly to systems and methods for improving fabrication yields.
The fabrication of integrated circuits is an extremely complex process that may involve hundreds of individual operations. Basically, the process includes the diffusion of precisely predetermined amounts of dopant material into precisely predetermined areas of a silicon wafer to produce active devices such as transistors. This is typically done by forming a layer of silicon dioxide on the wafer, then utilizing a photomask and photoresist to define a pattern of areas into which diffusion is to occur through a silicon dioxide mask. Openings are then etched through the silicon dioxide layer to define the pattern of precisely sized and located openings through which diffusion will take place. After a predetermined number of such diffusion operations have been carried out to produce the desired number of transistors in the wafer, they are interconnected as required by interconnection lines. These interconnection lines, or interconnects as they are also known, are typically formed by deposition of an electrically conductive material which is defined into the desired interconnect pattern by a photomask, photoresist and etching process. A typical completed integrated circuit may have millions of transistors contained with a 0.1 inch by 0.1 inch silicon chip and interconnects of submicron dimensions.
In view of the device and interconnect densities required in present day integrated circuits, it is imperative that the manufacturing processes be carried out with utmost precision and in a way that minimizes defects. For reliable operation, the electrical characteristics of the circuits must be kept within carefully controlled limits, which implies a high degree of control over the myriad of operations and fabrication processes. For example, in the photoresist and photomask operations, the presence of contaminants such as dust, minute scratches and other imperfections in the patterns on the photomasks can produce defective patterns on the semiconductor wafers, resulting in defective integrated circuits. Further, defects can be introduced in the circuits during the diffusion operations themselves. Defective circuits may be identified both by visual inspection under high magnification and by electrical tests. Once defective integrated circuits have been identified, it is desired to take steps to decrease the number of defective integrated circuits produced in the manufacturing process, thus increasing the yield of the integrated circuits meeting specifications.
In the past, many of the defects which caused poor yield in integrated circuits were caused by particulate contaminants or other random sources. Increasingly, many of the defects seen in modern integrated circuit processes are not sourced from particulates or random contaminants, especially in the earlier stages of process development or yield ramping, but rather stem from very systematic sources. Examples of these systematic defect sources include printability problems from using aggressive lithography tools, poly stringers from poorly formed silicides, gate length variation from density driven and optical proximity effects.
In attempting to decrease the number of defective integrated circuits produced in the manufacturing process, thus increasing the yield, one is faced with the fact that any one or more of possibly several hundred processing steps may have caused a particular circuit to be defective. With such a large number of variables to work with, it can be extremely difficult to determine the exact cause or causes of the defect or defects in a particular circuit thereby making it extraordinarily difficult to identify and correct the yield detracting process operations. Detailed inspection of the completed integrated circuits may provide some indication of which process operation may have caused the circuits to be defective. However, inspection equipment often does not capture many of the systematic defect sources and/or the tools can be difficult to tune, optimize, or use effectively and reliably. Furthermore, inspection equipment, especially in recent technologies is often plagued with many false alarms or nuisance defects, as they are known, which serve to frustrate any attempts to reliably observe true defects or sources of defects.
It is typically discovered that, once a particular problem has been identified at final test after completion of the fabrication cycle, it can be confirmed that a problem in a particular process operation did exist at the time that operation was carried out, which could have been weeks or even months earlier. Thus the problem might be corrected well after the fact. At this time, different process operations may be causing problems. Thus, after the fact analysis of defective integrated circuits and identification of process operations causing these defective products is severely limited as a means for improving the overall yield of integrated circuits.
A number of attempts to predict yields instead of conducting unsatisfactory after the fact analysis have been made with varying degrees of success. Thus, there is a need for an improved system and method for integrated circuit product yield prediction.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System and method for product yield prediction


An adaptive cancellation circuit and method are provided. The circuit includes a main path and an auxiliary path. The main path includes a first amplifier configured to output a first amplified signal to a first mixer. The main path is configured to output a first signal comprising a wanted signal component and a distortion component. The auxiliary path includes a second amplifier configured to output a second amplified signal to a second mixer. The second mixer is connected to a filter configured to remove the wanted signal component. The auxiliary path is configured to output a second signal including the distortion component.

Mixers are widely used in communication systems to modulate and demodulate signals. Oftentimes, a mixer may cause undesired intermodulation distortion in the communication system because of its inherent nonlinear property. The intermodulation distortion includes the amplitude modulation of signals containing two or more different frequencies. The intermodulation between each frequency component will form additional signals at frequencies that are not just at harmonic frequencies (integer multiples) of either frequency component, but also at the sum and difference frequencies of the original frequencies and at multiples of those sum and difference frequencies.

