Transmission mode selection is enabled, so communication reliability, transmission speed, and equipment utilization efficiency are all high. A first transmission system whereby spectrum spreading is accomplished with a spread code 1 and data is transmitted, and a second transmission system whereby data is transmitted with a spread code 2, are provided. In high-reliability transmission mode, identical data from a data buffer is transmitted through both the first and second transmission systems to achieve space diversity. In high-speed mode, data divided by a data division circuit is transmitted simultaneously through the first and second transmission systems, making possible efficient data transfer. Control information insertion circuits append transmission mode data to the transmitted data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a transmitter, a receiver, a communication system, and a communication method which employ a spread spectrum communication technique.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, communication systems which employ the spread spectrum communication technique have attracted considerable attention. The spread spectrum communication technique is a technique for communication whereby the baseband signal is spread over a wide bandwidth by means of a spread code. It is characterized by enhanced privacy and excellent capabilities in eliminating interference. Since the same data can be transmitted simultaneously over the same bandwidth, it is employed in diversity communication systems. An example of a conventional communication system of this type is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open patent application 8-65201.
In this example of the prior art, the receiver is provided with two reception systems, and reception quality is improved by selecting the output of the system having the better reception quality.
While this conventional communication system does afford improved communication quality, it requires dual reception systems and dual transmission systems, and therefore entails a more complex design and higher equipment costs. The performance required of a system, the environment in which it is used, and similar factors generally differ from one system to another, and it is not the case that extremely high communication quality is required in all systems. Furthermore, where a plurality of terminals communicate with a single base station, the performance requirements differ from terminal to terminal. For example, terminals located in environments characterized by high levels of fading and noise require implementation of diversity in addition to the spread spectrum communication technique in order to ensure adequate communication quality, while other terminals not subjected to the effects of these to the same degree do not require diversity, and the spread spectrum communication technique alone may suffice. In the latter case, one of the two transmission systems and reception systems is idle. This cannot be said to represent an efficient communication system.

Transmitter, receiver, communication system, and communication method employing spread spectrum communication technique


A method and system for tracking each item in a cluster of items. Each item has an associated item ID. The method and system involve the following steps. Storing a plurality of item records. The plurality of item records includes, for each item in the cluster of items, an associated item record for storing the associated item ID for the item. Each item record in the plurality of records is then linked to the other item records in the plurality of item records. Using the associated item record for each item in the threshold number of items, and the link between each item record and the other item records, the item records for the associated item ID of each item in the cluster that are not in the threshold number of items are determined.

Tracking systems are used in a wide variety of contexts to provide many different types of information. This information generally regards the location and availability of items being tracked. More specifically, this information includes, but is not limited to, information regarding (1) items received for purchase order reconciliation and accounts payable release purposes; (2) movement of items, storage of items or simply finding items within a facility for inventory control purposes; (3) monitoring the processing of items to ensure that each item has gone through the proper stages of processing; and (4) shipping of items to ensure order correctness and to trigger billing. This kind of information is required in warehouses, distribution centers, manufacturing facilities, service depots, postal sorting facilities, airports, retail and wholesale stores, as well as in any facility or network of facilities, such as a trucking system, which must accurately handle some volume of items.
For example, in a warehouse it is important to keep track of what items are in the warehouse, as well as where items are located within the warehouse. A tracking system in a warehouse should preferably provide information regarding where particular items are stored in the warehouse and how many are stored in the warehouse, as well as information regarding when items are received into the warehouse and when they leave the warehouse.
Different systems have been devised for keeping track of items. This information may, for example, be recorded manually. Alternatively, each item being tracked may be marked with a bar code. In either case, the data must be entered into a central database in order to be useful in tracking items. Bar code scanning automates the entry of data into the central database. Whether a bar code or manual system is used, warehouse personnel must have a clear line of sight to the label of each item in order to either enter the item information manually or to scan the item information into the system using a bar code, and each warehouse worker must also read the labels one at a time. In many cases, packaging of items in boxes, crates, bags or other containers may make this operation very operator-intensive and inaccurate.
Radio frequency identification systems provide a number of advantages over other identification systems, such as manual or bar code systems. In radio frequency identifications systems, information for each item is automatically gathered—warehouse personnel are not required to enter this information. In addition, reading distances can be longer, the tags can be hidden for security reasons, multiple tags can be read simultaneously, and, in the case of read/write tags, information can be stored on the tags, such as the purchase order number or the destination of the item. The foregoing are just some of the advantages of RFID tags.
A typical radio frequency identification system consists of transponders or tags, and an interrogator or reader (or multiple interrogators). The tag may be a single integrated circuit chip bonded to a flat, printed antenna, or could be a complex circuit including a battery and sensors for sensing temperature, position, orientation or other characteristic. RFID tags may be attached to items in many different ways, including being bolted to the item or simply glued to the inside of existing packaging or labeling. RFID tags may be encoded with user-defined data at the time of use, pre-coded with a numbering system at the time of tag manufacturing, or a combination of both approaches may be used.
For a number of reasons, it is preferable to use tags that do not require batteries—such tags are commonly referred to as passive tags and typically receive whatever power they require from an external power source. Passive tags are typically less expensive, require less maintenance, and have extended operating environmental ranges.
In the case of a passive tag, the interrogator will first activate the tag by generating an electromagnetic field of a given frequency. Such an electromagnetic field can be generated, for example, by supplying an alternating electrical current at a given frequency to a coil for low frequency near field systems—commonly called inductively coupled systems—or to an RF antenna for far field higher frequency systems.
The tag includes an antenna—which could be dipole for far field systems or a coil for inductive systems—tuned to the frequency of the electromagnetic field generated by the interrogator. The electrical current thus generated is used to power the tag. Data is generally sent to the tag by modulating the interrogator-generated electromagnetic field, which is commonly called the exciter or illuminating field. The tag can send data back to the interrogator either by transmitting with its own transmitter at a separate frequency from the illuminating field using the antenna, or by modulating the illuminating field by changing the loading of the tag's antenna in what is commonly called a back scatter system. Then, either the new electromagnetic field caused by the tag, or the disturbances in the interrogator's illuminating field caused by the tag's back scatter system, is detected by the interrogator. The data from the tag is then decoded, enabling the tag and the item to which the tag is attached to be identified, and, where the tag is a read/write tag, enabling new or incremental data to be written to the tag.
In a typical RFID tagging application, items to be tracked are tagged and gates with interrogators are installed at various key points in the facility that are significant in the tracking of item. For example, in warehouses, interrogator gates are typically installed at shipping docks in order to read the tags of items before they are loaded onto trucks. This system, however, can lead to many problems.
First, many gates or interrogators must be installed for this system. A typical distribution centre type installation might have more than 30 loading docks, each requiring a separate gate with interrogator. A typical manufacturing or sorting plant type installation might have a huge number of internal checkpoints requiring gates with interrogators in order to track the items and the processing that is applied to each item. Interrogators are very expensive. Thus, an application that requires a lot of interrogators is very expensive.
Second, interrogator gates restrict the freedom of movement of forklifts and people, as well as reducing the floor space available to receive items. This is particularly a problem as gates are likely to be concentrated around the dock doors where space is at a premium—areas adjacent to the dock doors are frequently used as staging areas for temporary storage of items that are being moved onto trucks. The gate spacing and dimensions required to read the tags at the distance, speed, orientation and quantity that items are expected to go through the gate may also greatly restrict movements of the items. This tends to slow down operation and reduce read accuracy, and also makes it likely that the gates and the interrogators will sustain damage.
Typically, a large number of items are loaded on or off a truck or are moved through a facility at a time. For example, it is not uncommon to have 500 tagged items in a bag or box, or on a pallet, being passed through an interrogation gate at any one time. In an anti-collision RFID system, both the interrogator and the tags are specially designed to enable the interrogator to read multiple tags concurrently. In non-collision RFID systems, by way of contrast, only one tag can be in a field at a time in order to ensure a good read. This requirement of anti-collision RFID systems, that the interrogator and tags be designed to enable multiple tags passing through the gate to be read at the same time, slows down the read rate of the interrogators, greatly reduces the accuracy in reading tags, reduces the distances at which the tags can be read, restricts the selection of tag types and frequency, and, in general, raises the question of whether all the tags have been read.
In addition, there may be items stored immediately beside the gate through which a forklift carrying many tagged items is passing, and another interrogator gate may be as little as four feet away at the next loading dock. The very large number of tagged items simultaneously passing through the interrogator gate, the close proximity of other tags that are not passing through the interrogator gate, and the close proximity of another interrogator gate that generates its own electromagnetic field to activate tags passing therethrough, may interfere with an accurate read. Specifically, each interrogator gate is likely to read tags that it should not read—tags that are not passing through the interrogator gate—and to not read tags that it should read—tags that are passing through the interrogator gate.
The way in which items are packed in a container—whether a box, crate, bag or pallet—helps to determine both the orientation of the tag, and the proximity of each tag to other tags. The orientation of a tag relative to the interrogator's antenna is important as a tag whose antenna's polarization is at right angles to that of the interrogator's antenna will be invisible to the interrogator regardless of the distance separating the interrogator from the tag. The proximity of tags to each other is important as two tags that are in close proximity to each other and whose antennae are aligned will steal power from each other, thereby greatly reducing the read range of the two tags as compared to a single tag.
The composition or physical nature of the item being tagged may also significantly reduce the read range and accuracy of the RFID tagging system. An item with a high moisture or metal content can absorb or mask interrogator fields at certain frequencies such that tagged items in the centre of the container, which are surrounded by other items having a high moisture or metal content, cannot be read at all regardless of how slowly they are passed through a gate, or how distant the interrogator is. This may require interrogator fields to operate at frequencies that are inappropriate to the particular application. For example, high frequency interrogator fields are suitable for far field usage (long range applications). However, a bag of water will completely absorb frequencies high enough for far field usage, thereby necessitating the use of inductively coupled tags in situations where such a system is unsuitable for the read range and data speeds required. A person walking past the antennae of either the tags or the interrogator at the time of the read will have the same effect.
The proximity of the interrogator gates to one another, or to radio systems such as RF LAN systems, will also reduce the range and accuracy of the system, and may create confusion between the RF LAN system and the interrogator system. Even a simple, unintentional reading of a tag by a nearby interrogator gate, through which the item is not passing, can destroy the integrity of the data. As a result, tag interrogation systems cannot, in most situations, guarantee a read of all tags at all times. If the accuracy of the interrogation cannot be guaranteed with a high degree of certainty, then the system cannot be used without manual override or intervention. In other words, if it cannot be; determined with confidence that every tag has been read, then manual intervention will be required on every read.
In addition to the foregoing problems, there is an additional problem that many sites within a warehouse are not suitable for installing interrogators, and the mounting problems can be almost as varied as the number of interrogators required, greatly adding to the cost of an already expensive gate or interrogator.
Accordingly, a radio frequency identification system that reduces the number of interrogators required, does not require the interrogators to be located in areas where space is at a premium, such as the docking area, and can better distinguish items that are being moved from items that are not being moved, is desirable. Indeed, a system that can read multiple tags with a high degree of accuracy is required to make an RFID system viable for a wide range of applications.

