A method of operating an automotive production line including the steps of advancing a plurality of self-propelled carriages along a conveyor of the production line. The carriages are continuously advanced at a fixed operational speed and a fixed operational pitch to obtain a fixed processing time at a plurality of work stations along the production line. Any one of the carriages are stopped when a reduced pitch is obtained due to a stoppage of the immediately preceding carriage. The reduced pitch is less than the operational pitch and is preferably the minimum pitch available between the carriages. Stopped carriages are restarted when the reduced pitch returns to the operational pitch due to the restarting of the immediately preceding carriage. Production losses are reduced by continuing operations upstream of a stoppage to form a dynamic online buffer upstream of the stoppage. Production losses are further reduced when the dynamic online buffer is utilized to prevent the formation of a gap due to a subsequent stoppage located upstream of the dynamic online buffer. Production losses are even further reduced when previously existing gaps located upstream of the stoppage are closed as a result of continuing operations upstream of the stoppage.

The present invention generally relates to a method of operating a production or assembly line and, more particularly, to a method of operating a production line including self-propelled carriages or modules for transferring workpieces along machines in work zones for assembling and machining the workpieces.
The automobile industry has some of the most advanced automated production lines in the world. The production lines include automatic workpiece feed means or conveyors which carry the workpieces through a series of work stations or zones having industrial robots to effect various operations such as assembling, coating, welding, and other processes. The conveyor typically includes self-propelled carriages or cars which individually transfer the workpieces along a guide rail or track along the production line. The self-propelled carriages are desirable because they can start-up and stop automatically and can easily increase speed into or out of a work zone having automated equipment.
Flow of the carriages along the production line requires each of the assembly operations to have a fixed processing time. The carriages, therefore, move at a fixed speed and are spaced by a fixed pitch to provide the required processing time for each of the operations along the assembly line.
FIGS. 1A to 1E illustrate a work zone 10 of a production line 12 wherein a plurality of carriages 14 are entering from a preceding work zone 16 and are exiting to a subsequent work zone 18. In FIG. 1A, the carriages 14 are continuously moving at a fixed operational speed and a fixed operational pitch in a forward direction as indicated (left to right as shown in FIG. 1A).
FIG. 1B illustrates a first trouble spot or stoppage 20 which has occurred along the production line 12 wherein one of the carriages 14 has been stopped for some reason such as a production or equipment problem. In the illustrated example, the last carriage 14 (carriage No. 0) in the subsequent work zone 18 has been stopped. When the carriage 14 (carriage No. 0) is stopped, each carriage 14 upstream of the stopped carriage 14 (carriage No. 0) must also stop so that the fixed operational pitch is maintained. The stoppage of one carriage 14, therefore, stops the entire portion of the production line 12 which is upstream of the stopped carriage 14 (carriage No. 0). It can be appreciated that stopping the entire upstream portion of the production line 12 results in lost production.
When the stopped carriage 14 (carriage No. 0) is restarted, each of the upstream carriages 14 are also immediately restarted so that the fixed operational pitch is maintained as illustrated in FIG. 1C. As the carriages 14 forwardly move along the production line 12 after restarting, they continue to move at the fixed operational pitch and the fixed operational speed. As shown in FIG. 1D, when an upstream carriage 14 (carriage No. 12) is stopped due to a second trouble spot or stoppage 22, each carriage 14 upstream of the stopped carriage 14 (carriage No. 12) must stop so that the fixed operational pitch is maintained. Each carriage 14 downstream of the stopped carriage 14 (carriage No. 12), however, continues to forwardly move along the production line 12. Therefore, a space or gap 24 forms between the stopped carriage 14 (carriage No. 12) and the forwardly adjacent carriage 14 (carriage No. 11) which continues to proceed along the production line 12.
When the stopped carriage 14 (carriage No. 12) is restarted, each of the upstream carriages 14 are also immediately restarted as shown in FIG. 1E. After restarting, the carriages 14 all forwardly move along the production line at the fixed operational pitch and the fixed operational speed. It is noted however, that the gap 24 which was developed by the second stoppage 22 remains and progresses along the production line with the carriages 14 at the fixed operational speed. It can be appreciated that the gap 24 results in lost production by the production line 12. In the illustrated example, the second stoppage 22 resulted in a gap 24 equivalent to one missing carriage 14. It should be noted, however, that stoppages of longer duration result in gaps equal to additional missing carriages 14.
FIGS. 2A to 2D show the effect of continued operations upstream of the stoppage when there is already a gap 24 located upstream of the stoppage. In FIG. 2A, the carriages 14 are continuously moving at the fixed operational speed and the fixed operational pitch in a forward direction as indicated (left to right as shown in FIG. 2A). A gap 24a is present between two of the carriages 14 which was formed downstream of a previous stoppage. In the illustrated example, the gap 24a is located in the preceding work zone 16 between the second and third carriages 14 (carriage Nos. 12 and 13). The illustrated gap 24a is equivalent to two missing carriages 14. It should be noted, however, that the gap 24a could be equal to a fewer or greater number of missing carriages 14.
FIG. 2B illustrates the first trouble spot or stoppage 20 which occurred along the production line 12. When the carriage 14 (carriage No. 0) is stopped, each carriage 14 upstream of the stopped carriage 14 (carriage No. 0) must also stop so that the fixed operational pitch is maintained. The stoppage of one carriage 14, therefore, stops the entire portion of the production line 12 which is upstream of the stopped carriage 14 (carriage N. 0). Therefore, the size of the gap 24a does not change.
Each carriage 14 downstream of the stopped carriage 14 (carriage No. 0) continues forward along the production line 12. FIG. 2B illustrates the production line 12 at the instant when the carriages 14 preceding the stopped carriage have progressed a distance equal to twice the fixed pitch. Therefore, another gap 24b has formed downstream of the stoppage 20.
FIG. 2C illustrates the production line 12 at the instant when the carriages 14 preceding the stopped carriage have progressed a distance equal to four times the fixed pitch. The size of the upstream gap 24a again has not changed because all of the carriages 14 located upstream of the stoppage 20 have remained stopped. The size of the downstream gap 24b, however has grown to four times the fixed pitch because the carriages 14 located downstream of the stoppage 20 continue to advance forward.
As shown in FIG. 2D, when the stopped carriage 14 (carriage No. 0) is restarted, each of the upstream carriages 14 are also immediately restarted so that the fixed operational pitch is maintained. As the carriages 14 forwardly move along the production line 12 after restarting, they continue to move at the fixed operational pitch and the fixed operational speed. The size of the upstream gap 24a has not changed because all of the carriages 14 located upstream of the stoppage 20 restarted together. Therefore, the production loss due to the gap 24a has remained. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a method of operating an assembly line which reduces production losses such as those due to stoppages along the assembly line.


An oil/water separator tank having intake, discharge and vent fittings is conditioned for in-situ cleaning of the oil separator plate stacks positioned therein by selective opening of manual valves connected to each of such fittings. When so conditioned by opening of the manual valves, the in-situ cleaning is performed during repeated operational phases under automated control of solenoid operated and motor driven valves through which a plurality of sequential operational steps are performed, consisting of (a) low pressure air injected into an air sparging array within the separator tank, (b) supply of potable water into a mixing tank; (c) mixing of the potable water with the cleaning agent within the mixing tank; (d) introduction of the cleaning agent after the mixing thereof into the separator tank to enhance in-situ cleaning by dispersing the low pressure air from the air sparging array; and (e) drainage of collected waste oil from the separator tank into a waste oil tank.

Oil/water separation treatment of oily wastewater within a separator tank by its exposure to plate stacks is already well known, as well as in-situ cleaning of such plate stacks involving emergence of pressurized air from an air sparging array below the plate stacks for dispersion of a bio-emulsifier cleaning agent introduced into the separator tank as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,659,290 B1 to Lawson et al. The cleaning process heretofore involved use of personnel under high workload conditions because of required repetition of the process. Also personnel were exposed to hazardous material during mixing of the cleaning agent with water before introduction into the separator tank. It is therefore an important object of the present invention to provide for in-situ cleaning of such oil/water separator tanks with reduced personnel workload and less exposure to hazardous material.

Valve automated in-situ cleaning system for oil water separator

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


Yarn delivery device for a twisting or cabling machine having a first deflection roller for deflecting a yarn; a driven godet, arranged downstream of first deflection roller in yarn transport direction; a separator roller, arranged relative to the godet such that a yarn can be laid several times around the separator roller and the godet, said yarn being wrapped around separator roller and godet jointly; and a pitch lever, having a second deflection roller arranged downstream of godet in the yarn transport direction, for deflecting the yarn again. A cantilever, having a third deflection roller, which, in the yarn transport direction, is arranged downstream of second deflection roller and upstream of traversing yarn guide for feeding the yarn onto a take-up package, second deflection roller being arranged on a different side of a vertical plane extending through axis of rotation of the separator roller from the third deflection.

