A method for applying and embedding dry toppings to both rolled and biscuit-like dough products and the resulting dough piece of the method. The method includes applying dry toppings on the surface of the dough product in a sheeting line. Then, the roll pairs in the sheeting line embed the dry toppings into the surface of the dough product.

The present invention relates to refrigerated dough products. Specifically, the invention discloses a novel method for applying dry toppings to the surface of refrigerated dough products and the resulting dough piece of the method.
For many years, customers have enjoyed the convenience of packaged dough products. These dough products are commonly stored under normal refrigeration until the package is opened for baking. Over the years, the industry has developed a variety of different dough products suitable for packaging. Some popular dough products are breadstuffs, biscuits, and sweet goods.
The processing and packaging methods differ for different types of dough products. Two common types of dough products are rolled and biscuit-like products. "Rolled dough products" are dough products which are sheeted, cut into rectangular pieces, rolled into cylindrical shapes, and then slid into a container. Conversely, "biscuit-like dough products" are sheeted, cut into circular type pieces (e.g. hexagonal), and then a vacuum/pressure plunger holds and releases the biscuit-like individual pieces (e.g. eight) into a container.
FIG. 1 illustrates a typical processing method for both rolled and biscuit-like products. First, a dough mass is prepared 10. Next, the prepared dough mass travels through a sheeting line 12. The sheeting line 12 rolls the dough mass into a dough sheet of uniform thickness.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a typical sheeting line for both rolled and biscuit-like dough products. The sheeting line consists of a plurality of roll stands 16. Each roll stand 16 consists of a plurality of vertically spaced roll pairs 17. Each roll pair is spaced closer together than the preceding roll pair. The progressive narrowing of the space between the roll pairs reduces the thickness of the dough sheet. Ultimately, once the dough proceeds through all the roll stands, a uniform dough sheet is made.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,593,676 discloses an example of a dough sheeting apparatus and is incorporated herein by reference.
Returning to FIG. 1, the uniform dough sheet is then cut 14 into individual dough pieces. The cutting step 14 differs for rolled and biscuit-like products. Prior to rolling, the rolled products are cut with the use of cutter rolls. A cutter roll is essentially a roll with a plurality of blades positioned thereon. As the dough travels on a conveyor, cutter rolls cut the dough sheet both longitudinally and transversely into evenly rectangular pieces. The dough sheet may also be perforated or slitted with perforator or slitter rolls.
Unlike rolled dough products, biscuit-like dough products are cut into dough pieces with the use of a cutter unit. The cutter unit has a plurality of openings defining a grid work. U.S. Pat. No. 3,427,783 discloses a cutter unit in which the openings have straight side walls and are preferably hexagonal in cross section. This patent is incorporated herein by reference. With the further use of a movable member, such as a roll, the dough sheet is pressed into the openings. The upper edge of the openings are adapted to cut the dough sheet into numerous dough pieces. Lastly, a compression means retains the dough pieces within the openings until the pieces are to be packed into a container.
After the dough sheet has been cut 14, the individual dough pieces are packaged 15. The packaging step 15 for the rolled dough products differs from that of the biscuit-like dough products. For rolled dough products, after the dough sheet is cut into rectangular pieces, the pieces are rolled into cylindrical shapes on a conveyor belt. The pieces of dough cylinders then fall into a series of loading spoons. Finally, the spoons are tipped to slide the dough pieces into containers aligned with the ends of the spoons.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,458,970 discloses an example of a dough packing apparatus for rolled dough products. This patent is incorporated herein by reference.
With biscuit-like dough products, plungers hold and release the individual dough pieces into containers. Either vacuum or pressure is supplied to the plungers to facilitate the holding and releasing of the dough pieces. When vacuum is supplied, a plunger holds a dough piece momentarily until the receiving container is positioned directly below the dough pieces. The plunger then lowers the dough piece into a container. The vacuum is released, and an air burst assures that the dough piece drops from the plunger tip into the container positioned beneath the cutter unit. The plunger prevents damage to the dough pieces or loss resulting from the dough pieces prematurely falling from the openings.
More recently, dry toppings have been added to various refrigerated dough products. The dry toppings add to the flavor and appearance of the traditional dough products. The type of dry toppings used directly depend on the selected dough product.
In the past, dry toppings were only added to rolled dough products. Common examples of rolled dough products are dinner rolls, danish rolls, and breadsticks. Dry toppings were commonly applied after the last roll stand, when the dough was fully sheeted. The sheeted dough would be cut, the dry toppings were applied, and then the dough pieces were rolled into cylindrical shapes. To maintain an even distribution of dry topping on the dough product, the selected dry toppings had to stick well to the floured dough handled on line. Thus, the only suitable dry toppings were fine and granular in nature.
Expanding to new varieties of dry toppings to be applied on the rolled dough products provided a problem. Dry toppings such as cracked wheat or rolled oats acted differently from the previous dry toppings handled on line. These dry toppings do not adhere well to the floured dough surface. As a result, two common problems occurred during the production process. First, the dry toppings would move towards the center of the dough product during the subsequent rolling process, producing a dough piece with patches of dry topping. Second, the dry toppings would easily fall off during the subsequent rolling, producing a dough piece with scarce amount of dry topping. Thus, dry toppings which did not readily adhere to the floured dough surface would not be evenly distributed on the surface of the rolled dough product.
Unlike the rolled dough products, the packing methods for biscuit-like dough products prevented the application of dry toppings after the dough was fully sheeted. Naturally, biscuits are a common example of a biscuit-like dough product. As described above, the packing method incorporates a plunger which holds the biscuits and releases them into a container. If the dry toppings were added after the sheeting line, as done with rolled dough products, it was thought the vacuum in the plunger would pull the topping off, thereby clogging the plunger and dropping the biscuit. Accordingly, prior to the present invention, dry toppings were not applied to biscuit-like dough products.
In sum, two problems were present with the prior methods. First, although dry toppings could be added to rolled dough products, the prior methods limited the varieties of dry toppings. Dry toppings which did not readily adhere to the floured dough surface were often sparsely distributed and resulted in a dough piece with patches of dry topping. Second, due to the packing method for biscuit-like dough products, dry toppings could not be added to biscuit-like dough products.
The present invention solves the dry topping problem for both rolled and biscuit-like dough products. Unexpectedly, applying and embedding a dry topping on the dough product produces a dough piece with evenly distributed dry topping. The novel embedding method of the present invention expands the variety of suitable dry toppings for rolled dough products. In addition, the invention teaches a method of applying dry toppings to biscuit-like dough products, which was impossible with prior methods.

Refrigerated biscuit dough product with topping and method of manufacture


Reference or analytic features such as intake and exhaust valves and valve guides are located in an area of a workpiece or part such as a cylinder head, the surface of which is laser scanned to obtain laser scan data. The scan data provides a fine grid of height (Z) values of the part. The part is scanned along lines with constant x or constant y. The method uses a graphical interface and least squares techniques to determine a reference plane for the desired analytic feature. Image processing techniques are then used to extract the desired feature and its boundary. Finally, techniques are used to calculate the precise dimensions of the analytic feature.

Circular features are often used as locating datums in manufacturing. Such features can be accurately produced with relative ease, and can be used to determine the position and orientation of parts. Part location is critical during machining since often a part must be removed from a machine and repositioned on the machine for subsequent machining operations. If part orientation is not precisely known, it is very difficult to accurately mate and assemble parts.
Laser scanning is a technique which is being used for capturing the geometry of engine parts such as combustion chambers, intake and exhaust ports. These features are complex free-form shapes and require many measurements to accurately describe them. Determining the precise location and orientation of these free form surfaces in the overall cylinder head can be quite difficult.
A coordinate measuring machine (CMM) is used to measure a part, and reference features are measured to establish the coordinate system for measuring other features of interest. However, CMM is mainly used for inspection of known parts and not for capture of free form geometry. CMM machines typically have algorithms to find features such as holes or edges from user supplied nominal locations. The process, however, is slow, interactive and operator intensive. In comparison, laser scanning is not highly interactive but it requires feature determination off-line through statistical processing.
The above-noted application discloses a method for finding the location of circular holes. However, there is a need to generalize and extend these teachings to allow the accurate determination of the orientation and location of such features as valves and valve guides.

Non-contact method of obtaining dimensional information about a reference feature of an object


In a method for generating a dimensionally tractable set of image layout constraints, a selected constraint is applied to limit a dimension of a highly dimensional solution space. Through random selection one or more unconstrained dimensions of the highly dimensional solution space are identified which, when constrained, will further limit the highly dimensional solution space to a dimensionally tractable solution space. The tractability of the dimensionally tractable solution space is associated with a capability of a computational resource.