Method and apparatus for adaptive cancellation of distortion and phase noise


In a variably operated valve system for a multi-cylinder internal combustion engine and a control apparatus for the variably operated valve system, a first valve stop mechanism is configured to switch between a valve operation state in which one of a pair of intake valves from among the pair of intake valves of a part of a plurality of cylinders is operated to be open or closed and a valve stopped state in which the valve open or closure operation of the one of the intake valves is stopped, a second valve stop mechanism is configured to switch between the valve operation state in which the other of the pair of intake valves from among the pair of intake valves of the part of the cylinders is operated to be open or closed and the valve stopped state in which the valve open or closure operation is stopped.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a variably operated valve system for a multi-cylinder internal combustion engine and a control apparatus for the variably operated valve system which are capably of stopping valve open-or-closure operations of intake valves and exhaust valve(s) in accordance with an engine driving state.
(2) Description of Related Art
A Japanese Patent Application First Publication (tokkai) No. 2007-100585 published on Apr. 19, 2007 exemplifies a previously proposed variably operated valve system for a multi-cylinder internal combustion engine.
This variably operated valve system is provided with a valve stop (pause) mechanism which stops (pauses) a valve open-or-closure operations of each of or a pair of intake valves and each or single exhaust valve of a part of a plurality of cylinders and a body of a lash adjuster is fixed to a cylinder head by means of a switching member in a high-speed rotation driving demanding a high output of the engine. Hence, since this lash adjuster functions as a normal lash adjuster, when a rocker arm is pushed down by means of cams, one end section of a rocker arm is swung as a swing fulcrum and the other end of the rocker arm actuates the intake valves and exhaust valves respectively by predetermined lift quantities.
On the other hand, in a common use driving area demanding a low fuel consumption, the switching member is moved in the body of the lash adjuster to make the rash adjuster lost motion to stop the operations of the intake valves and exhaust valves in a part of the cylinders. Thus, a combustion drive by only the remaining cylinder(s), namely, so called, a reduced cylinder drive is performed. Consequently, the fuel consumption (or fuel efficiency) becomes improved.

Variably operated valve system for multi-cylinder internal combustion engine and control apparatus for variably operated valve system


A radio antenna has an antenna element 12 which is slidable with respect to a casing of the radio between an extended position (FIG. 5) and a retracted position. In the extended position, a metal plate 15 on the lower end of the antenna element 12 cooperates with a fixed dielectric 17 and a fixed metal plate 17 to form a capacitor providing a signal link to a coaxial cable 18 leading to a matching network. This avoids the need for a sliding metal connection, as in the prior art. In the retracted position of the antenna element 12, the capacitive link is effectively disconnected.

There exists a requirement for antennas on portable radio equipment to have the facility of being operational when retracted into the set and of offering improved performance when extended, or to be capable of being laid down alongside the equipment for transport or convenience, or to achieve a suitable angle for operation.
Conventionally this is achieved by a mechanical telescopic rod or a fixed rod which slides out, or by a pivot arrangement, created by a "tongue and slot" in metal with a method of maintaining friction.
Both these methods require a mechanical connection to the rod in order to provide the electrical "joint" to the radio.
This mechanical interface is prone to problems from two areas:
1) The connection point is subject to wear resulting in intermittent contact. PA1 2) It is very difficult to maintain a consistent and repeatable joint to allow optimisation of the various tuning components within the radio.


Disclosed is a method including supporting multiple IP addresses in a functionality configured to operate as an endpoint of tunnels conveying data, which is destined to mobile nodes; and dynamically assigning the multiple IP addresses for use in mobile nodes. Also corresponding apparatus, computer program and system are disclosed.

Mobile IPv4 (Internet Protocol version 4) is in general a protocol enhancement that is designed to allow mobile device users to move from one network to another while maintaining their permanent IP address. That is, mobile IP allows transparent routing of IP datagrams to mobile nodes (MN) in the Internet. Each mobile node is always identified by its home address, regardless of its current point of attachment to the Internet. When situated away from its home, a mobile node is also associated with a care-of address, which provides information about its current point of attachment to the Internet.
There are two kinds of network entities in Mobile IP:                A home agent (HA) stores information about mobile nodes whose permanent address is in the home agent's network.        A foreign agent (FA) stores information about mobile nodes visiting its network. Foreign agents also advertise care-of addresses, which are used by Mobile IP.
Data packets are sent to a mobile node using the home address of the mobile node. If the mobile node is situated in a foreign network, these packets are intercepted by the home agent, which tunnels the packets to the mobile node's care-of address with a new IP header, preserving the original IP header. The foreign agent in the foreign network then decapsulates the packets at the end of the tunnel to remove the added IP header and delivers the original packets to the mobile node.
In other words all user traffic has to flow through foreign agent and home agent. In broadband communication networks the amount of such traffic can be significant and may exceed 1 Gbps. However, the most popular physical connection between a foreign agent and a home agent (with potentially multiple hops) is Gigabit Ethernet (GE). That is, the amount of user traffic may exceed capacity of the single link physical connection between a foreign agent and a home agent.
This causes the problem of how to fit the user traffic, which may well constitute multigigabit traffic, into the physical connection between a home agent and a foreign agent.
In order to increase capacity there may be multiple parallel GE links between a home agent and a foreign agent. In general, there are few schemes (all similar) for dividing or balancing load between multiple physical links. One example of such scheme is Equal Cost MultiPath (ECMP) on IP level, another one is Ethernet Link Aggregation (802.3ad) with corresponding Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP). The requirement for any such load balancing scheme is preservation of packet order for the same user flow, meaning that all packets for the same user "conversation" (defined usually by 5-tuple—Layer 3 IP source and destination, address, Layer 4 protocol and Layer 4 source and destination ports—or sometimes even more) have to go through the same physical link. Such schemes work well in non-tunneled traffic, because the load balancing can be based either on Layer 2 (MAC address), or Layer 3 (source/destination IP), or even Layer 4 (UDP/TCP ports).
However, in mobile IP all user packets are encapsulated between FA and HA into a tunnel (for example an IP-in-IP tunnel). It means that from point of view of the network devices between FA and HA the entire user traffic (for all mobile subscribers) is a single IP flow or conversation between FA IP address and HA IP address. Thus none of the load balancing schemes can be used, because all layers (L2, L3, and L4) are always the same for all packets inside the tunnel. This results in that the network may be forced to fit the multigigabit mobile IP traffic into single GE link, which clearly causes throughput problems.
It is noted that higher speed links than 1 gigabit links may be available (for example 10 gigabit link may be possible), but such links are expensive and may require optical infrastructure, which is not always available.
Hence, there is a need for a new approach which would avoid and/or mitigate the problems associated with the present solutions.