Method and system for tracking clustered items


A positive airway pressure therapy management module includes a user interface, a controller and memory. The module may include ports that capture data from a PAP device and/or from sensors. The user interface may display information and questions, and may receive answers. The controller may store data while offline from the network, and may respond to requests over the network while online with the network. A software product includes instructions that, under control of a computer, perform steps for managing positive airway pressure therapy of a patient. A method for managing positive airway pressure therapy of a patient captures data and communicates the data over a network. The method may capture data from a PAP device and/or from sensors, display questions and receiving answers, and calculate indices and/or metrics, perform a pressure titration, and/or relay commands to a PAP device in response to commands from the network.

Routine treatment of sleep disorders such as Obstructive Sleep Apnea ("OSA"), hypopnea, and others is often provided in home settings by the use of Positive Airway Pressure ("PAP") devices. OSA typically results from relaxation of a patient's muscles during sleep, causing partial or complete obstruction of the patient's airway. Snoring is associated with partial obstruction. Cessation of breathing, or apnea, is associated with complete obstruction, and may lead to choking, partial or complete awakening, or worse medical complications, such as cardiovascular disease. A related sleep occurrence called hypopnea is an incident of shallow breathing, which is often inconsequential but can have significant medical impact if prolonged. PAP devices include a mask placed over a patient's nose and/or mouth, through which air blows into the patient's airway while the patient sleeps. The air pressurizes the patient's airway to prevent or mitigate apnea and hypopnea, reducing medical risks and improving the patient's quality of sleep.
The therapeutic conditions (e.g., pressure) to be supplied by a PAP device are usually determined in a sleep lab. Sleep labs are usually characterized by extensive equipment in a fixed location used only at night. Sleep lab costs are generally high, since sleep lab equipment is not typically used during regular business hours, and since technical personnel are paid higher wages to work through the night. Scheduling sleep lab sessions entails matching the availability of the sleep lab facility and personnel to the availability of a patient for an overnight stay. These cost and scheduling issues generally work to restrict the practical time for sleep lab studies for a given patient to one night. The same issues work to discourage sleep lab sessions for follow-up care or post treatment evaluation. The sleep lab bed, surroundings, and equipment also constitute an unfamiliar sleep environment for the patient, which, unfortunately, can result in a disturbance to the very sleep patterns being evaluated. Studies show that 2-4 weeks of data may be required to determine the optimal therapeutic pressure for a patient.
The therapeutic conditions supplied by a PAP device and developed in the sleep lab are then fixed for future use of the PAP device in the patient's home. These therapeutic conditions may not be ideal for the patient, in that the patient's sleep patterns may be different at home than in the sleep lab setting. The therapeutic conditions best suited for the patient may also be affected from time to time by variables in the patient's life that were not present during a sleep lab session, e.g.: (a) prior consumption of a heavy meal, alcohol, and/or certain medications, (b) variations in patient's emotional state, stress level, sleep phase and/or total sleep time, and (c) the presence of upper airway allergies and/or infections.

Positive airway pressure therapy management module


A method and apparatus for forming groups of work products from a row of closely spaced, aligned, and a vertical edge standing work products is disclosed. A separator knife (37) is inserted into the row of edge standing work products (25) in timed relationship with the movement of the row of work products on a feed conveyor (9) and along a path of travel (P) at a speed and direction substantially the same as the speed and direction of the work products. The separator knife is stopped at a home position (53) fixed along the path of travel for accumulating at least a portion of the row of work products on the feed conveyor upstream of the home position, as the remainder of the row of work products is moved along the path of travel away from the separator blade thus forming a first group (G) of work products. The apparatus includes a spaced series of knife assemblies (36), each knife assembly having separator knife (37). The knife assemblies are moved in series within a cam track (35) extending along a portion of the path of travel so that the separator knives of the knife assemblies are sequentially inserted into the row of work products and then stopped to accumulate the work products on the feed conveyor to form a gap (g) between the separator knife and the remaining portion of the row of work products, which leads to the formation of a group of work products moving downstream and away from the separator knife.