Currently there exist numerous systems for generating image presentations such as slide shows. Such systems typically fall into one of two broad categories. The first category can be described as completely or substantially automated. The second category can best be described as manually intensive.
In the automated category, the available systems typically take a collection of images as an input and present a slide show (or some other image display) as an output. Some automated systems attempt in some fashion to analyze a large number of trial image layouts and somehow select the "best" of these trial layouts to present as an optimized display of images in a viewing region. However, many such automated solutions dispense with layouts of multiple images and simply present a single image at a time. Such automatically generated slide shows are typically very basic and repetitious, only occasionally adding some very basic image manipulation, such as panning or zooming in and out or moving an image. No real user input is usually required (or often allowed) other than the decision to generate the slide show. The output from such an automated system is typically predictable and formulaic, and as such, the resulting presentation style can become boring and repetitive and bland to a viewer after watching only a few slide shows (and sometimes after watching only several slides within a single slide show). Additionally, variation, such as it is often tends to distract from image content, rather than complementing it or emphasizing it.
In the manually intensive category, the user goes from having no control (or almost no control) over the image presentation to having nearly 100% control of every aspect of image presentation. For example, in such a manually intensive system, a user will typically need to control all or nearly all aspects of image selection, image positioning (x-positioning, y-positioning, and z-ordering), image movement, order of image presentation, image zoom, image scale, image pan, speed of presentation, and other such minutia for each image layout of a presentation. There is typically no automation or intelligent assistance by the computer system or program that is used to generate the slide show. This means that there is usually a very steep learning curve for the use of such a system. Therefore a novice user will typically generate only vary basic, often repetitive, slide shows. To generate more advanced slide shows, the user must invest a significant amount of time in training, practice, or both, and even still, capabilities of the user are deterministic of the presentation output. That is to say, user skill at using the image presentation system or program determines the quality of the slide show or other image presentation output. Therefore, in a manually intensive system it is not uncommon for a skilled user to spend hours (or longer) creating a slide show or other presentation from a group of images or video clips.
With the rapid rise in use of digital cameras and powerful viewing devices such as personal computers, media centers, and digital projectors, the need to display image content in an attractive manner is becoming increasingly prevalent. However, as described, current systems for generating image presentations, such as slide shows, typically produce bland results when automated or else require significant effort and time on the part of a user.
The drawings referred to in this description should not be understood as being drawn to scale unless specifically noted.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


Provided are precursors and methods of using same to deposit film consisting essentially of nickel. Certain methods comprise providing a substrate surface; exposing the substrate surface to a vapor comprising a precursor having a structure represented, without limitation to specific orientation, by:

Deposition of thin films on a substrate surface is an important process in a variety of industries including semiconductor processing, diffusion barrier coatings and dielectrics for magnetic read/write heads. In the semiconductor industry, in particular, miniaturization requires atomic level control of thin film deposition to produce conformal coatings on high aspect structures. One method for deposition of thin films is chemical vapor deposition (CVD). In this process, a wafer is typically exposed to one or more volatile precursors, which react to deposit films. A related process is atomic layer deposition (ALD), which employs sequential surface reactions to form layers of precise thickness controlled at the Angstrom or monolayer level. Most ALD processes are based on binary reaction sequences which deposit a binary compound film. Because the surface reactions are sequential, the two gas phase reactants are not in contact, and possible gas phase reactions that may form and deposit particles are limited.
There is a need for new deposition chemistries that are commercially viable, particularly in the area of elemental metal films, including nickel films for nickel silicide contacts. For example, nickel films have been deposited using Ni(PF3)4 and bis(cyclopentadienyl)Ni coordination complexes. However, each of these complexes has presented problems. Ni(PF3)4 and Ni(CO)4 are toxic and bis(cyclopentadienyl)Ni can lead to carbon contamination in the film. Bis(allyl)nickel compounds are both more volatile and more reactive than the well-studied bis(cyclopentadienyl) nickel analogs, which has the potential to facilitate the metal film formation. However, bis(allyl) nickel compounds are generally too unstable for storage or clean incorporation into a deposition process. The present invention addresses these problems by providing novel chemistries.

Methods for producing nickel-containing films

Abstract: wherein R1 and R2 are each independently H or any C1-C3 alkyl group, R4 is trimethylsilyl or C1-C3 alkyl, and L is any ligand that does not contain oxygen; and exposing the substrate to a reducing gas to provide a film consisting essentially of nickel on the substrate surface.


A technique for minimizing the number of users which must dial training digits in a voice processing system. The system uses the first digit normally dialed as part of the user responses to the voice processing application, and measures such digit to determine whether it and future digits can be detected accurately without the use of a training digit. If they can, no training digit is required. If they can't, then a training digit is required, and the user is prompted for the same.

Automated voice processing systems have become widely prevalent over the past several years. In such systems, a remotely located user accesses the system by dialing a predetermined telephone number, thereby effectuating a connection from the remote telephone terminal to the voice processing system. The voice processing system, typically a personal computer based device, receives commands from the remote user in the form of dialed digits. The voice processing system then acts upon the dialed digits by performing various functions such as reading account balances, issuing further instructions, etc.
In many present day systems, such digits are dialed by the user entering Dual Tone Multi Frequency (DTMF) digits. In accordance with the DTMF system, a predetermined set of two frequencies is assigned to each digit. The particular digit entered by a remote user is decoded by the voice processing system by analyzing the signal received in order to determine which two particular frequencies are contained therein. The two frequencies identify the particular digit dialed.
One problem with these systems is that in many areas of the United States and abroad, the majority of the telephone switches are not equipped with DTMF capability. Rather, many phones utilize Dial Pulse Digits (DPD), the more conventional type of telephone in which digits are entered by rotating and then releasing the dialer, thereby allowing it to rotate back to its original position. As the dialer rotates back to its original position, a plurality of "clicks" are produced, whereby the loop current to the central office is repetitively connected and disconnected. This sequence of clicks is termed "the DPD sequence," and is an analog signal which is, in the ideal situation, substantially periodic. The DPD sequence comprises a plurality of pulses, where each pulse. is one period of a substantially periodic signal. Each pulse may include one or more clicks
The number of clicks N produced is related to the dialed digit by a simple arithmetic formula (e.g. 2N+1, 2N, etc.) which varies from system to system. Additionally, there is sometimes an extra click or two at the beginning of the sequence, or the end. In short, many properties of DPD sequences vary from system to system, which properties include (i) number of clicks per pulse (ii) presence or absence of a pulse at the start of the sequence, and (iii) presence or absence of a pulse at the end of the sequence.
In such systems, the voice processing system must decode the particular digit dialed by counting the number of pulses, or the length of the sequence of clicks, or by measuring some other parameter of the sequence of pulses in order to determine the particular digit dialed. One common technique is to ascertain the period of the DPD signal, and divide the length of the signal by the period thereof.
The problem with such systems is that they are not nearly as accurate as DTMF systems. Several characteristics of DPD systems cause such systems to have a much higher error rate than their DTMF counterparts. One major problem is that the DPD sequence is not perfectly periodic. Rather, the duration of each pulse, and the time periods therebetween, may vary. On some DPD telephones, the variance is so great that the sequence can not even be considered periodic. Thus, it becomes difficult to detect the digit by simply dividing the length of the signal by the period thereof. Accordingly, it is extremely difficult to configure a voice processing system to accurately detect DPD digits dialed from different telephones which produce greatly varying signals.
In an attempt to solve the above problem, the technique of a training digit has been utilized by DPD voice processing system providers. The training digit systems prompt the user to enter a training digit when the call is first connected. The system may play an audible message, for example, which says "enter the number 0." When the user dials the zero, a voice processing system can then measure the length of the sequence produced and adjust its detection criteria to optimize detection of digits having the parameters contained in the DPD sequence which produces the training digit. For example, future dialed digits may be detected by comparing the sequence thereof to the sequence of the training digit. If the training digit is a zero, then a digit having a sequence four-tenths the length of the training digit is a four.
A problem with the use of a training digit is that it is annoying for an end user. Before entering data, the user must dial the training digit, which wastes time. However, without the training digit, the "bad" rotary telephones which produce DPD sequences that are not periodic will cause errors at the voice processing system.

Method and apparatus for determining digits dialed using a selected algorithm


In a sheet processing apparatus, which is connected to an image forming apparatus, applies a predetermined process to a plurality of sheets that have undergone image formation as a unit, and has power storage means capable of storing electric power required to execute the process, the output voltage from the power storage means is detected, and when the detected voltage exceeds a predetermined value, the process is controlled to execute the process using the electric power stored in the power storage means in accordance with an instruction from the image forming apparatus. Since the process is executed using the electric power supplied from the power storage means, consumption power can be prevented from temporarily increasing upon execution of the process.

