System and method for protecting an integrated circuit. The system includes a first transistor coupled to a first voltage and a second voltage, a second transistor coupled to the gate of the first transistor and the first voltage, a third transistor coupled to the gate of the second transistor and the first voltage, and a capacitor coupled to the gate of the second transistor and the second voltage. The first voltage is provided to the integrated circuit, the gate of the third transistor is configured to receive a first control signal, the gate of the second transistor is configured to receive a second control signal, and the second control signal is capable of turning off the second transistor a time period after the third transistor is turned off.

The present invention is directed to integrated circuits. More particularly, the invention provides a system and method for electrostatic discharge protection. Merely by way of example, the invention has been applied to signals at various voltages. But it would be recognized that the invention has a much broader range of applicability.
For signals at various voltages, excessive electrostatic discharges (ESD) can cause failure of an integrated circuit. Therefore a robust on-chip ESD protection circuit is often required to protect the internal semiconductor circuitry. For example, the ESD protection circuit includes a triggering mechanism. When a pin voltage falls outside certain operating conditions, the triggering element enables the ESD protection circuit to conduct most of the ESD current. On the other hand, under normal operation conditions, the triggering mechanism should often ensure the ESD protection circuit remains in an off state.
FIG. 1 is a simplified conventional system for ESD protection. A system 100 includes an NMOS transistor 110, a capacitor 120, and a resistor 130. The NMOS transistor 110 is a large transistor and coupled to both pads 140 and 150. The capacitor 120 is connected to the pad 140, and the resistor 130 is connected to the pad 150. As shown in FIG. 1, the pad 140 provides a signal to an internal circuit, which is protected by the system 100. The pad 150 is biased to a ground voltage level of Vss. The capacitor 120 and the resistor 130 can provide a triggering mechanism. For example, the gate of the transistor 110 is grounded through the resistor 130 during normal operation. The NMOS transistor usually remains in an off state. During an ESD event, the voltage level at the pad 140 changes quickly with time. Therefore, the gate of the transistor 110 is AC-coupled through the capacitor 120 up to above the threshold voltage of the NMOS transistor 110. The NMOS transistor 110 is thus turned on to conduct the ESD current. The system 100 has certain weaknesses in high-voltage applications. For example, the NMOS transistor 110 can be turned on by high voltage transient signal at the pad 140 even during normal operation. The system 100 may thus interfere with the normal operation of the internal circuit.
Hence it is highly desirable to improve techniques for ESD protection.

System and method of electrostatic discharge protection for signals at various voltages

On-Bright Electronics (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.


Mechanisms are provided for calculating a recovery time (tr) of an application system in a computer system. The mechanisms tune the computer system dynamically. A recovery time (tr) is calculated and controlled within flexible predefined time slices and compared to a predefined time period (t0). A trigger is set in the case in which the calculated recovery time (tr) exceeds the predefined time period (t0). The mechanisms determine a type of redolog used during a backup process and a corresponding recovery speed value associated with the type of redolog. The recovery time is calculated based on the type of redolog used during the backup process and the corresponding recovery speed value associated with the type of redolog.

The invention relates in general to a method for calculating a recovery time of an application system in a computer system for tuning the computer system dynamically so an agreed recovery time can be secured.
The invention further refers to an appropriate computing system, a computer program and a computer program product.
The use of and dependency on data in today's society is rapidly expanding. Now more than ever, businesses continuously rely on data in order to operate. Businesses and their customers demand that the data be available and accurate. Those data may originate from different areas. The main part of those data within a company are stored within a so-called database management system. Such a database management system serves to store and manage large amounts of data.
Over time in a typical computer environment, large amounts of data are typically written to and retrieved from storage devices connected to the computer. As more data are exchanged with the storage devices, it becomes increasingly difficult for the data owner to reproduce these data if the storage devices fail. Internal influences can lead to a breakdown of data carrier or of processors. A software mistake, mostly based on a bad design can also occur.
The consequences of data loss can be fatal for a business company, resulting in an economic damage. Therefore, regarding data storages, it is common practice to generate a copy of said data which can be restored on demand.
So one of the most important aspects within a database management system is the protection of one's organization's data from logical errors, disasters and other failures by storing backup and archive copies of data on offline storage. A so-called backup describes generally the step of copying data within a computer system on a storage medium as well as the copy itself. Doing a regular backup alone is no guaranteed protection against data loss since there may be internal influences to the backup system which make the backup invalid.
An execution of such a backup can result in utilisation of a large number of resources for a long period of time because of the large amount of data to be stored. Nevertheless, it is very important to execute backups regularly, for that several versions of backups are available in case of a restore. The so-called recovery of data provides the database after restoring with complete functionality, so that all data of the database are available without restrictions.
One way of protecting data is by backing up the data to backup media, e.g., tapes or disks. Such backup is typically performed manually or automatically at preset intervals using backup software. The backup media are then stored away in a safe location. Various conventional mechanisms for protecting and recovering data are available for businesses.
The so-called backup systems vary in the levels of protection they provide, the amount of time required to restore the backed up data and the difficulty associated with their integration with the businesses' other systems and applications.
Generally, the success of these mechanisms is measured in terms of "data availability" i.e., how quickly a system, a database, or a file can be restored after a failure or corruption of data. In the following any system which can be an object of a backup and restoring process, respectively, will be subsumed under the term "application system".
There are mainly two types of backup procedures and systems available.
One type of backup can be referred to as an "offline" backup. In an offline backup, an application system that is being backed up has to be quiesced and cannot be used during the backup process since it is "offline" for users. Moreover, users may be unable to access the files during a full system backup. Accordingly, the cost of performing such backups is greater in terms of user productivity and/or system resources.
FIG. 1 illustrates such an offline backup. At a point in time t1 an application system DB will be shutdown or set offline. Now for a period of time tb1 the movement of actual data objects takes place from the application system DB to a backup storage TSM as indicated by reference number 1. After completion of this backup process the application system DB will be set online or start up again at a point in time t2. From there on logs of the application activity, so-called redologs 2 will be written by the application system DB and saved to the backup storage system TSM until the next backup process starts or the application goes offline at a point in time t3.
Another type of backup can be referred to as an "online" backup which is illustrated in FIG. 2. In an online backup, an application system DB that is being backed up is placed in a different mode at a point in time t1, called "online backup mode", and stays in this mode during the backup process, namely within a period of time tb11. The mechanics of this online backup mode or hot backup mode is proprietary to a specific application. The similarity for all application systems which are regarded within the scope of the present invention is the creation of more detailed log information describing application activity relevant to the data repository to enable later restoration of this repository during recovery. This additional log information is made persistent within the redologs of the application system. Typically, a backup process performed during the period of time tb11 performs a full system backup every time the files are backed up as indicated by reference number 1. A full system backup ensures that a complete and consistent set of data objects on the application system DB is copied to a secondary or redundant storage, namely a backup storage system TSM. In case of an online backup all redologs produced during the online backup mode tb11, need to be saved by the backup storage system TSM as indicated by reference number 2. After completion of this backup process the application system DB will be set in normal operation mode at a point in time t2. Since there may be open transactions within the application system DB at the end of the backup process at point in time t2 the latest redologs 3 need to be saved in addition in a time period tb12 when all transactions are closed which where open during tb11. This means a complete consistent set of application data exists within the backup repository not before the point in time t3 when this "delayed" redologs are saved. That means that a complete backup takes a period in time tb1 corresponding to the sum tb11+tb12. An indicated period in time tb2 shows that afterwards logs of the application activity, so-called redologs 4 will be written by the application system DB and saved to the backup storage system TSM until the next backup process starts or the application system DB goes offline at a point in time t4.
A backup process can be established to backup data on a regular or periodic basis (e.g., daily, nightly, weekly, etc.).
However, as present business applications run virtually around the clock with little tolerance for any downtime, the time frame or window for backing up data is small if it exists. Recovering data often requires the application of a database to restore and recover logs of data. Generally, a log file is a list of actions that have occurred for the purpose of analysis at a later time, for diagnostic or measurement purposes. It is possible to maintain a temporary log of data transactions since the last save of data. When a user saves data to the database, the temporary log is wiped out. Normally, log files only contain forward information, thereby limiting the use and effectiveness of the log files in restoring information. Within the context of restoring and within the following description log files will be referred to as redologs. By definition, restoration is to a point in the past. The fact that redologs can only move information forward through time implies that they must be used in conjunction with some other forms of data restoration, such as restoring an offline full backup, in order to achieve a restoration to a point in the past. Restoration proceeds by overwriting the data with stored copies and by undoing the changes to the redologs. According to such a procedure it is very difficult to preview a specific time frame or window in which a recovery can be done.
Restoring of data corresponds to replace data of the so-called production computer with data of the backup stored on a backup storage system. Therefore, it is very important, that the backup is precisely done, because otherwise wrong data are brought in during restoring. In the worst case, the database is unusable after termination of the restoring.
There are different possibilities to proceed a backup.
A user executes a regular backup under optimised use of his resources. The backup of a database for example is executed according to the following steps. The data of the database are first copied. With respect to the used procedure, changes are saved during or after the backup.
If recovery is decided, the point in time at which the recovery has to be executed has to be determined. All data which have been deposited in the database until this point in time have to be restored. After restoring, the so-called recovery can be started, so that the complete functionality of the database is re-established.
The recovery time frame cannot be exactly estimated. Providers of a recovery service have no possibility to maintain predefined recovery times, because prediction of the time frame is hardly possible. Within the scope of the present invention the term "recovery time" covers the whole period of time necessary to restore backed up data and corresponding redologs as well as to recover those restored data with the associated redologs.

