A flushable and dispersible interlabial absorbent structure having a liquid pervious topsheet, a liquid impervious backsheet and an absorbent core is described. The topsheet is preferably a wet laid, apertured fibrous web having a temporary wet strength resin incorporated therein. The body surface of the topsheet also has a plurality of fibrils, the fibrils are made of a water resistant resinous material. The backsheet is preferably a wet laid fibrous assembly having a temporary wet strength resin incorporated therein. The body surface of the backsheet is also preferably coated with a water resistant resinous material. The absorbent core is positioned between the topsheet and the backsheet. The topsheet and the backsheet are joined, at least about their periphery, using a water soluble adhesive. The interlabial absorbent structure also may have means for removably attaching the interlabial absorbent structure to the interior surfaces of a wearer's labia.

Disposable absorbent articles have been commercially available for many years and have met with great success world wide. For example, continuing improvements to catamenial devices have freed women from much of the inconvenience of their monthly menstrual period. However, further improvements are still needed.
One class of catamenial device, interlabial pads, has the potential to provide even greater freedom from inconvenience because of the discretion provided by their small size and reduced risk of leakage. Numerous attempts have been made in the past to produce an interlabial pad which would combine the best features of tampons and sanitary napkins while avoiding at least some of the disadvantages associated with each of these types of devices. Examples of such devices are described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,917,049 issued to Delaney on Dec. 15, 1959, U.S. Pat. No. 3,420,235 issued to Harmon on Jan. 7, 1969, U.S. Pat. No. 4,595,392 issued to Johnson, et al. on Jun. 17, 1986, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,074,855 and 5,336,208 issued to Rosenbluth, et al. on Dec. 24, 1991 and Aug. 9, 1994 respectively, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,484,429 issued to Vukos, et al. on Jan. 16, 1996. A commercially available interlabial device is Fresh 'n Fit.RTM. Padette which is marketed by ATHENA Medical Corp. of Portland, Oreg. and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,983,873 and 4,175,561 issued to Hirschman on Oct. 5, 1976 and Nov. 27, 1979 respectively. While the Fresh 'n Fit.RTM. Padette has enjoyed some commercial success, such interlabial devices lack a barrier to prevent absorbed bodily fluids from passing through the device and staining a wearer's undergarments or other clothing.
In the past a number of attempts have been made to provide flushable absorbent articles. British Patent No. 282,447 attempts a partial solution by providing a core said to be flushable and a repellent treated barrier which is separated from the core and needs to be disposed of by other means. U.S. Pat. No. 3,078,849, issued to Morse on Feb. 26, 1962, describes a sanitary napkin incorporating a fluid sensitive, temporary barrier within the absorbent core for spreading bodily fluids but makes no provision for a water sensitive outer covering. U.S. Pat. No. 3,561,447, issued to Alexander on Mar. 13, 1969, describes a sanitary napkin having a nonwoven fabric covering wherein the nonwoven fabric comprises textile length fibers and the binder for the nonwoven is a combination of a soft acrylic binder and polyvinyl alcohol. This combination is said to have sufficient strength when damp to serve as an outer covering while still dispersing in water when exposed to mild agitation. While such a structure may have limited wet strength, it is unlikely that it will have sufficient barrier properties to be a satisfactory backsheet for a modern sanitary napkin. U.S. Pat. No. 3,665,923, issued to Champaigne, Jr. on May 30, 1972, describes a sanitary napkin with an wrapper comprising a nonwoven fiber web that is bonded by a water dispersible adhesive such as poly (vinyl alcohol). A preferred embodiment also comprises a baffle member of a thin impervious plastic film interposed between the absorbent pad and the wrapper. This structure solves the problem of providing barrier properties by providing a non dispersible member with the requisite barrier properties. Repeated flushing of such structures poses the risk of clogging sewer pipes because the baffle member will not disperse into small particles in a toilet. U.S. Pat. No. 5,300,358, issued to Evers on Apr. 5, 1994 describes absorbent structures wherein the backsheet comprises two sheets of poly (vinyl alcohol) film with a highly absorbent paper structure therebetween. All surfaces that may be exposed to aqueous fluids are treated with a water repellent material, such as a fluorocarbon. The absorbent structure is also provided with a tear strip or string which, when pulled at disposal, is said to expose the highly absorbent paper structure to water which then wicks the water to the non repellent treated surfaces so they can dissolve. The requirement of a tear strip is an obvious inconvenience.
Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide an interlabial absorbent structure with performance properties (such as wearer comfort, leakage resistance, and the like) equaling or exceeding those of contemporary interlabial devices. It a further object of the present invention to provide interlabial absorbent structures that provide improved convenience and discretion when the used interlabial absorbent structure is disposed of. It is still a further object of the present invention to provide an interlabial absorbent structure that may be disposed of by flushing the article down a conventional toilet wherein the interlabial absorbent structure readily disperses into portions sufficiently small so as not to clog plumbing when the used interlabial absorbent structure is flushed.