Mobile IP solution for communication networks


A cardiac pacing system that enhances the ability of a cardiac pacer to automatically detect whether a pacing stimulus results in heart capture or contraction. The cardiac pacing system includes a pacing circuit that attenuates polarization voltages or “afterpotential” which develop at the heart tissue/electrode interface following the delivery of a stimulus to the heart tissue, which thereby allows the pacing electrodes to be utilized to sense an evoked response to the pacing stimulus. The cardiac pacing system utilizes the pacing electrodes to sense an evoked response, thereby eliminating the necessity for an indifferent electrode to sense an evoked response. The present invention allows accurate detection of an evoked response of the heart, to thereby determine whether each pacing stimulus results in capture.

I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of cardiac rhythm management devices, including atrial, ventricular, and dual chamber pacemakers. More specifically, the present invention relates to a cardiac pacing system that improves the ability to automatically detect whether a pacing stimulus results in heart capture or contraction. The cardiac pacing system includes a pacing/sensing circuit that attenuates polarization voltages or "afterpotentials" which develop at the heart tissue/electrode interface following the delivery of a stimulus to the heart tissue. The pacing/sensing circuit of the present invention may utilize the pacing electrodes to sense a response evoked by the pacing stimulus. Thus, the present invention allows accurate detection of an evoked response of the heart, to thereby determine whether each pacing stimulus results in capture.
II. Discussion of the Prior Art
Cardiac pacers have enjoyed widespread use and popularity through time as a means for supplanting some or all of an abnormal heart's natural pacing functions. The various heart abnormalities remedied by pacemakers include total or partial heart block, arrhythmias, myocardial infarctions, congestive heart failure, congenital heart disorders, and various other rhythm disturbances within the heart. The general components of a cardiac pacemaker include an electronic pulse generator for generating stimulus pulses to the heart coupled to an electrode lead arrangement (unipolar or bipolar) positioned adjacent or within a preselected heart chamber for delivering pacing stimulus pulses.
Regardless of the type of cardiac pacemaker employed to restore the heart's natural rhythm (ie: ventricular pacing, atrial pacing, or dual chamber pacing in both the atrium and ventricle), each type operates to stimulate excitable heart tissue cells adjacent to the electrode of the pacing lead employed with the pacemaker, which may or may not result in capture. Myocardial response to stimulation or "capture" is a function of the positive and negative charges found in each myocardial cell within the heart. More specifically, the selective permeability of each myocardial cell works to retain potassium and exclude sodium such that, when the cell is at rest, the concentration of sodium ions outside of the cell membrane is significantly greater than the concentration of sodium ions inside the cell membrane, while the concentration of potassium ions outside the cell membrane is significantly less than the concentration of potassium ions inside the cell membrane. The selective permeability of each myocardial cell also retains other negative particles within the cell membrane such that the inside of the cell membrane is negatively charged with respect to the outside when the cell is at rest. When a stimulus is applied to the cell membrane, the selective permeability of the cell membrane is disturbed and it can no longer block the inflow of sodium ions from outside the cell membrane. The inflow of sodium ions at the stimulation site causes the adjacent portions of the cell membrane to lose its selective permeability, thereby causing a chain reaction across the cell membrane until the cell interior is flooded with sodium ions. This process, referred to as depolarization, causes the myocardial cell to have a net positive charge due to the inflow of sodium ions. The electrical depolarization of the cell interior causes a mechanical contraction or shortening of the myofibril of the cell. The syncytial structure of the myocardium will cause the depolarization originating in any one cell to radiate through the entire mass of the heart muscle so that all cells are stimulated for effective pumping. Following heart contraction or systole, the selective permeability of the cell membrane returns and sodium is pumped out until the cell is re-polarized with a negative charge within the cell membrane. This causes the cell membrane to relax and return to the fully extended state, referred to as diastole.
In a normal heart, the sino-atrial (SA) node initiates the myocardial stimulation of the atrium. The SA node comprises a bundle of unique cells disposed within the roof of the right atrium. Each cell membrane of the SA node has a characteristic tendency to leak ions gradually over time such that the cell membrane periodically breaks down and allows an inflow of sodium ions, thereby causing the SA node cells to depolarize. The SA node cells are in communication with the surrounding atrial muscle cells such that the depolarization of the SA node cells causes the adjacent atrial muscle cells to depolarize. This results in atrial systole wherein the atria contract to empty blood into the ventricles. The atrial depolarization from the SA node is detected by the atrioventricular (AV) node which, in turn, communicates the depolarization impulse into the ventricles via the Bundle of His and Purkinje fibers following a brief conduction delay. In this fashion, ventricular systole lags behind atrial systole such that the blood from the ventricles pumps through the body and lungs after being filled by the atria. Atrial and ventricular diastole follow wherein the myocardium is re-polarized and the heart muscle relaxed in preparation for the next cardiac cycle. It is when this system fails or functions abnormally that a cardiac pacer may be needed to deliver an electronic pacing stimulus for selectively depolarizing the myocardium of the heart so as to maintain proper heart rate and synchronization of the filling and contraction of the atrial and ventricular chambers of the heart.