Calculating recovery time of an application system

International Business Machines Corporation


The present invention relates to techniques for measuring integrated circuit interconnect process parameters. The techniques are applicable to any non-ideally shaped interconnects made from any type of conductive materials. Test structures are fabricated within an integrated circuit. Non-destructive electrical measurements are taken from the test structures to determine coupling capacitances associated with the test structures. A field solver uses the initial process parameters to determine design coupling capacitances. An optimizer then uses the measured coupling capacitances and the design coupling capacitances to determine the interconnect process parameters.

An integrated circuit is a collection of electronic components (e.g., transistors) fabricated within a semiconductor device or chip. A single integrated circuit can contain millions of electronic components. Conductive lines connect the electronic components within the semiconductor devices to one another. These conductive lines are often referred to as "interconnect lines" or the "interconnect." By connecting the electronic components to one another in a specific manner via the interconnect, the semiconductor devices can send signals to one another, thereby allowing the integrated circuit to perform different functions. For example, some integrated circuits can be designed to function as microprocessors and other integrated circuits can be designed to operate as memory.
Integrated circuits are designed using software design tools. It is very important that the design tools accurately model the physical characteristics of the electronic components and the interconnect. Accurate physical modeling using the software design tools increases the chances that a particular design will work properly the first time it is fabricated. Likewise, if a particular design is not modeled correctly, it is very likely that the design will not function properly when fabricated. In this situation, an integrated circuit designer must then attempt to determine why the design failed, make changes to the design, and fabricate another chip using the modified design. This iterative process significantly delays the time it takes to get the semiconductor product to market, causing companies to lose money and market share. In addition, the need to refabricate integrated circuit chips can lead to dramatically increased costs since the actual fabrication process is very expensive. It is therefore essential that the electronic components and the interconnects that connect these components are modeled accurately during the design phase of the integrated circuit chip.
To create accurate models of integrated circuit interconnects, integrated circuit designers must analyze fabricated semiconductor wafers to determine physical (actual) interconnect process parameters. Important process parameters include line width, metal thickness, and dielectric thickness. There are several known techniques that can be used to measure the actual interconnect process parameters. One commonly used measurement technique uses a destructive methodology, where a focused ion beam ("FIB") cuts into a fabricated wafer exposing the cross section of an interconnect line and then a Scanning Electron Microscope ("SEM") takes pictures of the exposed interconnect line. Unfortunately, this technique destroys the wafer. It also takes a relatively long period of time to make the measurements since the wafer must be cut and then analyzed using a microscope.
Non-destructive techniques can also be used to measure physical interconnect process parameters. One non-destructive technique uses optical metrology tools. Wafers are not damaged using this technique. The optical metrology tools make measurements quickly and the results can be easily interpreted. However, the resolution of current generation optical metrology tools limits their applications to sub-micron range (i.e., less than 100 nm).
In recent years, aggressive scaling of semiconductor process technologies has resulted in interconnect delays that have become larger than transistor gate delays. To address this problem, the semiconductor industry has began using copper as the interconnect material, rather than aluminum. This is because the signal delay through a copper interconnect is less than the signal delay through a aluminum interconnect. Due to low resistivity of copper, which is almost half of that of Aluminum, both the resistance and capacitance of the interconnect are reduced, resulting in a lower interconnect delay.
A disadvantage to using copper interconnects compared to aluminum interconnects is that it is more difficult to measure the process parameters of copper interconnects. It is well known that aluminum interconnect lines have a rectangular shape after processing, while copper interconnect lines have a trapezoidal shape after processing. However, most conventional measurement techniques are only capable of measuring the process parameters for interconnect lines having rectangular shapes. In fact, the only known technique for accurately measuring copper interconnect process parameters is the destructive SEM technique described above. As discussed above, obtaining measurements using the destructive SEM technique is time consuming, and results in the destruction of wafers. Non-destructive optical and e-beam tools cannot give information on both width (top and bottom) and thickness of the copper interconnects, because these techniques are only capable of measuring top view of the interconnects. It is essential to capture all three dimensions associated with copper interconnects for process control, parasitic extraction, circuit delay simulation, and parametric yield prediction.
Thus, given advances in semiconductor fabrication technologies, and in particular, the use of copper interconnects, there is a need for non-destructive techniques to determine the process parameters for interconnects having non-ideal (i.e., non-rectangular) shapes.

Measurement of integrated circuit interconnect process parameters


One embodiment of a long-distance synchronous bus includes a sending unit and a receiving unit. The sending unit and receiving unit are configured to use credit-based handshaking signals to regulate data flow between themselves. The receiving unit includes a skid buffer for storing data packets received from the sending unit. The sending unit transmits one data packet to the receiving unit for each credit in possession and consumes one credit for each such transmitted data packet. The receiving unit transmits one credit to the sending unit for each data packet that is read out of the skid buffer. In another embodiment, transmitted data may be broadcast to multiple receiving units by routing the data from the sending unit to the multiple receiving units and maintaining separate credit-based handshaking signals for each receiving unit.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to integrated circuit design and more specifically to a long-distance synchronous bus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Complex integrated circuit designs are typically comprised of a plurality of logic blocks. As is often the case, a first logic block transmits data to a second logic block. There are several established methods of data flow control that are used in cases when the second logic block cannot always accept the data from the first logic block. One such method uses a valid and a busy signal. The valid signal is transmitted with the data and, when asserted, indicates to the second block that the data arriving at the second block is valid (i.e., should be accepted). The busy signal is asserted by the second logic block to indicate to the first logic block the second logic block cannot currently accept data. The first logic block responds by not transmitting any additional data until the busy signal is de-asserted.
For this method of flow control to work properly, there cannot be any excessive latency in the timing of the busy and valid signals. For example, assuming a synchronous system, the busy signal must be received by the first logic block within the same clock cycle as the data being currently being transmitted. If the busy signal is not received within the same clock cycle, then the data may be lost since the first logic block ends up sending the data when the second logic block is not accepting data. The timing requirements of the valid and busy signals limit the distance that the first logic block may transmit data to the second logic block to approximately the distance that a signal propagates during one-half a clock cycle.
In view of flow control signal timing requirements, one or more retiming stages may be used between logic blocks to increase the distance data can be transmitted. Generally, a retiming stage receives a data packet and a corresponding valid signal from a first logic block and then transmits both to a second logic block so long as the second logic block has not sent a busy signal to the first logic block. In a synchronous system, the signals and data packet are typically received by flops clocked by a clock signal. Since the valid and busy signals are timing critical signals, the retiming stage includes additional logic to decouple the valid and busy signals from the first logic block and the second logic block. The decoupling allows a busy signal sent from the second logic block to be detected so that a data packet transmitted by the first logic block can be held until the busy signal has cleared.
One drawback to this approach is that the additional logic adds propagation delays to the valid and busy signals. As is well-known, the distance that a signal travels between a first logic block and a second logic block during a clock cycle may be determined using a timing budget, where the sum of the propagation delays of the signal through system elements, such as logic components, and the propagation delay of the signal in the wire(s) between the first and second logic blocks is equal to the clock period. When a retiming stage disposed between the first and second logic blocks includes additional logic, the propagation delays through the additional logic reduce the amount of time left in the clock cycle for the signal to propagate through the wire(s) between the first and second logic blocks. Thus, the signal does is unable to travel as far during each clock cycle. Since the distance traveled is reduced, more retiming stages may be required between the first logic block and the second logic block, leading to increased design complexity and retiming stage area requirements.
Another drawback is that a logic designer may try to anticipate timing problems caused by long data paths between logic blocks by inserting retiming stages into the initial hardware design. However, if a retiming stage is not needed in the final design, then the overall design is burdened with excess logic, which unnecessarily consumes die area.
These drawbacks are exacerbated in cases where a sending logic block transmits data to more than one receiving logic block.
As the foregoing illustrates, what is needed in the art is a more flexible bus design that implements simpler retiming stages.