German Patent Publication DE 199 24 595 C1 discloses a twisting machine on which the twisted yarn is guided via a deflection roller to a delivery device, which comprises a godet and a separator roller. The twist is guided with several wraps around the godet and the separator roller and runs from the godet to a deflection roller, which is arranged at the free end of a pitch lever and has a horizontal axis of rotation. In a front view, the free end of the pitch lever is located in front of the delivery device, while the other end of the pitch lever is mounted below the delivery device at a mounting, fixedly with respect to the frame, on a carrier plate in such a way that the pitch lever can be pivoted about a horizontal axis. After the deflection roller arranged on the pitch lever, the twist runs via a traversing yarn guide known per se to a winding package. The traversing yarn guide performs an oscillating movement along the surface of the winding package and parallel to the axis of the winding package, and this leads to uniform winding of the twist on the winding package. The pitch lever is used for length compensation. Because of the pendular movements of the pitch lever, the angle of inclination of the yarn entering the traversing yarn guide differs in accordance with the maximum angular positions of the pitch lever. This results in different states in the region of the run-on point of the yarn onto the winding package. In order to exchange the feed package located under the mounting for the pitch lever, the pitch lever can be pivoted to one side about a vertical axis in a twisting machine according to German Patent Publication DE 199 24 595 C1. At least one sensor detects both the pivoting of the pitch lever about the horizontal axis and the pivoting about the vertical axis and generates a signal when a defined limit value of the pivoting is exceeded.


Compositions of injection molded articles, multilayer extruded articles, and 3D printed articles with improved flame properties and with improved melt dripping properties are disclosed. Improved flame resistant articles may be beneficial for a large number of injection molded parts, 3D printed parts, and extruded parts. Reduced melt dripping also may be beneficial for such applications. Methods for using such compositions, printed parts, molded parts, and extruded parts are disclosed.

Flame retardancy and degree of melt dripping are two important properties in articles such as injection molded, 3D printed, and extruded parts. Flame retardants are chemicals that resist the spread of fire and are used in, for example, thermoplastics, resins, injection molded parts, textiles, and coatings. Typically, flame retardants are halogenated (e.g., brominated) or phosphate based. However, these flame retardant and fire protection materials are generally inefficient or have negative impacts on the environment. For example, halogenated flame retardants, such as brominated flame retardants, are persistent, bio-accumulative, and toxic to both humans and the environment. Brominated flame retardants are suspected of causing negative neurobehavioral effects and endocrine disruption. Brominated flame retardants also release toxic gases which can cause more deaths than fire itself.
Non-halogenated flame retardants, such as phosphate based flame retardants, are generally non-toxic and environmentally friendly. However, non-halogenated flame retardant additives currently used in the market are less efficient than halogenated flame retardants. Generally, these phosphate based flame retardants require high loading (i.e., doses/volumes) which reduces efficacy. Such high doses may compromise the mechanical properties, thereby increasing susceptibility to failure of injection molded parts and other materials to which the phosphate based flame retardants are applied. Phosphate flame retardants also tend to leach out of the materials to the surface rendering the material vulnerable to fire.
For example, polymers may contain between 30% and 60% of phosphorus based flame retardant substances where only 15% of halogenated flame retardants may be sufficient to render the same effect. This higher percentage can compromise the structural integrity of the article and cause the properties of the article to deteriorate.
Melt dripping of plastics, injection molded parts, or 3D printed parts when exposed to flame or fire is also undesirable. Melt drips can cause grievous bodily injury because a hot, sticky, melted substance formed from the plastic can cause localized and extremely severe burns and these flammable parts can be a dangerous component within other devices or apparatus.
Many parts on, for example, automobiles, airplanes, building integration, electronic components, computers, batteries, or smart devices are now injection molded, 3D printed, or extruded. Flame retardancy of these parts is desirable.
Therefore, it is desirable to have injection molded parts, 3D printed parts, extruded parts, and other articles that show improved flame retardancy and that are capable of lowered melt dripping when exposed to flame.