The success of a pacing stimulus in depolarizing or "capturing" the selected chamber of the heart hinges on whether the current of the pacing stimulus as delivered to the myocardium exceeds a threshold value. This threshold value, referred to as the capture threshold, is related to the electrical field intensity required to alter the permeability of the myocardial cells to thereby initiate cell depolarization. If the local electrical field associated with the pacing stimulus does not exceed the capture threshold, then the permeability of the myocardial cells will not be altered enough and thus no depolarization will result. If, on the other hand, the local electrical field associated with the pacing stimulus exceeds the capture threshold, then the permeability of the myocardial cells will be altered sufficiently such that depolarization will result.
Changes in the capture threshold may be detected by monitoring the efficacy of stimulating pulses at a given energy level. If capture does not occur at a particular stimulation energy level which previously was adequate to effect capture, then it can be surmised that the capture threshold has increased and that the stimulation energy should be increased. On the other hand, if capture occurs consistently at a particular stimulation energy level over a relatively large number of successive stimulation cycles, then it is possible that the capture threshold has decreased such that the stimulation energy is being delivered at level higher than necessary to effect capture.
The ability of a pacemaker to detect capture is desirable in that delivering stimulation pulses having energy far in excess of the patient's capture threshold is wasteful of the pacemaker's limited power supply. In order to minimize current drain on the power supply, it is desirable to automatically adjust the pacemaker such that the amount of stimulation energy delivered to the myocardium is maintained at the lowest level that will reliably capture the heart. To accomplish this, a process known as "capture verification" must be performed wherein the pacemaker monitors to determine whether an evoked depolarization occurs in the preselected heart chamber following the delivery of each pacing stimulus pulse to the preselected chamber of the heart.
The conventional pacemaker typically includes a pacing output circuit designed to selectively generate and deliver stimulus pulses through a lead to one or more electrodes positioned in the heart of a patient. The pacing output circuit includes a power supply, switches, a pacing charge storage capacitor, and a coupling capacitor, all of which cooperatively operate under the direction of a controller to perform a charging cycle, a pacing cycle, and a recharging cycle. The capacitance of the pacing charge storage capacitor typically ranges between 10–30 microfarads so as to develop a sufficient pacing charge for stimulating the heart. The capacitance of the coupling capacitor typically ranges between 15 to 40 microfarads with 33 microfarads being typical. A capacitor having a capacitance in this range was believed necessary to deliver sufficient energy to the heart.
The charging cycle involves manipulation of the switches such that the pacing charge storage capacitor is charged up to a predetermined voltage level. The pacing cycle involves manipulating the switches such that the voltage within the pacing charge storage capacitor may be discharged through the coupling capacitor to the electrodes of the pacemaker. The recharging cycle involves further manipulation of the switches for a predetermined period of time following the pacing pulse to allow the coupling capacitor to be discharged.
While the conventional pacing circuit is generally effective in delivering stimulus pulses to a selected chamber of the heart, it has been found that the detection of evoked depolarization or "capture verification" is rendered very difficult due to polarization voltages or "afterpotential" which develop at the heart tissue/electrode interface following the application of the stimulation pulses. The ability to verify capture is further affected by other variables including patient activity, body position, drugs being used, lead movement, noise etc.
In the past, the large capacitance of coupling capacitor was believed necessary in order to sufficiently block any DC components from the heart and to minimize pace pulse voltage droop. However, the large capacitance of the coupling capacitor causes a charge dissipation or "afterpotential" which is relatively large (100 mV or greater) and which decays exponentially over a relatively long period of time (100 milliseconds). This is particularly troublesome due to the fact that the evoked potential of the heart tissue is small in amplitude relative to the polarization voltage or "afterpotential" (100 mV). The amplitude of the evoked potential corresponding to a P-wave typically ranges between 1–5 mV and the amplitude of the evoked potential corresponding to an R-wave typically ranges between 5–20 mV.
Further, the long decay period of the polarization voltage or "afterpotential" effectively masks the evoked potential, which typically begins within approximately (10–40) milliseconds after the stimulation pulse to a selected chamber of the heart. It will be appreciated that this creates difficulty in detecting the evoked response of the heart following the delivery of stimulus pulses. In that evoked response is indicative of capture, the undesirable masking of the evoked response by "afterpotential" thus hampers the ability of the pacemaker to conduct automatic capture verification. Hence, there is a need for a cardiac pacing system that decreases and/or shortens the pacing afterpotential with minimal increase of the leading edge voltage pacing threshold. It is also desirable to reduce the number or complexity of the implanted components and, thus, there is a need for a pacing system having a pacing/sensing circuit that minimizes the number of required electrodes positioned within the heart for sensing a response evoked by a pacing stimulus directed to a preselected chamber of the heart.
Sholder in U.S. Pat. No. 5,222,483 recognizes that sensing a signal for verification of capture is extremely difficult because of the saturation voltage present following the generation of a stimulation pulse, which makes it difficult to accurately detect the voltage representing P-waves while discriminating against other signals present in the atrium. Sholder describes a capture verification circuit that requires an indifferent electrode disposed on the front or back of the connector top of the pacemaker or alternatively positioned on an additional lead or added to one of the pacing leads. The capture sensing lead and/or indifferent electrode required by Sholder increases the complexity and required components of the pacing system and may increase the cost thereof.
Hence, there is a need for a cardiac pacing system that attenuates polarization voltages or "afterpotentials" which develop at the heart tissue/electrode interface following the delivery of a stimulus to the heart tissue, and which minimizes the number of required components of the cardiac pacing system. The present invention meets these needs.