A pet entrance pager in the form of a channel like member designed to be fitted over the vertical edge of a door and held tightly against the sides by a non-skid material. The rear of the channel is fitted with an alarm assembly activated by a cover plate spring mounted on one of the channel sides and having a switch, which when activated by an animal pushing on the cover plate trips the alarm assembly. To attract the animal the pager is sprayed with scent. In the event the door is not of standard size inserts are placed channel and the door.

The present invention is directed to a signalling device to assist animals in gaining entrance to or access from a building such as a house by sounding an alarm.
There are at least two pertinent inventions directed to the same subject matter. One, U.S. Pat. No. 4,400,696 shows a hinged switch mounted to a door. When the switch is activated by the animal, either a horn or light or both are energized. To assist in training the animal suitable animal candies or food are placed in a U-shaped holder attached to the hinge support. While this device is effective, the main objection is that the door is defaced since both the switch and the casing holding the alarm assembly are screwed to the door. The other invention, U.S. Pat. No. 4,686,504 has a buzzer or chime mounted on a wall adjacent the door. The mounting means consists of strips of Velcro, so that the position of the so-called annunciator can be readily moved. To assist in training the animal, the actuating lever is made of a bright contrasting color. This type of mounting would seem to create several problems. If the alarm is enclosed in a box on the outside of the wall, the sound is less likely to be heard. The animal might find it hard to get accustomed to such a location, even if the lever is made of a distinctive color. Animals have a tendency to scratch or paw at a door or similar enclosure. For example, if a pet were to be confined to a secluded room for one reason or another, the animal would emit sounds to attract attention as well as pawing or scratching the door, but not the adjacent walls.
It is a primary object of this invention to provide a pet paging device operable by an animal which is mounted on the door in such a way that the door is not defaced.
It is another object of the invention to use a switch mounted pager which is readily operable by a light touch or push of the animal's paw.
It is still another object of the invention to provide a device to which the animal is readily attracted by use of a specific scent so that little training is required.


A deformation member having an eversion portion includes a central deformation portion made of unreinforced thermoplastic synthetic material and end portions made of fiber-reinforced synthetic material providing connections to neighboring parts. This permits simple manufacture by injection molding.

This invention relates to deformation members in which the length of the member may be reduced by eversion of a portion of the member.
As disclosed in German Patent No. 1 172 558, deformation members operating on the eversion principle may be employed in motor vehicles to provide, for example, an energy-converting connection between the bumper and the chassis of a vehicle, or as a telescoping connecting member between the steering wheel and the steering column or the hub of a steering wheel. Conventional deformation members of this type, providing energy conversion by eversive deformation, are fabricated of metal. As a rule, they require several manufacturing steps and are therefore costly to produce.

Deformation member having an eversion portion


An electrical connection inside a semiconductor device is established by lead frames formed of plural conductor plates. The lead frames are disposed three-dimensionally so that the respective weld parts thereof are exposed toward a laser light source used in the laser welding. The laser welding is then performed by irradiating a laser beam. According to the above, welding can be performed readily in a reliable manner. The productivity of the semiconductor device and the manufacturing method of the semiconductor device can be thus enhanced. In addition, because the lead frames have the cooling effect, they have the capability of a heat spreader. It is thus possible to provide a semiconductor device and a manufacturing method of the semiconductor device with high productivity.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a manufacturing method of the semiconductor device, and more particularly, to a semiconductor device manufactured with the use of the laser welding technique and a manufacturing method of the semiconductor device.
As a power converter, such as an industrial converter, a semiconductor device incorporating a semiconductor element, such as an IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor), has been used (for example, see JP-A-2005-116702). FIG. 16 is a schematic cross section of the major portion of a semiconductor device. In a semiconductor device 100, a Cu (copper) base 102 is joined to the bottom of an insulating substrate 101 via a solder 103, and a resin case 105 molded to enclose an IGBT element 104 is bonded to the Cu (copper) base 102 along the upper edge 102a thereof.
An emitter terminal 106 and a collector terminal 107 serving as external connection terminals are provided to the inner wall of the resin case 105, and electrically connected to a circuit pattern 110 formed by the DCB (Direct Copper Bonding) method on the insulating substrate 101 via plural aluminum wires 108 and 109, respectively.
Although it is not shown in the drawing, the surface electrode of the IGBT element 104 is formed by aluminum (Al) deposition. However, because Au-plating processing is applied onto the uppermost surface, solder joining is enabled. A heat spreader 111 is joined to the surface electrode positioned on the top surface of the IGBT element 104 via a solder 112. In other words, the heat spreader 111 is connected to an emitter electrode formed on the surface of the IGBT element 104. One ends of aluminum wires 113 are attached to the top surface of the heat spreader 111 by bonding, and the other ends thereof are connected to the circuit pattern 110 formed on the insulating substrate 101. An emitter current thus flows into the circuit pattern 110 from the heat spreader 111 via the aluminum wires 113.
A collector electrode is formed on the bottom surface of the IGBT element 104 and connected to the circuit pattern 110 on the insulating substrate 101 via a solder 114. Although it is not shown in the drawing, a gate electrode is also formed on the surface of the IGBT element 104, and an aluminum wire 115a to electrically connect the gate electrode to the circuit pattern 110 is attached to the gate electrode by bonding. Further, an aluminum wire 115b extends from a portion corresponding to the circuit pattern 110 that is electrically connected to the gate electrode, and the tip end thereof is connected to an unillustrated gate terminal provided to the inner wall of the resin case 105.
Furthermore, in order to protect the IGBT element 104 and other elements inside the resin case 105 from moisture, humidity, dust, and so forth, the inside of the resin case 105 is encapsulated with gel 116.
As has been described, bonding using the wires is performed to ensure electrical connections among respective portions in the semiconductor device 100 incorporating the IGBT element 104 and the like.
In the semiconductor device 100 as is shown in FIG. 16, because the emitter current and the collector current have a large current capacity, it is necessary to increase the number of aluminum wires 108, 109, and 113 for the currents of a large capacity to flow at a time. However, because individual wires have to be welded one by one, there arises a problem that the manufacturing process takes too long a time.
In addition, in order to achieve downsizing and greater packaging density, respective members forming a semiconductor device are disposed intricately in a semiconductor device in recent years. Moreover, because the number of wires increases with an increase in capacity of the semiconductor device, there is another problem that it takes considerable time and labor until the bonding of all the wires is completed.

Semiconductor device with lead frame including conductor plates arranged three-dimensionally

Fuji Electric Device Technology Co., Ltd.