Currently, apparatuses which form images according to an electrophotography system have been prevalently used. For example, laser beam printers which form (print) images on cut sheets, OHP sheets, and the like on the basis of an image signal sent from a host apparatus such as a computer or the like have prevailed, and some models of such printers have a staple function of stapling a set (bundle) of sheets (recording media) on which images are formed.
Such staple function is normally provided by a sheet processing apparatus which is connected to an image processing apparatus upon use, and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-322181 describes such sheet processing apparatus.
A conventional image forming apparatus and a conventional sheet processing apparatus will be described below with reference to FIGS. 10 to 15. FIG. 10 is a schematic sectional view showing the structure of an image forming apparatus, FIG. 11 is a view for explaining a scanner unit, FIG. 12 is a schematic sectional view showing the structure of a sheet processing apparatus, FIG. 13 is a top view of the sheet processing apparatus, FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing electrical connections between the image forming apparatus and sheet processing apparatus, and FIG. 15 is a graph schematically showing a change in consumption current in the sheet processing apparatus.
The image forming operation of an image forming apparatus 301 of this prior art will be described below mainly with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11. Reference numeral 101 denotes an image signal (VDO signal), which is input to a laser unit 102. Reference numeral 103 denotes a laser beam which is ON/OFF-modulated by the laser unit 102. Reference numeral 104 denotes a scanner motor, which steadily rotates a rotary polygonal mirror 105. Reference numeral 106 denotes an imaging lens which forms a focal point of a laser beam 107 deflected by the polygonal mirror on a photosensitive drum 108 as a surface to be scanned.
Therefore, the laser beam 107 modulated based on the image signal 101 is horizontally scanned (in the main scan direction) on the photosensitive drum 108. Reference numeral 109 denotes a beam detection port which fetches the beam via a slit-like entrance port. The laser beam which has entered via this entrance port is guided to a photoelectric conversion element 111 via an optical fiber 110. The laser beam which is converted into an electrical signal by the photoelectric conversion element 111 is amplified by an amplifier circuit (not shown) to obtain a horizontal sync signal.
A latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 108 is visualized by a developer 123 to obtain a toner image, which is transferred onto a transfer sheet 112 by a transfer roller 120.
Reference numeral 131 denotes a paper cassette which feeds one type of standard-size transfer sheets of a size selected from an A4 size, LETTER size, and the like.
A single-sided print operation on the transfer sheet 112 fed from the paper cassette 131 will be explained below.
When a pickup roller 132 makes one revolution, one of transfer sheets 112 on the multi-tray (paper cassette) 131 is fed to paper feed rollers 134. The transfer sheet 112 is fed to registration rollers 135 upon rotation of the paper feed rollers 134, and stands by for synchronization with an image forming unit.
A registration sensor 137 as a combination of a photointerrupter (light transmitting sensor) and flag processing is arranged in the vicinity of the registration rollers 135, and detects that the leading end of the transfer sheet 112 arrives the registration roller 135.
An image forming apparatus control circuit 402 (FIG. 14) that controls the image forming unit detects the arrival timing of the leading end of the transfer sheet 112 to the registration rollers 135 on the basis of the detection result of the registration sensor 137, starts image formation on the photosensitive drum 108 and controls the temperature of a halogen heater (not shown) of a fixing unit 121 to a predetermined value.
The transfer sheet 112 which stands by at the position of the registration rollers 135 is conveyed in synchronism with the timing of the detection result of the registration sensor 137 and the image forming process, and a toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 108 is transferred onto the transfer sheet 112 by a transfer roller 120. The transfer sheet 112 on which the toner image has been transferred is fixed by the fixing unit 121 which incorporates a halogen heater, and is guided to an discharge unit 122 as the upper portion of the image forming apparatus via discharge rollers 140 and a flapper 141 set at the a side, and is discharged from the discharge unit 122 by discharge rollers 156.
On the other hand, a sheet processing apparatus 302 is connected as an option to the image forming apparatus 301, and the following control is made to discharge a sheet to the sheet processing apparatus 302.
When the sheet processing apparatus 302 is connected to the image forming apparatus 301 and a connected host computer or the like (not shown) issues an discharge instruction to the sheet processing apparatus, the image forming apparatus control circuit 402 sets the flapper 141 to the b side, and conveys the transfer sheet 112 into the sheet processing apparatus 302 by the discharge rollers 140 after the printed transfer sheet 112 has passed the fixing unit 121. The transfer sheet 112 that has undergone image formation by the image forming apparatus main body 301 is passed to the sheet processing apparatus 302 connected as an option with its obverse surface facing up (face up).
As shown in FIG. 14, a sheet processing apparatus control circuit 409 in the sheet processing apparatus 302 is connected to the image forming apparatus control circuit 402 in the image forming apparatus main body to communicate with each other. When the image forming apparatus control circuit 402 issues a staple instruction for stapling a set of a plurality of transfer sheets, the sheet processing apparatus control circuit 409 conveys the transfer sheet 112 to a stack tray used to staple it intact or while being reversed by a reverse mechanism in a stacker. The transfer sheet 112 conveyed to the stack tray is aligned in the convey direction and widthwise direction by an aligning plate until a predetermined number of transfer sheets 112 are conveyed. When a set of a predetermined number of transfer sheets is formed, a shutter is closed to fix and staple the set of transfer sheets.
The set of transfer sheets 112 stapled by the stapler is discharged onto the discharge tray by driving discharge rollers.
The staple operation in the sheet processing apparatus 302 will be described below mainly with reference to FIGS. 12 to 14.
Reference numeral 303 denotes an entrance sensor which detects the transfer sheet 112 fed from the image forming apparatus main body 301. The detection information of the transfer sheet 112 by the entrance sensor 303 is input to the sheet processing apparatus control circuit 409. Upon reception of this information, the sheet processing apparatus control circuit 409 drives a transfer sheet convey motor (not shown). When the transfer sheet convey motor is driven, entrance rollers 304, reverse rollers 310, a slip roller 306, and a pair of set convey rollers (set convey means) 305 are simultaneously driven.
The reverse rollers 309 are initially rotated to convey the transfer sheet 112 in the feed direction. However, when a reverse solenoid works in response to a signal output from the sheet processing apparatus control circuit 409, the rotation direction of the rollers 309 is reversed to convey the transfer sheet 112 in the reverse direction. Reference numeral 308 denotes a flapper which is controlled by the sheet processing apparatus control circuit 409. When a flapper solenoid (not shown) operates, the transfer sheet 112 is fed into the convey rollers 310 facing up, and forms a transfer sheet set 112a on a stack tray (stack means) 318.
The pair of convey rollers 305 normally contact the convey path surface. When a set convey roller solenoid (not shown) controlled by the sheet processing apparatus control circuit 409 is driven, the upper roller of the rollers 305 moves upward to a set convey roller upper position 305a where that roller does not contact the convey path surface. While the set convey roller solenoid is driven, a shutter 307 is closed.
When the transfer sheets 112 are stacked on the stack tray 318 to staple the transfer sheet set 112a, the set convey roller solenoid is driven to move the upper one of the set convey rollers to the position 305a, and to close the shutter 307.
The slip roller 306 has a very weak convey force. The roller 306 conveys the sheet until the leading end of the sheet contacts the shutter 307, and slips on the sheet so as to align the sheet leading end and to hold the sheet position after the sheet leading end contacts the shutter 307. When the transfer sheet 112 begins to be stacked, a stack tray sheet sensor 313 detects the sheet and inputs a detection signal to the sheet processing apparatus control circuit 409. An alignment means that aligns the leading end portions of the transfer sheets 112 is formed.
When the transfer sheets 112 are to be stacked at the position of the shutter 307, aligning plates R 402 and L 403 are moved in the widthwise direction in correspondence with the size of the transfer sheets 112. The aligning plates R 402 and L 403 are controlled by the sheet processing apparatus control circuit 409 via an aligning plate motor drive circuit (not shown) and are driven by aligning plate R and L motors (neither are shown).
The moving positions of the aligning plates R 402 and L 403 are controlled by determining moving amounts from aligning plate R and L home position sensors (not shown) by the sheet processing apparatus control circuit 409 on the basis of the transfer sheet size which is sent from the image forming apparatus control circuit 402 via a communication line.
When a predetermined number of transfer sheets 112 are stacked, the image forming apparatus control circuit 402 issues a staple designation to the sheet processing apparatus control circuit 409. Upon reception of the staple designation, the sheet processing apparatus control circuit 409 moves a staple unit 312 in the widthwise direction indicated by the double-headed arrows, and drives a staple motor (not shown) in a staple drive unit 410, thus stapling the transfer sheet set 112a. The staple unit 312 is moved by driving a stapler moving motor (not shown) controlled by the sheet processing apparatus control circuit 409. The moving amount of the staple unit 312 is controlled by the sheet processing apparatus control circuit 409 on the basis of the moving distance from a stapler unit home position sensor (not shown).
Whether or not the operation of a stapler 312a of the staple unit 312 normally ends can be confirmed when a staple cam returns to the position of the staple home position sensor a predetermined period of time after the sheet processing apparatus control circuit 409 begins to drive the staple motor. When the shutter 307 is opened before the transfer sheet set 112a is stapled, and the transfer sheet set 112a is stapled after it is conveyed by a predetermined distance, the transfer sheet set 112a can be stapled at an arbitrary position in the convey direction.
A pair of discharge rollers (set discharge means) R 406 and L 407 are arranged near downstream of the shutter 307. Reference numeral 317 denotes an discharge sensor which is equipped on an discharge tray (sheet set stack means) 316, and inputs a sensor signal to the sheet processing apparatus control circuit 409.
In the conventional image forming apparatus 301 and sheet processing apparatus 302 as an option, a power supply circuit 401 for the image forming apparatus and a power supply circuit 415 for the sheet processing apparatus are independently provided, and are connected to a commercial power supply via AC plugs 411 and 414, thus operating the image forming apparatus 301 and sheet processing apparatus 302.
The reason why commercial power is supplied to the respective power supply circuits is that the sheet processing apparatus 302 requires large power in the staple operation, as shown in FIG. 15, and it is not practical to design the power supply circuit 401 for the image forming apparatus main body 301 as a large-capacity power supply circuit in consideration of the load on the sheet processing apparatus 302.
In FIG. 15, a current Is1 that requires normal operations such as a sheet convey operation and the like of the sheet processing apparatus is as relatively small as about 24 V/1 A. However, when the staple operation is done, a maximum current Is3 as high as 5 A flows for about 100 msec. In order to supply electric power from the image forming apparatus to the sheet processing apparatus in consideration of electric power based on this maximum current Is3, the output electric power of the power supply for the image forming apparatus must be set as high as about 120 W(=24 V×5 A). As a result, a large-scale, expensive power supply circuit is required, resulting in an increase in price which is unnecessary for users who use only the image forming apparatus (does not require any sheet processing apparatus).
For this reason, conventionally, since the power supply circuit 401 for the image forming apparatus 301 and the power supply circuit 415 for the sheet processing apparatus 302 are independently provided, minimum required portions (e.g., a communication interface and the like) are provided to the image forming apparatus main body for the sheet processing apparatus as an option, thus suppressing an increase in cost.
On the other hand, as one of reasons why the power supply circuits are independently provided, an image forming apparatus that requires a sheet processing apparatus is normally limited to a large-scale, high value-added image forming apparatus such as a monochrome high-speed printing machine, a high image quality machine that can perform color print, and the like.
More specifically, the power supply circuits are independently provided for the following reasons: two AC plugs are agreeable in terms of design since a system formed by connecting the image forming apparatus to the sheet processing apparatus as an option is bulky; even when the total AC current that flows in the system of the image forming apparatus and sheet processing apparatus exceeds maximum allowable electric power (e.g., 1,500 W) of one commercial power supply system, since the system is installed by a service person, the service person need only connect the two AC plugs to different commercial power supply systems so as not to exceed the maximum allowable electric power of the commercial power supply; and so forth.
In recent years, along with the improvements of the technologies of image forming apparatuses, image forming apparatuses which belong to a category of middle-speed machines (middle-class machines) have been speeded up while their size and price reductions are achieved, and have gained a speed comparable to that of conventional high-speed machines. Based on such improvements, added values such as expandability of options, energy savings, and the like are demanded from the market more strongly.
Under such circumstances, a demand is increasing for an image forming apparatus which can improve its design upon mounting an option and allows the user to easily attach/detach an option by supplying electric power from the image forming apparatus to an option apparatus.
However, when electric power is supplied from the power supply in the image forming apparatus main body to the sheet processing apparatus such as a staple stacker or the like, the staple operation requires large electric power, as described above. For this reason, a large-capacity power supply circuit must be prepared in the image forming apparatus main body in consideration of consumption power in the sheet processing apparatus. However, this arrangement results in an increase in price unnecessary for users who use only the image forming apparatus. In order to meet such conflicting requisites, it is demanded to reduce electric power to be supplied to the sheet processing apparatus and to minimize an increase in cost of the image forming apparatus main body.
In a large-scale, high value-added image forming apparatus such as a monochrome high-speed printing machine, a high image quality machine that can perform color print, and the like, i.e., in a so-called high-speed machine (high-class machine), more functions are required, and consumption power tends to increase although energy-saving measures are taken. One indication of the upper limit of electric power consumed by these apparatuses is the maximum electric power (e.g., 1,500 W=100 V×15 A if the commercial power supply voltage is 100 V) that can be supplied by the commercial power supply.
In general, the image forming apparatus main body is normally designed so that the maximum electric power of the apparatus does not exceed that of the commercial power supply. Therefore, when an option such as the sheet processing apparatus that consumes relatively large electric power or the like is connected to the image forming apparatus whose maximum electric power is approximate to that of the commercial power supply, it is recommended that a power supply circuit is independently provided to the sheet processing apparatus, and is connected to a commercial power supply system different from the main body using an AC plug different from the image forming apparatus main body.
However, the AC plugs of the image forming apparatus main body and sheet processing apparatus are often connected to the same commercial power supply system unless they are connected by a service person or the like in consideration of the maximum consumption power. Therefore, it is demanded to reduce the maximum electric power of each of the image forming apparatus and sheet processing apparatus so as to prevent protection means such as the circuit breaker of the commercial power supply from operating even when the two AC plugs are connected to the same commercial power supply system, and to prevent the maximum electric power of the system from exceeding the maximum electric power that can be supplied by one commercial power supply system.