Articles with improved flame retardancy and/or melt dripping properties


A plasma display panel including a partition wall (35) arranged between a front substrate (10) and a back substrate (13), and having vertical walls (35a) extending in the column direction and transverse walls (35b) extending in the row direction to define a discharge space (S) into each discharge cell (C) in the row direction and the column direction. A clearance (SL) extending in parallel to the row direction divides the transverse wall (35b) situated between the adjacent discharge cells (c) respectively in the column direction to each other. A groove (11Aa) formed in the additional dielectric layer (11A) makes communication between the inside of the clearance (SL) and the inside of the adjacent discharge cells (C) in the column direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a panel structure of a surface discharge scheme AC type plasma display panel.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recent years, a plasma display panel of a surface discharge scheme AC type as an oversize and slim display for color screen has been received attention, which is becoming widely available.
FIG. 27 is a schematically front view illustrating a cell structure of a conventional surface discharge scheme AC type plasma display panel. FIG. 28 is a sectional view taken along the Vxe2x80x94V line of FIG. 27. FIG. 29 is a sectional view taken along the Wxe2x80x94W line of FIG. 27.
In FIGS. 27 to 29, on the backside of a front glass substrate 1 to serve as a display screen of the plasma display panel (referred as xe2x80x9cPDPxe2x80x9d hereinafter), there is sequentially provided with a plurality of row electrode pairs (Xxe2x80x2, Yxe2x80x2); a dielectric layer 2 overlaying the row electrode pairs (Xxe2x80x2, Yxe2x80x2); and a protective layer 3 made of MgO which overlays a backside of the dielectric layer 2.
The row electrodes Xxe2x80x2 and Yxe2x80x2 are respectively comprised of wider transparent electrodes Xaxe2x80x2 and Yaxe2x80x2 each of which is formed of a transparent conductive film made of ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) or the like, and narrower bus electrodes Xbxe2x80x2 and Ybxe2x80x2 each of which is formed of a metal film, complementary to conductivity of the transparent electrode.
The row electrodes Xxe2x80x2 and Yxe2x80x2 are arranged opposing each other with a discharge gap gxe2x80x2 in between, and alternate in the column direction such that each row electrode pair (Xxe2x80x2, Yxe2x80x2) forms a display line (row) L on a matrix display screen.
A back glass substrate 4 faces the front glass substrate 1 with a discharge space Sxe2x80x2, filled with a discharge gas, in between. The back glass substrate 4 is provided with a plurality of column electrodes Dxe2x80x2 arranged to extend in a direction perpendicular to the row electrode pairs Xxe2x80x2 and Yxe2x80x2; band-shaped partition walls 5 each extending between the adjacent column electrodes Dxe2x80x2 in parallel; and a phosphor layer 6 consisting of a red phosphor layer 6(R), green phosphor layer 6(G) and blue phosphor layer 6(B) which respectively overlay side faces of the partition walls 5 and the column electrodes Dxe2x80x2.
In each display line L, the partition walls 5 divides discharge space Sxe2x80x2 at each intersection of the column electrode Dxe2x80x2 and the row electrode pair (Xxe2x80x2, Yxe2x80x2) to defines discharge cells Cxe2x80x2 serving as unit light emitting area.
In the above surface discharge scheme AC type PDP, an image is displayed as follows:
First, through address operation, discharge (opposite discharge) is caused selectively between the row electrode pairs (Xxe2x80x2, Yxe2x80x2) and the column electrodes Dxe2x80x2 in the respective discharge cells Cxe2x80x2, to scatter lighted cells (the discharge cell in which wall charge is formed on the dielectric layer 2) and nonlighted cells (the discharge cell in which wall charge is not formed on the dielectric layer 2), over the panel in accordance with the image to be displayed.
After the address operation, in all the display lines L, the discharge sustain pulse is applied alternately to the row electrode pairs (Xxe2x80x2, Yxe2x80x2) in unison, and thus discharge (surface discharge) is produced in the lighted cells on every application of the discharge sustain pulse.
In this manner, the surface discharge in each lighted cell generates ultraviolet radiation, and thus the red phosphor layer 6(R) and/or the green phosphor layer 6(G) and/or the blue phosphor layer 6(B) each formed in the discharge cell Cxe2x80x2 are excited to emit light, resulting in forming the display image.
In the above structure of the conventional PDP, the disadvantage of inferior brightness on the screen has arisen because as each discharge cell Cxe2x80x2 is decreased in size for increasing definition of the screen, the surface area of the phosphor layer 6 decreases.
Further, another disadvantage that false discharge tends to occur arises because if a pitch of the row electrode pair (Xxe2x80x2, Yxe2x80x2) is decreased for responding to a demand for high definition of the screen, interference occurs between discharges of the discharge cells Cxe2x80x2 adjoining in the column direction (in the vertical direction of FIG. 27).
Hence, the applicant of the present invention suggests a new surface discharge scheme AC type PDP as illustrated in FIG. 30 to FIG. 34.
In FIG. 30 to FIG. 34, the PDP is configured such that, on a backside of a front glass substrate 10 serving as the display surface, a plurality of row electrode pairs (X, Y) are arranged in parallel to extend in the row direction (the traverse direction on FIG. 30) of the front glass substrate 10.
The row electrode X is composed of transparent electrodes Xa formed in a T-like shape of a transparent conductive film made of ITO or the like, and a bus electrode Xb which is formed of a metal film extending in the row direction of the front glass substrate 10 to connect to a proximal end of the narrowed portion of the transparent electrode Xa.
Likewise, row electrode Y is composed of a transparent electrode Ya which is formed in a T-like shape of a transparent conductive film made of ITO or the like, and a bus electrode Yb which is formed of a metal film extending in the row direction of the front glass substrate 10 to connect to a proximal end of the narrowed portion of the transparent electrode Ya.
The row electrodes X and Y are alternated in the column direction (in the vertical direction on FIG. 30) of the front glass substrate 10. The transparent electrodes Xa and Ya arranged along the respective bus electrodes Xb and Yb, extend mutually toward a mate of the paired row electrodes such that the top sides (or the distal ends) of the wide portions of the transparent electrodes Xa and Ya mutually face on the opposite sides of a discharge gap g having a predetermined width.
Each of the bus electrodes Xb and Yb is formed in a double layer structure with a black conductive layer Xbxe2x80x2 or Ybxe2x80x2 on the display surface side and a main conductive layer Xbxe2x80x3 or Ybxe2x80x3 on the back surface side.
A dielectric layer 11 is formed further on the backside of the front glass substrate 10 to overlay the row electrode pairs (X, Y). Furthermore, on the backside of the dielectric layer 11, an additional dielectric layer 11A is formed in each position which opposes the adjacent bus electrodes Xb and Yb of the respective row electrode pairs (X, Y) adjacent to each other, plus which opposes an area between the adjacent bus electrodes Xb and Yb, to protrude from the backside of the dielectric layer 11 and to extend in parallel to the bus electrodes Xb, Yb.
On the backsides of the dielectric layer 11 and the additional dielectric layers 11A, a protective layer 12 made of MgO is formed.
Next, a back glass substrate 13 is arranged in parallel to the front glass substrate 10. On the front surface of the back glass substrate 13 facing toward the display surface, column electrodes D are disposed at regularly established intervals from one another to extend at positions opposing the transparent electrodes Xa and Ya of the respective pairs of the row electrodes (X, Y), in a direction orthogonal to the row electrode pair (X, Y) (the column direction).
A white dielectric layer 14 is further formed on the face of the back glass substrate 13 on the display surface side to overlay the column electrodes D, and in turn formed thereon with a partition wall 15.
The partition wall 15 is formed in a pattern, in which parallel lines cross at right angles, by a vertical wall 15a extending in the column direction between the adjacent column electrodes D arranged in parallel to each other, and a transverse wall 15b extending in the row direction in a position opposing each additional dielectric layer 11A.
The partition wall 15 formed in such pattern defines the discharge space S between the front glass substrate 10 and the back glass substrate 13 into a chessboard-square-like pattern to form a quadrangular discharge cell C for each square opposing the paired transparent electrodes Xa and Ya of each row electrode pair (X, Y)
The partition wall 15 is formed in a two-layer structure with a black layer (a light absorption layer) 15xe2x80x2 on the display surface side and a white layer (a light reflection layer) 15xe2x80x3 on the back surface side, which is configured such that the side wall facing the discharge space S is almost white (i.e. a light reflection layer).
The surface of the vertical wall 15a of the partition wall 15 on the display surface side is not in contact with the protective layer 12 (see FIGS. 32, 33), and a clearance r is formed between the vertical wall 15a and the protective layer 12. The surface of the transverse wall 15b on the display surface side is in contact with a portion of the protective layer 12 overlaying the additional dielectric layer 11A (see FIGS. 31, 34), to shield the adjoining discharge cells in the column direction from each other.
On the five faces of a surface of the dielectric layer 14 and the side faces of the vertical walls 15a and the transverse walls 15b of the partition wall 15 facing each discharge space S, a phosphor layer 16 is formed to overlay all of them. The phosphor layers 16 are set in order of red (R), green (G) and blue (B) for the sequence of discharge space S in the row direction.
The inside of the discharge space S is filled with a discharge gas.
In the above PDP, a row electrode pair (X, Y) make up a display line (row) L on a matrix display screen.
As in the PDP illustrated in FIGS. 27 to 29, operation of displaying an image on the PDP is carried out.
Specifically, first, through address operation, the discharge is produced selectively between the row electrode pairs (X, Y) and the column electrodes D, to scatter lighted cells and nonlighted cells in all the display lines L over the panel in accordance with the image to be displayed.
After that, in all the display lines L, the discharge sustain pulses are applied alternately to the row electrode pairs (Xxe2x80x2, Yxe2x80x2) in unison. This causes surface discharge in each lighted cell.
In this manner, the surface discharge in each lighted cell generates ultraviolet radiation, and thus the red, green and blue phosphor layers 16 each formed in the discharge cell C are individually excited to emit light, resulting in forming the display screen.
The above PDP has a feature in that since the transparent electrodes Xa, Ya of the row electrode X, Y extend from the respective bus electrode Xb, Yb toward a mate of the paired row electrodes to independently shape into an island-like form in each discharge cell C, even if each discharge cell is reduced in size to increase definition of a screen, there may not be occurrence of interference between the discharges of the adjacent discharge cells in the row direction.
Further, the above PDP features as follows: the additional dielectric layer 11A is formed on the dielectric layer 11 and the protective layer 12 overlaying the additional dielectric layers 11A is in contact with the surface of the transverse wall 15b of the partition wall 15 on the display surface side, to shield the adjacent discharge cells C in the column direction from each other. This prevents occurrence of interference between discharges of the adjacent discharge cells C in the column direction.
Additionally, the surface of the vertical wall 15a of the partition wall 15 on the display surface side faces the portion of the dielectric layer 11 in which the additional dielectric layer 11A is not formed, to form the clearance r between the above surface of the vertical wall 15a on the display surface side and the protective layer 12.
Therefore, the adjacent discharge cells C in the row direction slightly communicate via the clearance r with each other, to produce the priming effect of causing the discharge such as in a chain reaction, or causing the discharge to transfer to the adjacent discharge cell. This results in stabilization of the discharge operation.
However, in the structure of the above PDP, since the protective layer 12 overlaying the additional dielectric layer 11A and transverse wall 15b are in contact with each other to completely shield the adjacent discharge cells C from each other in the column direction, the priming effect which is secured between the adjacent discharge cells C in the row direction as described above, cannot be secured in the column direction at all. This increases a discharge delay time in selecting the discharge in the address operation when the image is formed.
In order to stabilize the selection discharge, a drive pulse applied in the address operation is needed to increase in width, which results in producing a disadvantage of extending a time required for the address operation.
The present invention has been made to solve the above disadvantages in the conventional surface discharge scheme AC type plasma display panel as described above.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to allow a plasma display panel in which a partition wall defines adjacent unit light emitting areas in a column direction to secure a sufficient priming effect.
To attain the above objects, a plasma display panel according to a first invention includes a plurality of row electrode pairs extending in a row direction and arranged in a column direction to form display lines and a dielectric layer overlaying the row electrode pairs on a backside of a front substrate, and a plurality of column electrodes extending in the column direction and arranged in the row direction to constitute unit light emitting areas at respective positions corresponding to intersections of the column electrodes and the row electrode pairs in the discharge space on a face of a back substrate facing the front substrate with a discharge space in between. Such plasma display panel features in that: a partition wall is arranged between the front substrate and the back substrate, and has vertical walls extending in the column direction and the transverse walls extending in the row direction to define the discharge space into each of the unit light emitting areas in the row direction and the column direction; the transverse wall situated between the adjacent unit light emitting areas respectively in the column direction to each other, is divided by a clearance extending in parallel to the row direction; and the inside of the clearance and the inside of the discharge spaces in the adjacent unit light emitting areas in the column direction are communicated with each other by a communicating section.
The plasma display panel according to the first invention is designed such that the partition wall having the vertical walls extending in the column direction and the transverse walls extending in the row direction defines the discharge space, formed between the front substrate and the back substrate, into the unit light emitting areas.
The transverse wall situated between the adjacent unit light emitting areas respectively in the column direction is divided by the clearance extending in parallel with the row direction. The clearance formed between the divided transverse walls communicates with the insides of the discharge spaces in the adjacent light emitting areas in the column direction through the communicating section.
In consequence, according to the first invention, even when the transverse wall of the partition wall shield the adjacent unit light emitting areas from each other in the column direction, priming particles (pilot flame) which are caused by discharge in the clearance between the divided transverse walls accompanied with the discharge caused in the unit light emitting area, diffuse through the communicating section into the unit light emitting areas adjacent to the clearance in the column direction to induce discharge. For this reason, the priming effect between the adjacent unit light emitting areas in the column direction is secured.
To attain the aforementioned object, the plasma display panel according to a second invention features, in addition to the configuration of the first invention, in that an additional portion is formed on each part of the dielectric layer opposing the transverse wall of the partition wall and the clearance to protrude from the dielectric layer toward the transverse wall to shield the adjacent unit light emitting areas in the column direction in cooperation with the transverse wall, and the communicating section is formed in the additional portion.
According to the plasma display panel of the second invention, the transverse wall and the additional portion formed on the dielectric layer to protrude therefrom toward the transverse wall, shield the adjacent unit light emitting areas in the column direction from each other. This prevents occurrence of false discharge between the adjacent unit light emitting areas in the column direction.
Further, through the communicating section formed in the additional portion for making communication between the clearance between the divided transverse walls and the adjacent unit light emitting areas in the column direction, priming particles (pilot flame) which are caused by the discharge in the clearance between the divided transverse walls, diffuse into the unit light emitting areas adjacent to the clearance in the column direction to induce discharge. For this reason, the priming effect between the adjacent unit light emitting areas in the column direction is secured.
To attain the aforementioned objects, the plasma display panel according to a third invention features, in addition to the configuration of the first invention, in that the communicating section is formed in the transverse wall of the partition wall.