Water dispersible and flushable interlabial absorbent structure


The present method provides for the detection and assessment of the net charge in a PECVD oxide layer deposited on a surface of a semiconductor substrate. Electrical potential differences across PECVD oxide layers on as-produced semiconductor substrates are measured. Resultant PECVD oxide charge derivative values are plotted on an control chart and compared to calculated control parameters. All measurement techniques are non-contact and non-destructive, allowing them to be performed on as-processed semiconductor substrates at any time during or following a wafer fabrication process. In a first embodiment, a contact potential difference V.sub.CPD between a vibrating electrode and the semiconductor substrate is measured while the semiconductor substrate beneath the vibrating electrode is subjected to a constant beam of high intensity illumination. The resultant value of V.sub.CPD is equal to the electrical potential difference across the PECVD oxide layer V.sub.OX (plus a constant). In a second embodiment, the semiconductor substrate is not illuminated during the measurement of V.sub.CPD. A conventional SPV apparatus is used to measure the surface barrier potential V.sub.SP of the semiconductor substrate. Subtracting the measured value of V.sub.SP from the measured value of V.sub.CPD yields the value of V.sub.OX (plus a constant).

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to integrated circuit manufacturing and more particularly to a method of determining the presence of electrically charged ionic contaminants within a PECVD silicon dioxide (oxide) layer deposited on a semiconductor substrate.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) techniques are often used to deposit layers of electrically insulating materials between layers of conducting traces called interconnects. Interconnects are patterned from layers of electrically conductive materials (e.g., aluminum, doped polysilicon, etc.) formed on the surface of a silicon substrate. Substantially coplanar interconnects formed on one layer must be electrically separated from interconnects of other layers. Electrical separation is achieved by placing an electrically insulating material (i.e., interlevel dielectric layer) between the vertically spaced interconnect layers. Several layers of interconnects may therefore be separated by interlevel dielectric layers. Interconnects at different elevational levels may be electrically connected by contacts formed in holes etched through the interlevel dielectric layers. Multiple layers (or levels) of interconnects allow a substantial increase in the density of devices formed on a semiconductor substrate. Common interlevel dielectric materials include silicon dioxide (oxide) and silicon nitride.
During PECVD deposition, a glow discharge (i.e., a plasma) is formed when radio frequency (RF) power is applied between two electrodes in a reaction chamber. Reactant gases contained in the reaction chamber produce chemically reactive species (atoms, ions, and radicals). These reactive species diffuse to an exposed surface of a target material, and are adsorbed on that surface. Chemical reactions occur on the exposed surface, resulting in the formation of a layer of desired material on the exposed surface of the target material.
The presence of electrically charged ions within dielectric layers of metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) devices are known to cause device reliability problems. Ionized alkali metal atoms (e.g., Na.sup.+ and K.sup.+) are very mobile in oxide layers, and move through gate oxides of MOS devices under the influence of the electric fields generated between gate electrodes and substrates during device operation. Over time, mobile ions in gate oxides tend to drift to the interface between the gate oxide and the underlying substrate. Resulting changes in MOS device threshold voltage levels may become large enough to cause circuits which incorporate these MOS devices to fail to meet electrical or performance requirements.
As device dimensions shrink, the influence of ionic charges in PECVD interlevel dielectric layers is being studied. Of particular interest is the influence of high concentrations of heavy metal ions (e.g., Fe.sup.++ and Cu.sup.++) found in PECVD dielectrics on the electrical properties of these dielectrics. While many techniques for determining the presence and concentrations of metal ions in dielectric layers currently exist, all are destructive in nature and require substantial sample preparation. These techniques include capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements, secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS), Auger emission spectroscopy (AES), and X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES).
Common (C/V) methods involve the formation of one or more MOS capacitors at test sites or on test wafers. When MOS gate structures are formed during a wafer fabrication process, MOS capacitors are also formed in test areas. MOS capacitors consist of a gate electrode formed over a gate oxide layer, the gate oxide layer being formed on a surface of a semiconductor substrate. Test areas may be on product wafers or on test wafers.