In the production and packaging of baked work products, for example, cookies, crackers, wafers and the like, the dough of the work products is distributed over and deposited on a plurality of parallel conveyors which move the work products for baking through an oven. Once carried through the ovens, the now baked work products may be further processed, for example, so that the work products are enrobed or iced and used to form cookie or cracker sandwiches. The work products are then typically moved in series along at least one, and oftentimes several, parallel conveyor lines for wrapping and packaging.
In known fashion, the work products can be carried in a low shingle, i.e., the leading edge of each work product is rested on the trailing edge of the work product immediately ahead of it as the work products move downstream along the path of travel. The work products can be kept in a low shingle until they arrive at a packaging machine where they are formed into a row of generally aligned and vertically edge standing work products positioned adjacent one another, forming a continuous line along a portion of the path of travel. However, in order to package the work products they must first be formed into separate groups of a consistent and uniform size. These grouped work products can then either be packaged in a thermoplastic packaging film formed as a tube about the work products, or they can be moved into a tray or other package in which the work products are sealed and transported for sale.
Not only will the aligned row of edge standing work products be formed into separate groups, however, but this is typically at production rates which may exceed several hundred work products per minute, for example 350 to 450 work products per minute delivered from the baking oven conveyor lines to the packaging line. Thus, what is needed is a method and apparatus of quickly and efficiently forming separate groups of work products for packaging which will not damage the work products while so doing, and which will be able to match the product flow rates upstream on the production line without otherwise slowing or impeding the production flow of the work products at the group forming and wrapping stage.
An early example of an apparatus used to form groups of work products is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,235,329 to Crawford, et al., issued Nov. 25, 1980. Crawford, et al. teach a series of adjacent work products being moved along a path of travel on the feed conveyor of a packaging machine in which a portion of the feed conveyor is upwardly displaceable in timed relationship with the movement of the work products along the path of travel so that the downstream work products are separated from the generally continuous row of upstream work products. Thereafter, one of a series of spaced lugs is moved into position for pushing the now separated group of work products along the feed conveyor toward an accumulating device, the end of the feed conveyor adjacent the accumulating device being vertically displaceable in timed relationship with the movement of the work products along the path of travel for placing the groups of work products onto separate levels of the accumulating device. The apparatus of Crawford, et al., however, appears to be best suited for work products which are laying along their longest rectilinear dimension, and does not appear to be well suited for dealing with a series of aligned and vertical edge standing work products being delivered from a high speed production line. Moreover, it does not appear that the device of Crawford, et al. is well suited for automatically adjusting the spacing between groups of work products, as well as setting the dwell, i.e., delay, in which the group of work products is formed for automatically sizing the groups of work products as they are moved along the path of travel.
Another approach to forming separate groups of work products from a row of work products is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,098,392 to Greene, issued Jul. 4, 1978, and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,095,684 to Walker, et al., issued Mar. 17, 1992. In the patent to Greene a series of juxtaposed separator blades are inserted downwardly into a line of edge standing work products, in this instance potato chips, whereupon the juxtaposed separator blades are moved apart from one another for forming a gap between the work products, thus forming groups of work products for packaging. The device of Greene accomplishes this task by using a guide track which functions as a cam for directing the juxtaposed blades into the row of work products and a second mechanical camming mechanism which acts to move the upstream separator blade away from the downstream separator blade as both blades move with respect to one another along the path of travel.
In the patent to Walker, et al., a series of work products are moved toward a pair of separator blades located near a cookie tray loading station the work products being in an aligned edge standing relationship with one another on a moving surface conveyor. As with the device of Greene, the device of Walker, et al. uses a pair of juxtaposed separator blades which are inserted downwardly into the row of work products, the separator blades then being mechanically cammed apart from one another forming a gap in the row of work products, and thus forming a group of work products downstream of the separator blades for being loaded into in a cookie tray.
Both the patents to Greene and to Walker, et al., however, rely on fixed mechanical relationship for forming the groups of work products as the work products progress along the path of travel. Moreover, and in a fashion similar to the device of Crawford, et al., the devices of Greene and to Walker, et al. are not designed for forming groups of work product, i.e., slugs of work products, which may vary, or may be automatically varied in size during processing. Also, the devices of Greene and Walker. et al. rely solely on mechanical mechanisms to move a pair of juxtaposed separator blades apart for forming a gap in the row of work products to create a group or slug of work products, all of the slugs of work products being of fixed and constant dimension without the ability to automatically vary the size of the slug from group to group of work products in accordance with the packaging needs of the processing operation.
Thus, what is needed, but seemingly unavailable in the art, is a method and apparatus for forming groups or slugs of work products from a generally continuous row of vertical edge standing and aligned work products being moved at a high rate of speed along a packaging line which also allows for the automatic sizing of the groups of work products without the need to stop the production line in order to reset the sizing mechanism forming the groups of work products. What is also needed, but seemingly unavailable in the art, is a method and apparatus of forming groups of work products which can be used with any typed of closely aligned work products, to include not only baked foodstuffs, but also other work products capable of being produced in high volume, high speed, manufacturing operations with the requirement of forming groups of work products for packaging and/or further processing. Therefore, what is needed is a universal method and apparatus for forming groups of work products from a continuous and aligned row of edge standing work products regardless of the type of work products being processed, and adapted to work with high speed packaging production lines.

Method and apparatus for forming groups of work products


An apparatus for forming an unbalanced, circular knit fabric for coating in a subsequent operation, the apparatus comprising: a circular knitting station; and a thermal relaxation station downstream from the circular knitting station for relaxing the fabric in all directions. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the apparatus includes a slitting station downstream from the circular knitting station. Also in the preferred embodiment, the apparatus includes a thermal finishing station downstream from the thermal relaxation station for setting the desired width of the fabric thereby also setting the desired stretch of the fabric in its length direction. A coated fabric, the coated fabric comprising a circular knitted, single knit fabric substrate, wherein the stretch of the fabric in the wale direction is greater than the stretch of the fabric in the course direction. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the coated fabric further includes an outer coating. Also in the preferred embodiment, the fabric is formed by a four feed repeat.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to fabric knitting operations and, more particularly, to an apparatus for forming an unbalanced, circular knit fabric for coating in a subsequent operation and a coated fabric including a circular knitted, single knit fabric substrate, wherein the stretch of the fabric in the wale (length) direction is greater than the stretch of the fabric in the course (width) direction.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
It is often desirable to coat circular knit fabrics with vinyl to produce a durable material that is appealing to consumers for use in various seating and other applications. Conventional circular knit fabrics, however, normally have a much higher stretch in the width or "course" direction than in the length or "wale" direction. When a vinyl coating is applied to a conventional circular knit fabric substrate, the material has reduced stretch in both directions, including a much lower stretch in the in the wale direction than in the course direction. When the vinyl coated material is cut into parts and sewn into seating, or other products, a reduced "tailorability" results. Thus, the material may "pucker" or "bunch up" when sewing around curves and corners. The resulting material has a reduced "tailorability." The stretches are further degraded in both directions after vinyl coating. The vinyl material ends up with lower stretches, the length much lower than the width. When this material is cut into parts and sewn into seating or other products, the "tailorability" is not good. When sewing around curves or corners, the material "puckers" or bunches up. These problems result from the unbalanced nature of the circular knit substrate.
One way to resolve this low "tailorability" problem is to produce a circular knit fabric with higher stretch in the length than the width direction such that after a vinyl coating is applied, the resulting material has "balanced stretches". A vinyl fabric having balanced stretches would be expected to have improved "tailorability" versus conventional vinyl fabrics. The fabric would also enable an improved material utilization because patterns could be drawn in any direction, since the material would react similarly from various angles during subsequent processing.
Thus, there remains a need for an apparatus for forming an unbalanced, circular knit fabric for coating in a subsequent operation, the apparatus including: a circular knitting station; and a thermal relaxation station downstream from said circular knitting station for relaxing said fabric in all directions. There is also a need for a coated fabric including a circular knitted, single knit fabric substrate, wherein the stretch of the fabric in the wale direction is greater than the stretch of said fabric in the course direction.

Apparatus for forming an unbalanced, circular knit fabric and a coated fabric produced therefrom


The present invention relates generally to semiconductor processing, and more particularly to methods and systems for reducing costs of wafer production by analyzing key aspects of wafer status to determine whether to initiate corrective measures to salvage a wafer at an early stage and before substantial costs are incurred in fabricating a defective wafer. One aspect of the present invention provides for growing an oxide layer on a wafer upon a determination that an oxide layer on the wafer surface is absent or is present but inadequate. Another aspect of the present invention provides for a determination of whether to apply preemptory corrective treatment(s) to a wafer surface based on the presence and/or magnitude of nitrogen signatures in an extant oxide surface layer, which can indicate that an undesirable defect known as “footing” will occur during a post-exposure delay period. Thus, the invention advantageously reduces production costs by facilitating a most correct decision to mitigate the source(s) of potential defects at an early stage and, thus, before substantial costs are incurred in production of the wafer.

As semiconductor trends continue toward decreased size and increased packaging density, every aspect of semiconductor fabrication processes is scrutinized in an attempt to maximize efficiency in semiconductor fabrication and throughput. Many factors contribute to fabrication of a semiconductor. For example, at least one photolithographic process can be used during fabrication of a semiconductor. This particular factor in the fabrication process is highly scrutinized by the semiconductor industry in order to improve packaging density and precision in semiconductor structure.
Lithography is a process in semiconductor fabrication that generally relates to transfer of patterns between media. More specifically, lithography refers to transfer of patterns onto a thin film that has been deposited onto a substrate. The transferred patterns then act as a blueprint for desired circuit components. Typically, various patterns are transferred to a photoresist (e.g., radiation-sensitive film), which overlies the thin film on the substrate during an imaging process described as "exposure" of the photoresist layer. During exposure, the photoresist is subjected to an illumination source (e.g. UV-light, electron beam, X-ray), which passes through a pattern template, or reticle, to print the desired pattern in the photoresist. Upon exposure to the illumination source, radiation-sensitive qualities of the photoresist permit a chemical transformation in exposed areas of the photoresist, which in turn alters the solubility of the photoresist in exposed areas relative to that of unexposed areas. When a particular solvent developer is applied, exposed areas of the photoresist are dissolved and removed, resulting in a three-dimensional pattern in the photoresist layer. This pattern is at least a portion of the semiconductor device that contributes to final function and structure of the device, or wafer.
Techniques, equipment and monitoring systems have concentrated on preventing and/or decreasing defect occurrence within lithography processes. For example, aspects of resist processes that are typically monitored can comprise: whether the correct mask has been used; whether resist film qualities are acceptable (e.g., whether resist is free from contamination, scratches, bubbles, striations, . . . ); whether image quality is adequate (e.g., good edge definition, line-width uniformity, and/or indications of bridging); whether critical dimensions are within specified tolerances; whether defect types and densities are recorded; and/or whether registration is within specified limits; etc. Such defect inspection task(s) have progressed into automated system(s) based on both automatic image processing and electrical signal processing.
Current methods of wafer fabrication can produce "footing," or "T-topping," as an undesirable side effect. Footing typically occurs during post-exposure delay (PED), which is the time between exposure and post-exposure bake (PEB). For example, ambient vapors having base compounds (e.g., amines, ammonia, etc.) can react with the photo-acids created during exposure. Once such ambient bases are absorbed into the surface of a resist, the acids are neutralized, resulting in a reduced solubility in the surface of the resist as compared to the rest of the resist. The less-soluble "skin" on the surface develops at a slower rate than the resist material between the surface and the substrate, resulting in the "T-top", or "foot" formation.
As lithographic techniques are pushed to their limits, smaller and smaller critical dimensions (CDs) are desired to maximize chip performance. Thus, chip manufacture is governed largely by wafer CD, which is defined as the smallest allowable width of, or space between, lines of circuitry in a semiconductor device. As methods of wafer manufacture are improved, wafer CD is decreased, which in turn requires finer and finer line edges to be produced. Specifically, footing represents a significant problem in the sub-0.25 μm range. As critical dimensions proceed below the sub-0.25 μm threshold, footing becomes increasingly detrimental to the performance of a finished chip. There is an unmet need in the art for systems and methods that facilitate early detection of conditions that can lead to footing, and compensatory measures that can mitigate the potential for footing, thereby reducing production costs and increasing quality and throughput.