According to the plasma display panel of the third invention, even when the transverse wall of the partition wall shield the adjacent unit light emitting areas from each other in the column direction, through the communicating section formed in the transverse wall for making communication between the clearance between the divided transverse walls and the adjacent unit light emitting areas in the column direction, priming particles (pilot flame) which are caused by discharge in the clearance between the divided transverse walls, diffuse into the unit light emitting areas adjacent to the clearance in the column direction to induce discharge. For this reason, the priming effect between the adjacent unit light emitting areas in the column direction is secured.
To attain the aforementioned objects, the plasma display panel according to a fourth invention features, in addition to the configuration of the first invention, in that at least a portion of the transverse wall of the partition wall is lower in height than that of the vertical wall to form a clearance between the transverse wall and the dielectric layer to constitute the communicating section.
According to the plasma display panel of the fourth invention, even when the adjacent unit light emitting areas in the column direction are shield from each other, the communicating section formed in the portion where a height of the transverse wall of the partition wall is lower than that of the vertical wall, makes communication between the clearance between the divided transverse walls and the adjacent unit light emitting areas in the column direction.
Therefore, priming particles (pilot flame) which are caused by discharge in the clearance between the divided transverse walls, diffuse into the unit light emitting areas adjacent to the clearance in the column direction to induce discharge. For this reason, the priming effect between the adjacent unit light emitting areas in the column direction is secured.
To attain the aforementioned objects, the plasma display panel according to a fifth invention features, in addition to the configuration of the first invention, in that a dielectric rib having a lower height than that of the partition wall is formed in part of the clearance opposing the column electrode on the back substrate.
According to the plasma display panel of the fifth invention, due to the dielectric rib formed in the clearance between the divided transverse walls of the partition wall, a discharge distance between the column electrode on the back substrate side and the row electrode on the front substrate side is decreased. This facilitates occurrence of the discharge in the clearance, resulting in further enhancing the priming effect in the column direction.
To attain the aforementioned objects, the plasma display panel according to a sixth invention features, in addition to the configuration of the fifth invention, in that the column electrode is formed on the dielectric rib.
According to the plasma display panel of the sixth invention, due to the dielectric rib formed in the clearance between the divided transverse walls of the partition wall, a distance between the column electrode on the back substrate side and the row electrode on the front substrate side is decreased. This decreases the discharge distance thereby to further facilitate occurrence of the discharge in the clearance, resulting in further enhancing the priming effect in the column direction.
To attain the aforementioned objects, the plasma display panel according to a seventh invention features, in addition to the configuration of the fifth invention, in that the dielectric rib is formed in an island-like shape for each column electrode.
According to the plasma display panel of the seventh invention, due to the island-shaped dielectric rib formed in the clearance between the divided transverse walls of the partition wall, a discharge distance between the column electrode on the back substrate side and the row electrode on the front substrate side is decreased. This facilitates occurrence of the discharge in the clearance, resulting in further enhancing the priming effect in the column direction.
To attain the aforementioned objects, the plasma display panel according to an eighth invention features, in addition to the configuration of the fifth invention, in that the dielectric rib is formed in a band-like shape extending in the row direction.
According to the plasma display panel of the eighth invention, due to the band-shaped dielectric rib formed in the clearance between the divided transverse walls of the partition wall, a discharge distance between the column electrode on the back substrate side and the row electrode on the front substrate side is decreased. This facilitates occurrence of the discharge in the clearance, resulting in further enhancing the priming effect in the column direction.
To attain the aforementioned objects, the plasma display panel according to a ninth invention features, in addition to the configuration of the first invention, in that a layer is made of materials of a high coefficient of secondary electron emission, and formed in a part in the clearance opposing the column electrode on the back substrate.
According to the plasma display panel of the ninth invention, since the layer made of materials of a high coefficient of secondary electron emission is formed in the clearance between the divided transverse wall of the partition wall, occurrence of the discharge between the column electrode and the row electrode in the clearance is facilitated. This further enhance the priming effect in the column direction.
The layer made of materials of a high coefficient of secondary electron emission may be formed in an island-like shape or a band-like shape extending in the row direction.
To attain the aforementioned objects, the plasma display panel according to a tenth invention features, in addition to the configuration of the first invention, in that a light absorption layer is provided on a part of the front substrate opposing the clearance.
According to the plasma display panel of the tenth invention, the light absorption layer is formed on part of the front substrate opposing the clearance between the divided transverse wall of the partition wall which is a non-display line. For this reason, even when the discharge for priming is caused between the column electrode and the row electrode in the clearance, the resulting light is prevented from leaking onto the image display screen from the front substrate, resulting in elimination of a possibility that the light adversely affect the contrast on the image.
To attain the aforementioned objects, the plasma display panel according to an eleventh invention features, in addition to the configuration of the first invention, in that a phosphor layer emitting ultraviolet radiation is provided on at least a part of parts of the front substrate, the back substrate, and the partition wall opposing the clearance formed between the divided transverse wall.
According to the plasma display panel of the eleventh invention, since the phosphor layer emitting ultraviolet radiation is provided in the clearance between the divided transverse walls of the partition wall, through excitation by vacuum ultraviolet rays generated from the discharge gas filled in the discharge space upon discharge, ultraviolet radiation is emitted from the phosphor layer, and then generates secondary electrons in the unit light emitting area, resulting in the priming effect between the adjacent light emitting areas in the column direction.
To attain the aforementioned objects, the plasma display panel according to a twelfth invention features, in addition to the configuration of the first invention, in that a discharge section is formed in opposite parts of the respective back-to-back row electrodes of the adjacent row electrode pairs for causing discharge in a space in the clearance. The space in the clearance and the inside of the discharge spaces in the adjacent unit light emitting areas in column direction are communicated with each other through the communicating section.
The plasma display panel according to the twelfth invention uses the partition wall having the vertical walls extending in the column direction and the transverse walls extending in the row direction to define the discharge space, formed between the front substrate and the back substrate, into the unit light emitting areas. Further, the transverse wall situated between the unit light emitting areas arranged along the row adjacent to these unit light emitting areas is divided by the clearance extending in parallel to the row direction. The clearance between the divided transverse walls communicates with the inside of the discharge spaces in the adjacent unit light emitting areas in the column direction through the communicating section.
In the mutually opposite portions of the two back-to-back row electrodes of the adjacent row electrode pairs, for example, a part of one of the back-to-back row electrodes is protruded toward the other row electrode on the opposite side, to form a required discharge gap at a position facing the clearance formed between the divided transverse walls of the partition wall, resulting in formation of the discharge section.
Such plasma display panel is configured such that when a required discharge is performed in each row electrode pair for forming an image, the discharge section provided between the two back-to-back row electrodes of the adjacent row electrode pairs causes discharge in a space in the clearance situated at a position facing the discharge section.
The discharge (the priming discharge) in the above discharge section causes a pilot flame (priming particles) in the space in the clearance. The priming particles diffuse through the communicating section, making communication between the space in the clearance and the discharge spaces in the adjacent unit light emitting areas in the column direction, into the unit light emitting areas on the both sides.
As described above, according to the twelfth invention, even when the transverse wall of the partition wall shield the adjacent unit light emitting areas in the column direction from each other, the so-called priming discharge is performed in the clearance between the divided transverse walls defining the above unit light emitting areas, and the priming particles caused by this priming discharge diffuse through the communicating section into the unit light emitting areas adjacent to the clearance in the column direction, to induce a required discharge performed in the unit light emitting area by each row electrode pair for forming the image. For this reason, the so-called priming effect is exerted.
To attain the aforementioned objects, the plasma display panel according to a thirteenth invention features, in addition to the configuration of the twelfth invention, in that at least one side of opposite sides of the respective back-to-back row electrodes of the adjacent row electrode pairs protrudes toward the other side to form a discharge gap, having a required size and facing a space in the clearance, between the one side and the other side for formation of the discharge section.
According to the plasma display panel of the thirteenth invention, in the adjacent row electrode pairs, a part of one of the opposite row electrodes protrudes toward the other or the parts of both opposite row electrodes protrude toward each other.
Therefore, the part of the one row electrode and the other row electrode or the parts of both row electrodes are opposite to each other in a position facing the clearance between the divided transverse walls of the partition wall to form the discharge gap having a size required for causing the discharge. This constitutes the discharge section for causing the so-called priming discharge in the space in the clearance.
To attain the aforementioned objects, the plasma display panel according to a fourteenth invention features, in addition to the configuration of the thirteenth invention, in that the row electrode comprises a transparent electrode causing discharge in the unit light emitting area and a bus electrode connected to the transparent electrode, wherein at least one of the transparent electrodes of the respective back-to-back row electrodes of the adjacent row electrode pairs is protruded toward the other transparent electrode to form the discharge gap.
According to the plasma display panel of the fourteenth invention, the one transparent electrode making up the one row electrode has a portion which is opposite to the portion where the discharge is caused in the unit light emitting area. The portion protrudes toward the other transparent electrode making up the other row electrode of the adjacent row electrode pairs, to form the discharge gap, having a size required for causing the discharge, between the portion of the one transparent electrode and the other transparent electrode. This constitutes the discharge section for causing the so-called priming discharge in the space in the clearance.
The discharge section is configured by protruding the one transparent electrode toward the other transparent electrode or protruding both transparent electrodes toward each other.
To attain the aforementioned objects, the plasma display panel according to a fifteenth invention features, in addition to the configuration of the thirteenth invention, in that the row electrode comprises a transparent electrode causing discharge in each unit light emitting area and a bus electrode connected to the transparent electrode, wherein at least one of the bus electrodes of the respective back-to-back row electrodes of the adjacent row electrode pairs is protruded toward the other bus electrode to form the discharge gap.
According to the plasma display panel of the fifteenth invention, a part of the one bus electrode making up the row electrode protrudes toward the other bus electrode making up the opposite row electrode of the adjacent row electrode pairs. The discharge gap having a size required for causing the discharge is formed between the part of the one bus electrode and the other bus electrode. This constitutes the discharge section for causing the so-called priming discharge in the space in the clearance.
The discharge section is configured by protruding the one transparent electrode toward the other transparent electrode or protruding both transparent electrodes toward each other.
To attain the aforementioned objects, the plasma display panel according to a sixteenth invention features, in addition to the configuration of the thirteenth invention, in that the discharge gap is set to have a size smaller than that of a discharge gap between the row electrodes in each row electrode pair. This facilitates occurrence of the so-called priming discharge in the discharge section constituted between the adjacent row electrode pairs, resulting in securing the priming effect with reliability.
To attain the aforementioned objects, the plasma display panel according to a seventeenth invention features, in addition to the configuration of the twelfth invention, in that a first row electrode and a second row electrode constituting the row electrode pair are alternately interchanged in the column direction, the discharge section being formed between the opposite first row electrodes or the opposite second row electrode of the adjacent row electrode pairs.
According to the plasma display panel of the seventeenth invention, when one of the two row electrodes of the first row electrode and the second row electrode making up the row electrode pair, is associated with, for example, the discharge (the selection discharge) for selecting a unit light emitting area to emit light for formation of the image, the respective one row electrodes of the adjacent row electrode pairs associated with the selection discharge are opposite to each other, because the first electrode and the second electrode in each row electrode pair are alternately interchanged in position in the column direction.
By configuring the discharge section between the described-above respective one row electrodes which are opposite to each other and associated with the selection discharge, it is possible to cause the discharge by the discharge section only when the selection discharge is performed.
To attain the aforementioned objects, the plasma display panel according to an eighteenth invention features, in addition to the configuration of the twelfth invention, in that priming discharge sections are formed in the part of the row electrodes, oriented back to back and provided with the discharge section, in a non-display area of the plasma display panel for causing discharge in the space in the clearance.
According to the plasma display panel of the eighteenth invention, the priming discharge sections opposing each other with the discharge gap in between are further formed in the portions, extending into the non-display area of the plasma display panel, of the row electrodes of the adjacent row electrode pairs in which the discharge section for the priming discharge is formed, and also formed to face the clearance between the divided transverse wall of the partition wall. Therefore, the priming discharge is also caused in the above priming discharge sections when the required discharge for forming the image is performed in each row electrode pair.
In this way, the discharge section for the priming discharge is further provided in the non-display area of the plasma display panel which is facilitated to secure the discharge space for the priming discharge. Thus, the discharge section facilitating causing the discharge is provided with a different structure from that in the display area. This allows the priming discharge to be caused with reliability, which further enhance the priming effect.
To attain the aforementioned objects, the plasma display panel according to a nineteenth invention features, in addition to the configuration of the twelfth invention, in that an additional portion is formed on each part of the dielectric layer opposing the transverse wall of the partition wall and the clearance to protrude from the dielectric layer toward the transverse wall to shield the adjacent unit light emitting areas in the column direction in cooperation with the transverse wall, and a thickness of the part of the additional portion opposing the discharge section being smaller than that of other parts.
According to the plasma display panel of the nineteenth invention, the additional portion formed for shielding the adjacent unit light emitting areas from each other, is interposed between the discharge section formed between the adjacent row electrodes, and the clearance formed between the divided transverse walls in which the priming discharge is caused by the above discharge section. A recess is formed in the portion of the additional portion facing the discharge section. A thickness of the additional portion where the recess is formed is smaller than that of the remaining portion of the additional portion. This facilitates causing the discharge by the discharge section in the space in the clearance.