A first step in a typical C-V method involves measuring the capacitance of an MOS capacitor using high frequency alternating current (AC) stimulus while a direct current (DC) bias voltage applied between the gate electrode and the substrate is varied. The range of the applied DC bias voltage is sufficient to first deplete the surface of the substrate directly under the gate electrode of charge carriers, then attract oppositely-charged species to (i.e., invert) the surface of the substrate directly under the gate electrode. Measured capacitance values are then plotted versus corresponding values of applied DC bias, forming a first C-V curve. The MOS capacitor is then heated to about 300.degree. C. for about 30 minutes while being subjected to a high positive DC bias applied between the gate electrode and the substrate (i.e., bias-temperature treatment). The bias-temperature treatment causes mobile ionic charges to drift to the interface between the gate oxide and the underlying substrate. The MOS capacitor is then cooled to room temperature with the positive bias still applied. The capacitance of the MOS capacitor is again measured using high frequency AC stimulus while a DC bias voltage applied between the gate electrode and the substrate is varied. The measured capacitance values are plotted versus corresponding values of applied DC bias as a second C-V curve on the same graph as the first C-V curve. Any horizontal shift between the first and second C-V curves is directly proportional to number of mobile ionic charges in the oxide.
C-V methods depend on the ability to cause highly mobile ions in a dielectric layer to move within the dielectric, creating a change in bias voltage levels required to first deplete and then invert the surface of the substrate directly under the gate electrode. Heavy metal ions commonly found in PECVD dielectric layers such as Fe.sup.++ and Cu.sup.++ are not highly mobile. C-V techniques would thus be ineffective in detecting the presence of heavy metal ions in relatively thick PECVD dielectric layers.
Quantitative analytical methods such as secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS), Auger emission spectroscopy (AES), and X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) are surface analysis techniques. The depth profiling required for determining the concentrations of heavy metal ions in a sample thus requires repetition of the steps of surface analysis followed by removal of a thin layer of material at the upper surface of the sample. These techniques are very time consuming and are destructive in nature, requiring expendable samples. Such tests cannot be routinely performed economically, nor can they be performed directly on manufactured products.
A new non-contact technique for detecting the presence of mobile ions in an oxide layer involves a bias-temperature treatment similar to C-V methods. In this case, however, an electric field is created by depositing corona charge (positive or negative) on the upper surface of an oxide layer. A subsequent heating step induces mobile ions drift as in C-V methods. Measurements of contact potential difference between the semiconductor substrate and the material of a probe electrode positioned immediately above the oxide layer are made using a vibrating Kelvin probe. A change of contact potential difference before and after mobile ion drift indicates the presence of mobile ions in the oxide layer. To ensure any injection of charge into the oxide layer from the substrate or the extraction of charge from the oxide layer into the substrate during testing does not go undetected, measurements of the surface barrier potential of the semiconductor substrate before and after mobile ion drift are made using a surface photovoltage (SPV) technique. See, P. Edelman, et al., "New Approach to Measuring Oxide Charge and Mobile Ion Concentration," SPIE, March, 1994 (herein incorporated by reference).
Although the new contact potential difference technique described above is non-contact, the new technique is not suitable for detecting the presence of heavy metal ions in PECVD oxide layers of manufactured products. As with common C-V methods, the new contact potential difference method depends on the ability to cause highly mobile ions in a dielectric layer to move under the influence of an electric field. Since heavy metal ions commonly found in PECVD dielectric layers such as Fe.sup.++ and Cu.sup.++ are not highly mobile, the new contact potential difference technique would be ineffective in detecting the presence of heavy metal ions in relatively thick PECVD dielectric layers. In addition, manufactured products may be damaged or contaminated during the deposition of corona charge and the subsequent heating step.
It would thus be desirable to have a method of detecting the presence of heavy metal ionic contaminants in a PECVD oxide layer of a manufactured product.