Surface oxide tabulation and photo process control and cost savings


A direct organic fuel cell includes a formic acid fuel solution having between about 10% and about 95% formic acid. The formic acid is oxidized at an anode. The anode may include a Pt/Pd catalyst that promotes the direct oxidation of the formic acid via a direct reaction path that does not include formation of a CO intermediate.

Fuel cells are electrochemical cells in which a free energy change resulting from a fuel oxidation reaction is converted into electrical energy. Applications for fuel cells include battery replacement, mini and microelectronics, car engines, power plants, and many others. One advantage of fuel cells is that they are substantially pollution-free.
In hydrogen fuel cells, hydrogen gas is oxidized to form water, with a useful electrical current produced as a byproduct of the oxidation reaction. A solid polymer membrane electrolyte layer may be used to separate the hydrogen fuel from the oxygen. The anode and cathode are arranged on opposite faces of the membrane. Electron flow between the anode and cathode layers of the membrane electrode assembly may be exploited to provide electrical power. Hydrogen fuel cells are impractical for many applications, however, because of difficulties related to storing and handling hydrogen gas.
Organic fuel cells may prove useful in many applications as an alternative to hydrogen fuel cells. In an organic fuel cell, an organic fuel such as methanol is oxidized to carbon dioxide at an anode, while air or oxygen is simultaneously reduced to water at a cathode. One advantage over hydrogen fuel cells is that organic/air fuel cells may be operated with a liquid organic fuel. This eliminates problems associated with hydrogen gas handling and storage. Some organic fuel cells require initial conversion of the organic fuel to hydrogen gas by a reformer. These are referred to as "indirect" fuel cells. The need for a reformer increases cell size, cost, complexity, and start up time. Other types of organic fuel cells, called "direct," eliminate these disadvantages by directly oxidizing the organic fuel without conversion to hydrogen gas. To date direct organic fuel cell development has focused on the use of methanol and other alcohols as fuel.
Conventional direct methanol fuel cells have unresolved problems associated with them. For example, methanol and other alcohols have high osmotic and diffusion crossover rates across commercial polymer membrane electrode assemblies. Fuel that crosses over avoids reaction at the anode, and thus cannot be exploited for electrical energy. This limits cell efficiency. An additional problem related to crossover is poisoning of the anode. As methanol or another alcohol fuel crosses over the polymer membrane to the cathode side, it adsorbs onto the cathode catalyst and thereby blocks reaction sites. Efficiency of the cell is thereby reduced. A proposed solution to this problem has been to provide additional catalyst. This adds expense, however, particularly when considering that costly precious and semi-precious metal catalysts such as platinum are often employed.
Because of this high crossover, methanol and other alcohol fuel cells typically operate with a fuel concentration of no more than about 3–8%. The use of those dilute solutions creates additional problems, however. This low fuel concentration requires relatively large amounts of ultra-pure water, typically provided through recycling systems including pumps and filters. Also, the concentration of the fuel needs to be closely monitored and controlled, with the result that sensors and controllers may be required. All of this peripheral equipment adds cost, complexity, weight, and size to direct organic fuel cells.
In addition, this required peripheral water management equipment substantially limits the usefulness of direct methanol fuel cells for applications where size and weight become critical. For portable, miniature, and microelectronics applications, for example, the size, weight, and complexity of the required peripheral equipment makes use of direct methanol fuel cells impractical.
Further, the dilute solutions freeze and expand at temperatures potentially encountered in many fuel cell applications, with portable devices for use outside as an example. The expansion can lead to device failure. Conduit et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,528,194 teaches that the freezing can be avoided by circulating heated fluid through the fuel tank when the fuel cell is not operating. However, that wastes power and adds complexity.
Still other problems with existing direct methanol fuel cells relate to the electro-oxidation reaction promoted by the anode. For example, an intermediate produced during the oxidation/reduction reaction from the methanol in many direct methanol fuel cells is poisonous carbon monoxide gas. Thus hazards are presented. Also, CO is known to poison catalysts such as Pt and to thereby decrease cell efficiency.
These and other problems remain unresolved in the art.

The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois


Mixed gas of nonoxidizing gas and oxygen is blown into molten chrome steel in a vessel. The molten chrome steel is stirred by the gas and is decarbonized by the oxygen in the gas while being stirred. After the carbon potential in the molten chrome steel has been lowered, the pressure inside the vessel is reduced and the nonoxidizing gas alone is blown as the gas. Bubbles of the gas blown into the molten chrome steel become large on account of reduced pressure and exhibit sufficient stirring function. Consequently, the molten chrome steel is effectively stirred and the decarbonizing reaction is prompted.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method of refining molten chrome steel to decarbonize molten chrome steel into extremely low-carbon chrome steel.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As a method of refining molten chrome steel, the following one is known. As shown in FIG. 9, molten chrome steel 2 is put into a fluxing furnace 1 shown as an example of a vessel. The decarburization, i.e., the refining of the molten chrome steel 2 is carried out in accordance with a process shown in FIG. 20 while mixed gas of nonoxidizing gas, for example, argon and oxygen is being blown into the molten chrome steel 2 through a tuyere 3 provided at the bottom portion of the furnace 1. Since the carbon potential in the molten chrome steel is initially high when the molten steel is decarbonized as mentioned above, the decarburization is carried out with a high oxygen percentage in the mixed gas. The decarburization is carried out, for example, with a mixture ratio 6:1 of oxygen and argon. As the decarburization proceeds and the carbon potential in the molten steel becomes low, the oxygen percentage is decreased. Namely, the ratio of oxygen and argon is successively varied such as 3:1, 1:1 and so on.
In a process where the carbon potential in the molten chrome steel in this prior art method of refining molten chrome steel is high as is mentioned above, the ratio of oxygen and argon is 6:1, 3:1 or 1:1 and the oxygen percentage is relatively high. Consequently, the molten chrome steel can be decarbonized efficiently and swiftly by the sufficient oxygen present in the mixed gas.
However, in the final process of decarburization where the carbon potential is low, the degree of oxidization by the oxygen contained in the mixed gas blown in is increased. Accordingly, the oxygen percentage in the mixed gas need be much decreased. Thus the ratio of oxygen and argon is set equal to 1:3 and the oxygen percentage is extremely decreased. Therefore the rate of the decarbonizing reaction becomes slow and it takes a long time to attain a prescribed low carbon potential (for example 0.04%). This fact makes long (for example 29 minutes) the period of time in which the decarburization has been completed. Moreover, since the argon percentage is increased as is mentioned above in the final process of decarburization requiring a long time, the consumption of expensive argon becomes very much. Furthermore, since oxygen is still used in the final process though with the increased argon percentage, the oxidization loss of chrome by the oxygen occurs as well. The chrome potential becomes a low value, for example, 16.9%. Accordingly, a large amount of reducing agent was necessary in the past in order to increase the chrome potential to an appropriate value, for example, 18.2%.


A hydraulic valve wherein the at least partially cylindrical internal surface of a cylinder or the at least partially cylindrical external surface of a piston in the cylinder is formed with a slot-shaped circumferentially extending outlet communicating with a plenum chamber. The other surface is formed with a circumferentially extending groove for a portion of a one-piece or composite sealing ring. The piston is movable in the cylinder between at least one first position in which the ring sealingly engages the slotted surface at one side of the outlet and at least one second position in which the ring sealingly engages the slotted surface at the other side of the outlet. That portion of the slotted surface which is adjacent the outlet is rounded, and that portion of the grooved surface which is adjacent the groove is also rounded. The ring seals the outlet from a discharge opening in one of its positions or it seals the outlet from a first discharge opening in one position and from a second discharge opening in the other position with reference to the cylinder.