Sheet processing apparatus and control method thereof


A system receives four-bit symbols that correspond to traffic associated with a three-bit phase modulation scheme and are encoded based on a four-bit phase modulation scheme. The system determines values with which to perform equalization that enable the four-bit symbols to be restored to a condition that existed prior to being transmitted to the system. The system performs, using the values, equalization on a four-bit symbol that includes at least a first pair of bits associated with a first polarization, and performs, after completing the equalization, another equalization on another four-bit symbol that includes at least a second pair of bits associated with a second polarization. The system identifies a three-bit symbol, of a set of three-bit symbols associated with the three-bit phase modulation scheme, based on the equalized first pair of bits and the equalized second pair of bits, generates the three-bit symbol, and outputs the three-bit symbol.

Coherent optical receivers process traffic, in the form of optical signals, received from an optical network. Coherent optical receivers process the optical signals by performing operations on the optical signals, such as polarization beam splitting, demodulation, analog-to-digital conversion, equalization, etc.
The coherent optical receivers may use different modulation techniques (e.g., phase shift keying, frequency modulation, etc.) to process traffic received from the optical network. Examples of common phase shift keying techniques include polarization multiplexed (PM) binary phase shift keying (PM-BPSK), and PM-quadrature phase shift keying (PM-QPSK) (sometimes referred to as "four-quadrature amplitude modulation (4QAM)"). PM-BPSK uses two bits to represent a dual-polarized symbol and PM-QPSK uses four bits to represent a dual-polarized symbol. Recently, another phase shift keying technique has emerged that represents a hybrid of the PM-BPSK and PM-QPSK techniques (sometimes referred to as "three-quadrature amplitude modulation (3QAM)" or "HEXA"). 3QAM uses three bits to represent a dual-polarized symbol. Unfortunately, coherent optical receivers, that process PM-QPSK and/or PM-BPSK traffic cannot process 3QAM traffic without incurring false locks that cause catastrophic bit error rates and/or a disruption of service.

Equalization mechanism for processing traffic based on three-quadrature amplitude modulation (3QAM)