The present invention is related to video coding and decoding, in particular HEVC RExt that define a palette coding mode dedicated to the coding of screen contents. In improved palette coding modes according to the invention, when building a palette, each time a new pixel is added to the class a palette entry defines, the palette entry is modified to take the means value of the pixels belonging to such class. In other improved palette coding modes, a built palette is post-processed to substitute a palette entry with a close entry of a palette predictor PRED. In yet other embodiments, palette coding modes having different threshold values to drive the building of their respective palettes are successively tested to use the best one in terms of rate-distortion criterion.

The invention applies to a mode of coding where a current block of pixels is predictively encoded based on a predictor block encoded with or built from a so-called palette.
A palette in this document is defined as a look up table having entries associating an index with a value of a pixel. Typically, but not necessary, the value of a pixel is constituted by the value of each colour component associated with the pixel, resulting in a colour palette. On the other hand, the value of a pixel may be made of a single pixel component, resulting in a monochrome palette.
This mode of encoding a block of pixel is generally referred to as Palette coding mode. It is contemplated to adopt this mode, for example, in the Range Extension of the High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC: ISO/IEC 23008-2 MPEG-H Part 2/ITU-T H.265) international standard.
When encoding an image in a video sequence, the image is first divided into coding entities of pixels of equal size referred to as Coding Tree Block (CTB). The size of a Coding Tree Block is typically 64 by 64 pixels. Each Coding Tree Block may then be broken down into a hierarchical tree of smaller blocks which size may vary and which are the actual blocks of pixels to encode. These smaller blocks to encode are referred to as Coding Unit (CU).
The encoding of a particular Coding Unit is typically predictive. This means that a predictor block is first determined. Next, the difference between the predictor block and the Coding Unit is calculated. This difference is called the residue. Next, this residue is compressed. The actual encoded information of the Coding Unit is made of some information to indicate the way of determining the predictor block and the compressed residue. Best predictor blocks are blocks as similar as possible to the Coding Unit in order to get a small residue that could be efficiently compressed.
The coding mode is defined based on the method used to determine the predictor block for the predictive encoding method of a Coding Unit.
A first coding mode is referred to as INTRA mode. According to INTRA mode, the predictor block is built based on the value of pixels immediately surrounding the Coding Unit within the current image. It is worth noting that the predictor block is not a block of the current image but a construction. A direction is used to determine which pixels of the border are actually used to build the predictor block and how they are used. The idea behind INTRA mode is that, due to the general coherence of natural images, the pixels immediately surrounding the Coding Unit are likely to be similar to pixels of the current Coding Unit. Therefore, it is possible to get a good prediction of the value of pixels of the Coding Unit using a predictor block based on these surrounding pixels.
A second coding mode is referred to as INTER mode. According to INTER mode, the predictor block is a block of another image. The idea behind the INTER mode is that successive images in a sequence are generally very similar. The main difference comes typically from a motion between these images due to the scrolling of the camera or due to moving objects in the scene. The predictor block is determined by a vector giving its location in a reference image relatively to the location of the Coding Unit within the current image. This vector is referred to as a motion vector. According to this mode, the encoding of such Coding Unit using this mode comprises motion information comprising the motion vector and the compressed residue.
We focus in this document on a third coding mode called Palette mode. According to the Palette mode, it is possible to define a predictor block for a given Coding Unit as a block of indexes from a palette: for each pixel location in the predictor block, the predictor block contains the index associated with the pixel value in the Palette which is the closest to the value of the pixel having the same location (i.e. colocated) in the coding unit. A residue representing the difference between the predictor block and the coding unit is then calculated and encoded. Entry indexes in the Palette are also known as "levels".
Present embodiments of the invention improve the coding efficiency of the Palette mode.


A computer determines a cursor location within source code displayed on a display screen. The computer determines a keyword based at least on the cursor location. The cursor location may include: line number, column number, designated non-word location, and/or reserved word. The computer takes an action based on the keyword including, but not limited to the following actions: jumping to the first occurrence of the keyword search term, extracting a COBOL copybook data set, and/or sending an EXPLAIN query to a database manager.

COBOL (COmmon Business-Oriented Language) is one of the oldest programming languages. The name is indicative of its primary domain, namely business, finance, and administrative systems for companies and governments. COBOL has an English-like syntax and structural elements including nouns, verbs, clauses, sentences, sections, and divisions. COBOL syntax is relatively verbose so that non-programmers, such as managers, supervisors, and users, can read and understand the code. However, the verbose nature of COBOL leads to time consuming navigation of numerous lines of code during program analysis.
During the analysis of a COBOL program, a user may be required to navigate the code by following branches and accessing external databases, only to return to the part of the code where the investigation began and navigate another path, or branch, of interest. The user generally navigates though various portions of the code including: (i) paragraph definitions; (ii) variable declaration statements; and (iii) SQL (structured query language) cursor declaration statements. The user will further view other source code including: (i) copybook source code; and (ii) declarations generator source code. Oftentimes, the user would like to enter a branch of the source code, view all possible sub-branches, for example, by means of a code editor's "find function" or other macros. When the branch and sub-branches are extensive or complex, the trail is difficult to track and trace using this approach.