The invention relates to improvements in hydraulic valves, and more particularly to improvements in hydraulic valves of the type wherein an outer or first component (e.g., a substantially cylindrical valve housing or body) has an at least partially cylindrical internal surface adjacent the at least partially cylindrical external surface of a second or inner component, e.g., a piston which is reciprocable in the outer component.
It is customary to provide in one of the internal and external surfaces an outlet which is in communication with a plenum chamber and is or can be sealed from at least one discharge opening in at least one first position of the piston but is free to communicate with such discharge opening in at least one second position of the piston. To this end, the other of the internal and external surfaces is provided with a groove for a sealing element which engages the one surface and is caused to slide across the outlet during movement of the piston between its first and second positions, i.e., the sealing element is located at one side of the outlet in the first position of the piston and at the other side of the outlet in the second position of the piston.
As the sealing element moves across the outlet, it rubs against those portions of the one surface which immediately surround the outlet so that it undergoes extensive wear. In fact, the sealing element can be completely destroyed by tearing or squashing as a result of repeated expansion and contraction as it travels across the outlet. Attempts to avoid rapid and excessive wear upon and extensive damage to or total destruction of the sealing element include the provision of an annular plenum chamber and a set of radial bores which terminate at the one surface and together constitute the outlet of the plenum chamber. The plenum chamber can be provided in the piston and the bores then extend radially outwardly to the external surface of the piston, or the plenum chamber can be provided in the cylinder and the bores then extend radially inwardly to the internal surface. Such solution is often quite unsatisfactory because the combined cross-sectional area of the bores (i.e., the cross-sectional area of the outlet) is too small. Moreover, the cost of making bores in the external surface of the piston or in the internal surface of the housing with a requisite degree of accuracy is high.


A rotary compressor has a vane slot for slidably supporting a planar vane, and a transverse slot for containing a spring cartridge. The spring cartridge can be a two piece molded structure having an internal support pin for a torsion spring designed to exert a biasing force on the slidable vane. The torsion spring has a relatively large number of coil convolutions, that minimize the unit torsional stress on the spring material.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a compressor having an improved vane spring mechanism.
2. Description of the Related Art Developments
U.S. Pat. No. 5,472,327 shows a rotary compressor that comprises a housing having an annular cavity, and an orbital ring piston in said cavity. A pair of slots in said housing slidably support two vanes for movement toward or away from the housing central axis, whereby the vanes cooperate with the outer surface of the ring piston to define variable volume compression chambers. A coil spring is arranged in each vane slot for biasing the vane into pressure contact with the ring piston.
The present invention relates to an improved spring mechanism usable in a vane type compressor for biasing a vane to a desired condition in the compression housing. The improved spring mechanism is designed to achieve an increased service life, while having a relatively low manufacturing cost and installation expense. The improved spring mechanism comprises a torsion spring mounted within a cartridge that can be readily installed in a slot cast into the compressor housing.
The use of torsion springs for vane-biasing purposes in a compressor is old in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 4,789,145 shows a torsion spring seated in a compressor vane slot for vane-biasing purposes. U.S. Pat. No. 2,533,252 shows a torsion spring associated with an arcuate vane in a rotary pump.


The belt driving device of the present invention has left and right frames (5, 15) which upper ends are connected by a slide bed (16), an endless belt (20) being latched by a head pulley (21) which is disposed on a head end of frames (5, 15) and a tail pulley (21) disposed on a tail end thereof, and an actuator unit (12) of the belt detachably mounted on the frame under side. A drive pulley (30) is disposed in the actuator unit (12) and is supported by a frame body with a rubber spring so as to contact with an outer surface on the return side belt and inner pulleys (23, 24) are disposed on the frame under side at the actuator unit attaching position so as to contact with the return side belt inner surface. The drive pulley (30) is always pressed and energized to the inner pulley side by the rubber spring and the belt supported between the inner pulley and the drive pulley (30) is friction actuated by pressing the drive pulley from the belt outside. The take-up device can be eliminated from the device by pressing the drive pulley to the belt side.

The compact belt conveyor in which a forward side of an endless belt is slid and actuated on a slide bed has been much used for conveying small products or bulk products. In a conventional driving system, belt tension is caused by winding the belt on the drive pulley side and a conveying torque is reduced due to belt extension, and it has been necessary to keep the tension on the belt by additionally providing a take-up apparatus.
When the belt conveyor has been used for a feeder conveyor around a manufacturing machine of food products and medical products, a conveying surface and a periphery thereof must be always kept clean and are sometimes or normally cleaned when it becomes dirty. There has been no problem for cleaning the belt surface, however complete cleaning or sweeping of a belt rear surface or of a roller periphery can not be achieved without removing the belt from the frame or the roller.
In this kind of the conventional conveyor, since the forward side of the belt is always slid on the slide bed, the belt is easily damaged, and needs to be replaced. For replacing the belt, the frame provided with the roller is removed from the substructure or a main roller such as an end roller must be removed from the frame. Therefore it is disclosed by Japanese Utility Model Registration Application Publication No. Hei 5-24652 that the frame is mounted to open freely on one side of the substructure, normal conveying is performed by closing the frame, and the belt can be removed when the frame is opened upwardly.
The system disclosed by the above Japanese Publication is actuated by tension of the belt wound to the drive pulley, the conveying torque is reduced by belt extension, and it is necessary to keep the belt tension by additionally providing the take-up apparatus and the damage of the belt is caused proportionally, and the belt replacement must be practiced many times.

Driving apparatus for a compact belt conveyer


An anomaly detection module is configured to apply a plurality of machine learning models to received technical status data to detect one or more indicators of an abnormal technical status prevailing in the industrial process system. The plurality of machine learning models are trained on historic raw or pre-processed sensor data and the anomaly detection module configured to generate the anomaly alert based on the one or more indicators. The received technical status data is assigned to signal groups and the generated anomaly alert is a vector with each vector element representing a group anomaly indicator for the respective signal group. Each vector element is determined by applying a respective group specific machine learning model.

Many technical systems are monitored via sensors which sense technical parameters of the technical systems reflecting the technical state. In industrial process systems, often such sensor values provide input for advanced process control units (APC)—also referred to as advanced process controllers—which can compute set-points for low level controllers (LLC) to control actuators of the industrial process system in operation. "Industrial process system" as used herein refers to a technical system having an operation for processing gas, liquid, or solid flow materials. Thereby, "process flow system" does not only include process manufacturing systems but also includes systems such as ventilation systems (e.g., for an underground mine) or other systems where the main purpose is the transport of liquids, gas or solid flow materials (e.g., bulk materials). APC solutions are commercially available (e.g., the APC solution offered by ABB as described in the publication "Advanced Process Control—The proven way to process optimization" available at: https://library.e.abb.com/public/fa34b897958489a9c1257ad7005753d5/Brochure_APC_low.pdf).
In control theory advanced process control refers to a broad range of techniques and technologies implemented within industrial process control systems. Typically, advanced process controls are deployed in addition to basic process controls. Basic process controls are designed and built with the process itself, to facilitate basic operation, control and automation requirements. Advanced process controls are typically added subsequently to address particular improvement opportunities in the process. Known types of advanced process control include but are not limited to:                Advanced regulatory control (ARC) refers to several proven advanced control techniques, such as feedforward, override or adaptive gain. ARC is also a catch-all term used to refer to any customized or non-simple technique that does not fall into any other category. ARCs are typically implemented using function blocks or custom programming capabilities at the DCS (distributed system control) level.        Multivariable Model predictive control (MPC) is a technology typically deployed on a supervisory control computer that identifies important independent and dependent process variables and the dynamic relationships (models) between them. It uses matrix-math based control and optimization algorithms, to control multiple variables simultaneously. One requirement of MPC is that the models are to be linear (i.e. they must be repeatable at all points of the operating range of the controller).        Inferential Measurements: The concept behind inferentials is to calculate a stream property from readily available process measurements, such as temperature and pressure, that otherwise would require either an expensive and complicated online analyzer or periodic laboratory analysis. Inferentials can be utilized in place of actual online analyzers, whether for operator information, cascaded to base-layer process controllers, or multivariable controller CVs.        Sequential control refers to dis-continuous time and event based automation sequences that occur within continuous processes. These may be implemented as a collection of time and logic function blocks, a custom algorithm, or using a formalized Sequential function chart methodology.        Compressor control typically includes compressor anti-surge and performance control.        Nonlinear MPC: Similar to Multivariable MPC in that it incorporates dynamic models and matrix-math based control. However, it does not have the requirement for model linearity. Nonlinear MPC is capable of accommodating processes with models that have varying process gains and dynamics (i.e. dead-times and lag times).