An image forming apparatus capable of minimizing color mis-registration due to runout of gears is disclosed. The image forming apparatus includes a plurality of photosensitive bodies having transfer points to transfer images onto a transfer object, a driving source to drive at least two photosensitive bodies of the plurality of photosensitive bodies, and a driving gear train to transmit driving power from the driving source to the at least two photosensitive bodies. The driving gear train includes photosensitive body shaft gears respectively connected to the photosensitive bodies driven by the driving source, and connecting gears to transmit the driving power to the photosensitive body shaft gears. When any one of the photosensitive body shaft gears is set to a reference photosensitive body shaft gear, the number of teeth of the connecting gear, which is disposed at a jth position from the reference photosensitive body shaft gear, is determined so that a value calculated from the following equation is substantially an integer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to an image forming apparatus which performs color printing by use of a plurality of photosensitive bodies.
2. Description of the Related Art
An image forming apparatus refers to an apparatus that prints an image on a printing medium, e.g., paper, according to an inputted image signal. An image forming apparatus is classified as a printer, a copying machine, a fax machine, a multi-function printer which has multiple functions of printing, scanning, copying and faxing, and the like.
An electrophotographic image forming apparatus is configured such that light is scanned to a photosensitive body charged to a predetermined electric potential to form an electrostatic latent image on a surface of the photosensitive body, the electrostatic latent image is developed into a visible image by supplying a developer to the electrostatic latent image, and the visible image is transferred onto and fused on paper. Through the above processes, the image is printed.
Of the electrophotographic color image forming apparatus, there is a so-called tandem type image forming apparatus, which includes photosensitive bodies and developing devices as many as the number of colors used in printing.
Typically, since a color image forming apparatus uses toners of four colors of yellow, magenta, cyan and black, a tandem type image forming apparatus includes four photosensitive bodies and four developing devices, corresponding to the respective colors.
In a tandem type image forming apparatus, electrostatic latent images are formed on the respective photosensitive bodies, corresponding to image information of the respective colors. Toners of respective colors are supplied to the electrostatic latent images formed on the respective photosensitive bodies from the corresponding developing devices. Accordingly, visible images are formed on the surfaces of the respective photosensitive bodies by colors. The visible images formed on the photosensitive bodies are sequentially and overlappingly transferred onto an intermediate transfer body (e.g., an intermediate transfer belt or an intermediate transfer drum), and then are finally transferred onto paper. Alternatively, the visible images formed on the photosensitive bodies are directly transferred onto paper and overlapped.
The tandem type image forming apparatus has an advantage of achieving the high-speed printing. However, because the tandem type image forming apparatus performs the color printing by overlapping the images formed on the respective photosensitive bodies by colors, image deterioration due to color mis-registration frequently occurs.
The color mis-registration occurs by composite action of various factors. Of them, a major cause of the color mis-registration is a change of a linear velocity of the photosensitive body due to runout of gears that transmit driving power between a driving source and the photosensitive body.
This kind of problem may be solved by using high precision gears. However, this solution is not preferable because there is a limitation in a process of manufacturing gears highly precisely and a great increase in costs is caused.
Alternatively, if installing driving sources on the photosensitive bodies with one-to-one correspondence, the color mis-registration due to runout of gears may be easily prevented by independently controlling the respective driving sources through a simple program. However, this solution also is not preferable because of a failure in reduction of costs.

Abstract: L          π                                      D        ·      1          R      j

Abstract: Here, D refers to a diameter of each of the photosensitive bodies, L refers to a distance between the transfer points of two adjacent photosensitive bodies, and Rj refers to a speed reduction ratio from the jth connecting gear to the reference photosensitive body shaft gear.


A cooking apparatus includes a housing including a cooking chamber, a heating unit detachably mounted in the housing, and a power connection portion for connecting the heating unit to an external power source. The heating unit can heat food when the heating unit is located in the housing, and the heating unit can independently heat food when the heating unit is removed from the housing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cooking apparatus, and, more particularly, to a cooking apparatus and a method for controlling the same.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In general, there are a variety of types of cooking appliances, such as ovens, microwave ovens, and other suitable types of ovens. Microwave ovens are provided with only a magnetron, or both with a magnetron and a heater for cooking food. An oven is a cooking appliance designed for cooking food enclosed therein with dry heat. A heat source for supplying the heat to the food may be an electric heater or a gas heater.
In general, ovens are provided with a cavity, a space for holding the food, a door for opening/closing the cavity, and a heater for cooking the food.
The cavity is a cooking space in a body of the oven, and the door is hinged on a front of the oven which forms the cavity, and may be opened/closed in left/right or up/down directions.
The heater is on one side of an inside the cavity for supplying thermal energy for cooking the food. The thermal energy from the heater is transmitted to the food by convection or radiation.
However, conventional cooking appliances have the following problems.
First, because the related art cooking appliances transmit thermal energy from the heater to a surface of the food by convection or radiation, heating of the food to an inside thereof takes a long time period.
Second, because the heat from the heater of the cooking appliance heats the entire inside of the cavity, the thermal energy that cooks the food is only a portion of the thermal energy that the heater generates.
Moreover, the thermal energy leaks to an outside of the cooking appliance through gaps between the body of the cooking appliance and the door, which reduces energy efficiency of the related art cooking appliances.
Third, the transmission of thermal energy from the heater of the related art cooking appliances to the surface of the food causes a problem of non-uniform heating of the food, which forms portions of the food that are partially burnt or under-cooked.
Fourth, the heater of the related art cooking appliances fixedly secured to the inside thereof causes a problem of one-sided transmission of thermal energy from the heater to the inside of the cavity. Because the heater is fixedly secured to the inside of the cooking appliance, the user can not vary a position of the heater. Moreover, a mounting structure of the heater is complicated, and use of the heater is not convenient.
Fifth, even though cooking methods vary with food conditions (for example, moisture contents) even in the same type of food, and cooking levels the users desire vary with tastes of the users, the related art cooking appliances fail to provide food cooked as a user desires, since as the related art cooking appliances supply the thermal energy to the food from the heater without variation.
These problems cause customer complaints and deteriorate product reliability.

Cooking apparatus and method for controlling the same


Improved electric field (steered-electron electric-field, or SEEF) sensors and methods of manufacturing the same are provided. The SEEF sensors described herein may have increased sensitivity to low-frequency electric fields while being smaller than previously known sensors, and may allow for low-power electric field detection. The invention described herein allows for sensitive, long-term electric field monitoring for applications ranging from personnel detection to underground facility monitoring, as well as extraordinarily small vector sensing (full Poynting vector) for compact direction-finding of emitters of interest. Exemplary electric field sensors may accurately sense, measure, characterize and/or transmit electric field data over a wide frequency range. Importantly, such sensing, measuring, and/or characterizing do not require any physical or resistive contact between the sensor and a source of an electric field.

Historically, sensitive, low-frequency electric-field sensors have been large devices, employing pairs of widely separated antennae or probes coupled to high-impedance voltmeters. The size of the antenna scales with the wavelength of the electromagnetic wave length and small sensors based on electro-optic materials are only sensitive at higher frequencies. More recently, a number of antenna-less electro-optic sensors have been employed to detect electric fields. Although such systems may be more compact than antenna systems, they are insensitive at low frequencies (e.g., frequencies below 100 MHz).
Compact sensors capable of detecting small, low-frequency electric fields could be applied for low-distance detection of power lines and taking electroencephalograms (EEGs), among other uses. Sensors requiring low power are especially desirable for portable applications.

Steered-electron electric-field (SEEF) sensor program


Two supports (24) are formed on one side surface of a first housing (20) at positions symmetrical to a center of a connection area with a second housing (40) in a lengthwise direction (L). The lever (60) is selectively mounted in a first mode on one of the two supports (24) and rotated toward one side or in a second mode on the other support (24) and rotated toward the other side. The lever (60) has a first and second parts for exerting pushing forces on the first housing (20) in a direction to proceed with a connecting operation of the housings (20, 40) as the lever (60) is rotated. The first part is a cam groove (68) engageable with a follower pin (43) of the second housing (40) and the second part is a recessed groove (73) engageable with the support (24) not supporting the lever (60).

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a lever-type connector and to a connector assembly and to a connecting method therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-288442 discloses a connector with first and second housings that are connectable with one another. A lever is supported rotatably on a support on a side surface of the first housing and a cam groove is formed in the lever. The cam groove can engage a follower pin that projects from the second housing. The follower pin slides on a surface of the cam groove as the lever is rotated to create a pressing force in a direction to assist a connecting operation of the two housings. As a result, the two housings are connected with each other with a small connecting force.
The support and the cam groove of the above-described connector are displaced toward one side from the longitudinal center of a connection area of the first housing. As a result, the connection of the housings tends to be delayed at a first longitudinal side as compared to the second longitudinal side, because the connecting force acts on the first longitudinal side of the connection area in a biased manner. Thus, the first housing may be distanced from a connecting surface of the second housing at the second longitudinal side when the connecting operation of the two housings is completed and contact margins between terminal fittings accommodated in the two housings may be insufficient at the second longitudinal side.
The invention was developed in view of the above situation and an object thereof is to ensure sufficient contact margins between terminal fittings by preventing a housing from becoming oblique.