International Business Machines Corporation


An inventive mirror system for use in providing reflected X-ray radiation to a mask having pattern areas and opaque areas, comprising a plurality of parallel mirror segments which are vertically positioned with respect to each other at distances approximately equal to the widths of the corresponding opaque mask areas. In operation, radiation incident on each of the mirror segments is reflected to the patterned feature areas of the mask and skips over the opaque mask areas.

Lithography has been utilized for semiconductor device fabrication for decades. Radiation-sensitive resist material is deposited on a semiconductor workpiece and it is exposed to radiation from an energy source through a patterned mask. The workpiece is subsequently processed (including development of the resist, selective removal of either the developed resist or of the non-exposed resist material, deposition of metal in selectively-exposed areas, etc.) to create a pattern of features needed for the semiconductor device. The implementation of lithography in the semiconductor field has advanced from the use of photolithography for larger-scale features to the use of shorter wavelength radiation sources to fabricate higher density circuitry having smaller features. Synchrotron X-ray radiation is one of the preferred energy sources for providing high density patterns of features on semiconductors. Due to the fact that synchrotron X-ray radiation is produced as a broad horizontal beam having a small vertical spread, the wide beam is scanned along the length of a mask overlaying a workpiece to expose successive vertically-disposed sites on the workpiece. The use of the term "vertical" is used herein in accordance with the common parlance in the industry. It will be clear to those having skill in the art that use of the term "vertical" does not mean that the workpiece could not be mounted at any orientation other than vertical in the exposure system; but, rather that the scan is conducted perpendicular to the plane of the mask to effect irradiation through all of the mask feature areas.
In X-ray lithography systems, of the type illustrated in FIG. 1, radiation from the synchrotron source, 13, is first directed to a mirror, 15, at a shallow angle of incidence, .alpha.. The incident angle, .alpha. is chosen to be in the range of 25 mradians in order to maximize reflectivity of the radiation. The reflected radiation is provided at the patterned mask, 11, and, through the X-ray transparent sections of the mask, to the resist-coated workpiece, 10. In order to scan the radiation vertically along the mask and the workpiece, hereinafter referred to as the "mask-workpiece combination," the mirror may either be rocked, so as to change the angle of incidence of the radiation, or it may be displaced vertically while keeping the angle of incidence constant. Rocking of the mirror is an option, however, since the reflectivity of the mirror is a strong function of the angle of incidence, the intensity of the reflected beam can vary as the beam is scanned vertically over the mask-workpiece combination. Such variation in the intensity of the beam across a workpiece may lead to unacceptable variations in the amount of exposure. Using vertical displacement of the mirror, such that the X-ray radiation is provided at various points along mirror length L, and the reflected radiation is vertically displaced along a section of the face of the mask-workpiece combination, provides a predictable amount of radiation across the entire surface of the mask-workpiece combination.
FIGS. 2a through 2c show, in schematic form, the scanning operation of the prior art systems. When mirror 15 is in a first position, P.sub.a, with respect to the synchrotron X-ray source, the incident beam is reflecting off of the mirror at a point M.sub.a, and being provided to the mask-workpiece combination at a point W.sub.a, as illustrated in FIG. 2a. As the mirror is "vertically" displaced, in a direction perpendicular to its planar mirror face, to the position denoted at P.sub.b in FIG. 2b, the incident beam is contacting the mirror at point M.sub.b and being provided to the mask-workpiece combination at point W.sub.b. Finally, when the mirror is located at position P.sub.c, as in FIG. 2c, the X-ray beam contacts the mirror at point M.sub.c and the mask-workpiece combination at W.sub.c. While there are many positions along the mirror length, L, positions P.sub.a, P.sub.b and P.sub.c are representatively depicted to illustrate the fact that while the radiation has been caused to traverse along mirror length L, the reflected beam has covered a continuously illuminated area of vertical height V on the mask-workpiece combination, which area may incorporate one or several mask features.
Because the vertical height scanned by the beam is given by the relation V=L.times..alpha., also stated as V/.alpha.=L, and the angle of incidence .alpha. is very shallow, the length L of the mirror must be approximately 2000 mm in order to scan the reflected light across a workpiece dimension V of 50 mm. For accurate reflection of the radiation, the mirror must be perfectly planar over its entire length, which presents significant technical challenges, particularly at the aforementioned dimensions.
Prior art patents U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,234,626 of Flamholz, et al and 4,260,670 of Burns, both teach the use of masks having multiple apertures or mask pattern segments separated by opaque regions for exposing multiple chip sites. The Flamholz, et al patent additionally teaches use of the segmented mask in an X-ray scanning system. An improved mask structure has been disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/731,536 entitled "MEMBRANE MASK STRUCTURE, FABRICATION AND USE" by R. Acosta and R. Viswanathan, wherein one embodiment of the inventive mask comprises a two stage mask for two-step exposure, with the chip site patterns at each of the stages being separated by support segments. One drawback to the use of any of the foregoing masks is the fact that time and energy are being wasted while the radiation is scanning over opaque areas such as the support sections of the masks.
FIG. 3 shows a mask, 30, having four aperture segments, 31, 32, 33 and 34, separated by opaque regions. For ease of description (as well as for ease of fabrication and use in practice, though such is not strictly required), each of the mask segments in equal in vertical dimension v, and in separated by an opaque area of equal vertical dimension s. The indicators on the left of FIG. 3a represent the time intervals during which the scanned, reflected X-ray radiation is traversing each mask segment and each opaque region. Time intervals T.sub.1, T.sub.3, T.sub.5 and T.sub.7 each represent the time taken to traverse the mask pattern aperture segments 31, 32, 33 and 34, during which times the X-ray radiation is reaching the workpiece. During all of the other indicated T.sub.x intervals, the energy is being wasted, and the ultimate throughput of the system is being diminished. The vertical dimension of the entire mask feature area, including the opaque segments, is denoted as V, indicating the area traversed by reflected radiation from a scan of a mirror of length L.
The time periods are shown as equal, however, it is to be noted here that it is not required that each of the time periods represented by T.sub.x be equal in duration, or that the mirror scan be conducted at a constant rate. One solution to the time and energy waste would be to program a system to increase the rate of progress of the reflected beam over the opaque regions of dimensions s in order to minimize the compromised throughput. Such programming would be burdensome to enter into the system for each mask, and would be quite difficult to control.
In light of the foregoing discussion, it is desirable to provide a reflection system for X-ray lithography tools which would not require the use of large mirrors, which would optimize throughput time, and which would minimize waste of energy.
It is therefore an objective of the invention to provide an X-ray lithography mirror system having segments of relatively small dimensions in comparison to prior art, non-segmented mirrors.
It is another objective of the invention to provide an X-ray mirror lithography system which directs the radiation to the patterned feature areas of the mask, thereby avoiding unnecessary waste of energy over non-patterned opaque mask regions.

Mirror for providing selective exposure in X-ray lithography

International Business Machines Corporation


A new cultivar of Epimedium plant named ‘FIRE DRAGON’ that is charaterized by clumping habit, yellow-green and grey-brown leaflets, with large red and yellow, spurred flowers that are held above two distinct layers of foliage. In combination these traits set ‘FIRE DRAGON’ apart from all other existing varieties of Epimedium known to the inventor.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of bishop's hat grown for use as an ornamental for container, rock garden, or as a groundcover for the landscape. The new cultivar is known botanically as Epimedium davidii×E. leptorrhizum and will be referred to hereinafter by the cultivar name 'FIRE DRAGON'.
'FIRE DRAGON' is a plant hybrid that resulted from the deliberate cross-hybridization of Epimedium davidii (unpatented) and Epimedium leptorrhizum (unpatented). The seed parent is an individual Epimedium davidii and the pollen parent is an individual Epimedium leptorrhizum. The deliberate cross hybridization was conducted in 1992 by the inventor at the inventor's nursery in Hampshire, England.
The new Epimedium variety named 'FIRE DRAGON' is readily distinguishable from the seed parent and the pollen parent, by flower size and flower color. The inventor selected 'FIRE DRAGON' in 1992 based on the distinguishing characteristics of flower size and flower color. There are no close comparison plants known to the inventor.
'FIRE DRAGON' is semi-evergreen, characterized by clumping habit, yellow-green and grey-brown leaflets, with large red and yellow, spurred flowers that are held above the leaves. Two distinct layers of foliage are exhibited due to the difference in length between basal stems and the subsequently basally branching stems. Essentially herbaceous, 'FIRE DRAGON' will retain leaves when winter temperatures are above minus 10° Centigrade.
The first asexual reproduction of the new Epimedium cultivar 'FIRE DRAGON' was conducted in 1993 by the method of division. Division of 'FIRE DRAGON' was accomplished by the inventor at the inventor's nursery in Hampshire, England. Since that time the distinguishing characteristics of 'FIRE DRAGON' have been determined stable, fixed and reproduce true to type in successive generations.


Contact printing can be used to form electrically active micro-features on a substrate. An ink formulation containing an oxide precursor is used to form the micro-features, which are heat cured to form oxides. Various precursors are illustrated which can be used to form conducting, insulating, and semiconductor micro-features.