A high voltage semiconductor device, including: a high concentration collector area of a first conductive type; a low concentration collector area of a first conductive type formed on the high concentration collector area; a base area of a second conductive type formed on the low concentration collector area and having a trench perforating the low concentration collector area in a vertical direction at the edge of the trench; a high concentration emitter area of a first conductive type formed on a predetermined upper surface of the base area; and an emitter electrode, a base electrode, and a collector electrode isolated from one another and connected to the emitter area, the base area, and the collector area, respectively. High breakdown voltage can be obtained with a narrow junction termination area due to the trench.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a high voltage semiconductor device and a method of fabricating the same, and more particularly, to a high voltage semiconductor device having a high breakdown voltage and a method of fabricating the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A strong electric field is generated at the inside or edge of a high voltage device, which reduces the breakdown voltage of the high voltage device. A representative method of preventing a strong electric field from being generated at the edge of the high voltage device is to use a floating field ring (also called a field limiting ring). The floating field ring, which is formed around a main junction without any electric contact, reduces the concentration of an electric field at a cylindrical junction by extending the boundary of a depletion area which is formed by an application of a reverse bias to the main junction. To increase the effect of the floating field ring, a plurality of floating field rings can be formed and will be described with reference to FIG. 1.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a junction termination of a high voltage semiconductor device using a plurality of field limiting rings. Referring to FIG. 1, an n+-type collector area 11 is formed on an n+-type collector area 10. A p-type base area 12 is formed on an upper surface of the n−-type collector area 11. An n+-type emitter area 13 is formed on an upper surface of the p-type base area 12. Meanwhile, a plurality of floating field rings 14a, 14b, and 14c, which are spaced apart from the p-type base area 12, are formed on the surface of the n−-type collector area 11. Only three floating field rings are shown in FIG. 1, however, more floating field rings may be formed. An n+-type channel stopper 15 is formed on an upper surface of the n−-type collector area 11 at regular intervals from the floating field ring 14c farthest from the p-type base area 12. An emitter electrode 16, a base electrode 17, a collector electrode 18 and an equipotential electrode 19 are formed to be electrically connected to the emitter area 13, the base area 12, the collector area 10, and the channel stopper 15, respectively. The electrodes 16, 17, 18, and 19 are insulated from one another by dielectric layers 20. Meanwhile, a plurality of plates 21a, 21b, and 21c are formed on the dielectric layer 20 above the floating field rings 14a, 14b, and 14c.
In a high voltage semiconductor device having the above-described structure, in a case where reverse bias is applied to a pn junction formed by the n-type collector area 11 and the p-type base area 12, a depletion area extends to each area around the floating field rings 14a, 14b, and 14c. As a result, the concentration of an electric field at a cylindrical junction is reduced and thus the breakdown voltage of the device increases.
This method of using a plurality of floating field rings is effective in improving the breakdown voltage of devices, however, demands a wider junction termination area.
Besides this method of using floating field rings, a method of using field plates, etch contour technology, bevel edge termination technology, junction termination extension technology, variation lateral doping technology, and a method of using a semi-insulating polysilicon layer are well known as ways of preventing generation of a strong electric field at a junction terminal. However, these methods all demand a wide junction termination area to obtain a high breakdown voltage.