The present invention provides an amorphous optical semiconductor characterized by having a ratio of the sum total number of atoms of group III elements to the number of nitrogen atoms, in the range of 1:0.5 to 1:2 while including a hydrogen. Preferable is the amorphous optical semiconductor comprising: hydrogen in the range of not less than 1 atomic % to not more than 50 atomic %; at least one selected from the group consisting of Al, Ga and In; oxygen and carbon each of not more than 15 atomic %; and nitrogen. In addition, the present invention provides a microcrystalline compound comprising: a microcrystallire compound containing hydrogen in the range of not less than 0.5 atomic % to not more than 40 atomic %; Ga; and nitrogen in the structure thereof. Moreover, the present invention provides an optical semiconductor element using these optical semiconductors as a photoconductive subtance.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to optical semiconductors comprising an amorphous optical semiconductor and a microcrystaline optical semiconductor, and processes of producing them, and an optical semiconductor element using any one of them.
2. Related Art
Heretofore, amorphous chalcogenide compounds of selenium, tellurium and the like have widely been used as a photoelectric conversion substance in image pickup tubes, photo-detectors, photosensitive materials for electrophotography and the like as an amorphous optical semiconductor (Amorphous Semiconductor Basics published by Ohm incorp.). In recent years, hydrogenated amorphous silicon has been come to be used in solar cells, image sensors, thin film transistors, photosensitive materials for electrophotography and the like.
Amorphous chalcogenide compounds, however, are subject to crystallization due to their instability to heat, thus the conditions in which they can be used with ease are limited, and they also have faults such as they cannot control valence electrons. Further, while in a hydrogenated amorphous silicon it is possible to control valence electrons, and thence to realize an electric field effect at an interface and pn junction, and also to have heat resistance up to about 250.degree. C., however, there is the problem where photoconductivity is degraded on exposure to a high intensity light (Staebler, Wronski effect: see Applied Physics Handbook and the like) and thereby the efficiency of a solar cell is reduced during use. Moreover, while a band gap of hydrogenated amorphous silicon is about 1.7 eV, and the band gap can be adjusted to be smaller or larger by addition of Ge and C thereto, in order to effectively utilize solar light, its photoconductive characteristics are subject to deterioration even with a change of the order of 0.3 eV in the bandgap, and thereby it has had the problem that light in a broad range of wavelengths cannot effectively be utilized. Further, semiconductors made of these elements, including a microcrystal and crystal, are all of an indirect transition type, and thereby they cannot be used as materials of a light emitting device, so that their applications have been restricted.
Heretofore, amorphous materials of group III-V compound semiconductors have been used for film formation, by evaporation or sputtering of group III-V compound crystals, or by the reaction of a metal of group III in an atomic state with molecules or activated molecules including an element of group V (H. Reuter, H. Schmitt and M. Boffgen, Thin Solid Films, 254, 94 (1995)). Further, a crystalline film of group III-V compound crystals has been produced on a heated substrate, using an organometallic compound including a group III metal, and a compound including a group V element (organometallic CVD: MOCVD). When one of these methods is applied, an amorphous group III-V compound has been able to be obtained by setting the temperature of the substrate lower than between 600 to 1000.degree. C., when producing crystals.
However, amorphous group III-V compounds have not been able to function as photoelectric materials, because of problems such as carbon from the organic metal being left in the film, many defect levels arising in the film and the like. On the other hand, it has been known that defect level density in the bands of amorphous silicon is reduced by hydrogenation and valence electrons can be controlled.
Many investigations have been conducted into the effects of hydrogen on defects in crystalline group III-V compounds with the following findings: (1) crystalline dislocations are improved, Y. Okada, S. Ohta, H. Shimomura, A. Kawabata and M. Kawabe, J. J. Appl. Phys., 32, L1556 (1993); (2) defects at the interface with the surface oxide film are improved, Y. Chang, W. Widdra, S. I. Yi, J. Merz, W. E. Weinberg and E Hu, J. Vac. Sci. Tech. B12. 2605 (1994); (3) the n+-p junction interface is improved, S. Min, W. C. Choi, H. Y. Cho, M. Yamaguchi, Appl. Phys. Lett 64, 1280 (1994); (4) defects from lattice mismatching are improved, B. Chatterjee, S. A. Ringel, R. Sieg, R. Hoffman and I. Weinberg, Appl. Phys. Lett 65, 58 (1994); and (5) bond defects are passivated. From the aforementioned effects of hydrogen, it can be expected that because of the problems in changing from a crystalline state to an amorphous state, the same relationship between crystalline silicon and amorphous silicon will occur in group III-V compound semiconductors.
On the other hand, it has been known that, in a III-V compound semiconductor, dopants for use in pn control are passivated at the same time as being inactivated (S. J. Pearton, Material Sci. Forum, 148 to 149, (1994) 113 to 139). It has also been known that dopants made inactive due to passivation, are reactivated by annealing. In the same way, hydrogen passivates dangling bond defects, but in the case of an amorphous film, the composition of the elements of which the films constructed, and the content of hydrogen in the film as well as its bonding positions are important, in order to inactivate the pn control dopants together with the dangling bonds.
In the conventional method of producing amorphous group III-V compound semiconductors, crystals are used as the raw material and produced by sputtering in a system containing no hydrogen, (H. Reuter, H. Schmitt, M. B. Offgen, Thin Solid Films 254, 94 (1995).
Further, regarding amorphous group III-V compound semiconductor containing hydrogen, hydrogenated a-GaP photoconductivity, obtained by reactive evaporation with H.sub.2 has been reported (M. Onuki, T. Fujii and H. Kubota, J. Non-Cryst, Solids, 114, 792 (1989)), and hydrogenated a-GaAs photoconductivity has also been reported (V. Coscia, R. Murri, N. Pinto, L. Trojani, J. Non. Cryst. Soild, 194 (1996) 103). In these semiconductors, however, the contrast resistance ratio is small, only to the order of two digits, moreover, pn control, which is indispensable for semiconductor material in terms of practical use, cannot be effected.
Further, amorphous GaP containing hydrogen or microcrystalline GaN have been obtained by the plasma CVD method, which is a low temperature film formation method which uses an organometallic compound as the group III raw material but they either show no photoconductivity or else insulation properties (J, Knight, and R. A. Lujan, J. Appl. Phys., 42. 1291 (1978)). A further problem has been that hydrogenated amorphous GaAs produced by the plasma CVD method, only has a very small photoconductivity, of the order of 10%, and is a long way from reaching the point of practical use, and since an organometallic compound is used as the raw material of group III, removal of carbon from the film is difficult in the low temperature regions required for obtaining an amorphous state (Y. Segui, F. Carrere and A. Bui, Thin Solid Films, 92, 303, (1982)).
While, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 6-295991, amorphous group III-V compound semiconductors produced by either the sputtering method, the CVD method, the molecular beam epitaxy method, or the plasma CVD method have been proposed as an anti-fuse memory material which has a lower melting point than Si, it has been said that GaN and AlN are not suitable. And in the publication, there is no description of their characteristics as optical semiconductors.
A technique has been disclosed, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) 2-192770, that a combination of InN which has absorption in the visible light region and a small bandgap and amorphous silicon, is used as the microcrystalline material of a group III-V compound semiconductor. However, InN has a bandgap of 1.9 eV, and therefore it is necessary that the bandgap be variable over a broad range so that light may be absorbed and emitted efficiently over the total visible range. On the other hand, crystal GaN has a bandgap of the order of 3.1 eV and so has absorption in the ultraviolet region. At present, while buffer layers are widely used for the production of GaN crystals, the structure of the film is not very clear, although the temperature for growth has been to the order of 600.degree. C. lower than that for crystal growth. In cases where film formation is effected at a temperature lower than that of crystal growth, a microcrystalline film is thought to be grown. However, when crystal growth is continued, growth is effected in the range of 800 to 1000.degree. C. This step has only been used for alleviating lattice mismatching with the substrate, and microcrystaline compounds have not been used as a single film.

Group III-V amorphous and microcrystalline optical semiconductor including hydrogen, and method of forming thereof


An electronic filter includes a plurality of series arm acoustic wave resonators electrically connected in series between an input port and an output port, a plurality of parallel arm acoustic wave resonators electrically connected in parallel and electrically connected on first sides between respective ones of the plurality of series arm acoustic wave resonators and electrically connected on second sides to ground, and at least one additional acoustic wave resonator electrically connected in parallel to one of one of the plurality of series arm acoustic wave resonators or one of the plurality of parallel arm acoustic wave resonators and having a temperature coefficient of frequency (TCF) lower than a TCF of the acoustic wave resonator to which it is electrically connected in parallel.

In the field of information communication devices, for example, mobile phones, the bandgap between transmission and reception frequency bands in new communication standards are becoming narrower while the desire to utilize all available assigned bandwidth is increasing. The bandgap between frequency bands used in different standards is also becoming more narrow. For example, in the Long Term Evolution (LTE) band 7 (a.k.a. IMT-E), the transmission channel occupies frequencies between 2,500 MHz to 2,570 MHZ, and the reception channel occupies frequencies between 2,620 MHz and 2,690 MHz. There is only a 0.7% fractional bandgap between the frequency bands utilized by LTE band 7 and the WiFi band (2,400 MHz to 2,483 MHz). To avoid interference between signals from devices operating on such narrowly spaced frequency bands, it is becoming increasingly important for RF filters utilized in such devices to define frequency bands with well-defined sharp boundaries that do not move significantly under different operating conditions, for example, at different temperatures.

Reduced temperature coefficient of frequency at filter transition band while retaining pass-band width


A communication method and a communication apparatus, in which a terminal can be selected in accordance with a specific application, and the abuse thereof can be prevented in the case of terminal being stolen or lost. When a terminal is connected to a predetermined communication network by using an identification code assigned to each terminal, a specific identification code assigned to a first terminal can be set to a predetermined second terminal by a predetermined operation. The first terminal can not use the above-mentioned specific identification code which is set in the second terminal.