In-line detection and assessment of net charge in PECVD silicon dioxide (oxide) layers


An optical element includes a monolithic body portion, the monolithic body portion having an inner body portion, an outer body portion extending at least partially around the inner body portion, and exactly three flexural hinges connecting the inner body portion to the outer body portion. One of the inner body portion and the outer body portion defines an optical active portion configured to reflect, refract, or diffract light, and the other of the inner body portion and outer body portion defines a mount portion.

Optical surface figure refers to the deviation of an actual optic surface shape from the ideal surface shape. Traditionally, in optical systems that require optical elements with low deviation from the ideal, the optical elements are held in place using flexure mounts. For example, an optical element may be bonded using an adhesive to a flexure portion of the mount, where the flexure is formed from a metal alloy, such as invar. This arrangement is designed to reduce stress in the optical element that would otherwise occur if the optical element were fixed directly to the mount. Specifically, the flexure mount arrangement is used to reduce distortion of the element's optical surface due to thermal or mechanical deformation of the underlying mounting structure (e.g., when translating the mount).
However, the flexure mount/alloy interface arrangement can still lead to stress in the optical element, including stress from imperfections in mating of the flexure to the mount, stress from minor misalignments of the components in assembly, stress from deformations associated with cure-shrinkage/instability of the bonding material (e.g., epoxy) used to bond the optical element to the flexure mount, and stress arising from the different thermal expansion coefficients of the materials used. Moreover, when mounting optical elements (e.g., mirrors) having a tight figure tolerance and high aspect ratios, the mounting stresses can easily exceed tolerable levels, causing the optical element to bend out of the specifications required for an intended system.

Monolithic optical components with integrated flexures


A processing device includes a user interface module, the user interface module to connect the processing device with a user interface. A communication module connects the processing device with a mobile device. A communication link is established between the processing device and the mobile device. The communication module receives a request from the mobile device to display information. The user interface module sends the information for display on the user interface.

In a dynamic network environment, for example a wireless communication network, where devices may serve and be served by a changing list of other devices, the environment can include systems and methods for managing user interface resources. Present systems to not provide a user friendly and efficient mechanism for managing user interface resources in a dynamic network environment. Present systems may be deficient in a variety of ways. For example and without limitation, a present system may require a user to perform an inconvenient array of set-up procedures to utilize a particular user interface resource with a particular system. Such set-up procedures may include, for example, physically altering system connections and/or manually specifying communication link parameters. The user may, for example, have to perform such set-up procedures on numerous systems.
Also for example, a user may have to perform various inconvenient set-up procedures when the user desires to switch systems with which the user is utilizing a particular user interface resource. Such set-up procedures may include, for example, performing manual operations to tear down and establish communication links between the user interface resource and the old and new systems. The user may, for example, have to perform such set-up procedures on a multitude of systems, which may even comprise, for example, the system with which the user no longer desires to utilize the user interface resource.