High voltage semiconductor device having high breakdown voltage and method of fabricating the same


A method and system are disclosed for transparent backup to a hierarchical storage system. A data management application requests a backup operation, communicating the request using the Network Data Management Protocol with a tape server and a data server. The tape server generates a unique identifier for the data set. In addition, the tape server transfers the data set from the data server to the hierarchical storage system and sends the identifier to the data management application in response to the request. The identifier identifies the data set within the hierarchical storage system. In a certain embodiment, the tape server stores and manages the data set in locations transparent to the data management application. The tape server and data management application may be logically distinct. The data management application may access the data set through the tape server using the identifier.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to backup operations and more particularly relates to transparent backup to a hierarchical storage system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Data processing systems regularly store data of great worth to an organization. The data may be organized as one or more data sets. The data sets may include database files, linked data arrays, flat files, and the like. A data processing system may back up the data sets to a remote storage device to preserve the data sets in case the data sets stored within the data processing system are lost or corrupted. For example, a data management application executing on the data processing system may back up a plurality of data sets from a data source of a data server to a remote storage device such as a magnetic tape drive.
The data management application may use the Network Data Management Protocol (NDMP) from the NDMP Initiative to back up one or more data sets to a remote data storage device. NDMP provides the data management application with functions for backing up data sets and restoring the data sets. For example, the data management application may use NDMP tape server to back up and/or restore data sets to a magnetic tape drive. As used herein, magnetic tape drives are referred to as tape drives.
Unfortunately, NDMP tape server requires the data management application to perform storage management processes for the tape drive. Thus the data management application must identify a volume, select a tape drive, mount the tape, position the tape, specify an offset and size for a data set, direct the reading of the data set, and dismount the tape to retrieve the data set from the magnetic tape.
The requirements of an NDMP tape server make it difficult for the data management application to track and manage data sets stored to a remote storage device such as a tape drive. In addition, the data management application must be configured to perform data management tasks to preserve, manage, and restore the data sets.

Method and system for transparent backup to a hierarchical storage system


Disclosed is a deflector disc of a disc tube membrane module, including a deflector disc body, radial water distribution ribs, an inner support ring and an outer support ring. Bulges are arranged on the front and back sides of the deflector disc body; first and second ends of the radial water distribution rib are respectively fixedly connected with an inner edge of the deflector disc body and an outer edge of the inner support ring, an annular boss is arranged on the front side of the inner support ring, a seal ring groove is respectively arranged at corresponding positions of the front and back sides of the inner support ring, multiple yielding water collecting grooves are annularly and uniformly distributed on the inner surface of the inner support ring; an inner edge of the outer support ring is fixedly connected with an outer edge of the deflector disc body.

A disc tube membrane module breaks through limitation to application of the traditional spiral-wound membrane module in an unique open type flow channel design manner and is widely applied to various wastewater with high concentration of salt, ammonia nitrogen, organic matters, suspended matters in the industries of landfill leachate, power plant desulfurization, coal chemicals and the like. Recently, with the increasingly application requirements of near zero liquid discharge, applicability of a disc tube reverse osmosis system is required to be wider and wider, and to purchase a recovery ratio of the system, requirements on pressure resistance of the disc tube membrane module are higher and higher.
A deflector disc is a core component of the disc tube membrane module, and is used for fixing and limiting a membrane and also defining a turbulence effect of a membrane surface, the turbulence effect directly influences anti-fouling performance of the membrane module, and a structure of the deflector disc also decides a sealing effect of the deflector disc and the membrane under high pressure.
A resisted pressure of a common disc tube reverse osmosis module generally is within 9.0 MPa, but in actual application, an operation pressure is required to reach 16.0 MPa to purchase a higher concentration times, so, higher requirements on the strength, the sealing effect and the turbulence effect of the deflector disc are put forward.

Deflector disc of disc tube membrane module


An air filtering device for a motor vehicle having a vent for air intake. The air filtering device includes a housing having a plurality of apertures disposed therein, a filter element, and connecting means to removably couple the housing and filter element to a position overlying the vent on the motor vehicle. The housing engages the body of the vehicle, and the filter element is positioned within the housing so that air normally passing into an air intake vent first passes through the apertures located in the housing and is filtered by the filter element. The air filtering device can take a variety of shapes and sizes so that any vent orientation may be adequately fitted and filtered. The air filtering device is easily removable for cleaning and/or replacement of the filter element.