Lever-type connector and connector assembly


A system and method of performing sonar range estimations in a noisy sonar environment. The system includes a sensor, a transmitter, a receiver, a plurality of band-pass filters, a cross correlator, and a data analyzer. The transmitter transmits a pulse through a transmission medium. The pulse travels through the transmission medium until it strikes an object, which returns an echo to the sensor. The sensor provides the echo to the receiver, which provides an indication of the echo to the band-pass filters. The respective band-pass filters provide filtered versions of the echo and pulse to the cross correlator, which performs multiple cross correlation operations on the filtered echo and pulse. The cross correlator provides output data to the data analyzer, which uses the data to estimate the SNR in the environment and to determine a pulse center frequency corresponding to the estimated SNR. By controlling the center frequency of pulses emitted by the transmitter based on information provided by the data analyzer, the system obtains sonar range estimations with increased accuracy.

The present application relates generally to sonar systems, and more specifically to systems and methods of increasing the accuracy of sonar range measurements.
Sonar systems are known that employ sonar pulses reflected from an object or target to estimate a distance to the target (also known as estimating the range of the target). Such sonar systems include side-scan sonar systems, forward and downward-looking sonar systems, 2-D and 3-D sonar systems, and synthetic aperture sonar systems. A conventional sonar system for performing sonar range estimation is typically configured to transmit one or more sonar pulses comprising sonic or supersonic pressure waves toward a selected target, and to receive one or more sonar pulses reflected from the target. Such reflected sonar pulses, which are commonly called echoes or returns, may include a significant amount of background noise and/or other interfering signals in addition to a reflected sonar signal of interest. The conventional sonar system typically includes a coherent receiver (also known as a matched filter receiver) configured to: receive both the echo and a representation of the transmitted sonar pulse. For example, the coherent receiver may comprise a cross correlator. The echo and the representation of the transmitted sonar pulse are cross-correlated within the coherent receiver to generate a peak cross correlation value, which is compared to a predetermined threshold value. If the cross correlation value is greater than the predetermined threshold value, then the reflected sonar signal of interest has been successfully detected. The conventional sonar system then utilizes the cross correlation peak to obtain a measure of the range of the target.
One drawback of the above-described conventional sonar system is that the level of background noise and/or other interfering signals contained within the echo or return may be sufficient to cause the reflected sonar signal to go undetected or to be falsely detected, thereby causing the cross correlator to produce inaccurate range measurements. Such inaccurate range measurements are likely to occur in low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) sonar environments, in which the noise power within the echo may be comparable to or greater than the reflected signal power. This can be problematic in sonar range estimation systems because a reduction in the measurement accuracy of the cross correlator typically leads to a concomitant reduction in sonar range accuracy.
Prior attempts to increase the accuracy of sonar range measurements in noisy sonar environments have included filtering out at least some of the background noise before providing the echo to the cross correlator. However, such attempts have generally not worked well enough to allow successful detection of reflected sonar signals and accurate estimation of range in low SNR sonar environments. This is due, at least in part, to the fact that sonar systems typically receive sonar pulses that include various types of noise from a variety of different noise sources. For example, a sonar system may transmit sonar pulses through a medium such as water from a ship or submarine that produces noise across a wide range of frequency. Further, other ships, submarines, or structures producing noise across wide frequency ranges may be within the vicinity of the sonar system. Moreover, the natural interaction of the water and objects within the water including the selected target may produce a substantial amount of ambient noise.
Various adaptive beam forming and noise cancellation techniques have been employed in an attempt to minimize the effect of noise on sonar range estimation. However, such techniques generally require some knowledge of the characteristics of the noise source. For this reason, such techniques are usually most effective when used to minimize the effect of the noise produced by the ship or submarine carrying the sonar system, which is relatively easy to characterize. However, such techniques are typically ineffective when the source of the noise is unknown.
In addition, sonar ranging systems may receive echoes from a plurality of selected (and unselected) targets, each target having its own associated noise level, and it may be desirable to determine the noise level and range of each target separately. Such noise associated with multiple targets may be stationary or non-stationary, linear or nonlinear, or additive or non-additive. Further, at least some of the background noise may result from reverberations and/or random signal distortions of the transmitted or reflected sonar pulse, and therefore both the noise level and its structure may be significantly affected by the transmitted sonar signal. However, conventional sonar systems are generally incapable of accurately estimating noise levels and target ranges in the presence of non-stationary, nonlinear, non-additive, and/or signal-dependent noise.
Moreover, the density and temperature of the transmission medium (e.g., water) and the frequency of the transmitted/reflected sonar signal may affect the decay rate of the sonar pulse propagating through the medium. In addition, the absorption of certain frequencies of the transmitted sonar pulse by the target may affect the strength of the resulting echo or return. The sonar pulse strength, frequency range, medium dispersion properties, shape, and duration may also affect the accuracy of sonar range measurements. However, conventional sonar systems are generally incapable of fully compensating for such factors when called upon to generate accurate noise and range estimates.
It would therefore be desirable to have a system and method of performing sonar range estimation that takes into account the effects of background noise whether the noise is stationary or non-stationary, linear or non-linear, additive or non-additive, or signal-dependent or non-signal-dependent. It would also be desirable to have a method of performing sonar range estimation that can be used to increase sonar ranging accuracy in low SNR sonar environments.


A recording medium includes a supply part that supplies a recording medium; a recording medium conveyance part that has a support surface to support the recording medium and conveys the recording medium; an ejection head that ejects liquid toward the recording medium supported by the recording medium conveyance part; a recording medium collecting part that collects the recording medium; and a heater block as a drying part that is placed between the recording medium conveyance part and the recording medium collecting part and dries the ink applied to the recording medium. A part that is on the most recording medium conveyance part side of the contact surface of the heater block is positioned higher than a part that is on the most heater block side of the support surface in a vertical direction.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a liquid ejection device.
2. Related Art
A screen printing device, in which a dyeing stencil was used to perform, has been used for printing to a fabric such as cotton, silk, wool, chemical fiber, blended fabric, and the like. However, in recent years, an inkjet printer technology has been improved so that an inkjet printing device, which performs printing by an inkjet printing method, is receiving attention.
The inkjet printing is not required to use a dyeing stencil, which was used in the screen printing, so that a design that is digitalized can be used. Accordingly, small changes for a design requested by a client can be promptly responded and the production time can be dramatically shortened. Also, there is an advantage that the degree of freedom in design such that color gradations can be expressed is large.
For example, Japanese Laid-open Patent Application Publication No. 8-108588 introduces a configuration that in the inkjet printing device, when a fabric as a recording medium is conveyed to an ejection head that performs printing by the inkjet, to improve conveyance accuracy, the fabric is applied to a conveyance belt having adhesion on a support surface that supports the fabric and a recording medium conveyance part is provided to convey the fabric by the conveyance belt driven by a conveyance roller, and the like.
Further, a recording medium supply part that feeds and supplies a fabric to a recording medium conveyance part, an ejection head that ejects liquid to the fabric supported by the recording medium conveyance part, a recording medium collecting part that collects the fabric conveyed from the recording medium conveyance part, and a drying part that is placed between the recording medium conveyance part and the recording medium collecting part and dries the liquid applied to the recording medium are provided with the inkjet printing device described in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application Publication No. 8-108588.
In the inkjet printing device described in the above-mentioned publication, examples of the drying part (drying heater) show to blow hot air to a fabric and to irradiate ultraviolet rays to a fabric.
Other than these drying parts that dry the fabric without contact, it may consider a drying part which is a type that the fabric is contacted to a heater block and is dried by heating.