The present invention relates to a communication method and a communication apparatus suitably applicable to a radio telephone apparatus usable as a terminal of a radio telephone system called a personal handy phone system (PHS), for example.
A telephone apparatus called a cordless telephone is configured of a plurality of telephone sets. The cordless telephone includes a base unit connected to a cable telephone line and one or a plurality of handset units for performing a radio communication with the base unit. Each handset unit is adapted to communicate with a telephone set connected to the telephone line through the base unit. Also, some cordless telephone apparatuses permit extension between the base unit and handset units (or extension between a plurality of handset units).
The telephone apparatus configured as such a cordless telephone has comparatively many improved functions offered as conveniences to individual telephone sets. The telephone apparatus has the function of an answering machine, for example, which can automatically answer a call arriving at a person who is not at home. Other telephone apparatus include a plurality of one-touch dial keys for transmitting a message to specific parties in registration to facilitate the transmission to such parties with which the caller has frequent conversations.
A handset unit making up the cordless telephone apparatus is usable as a portable telephone set (hereinafter called a PHS terminal) for a communication network system called the personal handy phone system (PHS). For the PHS, there are located a plurality of base stations arranged at a predetermined spatial interval with each other and connected to the telephone line. Each base station can communicate by a radio wave with PHS terminals existing in a service area of several hundred meters in radius of the particular base station. The PHS terminals located within the service area can transmit a message to an arbitrary party and receive a call from an arbitrary party through the base station.
In the case where a handset unit for the cordless telephone has the function of a PHS terminal, the same scheme is generally employed for the communication with the base station as for the communication with the base unit for the cordless telephone system thereby simplifying the circuit configuration of the handset units.
In this way, the handset units making up the cordless telephone system can be used also as a PHS terminal. As a result, in an indoor operation mode permitting a handset unit to have a communication with the base unit from a home, for example, the handset unit can be used as a cordless telephone set, while in a public mode where it can be used outdoor as a PHS terminal, thus conveniently widening the range of applications as a telephone set.
The handset unit of the cordless telephone system preferably has arranged thereon comparatively many keys to make possible a comparatively complex operation in order to realize multiple functions required as a cordless telephone. A PHS terminal which is routinely carried as a portable telephone, on the other hand, is preferably as small in size and light in weight as possible. In the case where a single terminal is used both as a handset unit of the cordless telephone and a PHS terminal, the process of selection is required for the terminal to have a multiple function as a telephone set of ordinary size or to be reduced in size with a limited function.
It is thought that this inconvenience can be obviated by providing two terminals and selectively using them according to specific applications, one having a multiple function and constructed in a size convenient to use as a handset unit of the cordless telephone system and the other having a size convenient to use as a PHS terminal. In such a case, each of the two terminals is registered in the communication network side as a PHS terminal, and therefore the basic rate covering two units is required to be paid. The user, therefore, is burdened with an increased cost. Also, since each PHS terminal is basically assigned a different telephone number, the two telephone sets have different telephone numbers. It is thus inconveniently impossible for the two terminals to serve a single call arriving in the PHS mode at the same time.
Further, in view of the fact that the PHS terminal is generally configured in a small size and carried by a user, it is liable to be lost or stolen when the user is out with the PHS terminal. For example, a third party who picked up the lost PHS terminal may abuse it (i.e., a person other than the owner of the PHS terminal may use it for communication with other parties). Under the present circumstances, no means is available for preventing such an abuse.
As the radio telephone system, there is available such a system in which personal identification information such as a telephone number, an identification code and so on are stored in an IC card, and a terminal having the IC card mounted thereon functions as a telephone set assigned the particular telephone number. In this system, the IC card is mounted on a small-sized portable terminal on one occasion, and the IC card is mounted on a multiple-function terminal on another occasion, thereby making it possible for a plurality of terminals to share the same telephone number and to use it. Even in such a system, however, the problem still remains that the IC card may be abused by a third party when it is lost or stolen.


A pipe installation device and a method for laying consecutive lengths of bell and spigot pipe. The pipe installation device installs sequential pipe lengths. The pipe installation device includes a pipe supply system and a pipe alignment system attached to a carriage. The pipe alignment system is positioned to receive a pipe length from the pipe supply system and align the pipe length with a pipe length previously positioned in the pipe alignment system. The pipe installation device also includes a pipe joining system for joining the two pipe lengths positioned in the pipe alignment system. A pipe restraint system applies a restraining force against one pipe length while the pipe joining system joins the two pipe lengths.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to devices for laying pipe and, more specifically, to a device that advances along the course of pipeline construction, lays and joins pipe.
2. Background of the Invention
The process of laying sections of pipe along the course of pipeline construction when a bell and spigot pipe is being installed, involves laying sequential pipe lengths and the joining the sequential pipe lengths by applying a mechanical pressure to a most recently laid section of pipe in order to engage the spigot end of that length with the bell end of a previously laid length. When the course of pipeline construction lies underground, construction involves the excavation of a trench to a desired depth followed by placement and positioning of pipe in the trench. This method involves placing one or more workers in the trench to guide a lowered section of pipe into contact with a previously installed section. The workers must also disengage rigging from the pipe that was used in lowering the length into the trench. Once a pipe length is positioned in the trench, it is manually joined to a preceding pipe length. In deep trenches, a work crew commonly works within the confines of a trench shoring box that provides increased safety in the trench working condition.
Excavation and placement functions are typically performed by a single piece of equipment, an excavator. The excavator is a relatively costly piece of equipment, often track mounted, that performs primarily an excavation function. One disadvantage of the current popular method is the fact that a costly piece of equipment is oftentimes moved between tasks, excavation and pipe installation, that may otherwise proceed at different rates. Additionally, where shoring is required it is often moved along the length of the trench by the excavator as the pipeline advances requiring yet a third function or task of the excavator.
Devices, including excavators that position or otherwise place pipe at the bottom of a trench, pose a number of disadvantages. These devices are positioned outside the trench and typically place pipe by maneuvering along a top edge of the trench over tailings that have been placed alongside the trench during excavation. These surfaces are rarely, if ever, flat and therefore make the task of placement more difficult. Additionally, activity at grade level, depending on soil conditions, may increase a probability of trench collapse. Additional problems are seen when laying bell and spigot pipe. For instance, manufacturer's and job specifications typically require that the spigot end of a first pipe length be inserted into a bell end of a sequential pipe length a specified distance and that the spigot end not be "bottomed" out in the bell end when inserted. Additionally, manufacturer's and job specifications typically require that when the pipe is laid on a substrate that a "divot" be provided for the bell end to lay in so that undue stress is not created in the pipe at the transition of the bell to the barrel of the pipe due to the differing diameters of the bell and the barrel portions of the pipe.
Advantage may therefore be found in providing a device that is capable of laying and joining pipe in a trench. Additional advantage may be found in providing an apparatus that advances along the course of pipeline construction, for instance a pre-excavated trench, laying and joining pipe in the trench. Advantage may also be found in providing a device that aligns sequential lengths of bell and spigot pipe and seats a spigot end of a first pipe length into the bell end of a sequential pipe length. Additional advantage may be found in providing an apparatus that provides a divot for the bell to lie in as the device proceeds along the course of pipeline construction.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Device and method for laying and joining pipe


An image capturing apparatus includes an image sensor having a first pixel group that photoelectrically converts an object image from a first exit pupil region, a second pixel group that photoelectrically converts an object image from a second exit pupil region, and a third pixel group for capturing that photoelectrically converts an object image from overall exit pupil region; a focus detection unit that detects focus information by performing a defocus calculation with use of a first image signal obtained from the first pixel group and a second image signal obtained from the second pixel group; an image processing unit that converts captured image data into an image file for recording and saving; and a data recording unit that records, in association with the image file, signals obtained from the first pixel group and the second pixel group such that the defocus calculation can be performed.

One feature of digital cameras is the ability to record a shooting date and time, camera setting values such as the exposure control value, and various photographing information such as lens information, along with image data in a captured image file.
For example, a digital camera has been proposed in which the focus detection point used in focusing control of the photographing lens is recorded, and when an image file is reproduced, the position of the focus detection point is displayed superimposed on the image (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-128044).
Also, an image capturing apparatus has been proposed in which it is possible to record a plurality of focus detection points that have been selected and focus detection data (e.g., distance information indicating the distance from the image sensing plane to the object) at such focus detection points (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-12307).
Information indicating such focus detection points and the focus detection data is used in various applications, such as determining whether an object has been captured as a user has intended, image manipulation, image management, and searching.
However, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-128044 has the problem that only the focus detection point that was used in focusing control is known, and the focus detection data is not known.
Also, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-12307, focus detection data that has been recorded in a recorded image file is data from immediately before the image was actually captured, and although this is not a problem in the case of a still object, if the object is moving, the focus detection data and the image will not completely match due to a time lag from when focus detection is performed until the image is captured; accordingly, there is the problem that it is difficult to utilize the focus detection data.

Image capturing apparatus capable of storing focus detection data


A semiconductor device which is miniaturized while favorable characteristics thereof are maintained is provided. In addition, the miniaturized semiconductor device is provided with a high yield. The semiconductor device has a structure including an oxide semiconductor film provided over a substrate having an insulating surface; a source electrode layer and a drain electrode layer which are provided in contact with side surfaces of the oxide semiconductor film and have a thickness larger than that of the oxide semiconductor film; a gate insulating film provided over the oxide semiconductor film, the source electrode layer, and the drain electrode layer; and a gate electrode layer provided in a depressed portion formed by a step between a top surface of the oxide semiconductor film and top surfaces of the source electrode layer and the drain electrode layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The disclosed invention relates to a semiconductor device and a method for manufacturing the semiconductor device.
In this specification and the like, a semiconductor device refers to all types of devices which can function by utilizing semiconductor characteristics; an electro-optical device, a light-emitting display device, a semiconductor circuit, and an electronic device are all semiconductor devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Attention has been focused on a technique of manufacturing a transistor with the use of a semiconductor thin film formed over a substrate having an insulating surface. The transistor is applied to a wide range of semiconductor electronic devices such as an integrated circuit (IC) and an image display device (also simply referred to as display device). A silicon-based semiconductor material is widely known as a material for a semiconductor thin film applicable to a transistor. As another material, an oxide semiconductor material has been attracting attention.
For example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 disclose a technique of manufacturing a transistor with the use of zinc oxide or an In—Ga—Zn-based oxide as an oxide semiconductor and using the transistor as a switching element of a pixel or the like of a display device.