Trucks and other over-the-road vehicles, such as busses, travel many miles during a day. Dirt and dust are often deposited in the truck cab by travelling through the air ventilation system of the vehicles. More particularly, trucks typically do not have any air filter over the vent intake for the heater and air-conditioner. Thus, when the heater or air-conditioner is operated, air carrying dust and dirt particles flows through the system and eventually into the interior of the truck. The dirt and dust often times has an oil residue. The dirt and dust are deposited on the driver, as well as the seats, the dashboard, the gauges, the interior of the windshield, and the sleeping compartment. After a time, the buildup of dirt and dust creates bad odors. Furthermore, under the hood of the vehicles, the radiators become plugged, mold grows, odors are emitted, and air-conditioning drains become clogged by the presence of dirt and dust.
Therefore, a primary objective of the present invention is to provide an air filtering device for a motor vehicle having at least one air inlet opening.
Another objective of the present invention is the provision of an air filtering device for over-the-road vehicles which is removable and which can easily be replaced or cleaned.
Another objective of the present invention is the provision of an air inlet filtering device which removes or reduces dust, dirt, diesel soot, road grime, pollen and other foreign particles from the air before the air enters a truck cab or sleeping compartment.
Still another objective of the present invention is the provision of an air filtering device which is economical to manufacture, and durable, safe, and efficient in use.
These and other objectives will become apparent from the following description of the invention.

Air filtering device for a motor vehicle


An adapter kit for a clutch of the axially engaging, multiple-disc type as described above and includes a sleeve adapted after removal of the original keys to fit snugly into the shell, reducing its inside diameter. The sleeve is radially drilled and tapped and receives bolts through the same boles. occupied by bolts holding on the original keys, the sleeve being provided with inward keys of greater number than the original keys. The kit also comprises a set of adapter discs adapted to replace the original discs and consisting of a greater total number of discs than the original discs, the set comprising drive discs pressed of fibrous non-metallic material and being of the same diameter as the inside of the sleeve. The drive discs have peripheral notches arranged to receive respectively the keys on the sleeve, the drive discs having a central opening amply receiving the studs and pins on the hub. In the set the drive discs alternate with driven discs of thin metal and formed with apertures to receive respectively the individual studs and pins, the driven discs not extending out to the keys.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a kit by which an existing motorcycle clutch can be adapted to give it structure affording lighter touch engagement and disengagement, more secure engagement (that is, better gripping power) and generally quieter operation.
2. Description of Related Art including Information Disclosed under .sctn..sctn.1.97 to 1.99
Since 1936 the Harley Davidson "Big Twin" FLH motorcycle has had a dry clutch of the axial-engaging multiple disc-type having a drive or drive cylinder shell with a bearing in one end and a driven or output hub in the bearing. A circular array of studs and pins has extended into the shell from the hub, the studs being parallel to the axis of the shell. The shell has bolted-on inward keys, also parallel to the axis and alternating drive and driven discs in the shell, the drive discs of bare metal have had notches in their perimeters adapted to receive respectively the keys. A compression plate which is spring biased toward the discs compresses the discs together when the clutch is engaged so that the rotary movement of the shell is communicated to the hub; Means are provided to move the compression plate away from the discs against the spring bias to disengage the clutch.
While the above arrangement was used on Harley Davidson motorcycles from about 1936 to 1984, there has been basis for complaint in the performance. For one thing, the driven discs have been of metal and have extended all the way to the inside periphery of the shell. As a consequence, when the clutch is disengaged, the discs being relatively free, have vibrated inside the shell against the keys causing an unacceptable rattling noise. In addition, there being a relatively small number of discs, engagement of the clutch has required strong springs between the spring collar and the compression plate. This has required substantial force to back off the compression plate and disengage the clutch. Further, the metal driven discs have tended, as the shell rotates, to wobble giving the perception of quasi-engagement so that at times, even with the clutch "disengaged", motion is transmitted between the shell and the hub. This clearly is unacceptable.