Central system based user interface resource management


A solid-state selectably switchable combination cascade/magnetic brush for use in toner deposition or removal devices used in imaging machines of the electrostatic or magnetic type having one or more electro-magnets with one or more electro-magnetic windings and transfer heads placed inside, as well as outside, a photoconductor. Imaging mixture is agitated and conveyed to a transfer head which is exposed and adjacent to a photoconductor thereby eliminating the need for a drum or sleeve as the carrier/deposition agent for the imaging mixture. Transfer heads deposit imaging mixture directly onto a primary development zone with the excess cascading and attracting to a residual development zone and/or reclamation structure.

This invention relates to an imaging machine of the electrostatic or magnetic type (dry or liquid), specifically to a switchable, self-propelled, pulsating magnetic brush which provides greater toner/developer agitation by longitudinal toner agitation, toner recapture, and residual toner development.
Magnetic printing techniques are well known to the copier and facsimile arts. In a typical magnetic printing machine, electrical signals are applied to magnetic recording heads which induce magnetic field variations in the surface of a moving, magnetic recording medium. The field variations produce a latent magnetic image on the surface of the recording medium which is adapted for attracting and retaining magnetic ink particles. An ink toner, which may be in dry particulate form, is applied to the latent magnetic image and may be transferred to paper or other hard copy media. In many respects, magnetic printing is similar to the more common electrostatic, or xerographic, printing wherein toner particles are attracted to the electric fields created by latent charge image on a dielectric medium.
High quality magnetic printing requires that the toner particles be uniformly distributed on the surface of the recording medium. The toner consists of highly mobile, dust-like particles and care must be taken to prevent the spread of these particles to other components of the printing system with resultant degradation of the printed image.
Magnetic brush structures have, for many years, been utilized for the transfer of toner in electrostatic printing machines. The toner, comprising ferromagnetic materials and insulating resins, is attracted to the surface of a hollow, applicator or cylinder (drum) rotatably disposed around a magnetic core. The magnetic core structure rotates with respect to the surrounding cylinder and carries the magnetic particles to the image surface in its magnetic field (development zone).
An imaging machine of the electrostatic type employs a photoconductor which is typically acted upon by six process steps. These steps are charge, expose, toner deposition or development, transfer, residual toner removal or cleaning, and erase.
Early electrostatic imaging machines carried out the development step using a process referred to as cascade development. In cascade development system, the developer mixture is made to fall under gravity to make contact with the latent image on the photo receptor (photoconductor). Cascade development system was capable of developing finer image details but the developed images were uneven. Cascade development eventually gave way to an improvement referred to as magnetic brush development which has proved to be more reliable and capable of superior image quality. Magnetic brush type toner deposition devices serve to continuously attract and transport magnetic imaging material from a supply reservoir to the photoconductor and return unused or spent material to the reservoir.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,040,704 to Bliss, Jun. 26, 1962 disclose the essential elements of current magnetic brush practice. This patent discloses the use of a non-rotating, cylindrical magnetic field producing structure surrounded by a rotatable, non-magnetic sleeve (or drum) which is driven by a suitable driving source, such as a motor of any known type. In the non-rotating magnet type, the poles are stationary and parallel along the axis, which forms a linear brush perpendicular to the direction of the photoconductor movement.
Though historically xerographic image forming apparatus have used stationary magnet and rotating sleeve development devices in the development system where the magnetic brush makes physical contact with the photoconductor, new image-on-image non-contact based image development systems are using the rotating magnet type with fixed or moving sleeve (drum) development systems.
Cleaning devices in imaging machines of the electrostatic type commonly employ mechanical means to remove residual toner from the surface of the photoconductor. Because mechanical means can damage the photoconductor surface, magnetic brush type cleaning is sometimes utilized.
An object of this invention is to provide novel combination of cascaded and magnetic brush structure, for use in magnetic and electrostatic printing systems.
High quality magnetic or electrostatic printing requires that the toner particles be uniformly distributed on the surface of the recording medium. The toner consists of highly mobile, dust-like particles and care must be taken to prevent the spread of these particles to other components of the printing system with resultant degradation of the printed image.