Computer system and method for monitoring the technical state of industrial process systems


The present invention provides thermocycling devices useful for amplification of nucleic acids in droplets. The thermocycling device utilizes the flow of one or more fluids through a main compartment at temperatures sufficient to conduct a polymerase chain reaction. Methods of amplifying nucleic acids in droplets are also provided.

Since the invention of PCR, numerous designs for thermocycling devices have been developed in an effort to increase the throughput, speed sensitivity and specificity of nucleic acid amplification. The trend over the past several years has focused on the development of miniaturized PCR apparatus and tests. Current designs for PCR microchips range from wide chambers of varying sizes and depths to narrow channels (linear or serpentine) and can have a single reaction chamber or arrays of chambers for multiple simultaneous reactions. See e.g., Krick and Wilding, Anal Bioanal Chem, 377:820-825 (2003). Some devices utilize a design format in which the reaction mixture is kept stationary and the temperature of the surrounding reaction chamber is cycled between the different temperatures, while other devices utilize a design format in which the reaction mixture is moved between different fixed temperature zones (e.g., a serpentine channel design; Krick and Wilding). These currently available thermocyclers utilize external electric thermal plates, infrared radiation, or heaters fabricated directly onto the surface of the devices (e.g., tungsten or platinum film) for directly heating and cooling of the PCR reaction mixture (Krick and Wilding).

Thermocycling device for nucleic acid amplification and methods of use


A computer system includes a bus and a plurality of devices coupled to the bus. A CPU within the bus controller generates addresses for data transfers to and from the devices. A bus controller generates control signals for the data transfers. A data transfer rate controlled by the control signals is varied so that the data transfer rate is optimal for data transfers to and from each device. The data transfer rate for a data transfer to or from a first device is based on a subset of address bits used by the CPU to address the first device.

The present invention concerns a bus controller which dynamically changes timing for data transfers on the bus.
In a computer system, peripheral devices are generally connected to the computer system via a peripheral bus. A computer system may use a separate peripheral processor to communicate with peripheral devices on the peripheral bus.
A bus clock signal is generated to control the speed of data transfer on the bus. For example, a peripheral processor may generate the bus clock signal. However, not all peripheral devices are able to transfer data at the same rate. Therefore, to insure proper operation of the computer system, the peripheral processor must transfer data at a rate acceptable to all peripheral devices on the bus.

Computer system in which a bus controller varies data transfer rate over a bus based on a value of a subset of address bits and on a stored value


A steering device for toy, which comprises a simple structure, and provides a stable running along a curved line. The steering device for toy, comprises: right and left turning members for turning right and left steering wheels in clockwise and counterclockwise directions around each predetermined shaft; and a connecting member for connecting the right and left turning members with each other and for forming a turning pair with each turning member; wherein the right and left turning members are turned around each predetermined shaft by shaking the connecting member in right and left directions so as to change each direction of the steering wheels; one of a coil and a magnetic body is provided on the connecting member, the other of the coil and the magnetic body is fixed to a fixing portion, and the coil and the magnetic body come close to and go away from each other by shaking the connecting member; and the connecting member takes at least two steering positions by controlling a current to be carried to the coil with a coil current carrying unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a steering device for toy and a running toy. In particular, the present invention relates to a steering device for toy, which steers a toy by using an electromagnetic force, and a running toy comprising the steering device, such as a vehicle toy or the like.
2. Description of Related Art
According to an earlier development, a vehicle toy using a mechanism for swinging a front wheel shaft by an electromagnetic force, has been known (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. Tokukai-Hei 11-57235). A steering device for the vehicle toy is one for steering by using a swinging motor. The swinging motor comprises a rotor provided swingably on the front wheel shaft which is provided swingably, by forming unitedly with the front wheel shaft, and a coil for swinging the rotor. The steering device for toy is constructed so that the direction of the front wheel shaft is changed by controlling the current to be carried to the coil in three states which are "OFF", a forward direction and a reverse direction, in order to swing the swinging motor in a desired direction.
In the concrete, the cylindrical rotor is attached to the front wheel shaft. An upper end of the rotor is supported by an upper chassis. The rotor is inserted rotatably along an inner peripheral portion of a lower chassis around a rotor shaft provided vertically. One position of a peripheral portion of the rotor, which is normal to the front wheel shaft, is the N pole. The other position opposite to the one position is the S pole. On the other hand, a coil for forming the swinging motor is wound around an outer peripheral portion of a cylinder formed by the lower chassis and the upper chassis. The direction of the front wheel shaft is changed by controlling the current to be carried to the coil. A yoke is provided so as to cover an upper surface and both side surfaces, of the middle portion of the coil. When the current is not carried to the coil, the front wheel shaft keeps in a neutral position (position for directing the wheels to a straight direction) by an attractive force generated between the rotor and the yoke.
However, in the above steering device, because the front wheels are provided on both side portions of one front wheel shaft so as to swing the one front wheel shaft, the vehicle toy runs along a curved line unstably by swinging the whole front wheel shaft and the front wheels largely on a winding road or the like, for example, a road in which aright (left) curve suddenly turns to a left (right) curve. In order to solve the above problem, the front wheel shafts may be provided on right and left sides independently of each other to swing each front wheel shaft in right and left directions around a shaft provided near each front wheel. In case that the steering device is applied to this, two parts having a rotor, a coil and a yoke each must be provided on right and left sides. A coil must be wound around the rotor. Further, a coil must be wound in a slightly wider range than a projected width of the rotor so as to sufficiently cause an electromagnetic force for the rotor. As a result, there is a problem that the structure of the steering device is complicated.


A liquid-cooled core assembly for a linear motor includes an iron-core having a middle part, teeth extending from two opposite sides of the middle part and forming slots therebetween, coils wound around the teeth, axial cooling-fluid passageways extending across the middle part, and cooling conduits mounted inside the passageways. The core assembly further includes a cooling arrangement having a liquid supply part and a liquid collection part mounted against respective two other opposite sides of the iron-core. The liquid supply and collection parts are in fluid communications with the cooling conduits. An inlet connector is in fluid communication with the liquid supply part, and an outlet connector is in fluid communication with the liquid collection part.

Certain liquid-cooled core assemblies as a primary part/motor for linear motors are conventional.
For example, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2019/0131831 describes a core assembly for linear motors, including a first core and a second core having two opposite sides provided with slots and linear grooves, respectively. The side of the first and second cores having the linear grooves are mounted against each other to form a plurality of parallel channels inside which are arranged portions of two cooling serpentines. The core assembly is however difficult to manufacture, thereby having a negative impact on the overall cost of the linear motor.
European Published Patent Application No. 1 120 890 and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0068290 describe a core assembly for linear motors, including a single lamination stack having slots on both sides for the coils. The linear motor includes a top core cover having a longitudinal groove in the center of the upper surface thereof. A U-shaped cooling pipe for passing a refrigerant is accommodated in the groove, thereby cooling only the upper portion of the lamination stack and the user interface. An ununiform cooling of the lamination stack has the disadvantage of reducing the force to footprint ratio of the linear motor.

Liquid-cooled core assembly for linear motors and linear motor comprising such core assembly


A method for breaking the viscosity of an aqueous fluid gelled with a viscoelastic surfactant (VES) includes: providing an aqueous fluid; adding to the aqueous fluid, in any order, components comprising: a VES comprising a non-ionic surfactant, cationic surfactant, amphoteric surfactant or zwitterionic surfactant, or a combination thereof, in an amount sufficient to form a gelled aqueous fluid comprising a plurality of elongated micelles, an unsaturated fatty acid comprising a monoenoic acid or a polyenoic acid; or a combination thereof; and a plurality of metallic particles to produce a mixture comprising dispersed metallic particles in the gelled aqueous fluid. The method also includes dissolving the metallic particles in the gelled aqueous fluid to provide a source of metal ions and heating the gelled aqueous fluid to a temperature sufficient to cause the unsaturated fatty acid to auto-oxidize to products present in an amount effective to reduce the viscosity.