Method for manufacturing semiconductor device

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


Disclosed is a manufacturing method of sinter forged aluminum-based parts with high strength. In the manufacturing method, prepared is a raw material powder comprising, by mass: 3.0 to 10% zinc; 0.5 to 5.0% magnesium; 0.5 to 5.0% copper; inevitable amount of impurities; and the balance aluminum. The raw material powder is formed into a compact by pressing the raw material powder, sintered in a non-oxidizing atmosphere in such a manner as to heat the compact at a sintering temperature of 590 to 610 degrees C. for 10 minutes or more, before cooling the sintered compact. It is then forged by pressing the sintered compact in a pressing direction to compress the sintered compact in the pressing direction and produce plastic flow of material in a direction crossing to the pressing direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing sinter forged aluminum parts with high strength that are suitable as various kinds of members for structure use and base material for plastic-working use. More particularly, the invention concerns a method of manufacturing sinter forged aluminum parts with high strength that are improved in elongation as well as in tensile strength.
2. Related Art
Regarding the aluminum sintered parts manufactured with the use of a powder-metallurgical method, there has been an increasing demand in recent years, since they are not only light in weight but also possible to possess preferable properties that cannot be obtained with cast materials, such as strength, wear resistance and the like. As the conventional aluminum sintered alloys, Al—Si—Cu-based alloys have been predominant, and they have been applied to the structural materials and wear-resistant materials. However, since the Al—Si—Cu-based sintered alloys are to an extent of 300 MPa or so in terms of the strength even when they are subjected to forging and heat treatment, the application of them is limited and sintered aluminum materials with a higher level of strength has been therefore expected to be produced.
Under the above-described circumstances, in regard to the sintered aluminum materials with a further high level of strength, Japanese Patent Application National Publication (Laid-Open) No. 11-504388 (PCT Application of International Publication No. WO96/34991) proposes a process for manufacturing, with the powder-metallurgical method, an aluminum alloy of 7000 series in International Designation System by aluminum Association, that is known as extra super duralumin, and describes in its Examples that aluminum alloy exhibits a tensile strength of 305 to 444 MPa and an elongation of 0.6 to 5.6%. However, according to the above process, if the aluminum alloy has a tensile strength exceeding 400 MPa, its elongation is 1.1% or less, and, if the aluminum alloy has an elongation of 5% or more on the contrary, its tensile strength is around 300 MPa. In short, it is not such a material that exhibits a high level of property in terms of both of the tensile strength and the elongation.
In recent years, a great demand for making the products lighter in weight has existed in the field of automobile parts, terminal machines for use as electronic materials, precision machine parts or the like. If there is provided a sintered aluminum alloy that has a strength that is equivalent to general steel products, the range of use as well as the purpose of use is possibly made wide.

Manufacturing method of sinter forged aluminum parts with high strength


A hand-operated document processor includes a base for receiving a document containing magnetic ink character data to be read and recognized. A manually operated moving magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) subsystem includes a MICR read head and is attached to the base. Movement of the subsystem causes the MICR read head to pass over the magnetic ink character data on the document. MICR reading and recognition logic receives the signal from the MICR read head. A spring drives the moving MICR subsystem across the document being processed. A vacuum solenoid creates a vacuum. The vacuum solenoid is driven by the spring and is connected to the base. The created vacuum acts as a brake to control the speed of the moving MICR subsystem as the moving MICR subsystem is driven by the spring.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to document processing, document imaging, and magnetic ink character recognition. The invention further relates to hand-operated document readers/imagers, and to methods and systems for providing controlled and repeatable motion in a non-motorized system as well as restraining a document during processing with a hand-operated document reader/imager to avoid document skew.
2. Background Art
A typical document processing system includes a feeder and a separator in the document-feeding portion of the system, and a series of roller pairs or belts in the document-transporting portion of the system. In the feeding portion of the system, the feeder acts with the separator to feed documents singly, in order, from a stack. In the transporting portion of the system, the roller pairs and/or belts convey the documents, one at a time, past other processing devices such as readers, printers, and sorters that perform operations on the documents. The feeder is typically a feed wheel, but may take other forms. The separator may be a wheel, but also may take other forms such as a belt. Further, the components in the transporting portion of the system may take a variety of forms.
In addition to large document processing systems that handle stacks of documents, smaller systems also exist. These smaller document processing systems may handle smaller stacks of documents, or may even handle single documents, fed one at a time. There are also hand-operated document readers/imagers.
Banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions use document processing systems to regularly process checks, deposit slips, and other types of bank documents in order to execute financial transactions efficiently. Document processing systems have therefore become quite prevalent in the industry. Typically, information is printed on these documents in magnetic ink which can be read both by the human eye and a computer. This form of printing is read by a process called magnetic ink character recognition (MICR). As part of the recognition process, a MICR magnetic read head is used to read the information printed on the document.
Conventional approaches to MICR reading and recognition generally involve determining peak position information for a waveform generated by a single gap magnetic read head. This peak information typically includes information regarding the amount of time between the peaks of each character. Knowledge of the velocity of the document (and thus, the velocity of the characters which are printed on the document) allows this time information to be converted into distance information, which can be compared to the MICR character peak profiles as contained in ANS X9.100-20-2006 (formerly published as X9.27) "Print and Test Specifications for Magnetic Ink Printing (MICR)" as published by Accredited Standards Committee X9, Inc., Annapolis, Md., United States. Based on the design of the standard E-13B character set, in order that a MICR reader reliably read with a high correct character read rate and with a very low substitution rate, the document velocity must be precisely known during reading or otherwise be speed-controlled so that it does not vary.
These conventional approaches are acceptable when the velocity of the document is either known or can be controlled. In fact, conventional approaches to MICR typically involve rather complex schemes for controlling the velocity of the document or attempting to measure its velocity at different times as the document moves past the MICR read head. There has also been an approach to MICR reading and recognition that utilizes a dual gap read head to eliminate the need for precise knowledge or control of the document velocity.
In a hand-operated document reader/imager, the document is placed on a base and the MICR/image device is moved over the document from right to left, which is the traditional direction of larger document readers. During this movement, the MICR characters are recognized and the front image of the document is captured.
In more detail, the operational sequence of a manually operated linear check or document scanning device is as follows. A check or document is positioned on the bed of the device. The module that holds the contact image sensor and the magnetic read head is moved across the check or document, with the module being guided by a linear rod. The magnetic read head reads the MICR code line at the bottom of the document, and the contact image sensor scans the document. Data from both devices are passed to the electronics of the system for processing.
In order for the image sensor and magnetic read head to properly read the check or document, the speed of the module must be known over the entire length of the item being scanned. The speed of the scan can be measured by any one of a number of speed measuring devices. The greater the variation of speed, the more sophisticated, and therefore more expensive, the electronics must be, as well as the greater the chance of error.
The contact image sensor has a maximum speed limit, beyond which it will fail to operate properly. And, the MICR reader has a minimum speed limit, below which it cannot reliably operate. Accordingly, the speed of the scan must remain between these limits.
A motorized system can provide the required speed control, but is expensive. With a simple inexpensive manual operation, the scanning speed can and will vary from item to item, and over the length of the scan of a single item.
There is a 0.010 inch gap between the contact image sensor and the bed of the device. The check or document must be held firmly in place as the contact image sensor and magnetic read head are scanned over the document. If the check or document moves, an unusable image will result, such as a skewed image, and this situation will negatively impact the processing flow. Document movement during scanning tends to occur with checks or documents that have folds, creases, dog ears, or other mutilations. In general, any portion of the document that sits higher than the 0.010 inch gap will create friction against the contact image sensor and result in check or document movement.
The MICR read head is actually in contact with the document during scanning, and this friction also may skew the check or document, resulting in misreads and/or no reading of the MICR code line.
In existing document handling equipment, the only way that the check or document may be restrained is by any number of conventional clamping methods that restrain the document from both sides; however, in a scanning/reading system, the side of the document being scanned needs to be unobstructed.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for an improved method and system for providing controlled and repeatable motion in a non-motorized hand-operated reader/imager as well as providing document retention wherein the side of the document being scanned is not obstructed.

Hand-operated document reader/imager with speed limiting device providing document retention


A subwoofer having a novel component geometry that permits large voice coils and high efficiency heat transfer capability. The subwoofer comprises a frame having an outside and an inside, a central portion, radial heat sink fins, lower ventilation apertures, and a bottom portion having a bottom vent aperture. A motor unit comprising a case and a pole unit, the case having lower ventilation apertures and the pole unit having a cylindrical portion having a center aperture, wherein the cylindrical portion of the pole unit is of a diameter less than the diameter of the case, defining a first chamber area. The lower ventilation apertures of the frame, and the lower ventilation apertures of the motor unit are aligned to allow air to flow from the outside of the subwoofer into the first chamber area.