The magnetic brush structures of the prior art, while suitable for the application of toner to electrostatic images, produce a strong magnetic field component in the plane of the recording medium surface. These field components will distort and erase the magnetic latent image in a magnetic printing machine and prevent the use of prior art magnetic brush structures in such magnetic printing machines.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,945,343 to Berkowitz Mar. 23, 1976 discloses an improved magnetic brush for use in magnetic printing which minimizes the interaction between the magnetic brush field and the recorded magnetic image by intelligent placing of pole pieces in a stationary magnet and rotating sleeve (drum) magnetic brush system.
Color capable imaging machines of the electrostatic type develop images using a plurality of magnetic brush type toner deposition devices. Typically, these machines possess one toner deposition device for each of four colors--cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. The machines act to sequentially deposit toner of the first color, followed by toner of the second color followed by toner of the third color, followed by toner of the fourth color. To maize image quality, only one magnetic brush is permitted to deposit toner images on the photoconductor at any given time either by the brush physically touching the photo conductor or by the brush being in close proximity but not touching the photoconductor.
In the traditional contact development process, this sequential imaging process is carried out by physically moving the first color magnetic brush close enough to touch the photo conductor only, followed by the second color magnetic brush only, followed by the third color magnetic brush only, followed by the fourth color magnetic brush only. The four images are transferred on the same paper sequentially in four steps so that the contacting magnetic brush is developing only one color image at any particular time.
In the new non-contact development process, this sequential imaging process is carried out by electrically enabling the first color magnetic brush to form the image on the photoconductor without touching the photo conductor, followed by the second non-contact color magnetic brush only, followed by the third non-contact color magnetic brush only, followed by the fourth non-contact color magnetic brush only. The four images are transferred and overlaid (image on image) first on the same area on the photoconductor in four steps to form the single color image. In this process, the non-contacting magnetic brush or electrostatic brush is used develop one color image on top of the next color. Due to the non-contact nature of the magnetic brush the image on the photo conductor is not smeared. Finally, the color image is transferred to a media or paper in one single step.
An object of this invention is to combine the advantages of cascade and magnetic brush development system in a compact space and to provide very high reliability, high performance and low cost development system. As noted below, few of the prior art inventions disclose methods of combining cascade and magnetic brush development.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,910,963, to Herman, Nov. 3, 1956 discloses a structure using electromagnets to create a pulsating magnetic field over the total area of the photo-sensitive and exposed paper. This pulsating magnetic field produces a constant agitation of developer mix which can be controlled either by varying the intensity of the magnetic field produced or by varying the frequency of the pulsating field in order to obtain optimum results.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,930,351 to Giamo, Mar. 29, 1960, U.S. Pat. No. 3,545,968 to Sato, Dec. 8, 1970, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,117,891 to Lehmann, Jan. 4, 1964, disclose yet another structure for improving the cascade development method for electrostatic images by feeding ferromagnetic carriers in a developing space where the pulsating magnetic field is induced by various methods to improve the image quality, especially solid area coverage in a xerographic machine.
This prior art inventions suffer from the following disadvantages:
(a) they require a great deal of space around the circumference of the photoreceptor; PA1 (b) they are difficult to switch off the development system quickly for color development; PA1 (c) they are not practical for color processes due to the space requirements as noted in (a), as well as (b), above; PA1 (d) the may require external driving means for creating toner agitation; PA1 (e) they are not capable of making dynamic changes to the speed or direction of the developer mixture flow since this prior type of cascade method solely relies on gravity. PA1 (a) to provide uniform magnetic or electrostatic brush at low cost and high reliability; PA1 (b) to provide imaging mixture tumbling properties in the magnetic brush with both cascade and electro-magnetic forces; PA1 (c) to provide means for dynamically varying the speed, direction and intensity of the magnetic field and to selectively and segmentally energize electro-magnets should this prove advantageous for reasons of image quality or efficiency; PA1 (d) to provide (a), (b) and (c) above with sufficient toner or developer mix flow rates so as to be functional in an imaging machine of the electrostatic type; PA1 (e) to provide color development system within less space with fewer parts and actuators and thereby reduce design, manufacturing, and maintenance costs; PA1 (f) to provide smooth (vibrationless) operation with color to color switching and thereby improve image quality, PA1 (g) to eliminate the need to apply an external driving force to the rotating magnet or rotating drum as required in the conventional development system; and PA1 (h) to eliminate the need for a drum as a imaging mixture carrier or deposition structure.