Fabrication of electronic components is principally performed on semiconductor substrates, such as single crystal silicon wafers. Processing steps involved in fabricating devices on a semiconductor wafer often entail the use of high temperatures, vacuum chambers, and highly reactive chemicals. Semiconductor wafer fabrication facilities are thus both expensive to build and operate.
The semiconductor substrate is a large portion of the cost of electronic devices, so cheaper substrates are desired. Unfortunately, the high temperatures and reactive chemicals typical of semiconductor wafer processing places limits on the choices of materials which can be used. For example, plastic substrates, while inexpensive, cannot handle high processing temperatures or certain chemical processes. Fabrication of devices on a plastic substrate is highly desired, for example, to enable lightweight, lower cost electronic displays. While some techniques for fabricating devices on plastic substrates are known, there is room for improvement in these techniques and the quality of devices fabricated. For example, finding materials which can provide high quality electrically active materials and be processed at temperatures compatible with plastic substrates has proven elusive.
Another factor affecting the cost of fabricating electronic devices is the complexity of the photolithographic processes used to pattern the various features of the devices. Recent efforts have focused on developing techniques to directly print the features of devices, for example, using ink-jet printing. While much success has been obtained with such approaches, printing of micro-features, for example having dimensions of 10 micrometers or smaller, has also proven elusive. Moreover, it is difficult to find suitable materials which can be applied with various printing processes. Accordingly, achieving devices having size or properties comparable to devices manufactured by semiconductor wafer processing have proven challenging.

Contact printing oxide-based electrically active micro-features

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


An integrated air conditioning and power unit is provided for use with an aircraft. The system includes an air turbine 42 having air passages connected to an engine 10 of the aircraft for receiving bleed air and/or ram air for driving the air turbine 42. A motor/generator 104 is drivingly connected to the air turbine 42. The motor/generator 104 is capable of drawing electricity from an aircraft primary power system for driving the motor or generating electricity which is delivered to the primary power system 108. An air compressor 54 is drivingly connected to the motor/generator 104 and is provided with an air passage which receives bleed air 32 and/or ram air 30 from the aircraft engine 10. A cooling system 71 is provided including a system compressor 81 drivingly connected to the motor/generator 104. A cooling system evaporator 70 and a condenser 92 are connected to the system compressor by fluid passages. The air compressor 54 includes an air outlet for providing pressurized air which is cooled by the cooling system.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to secondary power systems for aircraft and, in particular, to an integrated air conditioning and power unit for an aircraft.
2. Background Art
In modern high-speed aircraft, weight reduction, space reduction, and cost reduction are highly important. Currently, gas turbine auxiliary power units (APU) are being used to start the thrust engines, and to power the air conditioning and environmental control systems while the aircraft is on the ground. U.S. Pat. No. 4,684,081 issued to Cronin discloses a system which integrates the auxiliary power unit (APU), emergency power unit (EPU), environmental control system (ECS), and engine start system (ESS) in order to reduce the number of parts, weight, and size of the aircraft. The auxiliary power unit is commonly considered to be a low-utilization device that adds weight and complexity to the airplane while providing little operational benefit during most flight conditions. However, the elimination of the APU would require that a substantial pneumatic ground cart and electric ground power cart accompany the aircraft until the main thrust engines are started.
3. Disclosure of Invention
The system of the present invention provides an integrated air conditioning/emergency power system (IAC/EPS) which utilizes electric motor driven vapor cycle refrigeration machinery in combination with an air turbine and compressor to produce an air conditioning/environmental control module which will also serve as a source for emergency electrical power.
The system provides an integrated air conditioning and power unit for use with an aircraft including an air turbine having air passages connected to one of an air inlet and a compressor of a gas turbine engine of the aircraft. A motor/generator is provided drivingly attached to the air turbine and connected to an electric power converter which is connected to a primary power system. The motor/generator is capable of drawing electricity from the primary power system and of generating electricity which is delivered to the primary power system. An air compressor is drivingly connected to the motor/generator. The air compressor includes an air passage connected to one of the air inlet and the compressor of the engine. A cooling system is provided which includes a system compressor drivingly connected to the motor/generator. A first evaporator is connected to the system compressor by a fluid passage, and a condenser is connected between the system compressor and the first evaporator by fluid passages. The air compressor includes an air outlet for providing pressurized air which is cooled by the first evaporator of the cooling system.
The cooling system further includes a second evaporator fluidly connected to the system compressor and a recirculation fan for drawing air from inside the aircraft cabin through the second evaporator.
The integrated air conditioning/emergency power system according to the present invention provides mechanical and electrical equipment in such way that the same equipment or major parts of it can be used to perform a multiplicity of functions. In this manner, a minimum of equipment is installed on the aircraft to perform all the required functions and to provide the required redundancy and reliability.
The integrated air conditioning/emergency power system according to the present invention, in some modes, will take advantage of the pressure energy in the ram compressed air before it goes through the engine compressor. The ram air utilized is at a lower temperature than the compressor air and therefore requires less processing than compressor bleed air.
In some cases, the ram compressed inlet air will have sufficient pressure to drive the vapor cycle unit, or to operate the unit in the emergency electrical power mode.
Some operational modes for the present invention will jointly use ram compressed air with engine compressed bleed air to drive the cabin pressurization and cooling equipment, with no requirement for electrical power input from the aircraft electrical power system.
In an emergency mode, the integrated air conditioning/emergency power system unit will perform as an electrical power generator. This precludes the need to install alternate emergency electrical generating equipment (e.g. ram air turbines/generators). The unit, operating in this mode, may be powered by bleed air from any functioning engine on the aircraft.
During supersonic flight, at which time the ram air is hot, the integrated air conditioning/emergency power system unit will provide cooling and cabin pressurization using bleed air or a combination of electric power and bleed air. The integrated air conditioning/emergency power system can also be used under these conditions to extract pressure and/or thermal energy from the hot bleed air, which can then be either used directly in the cabin or passed through the vapor cycle evaporator for further cooling.
During engine bleed extraction for anti-ice purposes, the proposed arrangement will extract heat and pressure from the bleed air and convert it into usable shaft energy for air conditioning or to produce electrical power. This would reduce the pressure and temperature of the bleed air to parameters usable for anti-ice and may replace the function of, and in some cases, preclude the need for the air pre-cooler and the pressure regulator which is presently used on conventional installations.
The integrated air conditioning/emergency power system arrangement provides a compact means of conveying the heat from the cabin recirculation air to the fuel mass. In this mode, the unit would be driven either by bleed air, the electric motor, or a combination of the two.
With the system of the present invention, any aircraft not having an auxiliary power unit could be operated using only one type of ground support cart and it could be either a pneumatic cart or electrical power cart. Use of either cart would allow engine starting or air conditioning while on the ground.
Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood however that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

Integrated air conditioning and power unit


A thermoacoustic refrigerator having a relatively small size which utilizes one or more piezoelectric drivers to generate high frequency sound within a resonator at a frequency of between about 4000 Hz and ultrasonic frequencies. The interaction of the high frequency sound with one or more stacks create a temperature gradient across the stack which is conducted through a pair of heat exchangers located on opposite sides of each stack. The resonator has an asymmetrical, round configuration which enhances the cooling power of the thermoacoustic refrigerator.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to thermoacoustic refrigerators and, more specifically, to a thermoacoustic refrigerator having a relatively small size which utilizes one or more piezoelectric drivers to generate high frequency sound within a resonator. The interaction of the high frequency sound with one or more stacks create a temperature difference across the stack which is thermally anchored at each end to a pair of heat exchangers located on opposite sides of the stack.
2. Background of the Invention
The thermoacoustic effect has a long history and it is only recently that new applications have stimulated its development. In the 18th century it was discovered that a glass tube open at one end, would produce sound when the closed end was heated. This device is known as the Soundhaus Tube. Subsequently it was discovered that a tube open at both ends will also produce sound when a metallic mesh located in the lower half of the tube is heated and the tube is held up vertically. In such a device, convection plays an important role. This is known as the Rijke Tube. It was not until the end of the 19th century when Lord Rayleigh explained how it works. The device is essentially an example of a relaxation oscillator where oscillations are sustained when energy is injected at the right phase of the oscillation cycles.
In 1975, Merkli and Thomann observed the converse of the above effect, that an acoustic field can produce cooling in a resonant tube. In 1983, Wheatley et al built the first thermoacoustic refrigerator; it operated at 500 Hz and produced temperature differences of approximately 100° C. Since the discovery by Merkli and Thomann that cooling can be produced by the thermoacoustic effect in a resonance tube, research has concentrated on developing the effect for practical applications. One approach in the art has been to increase the audio pumping rate. While the experiments of Merkli and Thomann used frequencies of around 100 Hz, Wheatley et al. successfully raised the operating frequency to around 500 Hz and achieved impressive cooling rates in their refrigerator. This has encouraged others to build various configurations of thermoacoustic refrigerators.
The essential ingredients of a thermoacoustic refrigerator or heat pump are:                i. A source of sound to pump heat into the device;        ii. A working gas, typically air at 1 atmosphere;        iii. An acoustic resonator for amplifying the level of sound and for providing phasing for the operation of the refrigerator;        iv. A secondary medium comprising a stack along which sound pumps heat, i.e. a thermal rectifier; and        v. Two heat exchangers, one at each end of stack providing a hot heat exchanger and a cold heat exchanger.
An important element in the operation of a thermoacoustic refrigerator is the special thermal interaction of the sound field with the stack. There exists a weak thermal interaction characterized by a time constant given by ωτ≈1 where ω is the audio pump frequency and τ is the thermal relaxation time for a thin layer of gas to interact thermally with a plate or stack. The amount of gas interacting with the stack is determined approximately by the surface area of the stack and by a thermal penetration depth δk given by:δk=(2κ/ω)1/2Here κ represents the thermal diffusivity of the working fluid. By increasing ω, the weak coupling condition is met by a reduction of δk and hence of τ. The work of acoustically pumping heat up a temperature gradient as in a refrigerator is essentially performed by the gas within approximately the penetration depth. The amount of this gas has an important dependence on the frequency of the audio drive. In a high frequency refrigerator, smaller distances and masses are utilized thus making the heat conduction process relatively quick.
Each of the prior art thermoacoustic refrigerators are relatively complicated to manufacture and thus expensive. In addition, thermoacoustic refrigerators known in the art tend to be massive and typically not well suited for use on a very small level such as for use in cooling semiconductors and other small electronic devices or biological samples. Thus, it would be advantageous to provide a thermoacoustic refrigerator that can be made relatively small with a fast response time while retaining good cooling abilities. In addition, it would be advantageous to provide a thermoacoustic refrigerator that operates relatively efficiently and that is relatively simple and economical to manufacture.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