An apparatus measures a supporting force of ferroconcrete piles by means of a bi-directional front end oil pressure loading apparatus using a high pressure loading system capable of measuring a supporting force, a sinking amount and an axis load distribution on the ferroconcrete piles. The apparatus comprises: a steel plate having a predetermined thickness and diameter and including upper and lower discs having penetration holes through which concrete passes; a fixing member for separating the discs from each other by a predetermined distance; a high oil pressure cylinder for producing an oil pressure force; an oil cylinder inflation displacement measuring sensor for measuring a displacement; an upper displacement measuring rod coupled to the upper disc for measuring a displacement of the upper disc; a lower displacement measuring rod coupled to the upper disc for measuring a displacement of the lower disc; an axis load transition measuring instrument including a tremie induction tube coupled to the upper disc for guiding concrete to the penetration holes; iron elements coupled to the upper disc; a load sensor for measuring ground abrasion; and a sensor line for transferring a signal and current to the load sensor. A corresponding method is disclosed.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to an apparatus and method for measuring a supporting force of large diameter ferroconcrete piles installed at a scene by means of a bi-directional front end oil pressure loading apparatus using a high pressure loading system capable of measuring supporting force, sinking amount, and axis load distribution on ferroconcrete piles installed at the scene, the ferroconcrete piles being used as base piles in the fields of public engineering and the construction industry.
2. Related Art
In a method for determining the vertically limited supporting force of piles, the following are employed: a static post loading test, a static and dynamic loading test, a dynamic loading test, a static mechanical supporting force formula, an experience formula such as a scene test result, a wave equation, an assumption like a post analysis code, and an assumption like a continuous body analysis. High reliance is placed on the static post loading test.
The static post loading test is a generic form of testing, and is used when upper architecture is constructed with the application of a real load to a post. Thus, it has a high degree of reliability.
In the above described static post loading test, however, methods of establishing pressurization and a reaction system and a spacious test lot are required for the purpose of applying a load, resulting in many requirements such as air conditioning, maintenance of the condition of the scene, and the like.
In addition, if the supporting force is smaller than a required value due to an operational defect because a load to be imposed on one post is very heavy, the entire construction can be adversely affected in view of utility and stability of a large diameter post.
Furthermore, ground is excavated at the scene, and then concrete is poured into the excavation and recuperated. This recuperation causes the supporting force of a post installed at the scene to be able to be largely changed, depending on departures from working procedures or an undesirable change in ground condition.
Therefore, it is impossible for a designer to avoid implementing a conservative layout when a load is used and laid out with its value assumed and tolerated on the basis of ground conditions, thereby amounting to a considerable consumption of a natural resource.
To solve the above described problems, U.S. Pat. No. 5,576,494 discloses an apparatus for measuring a supporting load using an Osterberg cell, in which a high oil pressure jack is installed in a post, and a reaction against the application of a load by a front end supporting force and a main abrasion generated from loading is produced. As a result, there is no requirement for a static post loading test or for separate load applying apparatus and reaction equipment, resulting in the ability to operate in a narrow test space or at a tilted location.
Such a supporting load apparatus using an Osterberg cell, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,576,494, was developed in the 1980's, and comprises flat upper and lower discs, a cylinder having a piston contacting the bottom of the flat upper disc and a body contacting the top of the flat lower disc, a connection member coupled to the upper and lower discs by welding both ends to the bottom of the upper disc and the top of the lower disc, respectively, and a displacement unit for measuring a displacement of the upper and lower discs.
In such an apparatus for measuring a supporting load using an Osterberg cell, substrate concrete to be poured to the bottom is recuperated so that the substrate concrete may have a rigidity stronger than a predetermined value before an Osterberg cell is safely received, and more concrete is poured so that concrete piles are formed after the completion of the safe receipt of the Osterberg cell. As a result, it takes a long time to measure a supporting load.
Although the substrate concrete and the additional concrete are the same in view of their materials, they have a different solidity because their pouring times and recuperating times are different.
Accordingly, concrete piles to be used in a laboratory experiment are different from those used in a working environment in view of front end supporting force and column face abrasion, which results in a problem in terms of degraded reliability in such an apparatus for measuring a supporting load using an Osterberg cell.
In addition, such an apparatus for measuring a supporting load using an Osterberg cell has a flaw in that only a load for supporting non-iron concrete piles can be measured, whereas the concrete piles utilized at a working scene are concrete piles with iron built in.
To solve the disadvantages contained in U.S. Pat. No. 5,576,494, Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2005-0002682 discloses an apparatus for measuring a supporting load which comprises upper and lower discs, a cylinder coupled between the discs, a front end force measuring instrument including a displacement measuring rod for measuring displacement of the discs, iron elements coupled to the top of the front end force measuring instrument, and an axis load transition measuring instrument for measuring ground abrasion with coupling to the iron elements.
Such an apparatus for measuring a supporting load has deficiency in that the size of basis piles is limited and the number of oil pressure cylinders is unlimited, with the result that such an apparatus is not adopted for a necessary loading capacity.
In addition, the increased number of oil pressure cylinders makes it difficult to equally adjust oil amount, and therefore it is difficult to accurately adjust a load to be tested.

Apparatus and method for measuring supporting force of large diameter ferroconcrete piles


In a suction device for the intake by suction and/or extraction by suction of chips or dust, comprising a lower part (1) which is preferably provided with rollers (17), a collection container (2) which can be placed on said lower part and an upper part (3) which closes said collection container and has a motor-drivable fan (9) and a filter cartridge (7) which separates said fan from the interior of the collection container (2), an air inlet (4) which opens into the collection container (2) and is provided with a connector (6) and an air outlet (5) which is arranged downstream of the fan (9) being provided, a low transport volume can be achieved in a simple manner as a result of the fact that there is arranged between the lower part (1) and upper part (3) a support means which is configured in the manner of a telescope and with which there is associated a means (14) for receiving the upper end region of the collection container (2), the axial length of which is variable and the base of which can be secured to the lower part (1).

In the know arrangements of this type, the collection container is configured as a cup-like shaped part. This shaped part is rigid per se and thus defines the height of the device in all cases. This therefore gives rise to a comparatively high transport volume, leading not only to high transportation costs in dispatch but also to comparatively large spatial requirements when the suction device is used in a movable manner. This is detrimental to the overall cost-effectiveness which can be achieved.
Starting herefrom, the object of the present invention is therefore to improve a suction device of the type mentioned at the outset, using simple and cost-effective means and preserving the basic advantages, in such a way that the height of the device is variable.

Scheppach Fabrikation von Holzbearbeitungsmaschinen GmbH


A portable toilet has a seat and a waste receptacle mounted to a frame to allow use as a toilet in conventional fashion. The waste receptacle is pivotally mounted to the frame to allow the forward end of the receptacle to be lifted to spill the contents into a conventional building toilet. A pour spout extends from a rearward end of the waste receptacle. The frame, seat and the waste receptacle are configured to place the waste receptacle at a proper height for personal use and for pivoting the waste receptacle to spill the contents thereof into the conventional building toilet. A water flush system is provided which includes a water supply and nozzles mounted to the waste receptacle for cleaning the contents there-from. The water supply may be provided by connecting to a building water faucet, or by mounting a tank and pump to the portable toilet.

Prior art portable toilets which have been provided for bedside use are typically cleaned by an attendant or care giver, usually requiring the emptying of pans or bowls. In hospitals a portable toilet has been provided by a bench having a hole in the seat for receipt of a bowl used for receiving waste. After use, the bowl must be removed, emptied, and then cleaned by the attendant or care giver. Portable toilets have also been provided by chairs or stools having a hole in the seat for receiving a receptacle bag which is disposed of after use, requiring the attendant or the care giver to remove the bag for disposal. An alternative is desired which reduces the need for an attendant or a care giver to handle waste for disposal. One example of a portable toilet is U.S. Pat. No. 8,627,518 invented by Eugene G. Lederer et al.

Portable toilet having a tilting bowl with pour spout


A fastener system is provided for securing a component to supporting structure. The fastener system comprises a pair of cooperating fastener modules. The first module includes a first stationary member attached to the supporting structure and a first bolt member threadedly engaged with the first stationary member. The second module includes a second stationary member also attached to the supporting structure and a second bolt member threadedly engaged with the second stationary member. The second bolt member also extends freely through a longitudinal bore in the first bolt member. Head members on the first and second head members are mutually engaged for their unitary rotation and the first head member engages the component. When the head members are rotated in one direction, they are advanced toward the supporting structure thereby drawing the component toward the supporting structure. Rotation in the opposite direction is effective to cause the head members to retract from the supporting structure and thereby separate the component from the supporting structure. With this construction, upon fracture either of the first fastener means at a location away from the first head member or of the second fastener means at a location away from the second head member, upon rotation of the first head member in the one direction, the first head member nevertheless continues to advance toward the supporting structure.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to fasteners and more particularly to a fastener constructions which provide redundant load paths for fail-safe operation.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There has long been a need for a fastener of simplified construction which would continue to operate in the event of a failure of a constituent part. This need has been intensified by the space program in the course of which components are being designed which must be joined in space without the conveniences available on earth. For example, in the space environment, it is not easy, and is sometimes impossible, to remove and replace a failed fastener. Additionally, such tasks are intended to be performed primarily by robots which lack the ability of human beings to readily detect a failure and react in a proper fashion to assess the situation and determine a course of action.
Known to the prior art, for example, are lock nut assemblies of the nature disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,889,458 to Taylor and No. 4,840,529 to Phillips. These utilize coaxial fastening members which are threadedly engageable. A similar construction disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,863,329 to Wilson has been utilized for resiliently component so as to isolate the component from vibration. Another similar known construction, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,925,364 to Das, provides an adjustable spacer for maintaining a minimum of separation between two translating members as, for example, in a gas turbine engine.
However, none of these constructions, although generally of a coaxial design, provide dual load paths in the event of a failure of one of the coaxial elements. It was with knowledge of the prior art and the limitations existing in such prior art devices that the present invention has been conceived and is now reduced to practice.