This invention relates to subwoofer audio speakers that produce low-frequency sound, generally operating below 100 Hz. The operating principle of a moving coil loudspeakers is based on coil of wire or (voice coil) immersed in a static magnetic field. This voice coil is fed electrical input signals and the resulting electromotive force induced in the coil forces the loudspeaker diaphragm to move.
"Subwoofer" is the term generally used today to refer to audio speakers that operate in the low frequency or bass range. Until more recent times, there was very little need to reproduce intense levels of sound down to 20 Hz (the low range for human hearing) because available programming sources were incapable of recording such frequencies. With the advent of more dynamic recording techniques, however, the ability of a subwoofer to reproduce low frequency input signals without distortion, i.e., as accurately as possible, has become a highly desirable objective in the industry.
Audio speakers, generally, are quite simply air pistons that move back (on the negative cycle of an electrical signal) and forth (on the positive cycle) creating different degrees of air pressure. These movements translate into different frequencies that, in turn, translate into Mozart or Manilow or Metallica at the human eardrum.
The typical subwoofer design has been around for over 50 years. Like any speaker, a subwoofer requires an audio amplifier which produces electrical impulses that alternate from positive to negative voltages and create an electromagnet when they reach a "voice coil" (a spool of wire) inside the speaker. The voice coil is suspended between the pole pieces of a permanent magnet motor structure. This voice coil is attached to the cone/moving mass assembly which is mounted to a frame that is fixed to the motor structure. The voice coil reciprocates (i.e., moves the cone back and forth) in a linear path as the alternating current flows through the voice coil that is centered in the magnetic gap (between the two poles). The circumference of the cone is affixed to a "surround" or "suspension", which is affixed to a frame or basket, and which is generally constructed of a metal. The magnet is typically mounted to the rear of the frame behind the cone. The surround is generally a circular half-roll of flexible material that joins the top of the cone and the speaker's frame. A spider, which is a circle of flexible corrugated material, joins the bottom of cone to the speaker's frame. The surround and spider center the cone/moving mass assembly and restore it to its original position. The peak-to-peak distance traveled by the cone is known as the "excursion". Generally, the peak-to-peak excursion of a conventional subwoofer is between 0.4–0.6 inches.
The voice coil movement causes the movement of the cone. Movement of the cone about the surround causes air to be moved, which is what produces the sound heard and, in the case of bass, felt by the listener.
The circular diaphragms or cones have been constructed of many different materials including paper, plastic and Kevlar™. Suspensions or surrounds are generally constructed of flexible, nonself-supporting, compliant materials such as relatively thin rubber, impregnated cloth, expanded synthetic cellular foam such as, e.g., expanded cellular polyethylene ("PE") surround foam, or similar materials, which are compressible and produce very little resistance to peak-to-peak cone movement. The magnets are generally large ceramic magnets with a top plate, back plate and pole piece.
In a conventional speaker geometry, the large insulating ceramic magnets are located on the outside of the voice coil which does not allow for good thermal transfer away for from the coil. Because of the large size of a high power/high strength conventional voice coil motor, it often precludes being able to encapsulate the motor assembly. Conventional voice coil motors are typically mounted to the back of the frame due to similar reasons.
To achieve accurate low frequency reproduction, conventional subwoofers have been provided with long voice coils, large diameter voice coils, large magnets, large cones and large enclosures. There are, however, several limits in these design alternatives. There is, e.g., a practical limit on magnet size, design and weight. Activation of longer and larger voice coil results in large power losses in the form of heat. Possible thermal destruction of the coil imposes a limit on the power handling capacity of the speaker. Further, using large cones is problematic because it is difficult to design sufficiently rigid cones with large surface areas to resist distortion.
To reproduce high volume levels of low frequencies, a subwoofer must be capable of moving large quantities of air. It is possible to increase the excursion of the cone, and thus, increase the amount of air that is moved. However, when the excursion is increased, the efficiency of the speaker is substantially reduced, as less of the voice coil will remain in the magnetic gap. Another way to increase air movement is to use more than one subwoofer. This leads to large enclosures to house the devices.
Yet, today's market demands that a subwoofer be optimized for use in a relatively small enclosure, handle extremely high power levels, and displace a large volume of air all without a hint distortion.
Small enclosure compatibility requires a high moving mass, stiff suspension, low resonance, and high magnetic force. High thermal power handling requires large diameter voice coils and a means for dissipating the heat that is generated. To displace a large amount of air, the excursion must be as great a distance as possible. In other words, low distortion requires that the excursion be maximized and linear, the heat be minimized, and the electromechanical parameters be suited for small enclosures.
While many techniques have been used for removing heat from voice coils, and many additional techniques have been proposed, most of these techniques involve either active cooling through use of a fan or additional space-consuming hardware, such as a heat sink. A need therefore exists for a simple and relatively inexpensive technique for removing heat from the voice coil of a speaker, particularly a high performance speaker, which technique does not require either the use of an active cooling component or the use of an extra piece of heat dissipation hardware, but instead requires only the use of components normally existing in such a speaker.


Techniques are provided for utilizing a mobile device to estimate ionospheric delays in GNSS transmissions. An example method of determining a position of a mobile device includes obtaining a pseudorange measurements and carrier-phase measurements for a satellite at a first frequency band and a second frequency band, determining a bias estimate for the satellite based on a plurality of pseudorange measurements and carrier-phase measurements, determining a delta carrier-phase measurement for the satellite based on the carrier-phase measurements at the first frequency band and the second frequency band, and determining the position of the mobile device based at least in part on the delta carrier-phase measurement, and the pseudorange measurements, the carrier-phase measurements, or both.

Wireless communication systems have developed through various generations, including a first-generation analog wireless phone service (1G), a second-generation (2G) digital wireless phone service (including interim 2.5G and 2.75G networks), a third-generation (3G) high speed data. Internet-capable wireless service and a fourth-generation (4G) service (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax). There are presently many different types of wireless communication systems in use, including Cellular and Personal Communications Service (PCS) systems. Examples of known cellular systems include the cellular Analog Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS), and digital cellular systems based on Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), the Global System for Mobile access (GSM) variation of TDMA, etc.
It is often desirable to know the location of a user equipment (UE), e.g., a cellular phone, with the terms "location" and "position" being synonymous and used interchangeably herein. A location services (LCS) client may desire to know the location of the UE and may communicate with a location center in order to request the location of the UE. The location center and the UE may exchange messages, as appropriate, to obtain a location estimate for the UE. The location center may return the location estimate to the LCS client, e.g., for use in one or more applications.
Obtaining the location of a mobile device that is accessing a wireless network may be useful for many applications including, for example, emergency calls, personal navigation, asset tracking, locating a friend or family member, etc. Existing positioning methods include methods based on measuring radio signals transmitted from a variety of devices including satellite vehicles and terrestrial radio sources in a wireless network such as base stations and access points.
Many UEs include a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver and may determines a position by precisely measuring the arrival time of signaling events received from multiple satellites. Each satellite transmits a navigation message containing the precise time when the message was transmitted and ephemeris information. Each sub-frame of the navigation message starts with a telemetry word (TLM) and the number of the sub-frame. The start of the sub-frame may be detected by means of a preamble sequence in the TLM. Each sub-frame also includes a handover word (HOW), which gives the exact time of the week (TOW) when the satellite will transmit the next sub-frame according to the local version of GNSS time held by the satellite's clock. The ephemeris information includes details about the satellite's orbit and corrections for the satellite's own clock, in comparison with GNSS time. The ephemeris and clock correction parameters may collectively be known as ephemeris information.
In addition to the time and ephemeris information, the data message also contains the satellite constellation almanac, parameters representing the ionospheric delay, health parameters and other information used by some receivers. For example, in GPS/QZSS constellations, there are 25 different frames of data broadcast from each satellite. Each frame contains identical information (apart from time) in sub-frames 1-3 inclusive but cycles through a pre-assigned sequence of data in sub-frames 4 and 5, which contain almanac and other information. The ephemeris information, including the satellite clock biases, may be periodically refreshed (e.g., every 2 hours), so that the navigation data message is representative of the orbit and status of each satellite. Other constellations may use different parameters. In some cases, the ionospheric delay information broadcast from each satellite may be based on a general model which does not apply to the UE's current location, or it may become out of date as the ionosphere shifts. Inaccuracies in the ionospheric delay may degrade the accuracy of the location computations performed by a GNSS module in the UE.

Ionospheric delay estimation for global navigation satellite system signals


A method for upgrading an optoelectrical system includes securing a transmitter to a line card, wherein the line card comprises an optoelectrical connector. It also includes coupling the transmitter to the connector, wherein the connector comprises an embedded fiber configured to be coupled to the transmitter. In addition, the method includes inserting a pluggable form factor module comprising a receiver, an input port, and an output port into a cage secured to the line card. Further, the method includes coupling the pluggable form factor module to the connector such that an optical signal transmitted by the transmitter propagates in an optical line of sight between the embedded fiber of the connector and the output port. The connector comprises electrical contacts that are configured to be coupled to the module such that the receiver can convert optical signals received at the input port into electrical signals and transmit the electrical signals to the line card via the connector.

In optoelectrical communication systems, line cards are designed to contain the equipment necessary for the operation of the system; such equipment may include transmitters, receivers, or transceivers amongst other items. This equipment may also come in various form factors, such as Large Form Factor, Small Form Factor, Small Form Factor Pluggable (SFP) and 10 Gigabit Small Form Factor Pluggable (XFP). Various components of the system may be advanced such that they are configured into different form factors, but this may require new line cards. Configuring new line cards for different form factors is expensive thereby raising costs to take advantage of components in different form factors.

System and method for optoelectrical communication