High frequency thermoacoustic refrigerator


Program actions may be initiated after detection of a predefined gesture by a user with a real-world object. Users may interact with their physical environment in an augmented reality by detecting interactions with real objects using a combination of location and motion detection, material identification using wearable sensors, or both. Based on detected sensor data from user interaction with a real-world object, a predefined gesture may be identified and a program action associated with that target interaction for the real-world object may be executed. In some cases, the user experience may be enhanced by providing haptic feedback in response to tactile gestures and resulting events.

Recently, AR games such as Niantic's Pokemon Go have enjoyed success. Interactions with AR applications currently take place through a touchscreen (e.g., flicking a ball to a virtual creature on a touchscreen) or through movements captured by GPS (e.g., walking one kilometer to release a virtual creature). Emerging interaction techniques also include free-air gestures (e.g., Microsoft Hololens) and wand-mediated interactions (e.g., Oculus Touch, Razer Hydra, Vive Controller).
Interactions with mobile AR applications are limited and do not allow rich, direct interactions with the users environment. More specifically, these applications do not take advantage of the tactile interactions that are possible in a user's surroundings. Although engaging, these types of tactile interactions are not supported by current AR applications in part because no practical solution exists to detect them.
Systems relying on free-air gestures and wand-like controllers can be used to detect gestures but have not been used to detect rich tactile interactions with a real environment. They also require additional hardware beyond a smartphone and smart watch or activity tracker, and, in the case of the wand, require holding a device that limits manipulations of the environment.
Discussion of haptics and object interactions may be found in US Patent Publications 2016/0179198 and 2016/0179199. The use of sensors attached to a probe, including vibration sensors, to detect the properties of the surfaces being touched is discussed in Romano and Kuchenbecker, "Methods for robotic tool-mediated haptic surface recognition," 2014 IEEE Haptics Symposium, pp. 49-56, and Strese, et al., "Multimodal Feature-based Surface Material Classification", IEEE Transactions on Haptics, pp. 1, 5555.
The systems and methods disclosed herein address the above issues, and others.

Method and system for the detection and augmentation of tactile interactions in augmented reality


Woven fabric, particularly a warp faced fabric, such as a denim fabric, comprising a front and a back, a plurality of picks extending in weft direction and a plurality of warp yarns extending in warp direction and bypassing picks at their front side to define over portions and bypassing picks at their back side to define under portions, wherein said plurality of warp yarns comprise frontside warp yarns and backside warp yarns, and the under portions of the backside warp yarns bypass more picks than the under portions of the frontside warp yarns.

The disclosure relates to a woven fabric, preferably a warp-faced fabric, such as a denim fabric, which feels like a knitted fabric. The disclosure also relates to a method of production of such a knitted-like woven fabric.
Woven fabrics and knitted fabrics generally have very different properties. Woven fabrics such as denim, gabardine, poplin or linen are more stable than knitted fabrics but also more rigid so that they do not drape well. Denim is a very popular indigo dyed woven fabric due to the fact that the indigo dye is most concentrated at the surface of the yarns whereas the yarns' cores remain undyed which allows for very characteristic coloring options. Different finishing techniques can be applied to denim to enhance to the coloring properties. For example, denim can be hand scraped, sandblasted, stone washed, or treated in other ways that allow varying amounts of the undyed cores of the indigo yarns to become visible. Although denim is very popular and, it has, due to its woven nature, rarely been used for articles of clothing that are expected to drape well over the wearer's body, particularly tops, such as shirts, blouses and sweat-shirts.
For articles of clothing which are expected to drape well, knitted fabrics are used most often, because knitted fabrics are generally more flexible and able to stretch in every direction so that they drape well over the wearer's body. It is however very expensive to create knitted fabrics of indigo color. Unlike the ring-colored yarns used for weaving denim, the yarns used to create a knitted fabric must first be bound on a bobbin for dying, so that a time consuming and thus expensive additional manufacturing step is necessary. Furthermore, when manufacturing a knitted fabric, both sides thereof will be dyed, including the fabric's back side which is in contact with the wearer's skin and may thus leave stains.
In order to create a fabric that can be manufactured easily by weaving but which feels like a knitted fabric, EP 2 539 493 B1 suggests to weave warp yarns with two different types of weft yarns, namely elastomeric and hard weft yarns. The under portions of the elastomeric yarns are arranged to pass under for example two warp yarns, whereas the under portion of the hard weft yarns are much larger and pass under for instance eleven warp yarns, so that relatively large weft loops are formed on the back side of the fabric. The connecting over portions of elastomeric and hard weft yarns both pass over only one warp yarn and are arranged so that the hard weft yarn is always adjacent an elastomeric weft yarn passing over the same warp yarn. In the fabric according to EP 2 539 493 B1, the loop portions which are formed by the hard weft yarn enable the fabric to feel like a knitted fabric to the wearer, but require a relatively high weft density between typically 30 and 90 wefts per cm. This typically very high weft density requires a lot of weft insertions and thus renders the manufacturing process relatively expensive. The woven fabric according to EP 2 539 493 B1 also looks similar to a knitted fabric, because the over portions on the frontside of the fabric create not only one diagonal pattern, which is typical for denim, but also a second diagonal pattern created by the over portions of the hard weft yarn, which is offset with respect to the first diagonal pattern. However, it is desired to have a woven fabric that offers the performance advantages of a knitted fabric while still having the look of typical denim.
The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same or similar reference signs are used for identical or similar components.

Woven fabric and method of production thereof


A flexible carrier for carrying a plurality of containers that include a shoulder and a relatively narrower waist. The flexible carrier includes a flexible sheet having two rows of container receiving apertures formed therein. The plurality of containers are each placed into a respective container receiving aperture around the waist and are thus unitized in a package. The flexible carrier may further include an integrated handle.

Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a flexible carrier for carrying a plurality of containers such as cans or bottles.
Description of Prior Art
Conventional container carriers are often used to unitize a plurality of similarly sized containers, such as cans, bottles, jars and boxes and/or similar containers that require unitization. Flexible plastic ring carriers are one such conventional container carrier.
Flexible plastic ring carriers may be used to unitize groups of four, six, eight, twelve or other suitable groups of containers into a convenient multipackage. Flexible ring carriers may include a handle that extend upwardly from the carrier to enable a consumer to carry the package.
Conventional manufacturing techniques permit contemporary containers to include dramatic shapes and contours to increase the shelf image, functionality and desirability of such containers. Such containers may include a wide diameter shoulder and a narrower waist area. As a result, containers having such unique shapes result in challenges to conventional container carrier design. Such challenges include applying container carriers to the containers and maintaining a tight, assembled package following application of the container carrier to the containers.
According to containers known in the prior art, for instance, a twenty ounce GATORADE plastic bottle, a shoulder diameter is approximately 2.8 inches and a waist diameter is approximately 2.4 inches resulting in a waist-to-shoulder increase of approximately 14%. The resulting shoulder circumference of this prior art container is approximately 8.8 inches. Such prior art containers are unitized with a flexible carrier having a container receiving aperture with a perimeter of 6.2-6.4 inches and a diameter of 2.2-2.4 inches.


A communication broker and methods of administering the same are provided. The communication broker is adapted to direct various enterprises to set up a media channel directly therebetween while remaining in the control signaling path for the communication session. The broker may enable the enterprises to use standard authentication techniques and the Datagram Transport Layer Security (DTLS) protocol to establish the media channel.

In Unified Communication Federation deployment where there's a centralized broker to route signaling, a solution is needed to route the media directly between the two communicating entities (e.g., between a first enterprise and a second enterprise). If the media is routed through the centralized broker, the centralized broker has to provide large bandwidth to handle all of the media traffic. This is often cost-prohibitive to the centralized broker.
Some solutions have been described to shuffle signaling and media from the centralized broker to a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) network. U.S. application Ser. No. 13/250,008 to Krishnaswamy et al., the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference, describes details of such a solution where a centralized broker is used by enterprises or different communicating entities to establish a trust relationship and then, after the trust relationship has been established, the entities move their communication session to a P2P network. Unfortunately, moving the communication session to a P2P network takes the centralized broker out of the signaling path, thereby preventing the centralized broker from offering additional services to the communicating entities during the communication session.