An infrared filter includes an optical filter stack disposed on a first surface of a substrate, the optical filter stack includes a plurality of dielectric layers and a plurality of metal layers alternating with the dielectric layers. and a transmission-enhancing coating. The infrared filter obtains an average transmission greater than or equal to 75% between 400 nm and 600 nm.

Color imaging devices, such as digital cameras, camera phones, and color copiers, use photodetector arrays to produce electronic signals that are capable of producing color images on a display or in a printer. A typical photodetector array has many individual photosites, each of which is responsive over a relatively wide range of wavelengths. For example, a photodetector produces an electrical signal whether it is illuminated with red, blue, green or infrared (IR) light. The magnitude of the electrical signal produced at different wavelengths of light varies according to the wavelength response of the photodetector. To form a color image, color pass filters are placed over individual photodetectors so that each photodetector is responsive to a relatively narrow range of light. For example, blue (pass) dye is placed over a photodetector in a detector array to obtain a blue detector. Similarly, red and green dye is placed on other photodetectors to obtain red and green detectors (generally "color detectors"). The diode array thus obtains spatial color data when imaging an object.
Unfortunately, the dyes used to obtain the color detectors do not filter out IR light very well. IR light illuminating the color detectors increases the noise level out of the color detectors. In other words, a color detector that is not being illuminated by light of its selected color will still produce an electrical signal if it is illuminated with IR light. IR illumination of color detectors can reduce the brightness of ("washout") the colors and the contrast of the image because regions that appear dark to the observer's eye will appear lighter in the image if IR light is illuminating the photodetector.
Many techniques have been used to reduce the amount of IR illuminating color detector arrays. In digital imaging systems, such as digital still cameras ("DSCs"), video cameras, and camera-telephones ("camphones"), lids have been placed over the color detector array. The original function of the lid was to protect the sensor from dust particles. To save space in compact digital imaging devices, such as a camphone, IR filters have been used as a lid. As used herein, the terms "IR filter" and "IR-blocking filter" mean a filter that absorbs or reflects (filters out) IR light and generally transmits visible light.
One type of lid uses colored glass ("color glass") that absorbs IR light (IR-blocking glass). Color glass is usually not used in camphones because of its thickness. Another type of lid uses an IR-blocking filter made of a series of layers of dielectric materials. Other lids use an IR-blocking filter on a colored glass substrate. In DSCs, IR-blocking and blur filters (also called an optical low-pass filter ("OLPF")) are combined and are physically separated from the sensor and sensor lid
However, IR-blocking color glass lids are relatively thick (typically about 0.5 to 1.2 mm thick), which makes this approach undesirable for use in small, portable devices such as cell phones and digital cameras. IR-blocking color glass is also relatively expensive, and the amount of IR-blocking color glass depends on both the color density and thickness of the IR-blocking color glass.
Dielectric IR-blocking filters typically have 30–50 quarter-wave layers of dielectric materials coated on a plain glass substrate that is about 0.3 mm thick. The total dielectric stack height (i.e. all 30–50 layers) is typically about 3–5 microns. However, coating this many layers, typically in a vacuum deposition system, takes a long time and is therefore relatively expensive.
A stack this thick on such a thin substrate also can bend the substrate out-of-plane. Another problem arises from the wavelength shift with angle of incidence. In a typical dielectric IR-blocking filter the wavelength (e.g. cutoff wavelength) shifts 25 nano-meters ("nm") with a 25-degree change in the angle of incidence from normal.
Wavelength shift can be reduced by using dielectric layers with higher refractive indices, but this generally requires more layers to be coated to achieve the same filter characteristic. Some wavelength shift can be corrected in the imaging device, but these techniques can be cumbersome and difficult to achieve, particularly in shallow (short light path length) optical assemblies, such as are found in camera phones and similar devices.
Furthermore, due to the high layer count and the thin substrate, dense, high-quality dielectric thin-film coating bends the substrate due to compressive stress and can cause yield loss in post coating processes, such as dicing the deposition substrate into filters. Because of the problems arising from dielectric thin-film IR-blocking filters, some users have abandoned this approach and have returned to using IR-blocking glass. However, color glass has issues with environmental stability and batch-to-batch variation.
Similarly, almost all the charge-coupled diode ("CCD") and complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor ("CMOS") image sensors have not only color dyes coated over the photodetectors, but also polymer microlenses. It is difficult to coat anything directly on top of the microlenses, especially when a high-temperature process is used. Therefore, it is desirable to provide an IR-blocking device for color detector arrays that avoids the problems mentioned above.

Metal-dielectric coating for image sensor lids


In a gas turbine engine, coolant (e.g., cooling air) is prone to leak out of the interface between the combustor case, the nozzle of the turbine, and the exhaust diffuser. Embodiments of an interface are disclosed that provide non-fretting sealing using an interference fit between radially facing surfaces of a combustor flange and diffuser flange. In addition, one or more contact sealing lands may be used between the combustor flange and diffuser flange and one or more seals may be provided between various components of the interface to provide additional sealing.

In a gas turbine engine, the interface between the combustor case and the exhaust diffuser may be subject to leakage. In particular, the temperature differential between the combustor case and the nozzle of the turbine may cause relative movement between the combustor case and the flange of the nozzle. This can cause fretting at the sealing interface between the nozzle and the combustor case. As the sealing interface wears over time, cooling air flowing between the combustor case and the turbine may leak out of the sealing interface to an external environment of the gas turbine engine, resulting in inefficiency.
U.S. Pat. No. 10,196,911 provides an example of an assembly for sealing a gap between components of a turbine engine. The present disclosure is directed toward overcoming one or more of the problems discovered by the inventors.

Piloted sealing features for power turbine


The present invention is directed to systems, methods and apparatus for processing media content for reproduction by a first apparatus. The method includes obtaining pose information indicative of a position and/or orientation of a user. The pose information is transmitted to a second apparatus that provides the media content. The media content is rendered based on the pose information to obtain rendered media content. The rendered media content is transmitted to the first apparatus for reproduction. The present invention may include a first apparatus for reproducing media content and a second apparatus storing the media content. The first apparatus is configured to obtain pose information indicative and transmit the pose information to the second apparatus; and the second apparatus is adapted to: render the media content based on the pose information to obtain rendered media content; and transmit the rendered media content to the first apparatus for reproduction.

Applications and products in the computer-mediated reality space (e.g., VR, AR and MR space) are rapidly evolving to include increasingly refined acoustical models of sound sources and scenes. Without intended limitation, reference will be made to VR, AR, and MR in the remainder of this document. To optimize the computer-mediated reality experiences, it is preferable to minimize the delay between user movement (e.g., head movement) and perception of the sound adapted to this movement (rendered sound). This delay is also known as motion-to-sound latency or motion-to-ear lag. In addition, it is also desirable to minimize the number of instructions needed to decode and render sound for common receiver devices, such as smartphones, where it is important to optimize computational complexity and power consumption. When a whole audio scene is transmitted, for example for non-communication cases, the focus is on the receiver's rendering latency. For example, linear applications (e.g., movies), do not react dynamically to a user's actions. However, for interactive content, all cumulated roundtrip latencies would have to be accounted for (e.g. if the user triggers an event that needs to be sent back to the server for rendering). Before the content is consumed, the dynamically changed content should be encoded with sufficient lead time to so that the user does not recognize latency between motion and its resulting effect and that there is no misalignment between the audio and video of the content. Encoding and decoding latency is not considered for the motion-to-sound latency in the case of linear applications, as user-movements (position and/or orientation) do not influence the content itself. Rather, these movements only affect the perspective from which the content is viewed. Hence, for linear content, user-movement only affects rendering, but not encoding and/or decoding of output sound. Communication cases differ because a system can only start encoding, transmitting, and decoding media as the content (e.g. speech) occurs. The same applies for cases where interactive content (e.g., from a game engine) is real-time rendered and encoded by a remote server in the cloud. In addition, it is very important that the overall latency of the video and audio-systems are the same, as differences can cause motion-sickness. Therefore, depending on the latency of the video system, there is a need to achieve a similar level of audio-system latency.