Viscosity controlled wellbore fluids comprising gels, such as viscoelastic surfactant gels, are used for various purposes in wellbore operations, such as drilling, completion, production and sequestration or other operations, particularly during hydrocarbon recovery operations. These viscosity controlled fluids must be adapted to form high viscosity fluids for operations such as fracturing, but must also be adapted for "breaking" or reducing their viscosity for subsequent operations, such as hydrocarbon recovery operations.
Fracturing fluids are complex and must simultaneously provide high temperature stability at high pump rates and fluid shear rates that may tend to cause the fluids to degrade and prematurely settle out constituents, such as proppant, before the fracturing operation is complete. Various fracturing fluids have been developed, but most commercially used fracturing fluids are aqueous-based liquids or fluids that have either been gelled or foamed using a gelling agent. Polymeric gelling agents, such as solvatable polysaccharides that are gelled by crosslinking to increase viscosity have been used. Non-polymeric viscoelastic surfactant (VES) gelling agents have also been used. In many cases, VES materials are advantageous compared to polymer gelling agents because they employ low molecular weight surfactants rather than high molecular weight polymers and may leave less gel residue within the pores of oil producing formations, leave no filter cake on the formation face and minimal amounts of residual surfactant coating the proppant, and inherently do not create microgels or fish-eye-type polymeric masses.
VES materials also require breaker systems for the non-polymeric VES-based gelled fluids to reduce their viscosity after use. These have generally included using external or reservoir conditions for viscosity reduction (breaking) and VES fluid removal (clean-up) during hydrocarbon production, as well as rearranging, disturbing, and/or disbanding of the VES worm-like micelle structure by contact with hydrocarbons within the reservoir, more specifically contacting and mixing with crude oil and condensate hydrocarbons. While useful, these breaker systems have limitation, including incomplete removal of the VES fluids, resulting in residual formation damage (e.g., impairment of hydrocarbon production). Post-treatment clean-up fluids composed of either aromatic hydrocarbons, alcohols, surfactants, mutual solvents, and/or other VES breaking additives have been employed in an attempt to break the VES fluid for removal, but their effectiveness has been limited, resulting in well sections with unbroken or poorly broken VES-gelled fluid that impairs hydrocarbon production, or in production delays associated with instances where VES breaking and clean-up takes a long time, such as several days up to possibly months to break and then produce the VES treatment fluid from the reservoir.
Internal breakers that are activated within the fluid, such as by downhole temperatures have also been used with VES-gelled fluids, and typically allow a controlled rate of gel viscosity reduction in 1 to 8 hours, similar to gel break times common for conventional crosslinked polymeric fluid systems. VES-gelled fluids are not comprised of polysaccharide polymers that are easily degraded by use of enzymes or oxidizers, but are comprised of surfactants that associate and form viscous rod-shaped or worm-shaped micelle structures. Conventional enzymes and oxidizers have not been found to act and degrade the surfactant molecules or the viscous micelle structures they form. Other internal breakers for VES-gelled fluids have been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,645,724 B2 to Crews which describes aqueous fluids viscosified with viscoelastic surfactants (VESs) that may have their viscosities reduced (gels broken) by the direct or indirect action of a composition that contains at least one unsaturated fatty acid (UFA), such as a monoenoic acid and/or polyenoic acid.
While these internal breakers are very useful, the development of additional internal breakers to provide enhanced control of the breaking of VES fluids is very desirable, particularly in view of the widespread use of these fluids in fracturing and other downhole operations.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Mono- and polyenoic acid and metal particle mixtures for breaking VES-gelled fluids


A magnetic type angle sensor includes a rotary body having a first sensed part provided on a circumferential surface thereof with projecting parts and recessed parts at equal intervals in a circumferential direction thereof and a second sensed part provided on a circumferential surface thereof with a projecting parts at just one location, and a magnetic sensing device for sensing a change in a magnetic field along with rotation of the rotary body. The rotary body is formed with a plurality of projecting parts and recessed parts in a gear shape by gear cutting on the circumferential surface, then is cut with a groove at the center thereof in the axial direction thereof and has all projecting parts in a half section in the axial direction thereof cut off except for one.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magnetic type angle sensor using magnetism to sense a rotational angle and rotational position of a rotary shaft or other rotary member.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a magnetic type angle sensor using magnetism to sense the rotational angle of a rotary member, there is known a magnetic type encoder or the like for sensing the rotational position and rotational angle of a motor shaft, a rotary shaft driven by a motor, or another rotary member.
FIGS. 1A to 1C are views for illustrating the operating principle of an angle sensor using magnetism to sense a rotational angle. A rotary body (hereinafter referred to as a "sensor ring") 1 of an angle sensor mounted on a rotary shaft, etc. is comprised of pure iron or another magnetic material and is formed in its circumferential direction with projecting parts 2 and recessed parts 3 alternately at equal intervals. In FIGS. 1A to 1C, this circular sensor ring 1 is illustrated in a linear form. A magnet 4 is arranged facing the recessed parts and projecting parts formed on the outer circumferential surface of the sensor ring 1. Further, a magnetic sensing device is arranged between the magnet 4 and the recessed and projecting outer circumferential surface of the sensor ring 1. The magnetic sensing device is provided with two magnetoresistance elements 5a and 5b changing in resistance along with the flux density passed therethrough. The magnetoresistance elements 5a and 5b are connected serially to form a series circuit, to which a voltage VCC is applied. The voltage between the two magnetoresistance elements 5a and 5b is sensed as the output voltage.
In the state of FIG. 1A, the magnetoresistance element 5a faces the recessed part 3 of the sensor ring 1, while the magnetoresistance element 5b faces a projecting part 2. As a result, since the magnetoresistance element 5b faces the projecting part 2, the magnetic flux emitted from the magnet 4 which is passes through the magnetoresistance element 5b is great, while since the magnetoresistance element 5a faces the recessed part 3, the magnetic flux which is passed through the magnetoresistance element 5a is small. As a result, the voltage between the magnetoresistance element 5a and the magnetoresistance element 5b, that is, the output voltage, becomes higher.
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1B, when the sensor ring 1 moves and the center position between the magnetoresistance elements 5a and 5b is aligned with the center of the recessed part 3 of the sensor ring 1, the two magnetoresistance elements 5a and 5b are evenly passed with magnetic flux from the magnet 4, the resistance values thereof become the same, and the output voltage becomes ½ of the supplied voltage VCC.
As shown in FIG. 1C, when the sensor ring 1 further moves and the magnetoresistance element 5a faces a projecting part 2 and the magnetoresistance element 5b faces a recessed part 3, the magnetoresistance element 5a becomes maximum in resistance value, while the magnetoresistance element 5b becomes minimum in resistance value. As a result, the output voltage becomes the minimum value.
Therefore, the output voltage becomes the output of a sinusoidal wave shape along with movement of the sensor ring. By processing this output signal, the rotational position of the sensor ring 1, that is, the rotational angle of the rotary shaft on which the sensor ring 1 is mounted, is sensed.
Further, in order to determine the position serving as the reference for the rotational angle (origin position), a single pulse origin signal (one-rotation signal) is made to be generated just once when the sensor ring 1 rotates one turn.
FIG. 2 is a view for illustrating the above-mentioned angle sensing signal and origin signal (one-rotation signal). The angle sensing signal is comprised of a large number of pulses generated at equal intervals over one rotation of the sensor ring (one rotation of the rotary member having the sensor ring mounted thereon). The number of these pulses is used for sensing of the rotational angle. On the other hand, the origin signal (one-rotation signal) is comprised of a single pulse output just once every rotation. The position of generation of this pulse is used as the criteria for determination of the rotational reference position of the sensor ring (rotary member having the sensor ring mounted thereon) 1.
In the prior art, as shown in FIG. 5, an angle signal generation sensor ring 20a formed in the circumferential direction with projecting parts 2 and recessed parts 3 alternately at equal intervals and a single rotation signal generation sensor ring 20b were fabricated and attached to a rotary shaft or other rotary member for sensing of the rotational angle. Note that the single rotation signal generation sensor ring 20b shown in FIG. 5 is formed on the circumferential surface thereof with a recessed part 3′ at just a single location, so that it can sense the recessed part 3′ by a magnetoresistance element as described above to generate a one-rotation signal.
Further, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 11-153451 discloses a magnetic type encoder using a sensor ring integrated with a one-rotation signal generator and an angle signal generator. The sensor ring used in this magnetic type encoder is formed in its circumferential direction with gear shaped recessed parts and projecting parts alternately at equal intervals. One of the projecting parts among these is formed to be shorter in the axial direction thereof to have only about half of the height of the remaining projecting parts. The top half (or bottom half) of the ring in the axial direction thereof is formed with recessed parts and projecting parts alternately at equal intervals. A rotational angle sensing signal is generated at these parts. On the other hand, the other half is formed at just one location with a recessed part. A one-rotation signal is generated at this part. Further, two magnetoresistance elements are used to generate a one-rotation signal from the difference between the outputs of the two magnetoresistance elements.
In the conventional method of separately fabricating an angle signal generation sensor ring 20a and single rotation signal generation sensor ring 20b as shown in FIG. 5 and attaching them to a rotary shaft for sensing of the rotational angle to form an angle sensor, the angle signal generation sensor ring 20a is produced by a machining method such as gear cutting, but the single rotation signal generation sensor ring 20b is produced by a machining method separate from gear cutting, that is, these are fabricated by different machining methods. Accordingly, there is the defect of an increase in the production costs. Further, as the rotary shaft of the motor, etc., has to be fit with the two sensor rings 20a and 20b, two attachment steps are involved and therefore the number of production steps is disadvantageously increased.
Further, the sensor ring integrated with the one-rotation signal generator and angle signal generator, as described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 11-153451, eliminates the above-mentioned defects, but generation of the one-rotation signal requires two magnetoresistance elements. As a result, the cost is raised by that extent.