A blast tuyere of a blast furnace making it possible that the temperature of Cu of the outer surface of the tuyere is not overheated to its melting point or higher so as to prevent tuyere failure and endure long-term use. This tuyere comprises a tuyere trunk 1 having a cooling chamber 2 of a tuyere body and a cooling chamber 3 of a tuyere nose. At least the upper half of the whole of the outer circumference surface of a portion being in the tuyere trunk and projecting into the blast furnace, or the whole excluding the forefront of the outer circumference surface is coated with a shell layer 5 made of a material having a higher melting point than the melting point of Cu and temperature of a hot metal in the blast furnace. Furthermore, a jacket 4 made of a metal for protecting the tuyere from mechanical impacts received at the time of inserting the tuyere into the blast furnace is fitted onto the outside of the shell layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a blast tuyere of a blast furnace such as a blast furnace for manufacturing iron, a blast furnace for manufacturing nonferrous metals, and a cupola.
2. Related Art
A blast tuyere (referred to as a tuyere hereinafter) of a blast furnace is usually installed in the vicinity of the boundary between the belly and the bottom of the blast furnace, and in many cases a portion of 400-600 mm length at the tip side of the tuyere is projected into the blast furnace. A cool blast or a hot blast is blown from the tip portion (nose) to the inside of the blast furnace. The highest temperature of the hot blast reaches 1250.degree. C., and the highest temperature of the flame in front of the tuyere rises up to 2450.degree. C. Moreover, the interior of the furnace is in the state that pig iron melted at 1500.degree. C. or higher and slag are dropped.
Under such a severe temperature condition, any tuyere must keep its original form and simultaneously cause a hot blast to continue to blow. In the present technology, therefore, a tuyere is made of highly pure copper (Cu) having a high heatproof temperature and a good heat conductivity. In addition, a circular flowing route for cooling-water is formed in the body of the tuyere, and water is permitted to flow in the circular flowing route at a high flowing speed to cool the tuyere, as is known in Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 3-29310, as well.
Since the birth of a blast furnace, however, damage of tuyeres has come into question to be solved. In other words, when the method for cooling tuyeres is improved, the operation conditions of blast furnaces become more severe accordingly so as to induce damage of the tuyeres, and that this predicament has been repeated. The following will broadly describe the history about the improvement in tuyeres of blast furnace.
About 70 years ago, Mr. Hirakawa stated that the cause of the damage of a tuyere is "superheat by contact between the tuyere and a hot metal", and reported, as a countermeasure against the cause, that aluminum (Al) is satisfactory as a material of a tuyere since "a material having a large thermal resistance (thickness/thermal conductivity) and a smooth surface is suitable for the material of the tuyere" and that "an Al tuyere is superior to Cu in workability (light weight) as well as resistance against tuyere failure" (see "Iron and Steel" Vol. 16(1930) No. 6, p. 595). However, Al tuyeres were frequently damaged. Thus, Cu tuyeres have been used since about 1950.
Since about 1960, blast furnace operation has been corresponding to the fact that furnaces have become large-scale. Thus, in those days high pressure operation, high temperature blast, oil injection and oxygen enrichment started. Furthermore, in about 1980, pulverized coal injection started. With such high productivity operation, temperature of the space in front of a tuyere was raised by a rise in temperature of hot blast and injection of a burning aid agent and oxygen. Moreover, the drop amount of hot metal or slag was remarkably increased by improvement in productivity. Based on such causes, thermal load on the tuyere was greatly increased. As a result, tuyere failure frequently occurred again. Once a tuyere is damaged, it is essential that blowing-down is carried out and the tuyere is exchanged. Thus, the reduced amount of production is larger. In the worst case, it is feared that an accident resulting in injury or death happens by serious damage of the tuyere and furnace operation becomes in a bad condition or impossible by invasion of tuyere-cooling-water into a furnace. Accordingly, various improvements have been made, from the standpoint of necessity of preventing tuyere failure.
Incidentally, tuyere failure is classified into 7 types, that is, failure in the upper portion, the two side portions and the lower portion of the outer surface of the tuyere body; the upper portion, the two side portions and the lower portion of the tuyere nose; and the inner surface of the tuyere body.
Recent improved countermeasures against such failure are as follows:
(1) a two chamber type tuyere structure wherein a cooling chamber (for a body chamber) of a tuyere body, and a front cooling chamber and a rear cooling chamber (each of which is for a nose chamber) of a tuyere nose are separately disposed inside the trunk of the tuyere (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 60-55562), (2) a spiral tuyere structure for causing water to flow from the body of a tuyere trunk, through an outer cooling-water chamber, a spiral passage, and a front circular passage, to an inner cooling-water chamber and further to be discharged from the body of the tuyere trunk, so as to raise the speed of the cooling-water, in particular, at a tuyere nose(Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 51-19802), (3) hard-facing structure for preventing wear at a tuyere nose (Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 55-124446), (4) alloy padding structure for raising melting temperature (Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 4-131639), (5) inner face ceramic lining processing for preventing the inner face of a tuyere from being failed and worn (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 6-60333), and the like. At present improved means comprising a single from them or a combination of them are adopted.
As a result, the failure in the inner face of a tuyere hardly arises by the inner face ceramic lining processing. Furthermore, the frequency of failure in the nose of the tuyere can greatly be reduced by both cooling-water having high pressure and speed and the hard-facing.
However, the frequency of failure in the outer surface of the tuyere body, particularly the upper portion of the outer surface, is not reduced even by such improved means. This is because the drop of a hot metal of 1500.degree. C. or more falls, from the upper part of a furnace, directly onto the outer surface of the tuyere body, so that the drop contacts Cu constituting the tuyere and causes the Cu to be melted.
Of course, in this case, even if hot melt slag of 1500.degree. C. or more drops from just above the tuyere, the tuyere is not damaged in the case wherein the upper surface of the tuyere body is not heated to the melting point of Cu or higher. Furthermore, even if the fluid surface level of the hot metal or slag rises so that the fluid of 1500.degree. C. or higher contacts the lower surface of the tuyere body, the tuyere is not damaged in the case wherein the tuyere body is not heated to the melting point of Cu or higher. At present, however, there is not realized a cooling means for, even if the hot metal or slag contacts the tuyere directly, keeping the temperature of the contacted portion of the tuyere below the melting point. Thus, there remains a problem that the frequency of failure in the outer surface of the tuyere body is still high.