Methods, apparatus and systems for optimizing communication between sender(s) and receiver(s) in computer-mediated reality applications

Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation


A biological sample storage container and a dual chip wireless identification tag thereof are provided. The dual chip wireless identification tag includes a substrate, an antenna structure, a first chip, and a second chip. The antenna structure is disposed on the substrate, and includes two radiation parts and two matching parts. The two matching parts are connected between the two radiation parts, the first chip is coupled to one of the matching parts, and the second chip is coupled to the other one of the matching parts.

To facilitate the management of items, a barcode is generally attached to a storage device, which contains relevant information of the stored items. However, if the incorrect information is input into the barcode, there will be no way to verify if the information belongs to the item that is being used, which can result in accidental of misusage. For instance, when the barcode on a blood bag is wrong, a mistake may occur when performing a blood transfusion, which may cause irreparable accidents. In addition, the barcode cannot quickly identify a target object among a large quantity of storage devices.
Radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology is a "non-contact" automatic identification technology that transmits radio waves within a distance of several centimeters to several meters, and the information stored in the RFID tag can be read, so as to identify the content of the item or an identity of a person represented by an electronic tag. RFID tags are similar in function to smart cards or IC chip cards, but they have a larger memory capacity and a much smaller size, so they can be used to replace conventional fixed or contact identification tags.
However, conventional RFID tags generally use a chip and a set of antennas. When the chip is damaged, internal data cannot be accessed, so that data loss easily occurs. In addition, the conventional RFID tags mostly use anisotropic conductive adhesive to combine the chip and the antenna. This structure cannot be used in extreme environments (such as −195° C.), that is, a connection between the chip and the antenna is prone to failure in the extreme environment.

Biological sample storage container and dual chip wireless identification tag thereof


A portable travel mirror device includes a base, a handle pivotably mounted to the base, and a dual mirror assembly mounted to the handle which is pivotable and telescopically extendable between compact transport and upright use configurations, and includes a circular primary mirror frame holding a magnifying mirror encircled by a ring-shaped lamp energized by a power source within the base, and overlain by a diffuser ring. A secondary mirror pivotably and swivelably attached to the primary mirror frame has a different magnification factor, e.g., 1×, and is pivotable upwards from a travel position overlying and protecting the primary mirror to an upright use position, and is also swivelable into contact with the primary mirror frame, whereby light from the lamp is transmitted through the diffuser ring and a transparent secondary mirror bezel to illuminate objects in front of the primary or secondary mirror.

A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to mirrors of the type used by people to facilitate performance of personal care functions such as shaving, applying cosmetics, and the like. More particularly, the invention relates to a novel travel mirror device which is collapsible into a compact, lightweight, readily transportable assembly, and which includes a pair of mirrors of different relative magnification and an integral annular illuminator which is effective in illuminating objects in front of both mirrors.
B. Description of Background Art
People who travel frequently to distant locations often must deal with the absence of conveniences which are taken for granted in their home environments. For example, women who perform grooming tasks such as applying cosmetics and the like typically perform such tasks at a customary location which is adequately lighted and which is provided with a fixed wall-mounted mirror, or a mirror which rests on a table, vanity or the like. However, lodgings at travel destinations usually do not have the optimal arrangements of lighting and seating located near a suitable mirror, such as one has available at his or her personal residence. Also, many people find it useful to have available mirrors with different magnification factors greater than the unitary or 1× imaging factor of conventional flat mirrors. For example, mirrors having 5× or 9× magnification factors are useful in facilitating the performance of detailed grooming procedures. But most travel lodgings have at best 1× flat mirrors which do not provide magnified images.
In view of the foregoing considerations, it would be desirable to have a mirror device which has multiple magnification factors, and an integral light source for illuminating an object such as a person's face within the object field of the mirror. Moreover, it would be desirable to have a dual magnification mirror with an integral illumination source, which could be folded into a lightweight, compact configuration in which reflecting surfaces of two mirrors were protectively
enclosed for transport in a purse, briefcase or the like, yet be readily unfoldable at a use site such as a hotel room to deploy for use a mirror of selected magnification, adequate size, and adjustable orientation. The present inventor is unaware of any existing mirror device which possesses the foregoing characteristics and the unavailability of the desired combination of features was a factor motivating the present invention.

Dual magnification folding travel mirror with annular illuminator


An electrical conductor mount is provided for an accessory including a number of electrical conductors and an actuator. The electrical conductor mount includes an accessory enclosure from which or to which the electrical conductors extend. A mounting element is disposed on the enclosure proximate the electrical conductors external to the accessory enclosure. The mounting element includes a receiving portion structured to receive the electrical conductors, and a retaining portion retains the electrical conductors within the receiving portion. The mounting element mounts the electrical conductors in a position in which they do not obstruct operation of the actuator. The mounting element may be a resilient hook including a first end disposed on the enclosure of an accessory module. The retaining portion may be a hook disposed on the second end of the resilient hook.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to electrical switching apparatus and, more particularly, to accessory modules for electrical switching apparatus, such as circuit breakers. The invention also relates to electrical conductor mounts for circuit breaker accessories.
2. Background Information
Electrical switching apparatus, such as circuit breakers, as well as transfer switches, network protectors and the like, are often equipped with accessories such as, for example and without limitation, auxiliary switches, shunt trip devices, under voltage release devices, and bell alarms. Such devices can be employed in a variety of ways to provide signals indicating certain conditions within the apparatus and/or to initiate a change in status of the apparatus such as, for example, to trip open the separable contacts of the apparatus in response to an electrical fault condition (e.g., without limitation, current overload; short circuit; abnormal voltage).
In view of the increasing market trend to reduce the overall size of the circuit breaker, the space which is available within the circuit breaker housing is limited. In addition to size constraints, the location available for mounting accessories within the circuit breaker can also be problematic. For example, some locations for mounting the accessories in the circuit breaker have limited access for installing the accessories and, in some instances, blind installation is required, wherein it is not possible to mount the accessory within the circuit breaker housing. As a result, incorrect installation and/or damage to the accessories can result, and safety features of the circuit breaker can be adversely affected.
Additionally, many accessories have a number of external electrical conductors such as, for example, wires. In view of the significant space constraints within the circuit breaker housing and the resulting relatively tight fit of the accessories therein, it is necessary to ensure that the wires are maintained in the desired orientation. Among other reasons this is important, is that the wires must not interfere with the operation of the accessory and/or of the circuit breaker operating mechanism. For example, many accessories have a stem or other suitable actuating device (e.g., without limitation, lever) that is cooperable with the circuit breaker operating mechanism. Thus, the wires must be maintained in a position that does not inhibit the proper operation of such actuating device.
There is, therefore, room for improvement in electrical switching apparatus, such as low-voltage circuit breakers and accessories therefor.

Electrical switching apparatus, and accessory module and electrical conductor mount therefor


A method, system, apparatus and computer programs are disclosed to process content for an enterprise. The method includes reviewing, using at least one enterprise policy, content that is to be sent through a data communications network to a public service to determine if the content comprises secure data and, in response to identifying secure data, modifying the content to be sent to the public service such that a presence of secure data will be visually imperceptible when the content is rendered at the public service. The step of modifying can include steganographically embedding the secure data or a link to the secure data in a container such as image data.

Businesses and in general enterprises are increasingly outsourcing some or all of their information technology (IT) to vendors and relying more on products that originate outside of the enterprise. The evolution of IT into the consumer domain is developing a trend where enterprises would desire to exploit existing consumer services for enterprise purposes while maintaining the high-degree of management and security that is a hallmark of most enterprise software. As one non-limiting example an enterprise may wish to store all of the enterprise business content on commodity online storage vendors rather than host their own content servers, but still be capable of managing and tracking the data as if it were stored on in-house storage devices. Relying on a vendor to reliably perform such tasks to a satisfactory degree assumes a certain amount of risk and requires a considerable amount of communication between the different parties to ensure that a proper level of service is established and maintained.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System, method, apparatus and computer programs for securely using public services for private or enterprise purposes