An installation for slicing whole loaves and packaging each sliced loaf in its entirety or in halves after splitting of the loaf that has been sliced in its entirety.

An installation for slicing whole loaves and subsequently packaging each sliced loaf in its entirety or in halves after splitting of the loaf that has been sliced in its entirety is generally known and is described as prior art in U.S. Pat. No. 5,680,743. In the case of said known installation the whole loaves coming out of the oven are first sliced and then packaged. If there is demand for packaged, sliced half loaves, a bakery worker takes up a position between the slicing device and the packaging device. The worker then manually removes half of a sliced loaf from the one conveyor path and subsequently places the half loaf on the other conveyor path in the same orientation as that of the half loaves that are being carried on that conveyor path to the place where the worker is positioned.
Manually taking hold of and turning round half a loaf and then placing it on another conveyor path can be performed only at very low speed, is expensive in view of the wage costs, and also constitutes an unappealing activity for the worker.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,680,743 therefore proposes—if there is demand for packed, sliced half loaves—first cutting a whole, unsliced loaf coming out of the oven into two halves using a single cutter blade, and then placing the two halves of the loaf one behind the other and conveying them to a slicing device, where the half loaves are then cut into slices. In order to ensure that the half loaves follow one another after the whole loaf has been cut in half, U.S. Pat. No. 5,680,743 discloses a positioning device with a horizontal turntable and with a centre guide, which forms an appropriate path for each half of the loaf that has been cut in two. The centre guide extends in line with the single cutter blade, viewed in the direction of conveyance of the loaves, and runs until above the turntable. If one of the loaf halves goes onto the turntable, that half is carried along and taken to the other conveyor path. In the process, that half of the loaf is rotated and ultimately lies in front of the other half of the loaf. A pushing element then carries the two halves to the slicing device, where the half loaves are cut into slices.
The installation according to U.S. Pat. No. 5,680,743 is not satisfactory. A particular disadvantage is that only half of the slicing capacity of the slicing device for slicing the bread is utilized. This is a particular disadvantage because in practice the slicing device is generally the limiting factor for the capacity of the entire slicing and packaging installation. Furthermore, slicing of the already halved loaves leads to an undesirably great loss of bread material.

Installation for slicing and packaging bread

Abstract: The installation comprises a slicing device for slicing whole loaves, and a packaging device which is disposed downstream of the slicing device and is suitable both for packaging a sliced loaf in its entirety and for packaging sliced half loaves. Splitting means are disposed downstream of the slicing device, for splitting a sliced whole loaf into a first and a second half.Adjacent and separate first and second conveyor paths are provided between the slicing device and the packaging device, for conveying the first half and the second half respectively of a sliced loaf.A positioning device is further disposed between the slicing device and the packaging device, which positioning device is designed to turn round a first half of a sliced loaf arriving at the positioning device by way of the first conveyor path and to place said half in the same orientation on the second conveyor path as a second half of a sliced loaf arriving at the positioning device by way of said second conveyor path.


A rapid diagnostic testing device for testing of a biological sample is provided. The device comprises a channeled construct, at least one lateral flow unit, and a cassette housing. The channeled construct is configured to receive a biological sample to form at least partially purified biological sample. The lateral flow unit is at least partially disposed in the cassette housing. The lateral flow unit comprises: a sample receiving zone, a conjugate zone and a detection zone. The sample receiving zone is operatively coupled to the channeled construct for receiving the partially purified biological sample comprising at least one analyte. The conjugate zone comprising a conjugate particle to bind the analyte is disposed adjacent to the first side of the sample receiving zone. The detection zone is disposed adjacent to the second side of the sample receiving zone and comprises at least one binding agent for detecting the analyte.

A rapid diagnostic test (RDT) is a medical diagnostic test that is less time consuming and less labor intensive. RDTs are suitable for preliminary and/or emergency medical screening, for example, for use in medical facilities with limited resources, and offer a useful alternative to microscopy in situations where reliable microscopic diagnosis facility is not available or is not immediately available. RDTs also allow point-of-care (POC) testing in primary care. RDTs do not require clinical diagnostic methods, such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) or polymerase chain reaction (PCR). RDTs can be performed independent of laboratory equipment by minimally trained personnel, and deliver instant results. RDTs provide results within two hours, and typically provide results in approximately 30 minutes.
An RDT employs a dipstick or cassette format for testing a biological specimen, such as a blood sample. For testing, the biological specimen collected from a patient is applied to a sample pad on a test strip (or card) of the RDT dipstick or cassette along with certain reagents. Depending on the type of test that is being conducted, after a determined period of time, presence or absence of specific bands in a test strip window indicates whether a certain antigen of interest is present in the biological specimen, such as a patient's sample. Generally, a drop of the biological specimen is added to the RDT device through a sample well, and then a buffer is usually added through a buffer well. The buffer carries the biological specimen along the length of the RDT device.
In the currently marketed RDTs for malaria, hemoglobin present in red blood cells typically causes background noise while using a nitrocellulose-based detection pad. This in turn affects the detection performance or sensitivity of the RDT assay kit. In addition, the currently marketed RDT devices for malaria utilize only about 5 μL of a blood sample while a finger prick can generate up to 500 μL of sample. The small volume of sample affects detection, particularly if the level of analyte in the sample is low and can lead to false negative test results.
In general, the methods disclosed in the art for removal of red blood cells from whole blood employs agents that lysed cells, induce affinity binding, or agglutination of cells. Disadvantages of the methods disclosed in the art include a greater number of steps required for the assay and/or the increased cost of reagents/materials required for the assays. There is a need for improving sensitivity of RDTs, particularly the sensitivity of RDTs for malaria detection while retaining the lower cost of such tests.

Device for rapid diagnostic tests to detect antigens with improved sensitivity


A process for landing a tailless aircraft having a nose, wings that produce lift, a nose landing gear with a shock strut, and main landing gear, comprises the steps of allowing the nose landing gear shock strut to compress after touchdown to a point where the nose of the aircraft has lowered sufficiently to reduce the lift of the wings. The process further includes the step of controlling the rate of rebound of the nose landing gear shock strut such that the nose of the aircraft remains lowered in order to prevent the aircraft from becoming airborne after touchdown.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of aircraft and, in particular, to a process for landing an unmanned tailless or flying wing type aircraft.
2. Description of Related Art
Flying wing or tailless aircraft have a particularly unique problem. They have a very small pitch moment, which makes raising the nose off the ground difficult. Tricycle landing gear are positioned such that the most aft center of gravity (CG) position is still forward of the main landing gear. With a normal aircraft the tail has sufficient leverage to lift the CG about the pivot point of the main landing gear for all CG positions. The solution for a tailless airplane is to rig the landing gear so the airplane rolls along on the ground with a positive angle of attack. However, when a flying wing aircraft is rigged this way and lands badly there is a problem. The aircraft can bounce back into the air. If the aircraft is about to stall, the bounce may put it too high to survive the stall. Conventional aircraft do not suffer from this problem because at touchdown and rotation, the wings have a slight negative lift angle.
Thus, it is a primary object of the invention to provide a process to eliminate a flying wing type aircraft upon landing from returning to the air after touchdown.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a process to eliminate a flying wing type aircraft upon landing from returning to the air after touchdown by insuring that the aircraft has insufficient aerodynamic lift after touchdown to return to the air.


A seal assembly includes a housing, a shaft, and a gland. The housing defines an opening and an annular retention channel, according to various embodiments. The shaft extends through the opening, and the shaft comprises a longitudinal axis, according to various embodiments. The gland may be disposed circumferentially around the shaft and may be movably retained within the annular retention channel. The gland is movable relative to the housing in a direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, according to various embodiments.

Retractable components, such as position lights for aircraft, are often controlled using a linear actuator. For example, an aircraft light may be deployed/extended (e.g., vertically) when in use and retracted when no longer in use. When deployed/extended, an aircraft light may experience loads that are perpendicular to the direction of actuation (i.e., lateral loads), which can cause the light to deflect laterally. In response to this deflection, water or other foreign objects may enter the light assembly and/or actuator assembly through temporarily deformed seals and cause damage and/or wear to the assembly.

Seal assembly for retractable components