Magnetic brush for use in an electrostatic or magnetic imaging apparatus


A video encoding method for a video encoding device is provided. The method includes: obtaining a current image and a reference image, wherein the current image has a first block; obtaining motion vectors, wherein each of the motion vectors points to a reference block in the reference image; for each of the motion vectors, executing a filter calculation according to the pointed reference block and the first block to generate a first filter block, and calculating an difference value according to the pointed reference block and the corresponding first filter block. The method also includes: obtaining a minimum first difference value among the difference values, and obtaining a second filter block corresponding to the first difference value; encoding the first block according to the second filter block. Accordingly, the video quality and the compression ratio are increased.

Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a video encoding method and a video encoding device.
Description of Related Art
During video encoding, an image is typically divided into a plurality of macro blocks, a macro block may include one or more blocks. If a temporal redundancy is to be identified in a video, a motion vector of a block is searched. A process of searching for the motion vector is also referred to as motion estimation. A motion vector is a vector pointing from a block in a current image to a block in a reference image. An encoder estimates the block in the current image by using the block in the reference image and generates an estimated residual value. The encoder performs operations on the generated residual value, such as transformation, quantization, entropy coding and so forth.
However, there is usually noise in an image, which may be eliminated by a filter calculation. Filters may be classified as spatial and temporal filters. If a temporal filter is used, a reference image is also referenced. Thus, how to perform the filter calculation while performing video encoding is an important concern to persons skilled in this field.


A micropump that includes: a tube frame including an elastic tube, and a tube guide groove; a cam drive wheel which moves in response to a motor that can be rotated in forward and reverse directions; a first cam is provided with a finger depression section at a circumferential portion thereof; a second cam is provided with a finger depression section at a circumferential portion thereof; and a plurality of fingers provided between the tube and the respective finger depression sections of the first and second cams. The micropump can be in a first state of continuously feeding a fluid by when the first cam is rotated in the forward direction, the first cam pushing and rotating the second cam in the same direction, a second state of rotating only the first cam in the reverse direction, and a third state of stopping the first cam from rotating.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to the configuration of a micropump that feeds a fluid through an elastic tube by sequentially opening and closing the tube through depression over a plurality of fingers by rotation of a cam.
2. Related Art
A previously-known fluid transfer device is a peristaltic pump that feeds a fluid by squeezing a tube. In the peristaltic pump, the tube is disposed along a platen curved concave, and in the vicinity of the platen and the tube, a cam is disposed. Between the cam and the tube, a plurality of fingers are disposed. With such a configuration, when the cam is rotated, the fingers are responsively depressed sequentially in the direction of the tube, whereby the tube is squeezed and a fluid is fed. With such a fluid transfer device, the platen is attached to the tube body so that the tube is detachably disposed between the fingers and the platen. An example includes Patent Document 1 (JP-T-2001-515557).
With such a peristaltic pump of Patent Document 1, the tube is attached to the concave portion of the platen by insertion, and the resulting platen is then attached to the tube body by insertion, thereby putting the peristaltic pump in a state available for driving. The concern with such a peristaltic pump is that, however, with the tube being disposed between the platen and the fingers, some of the fingers are always closing or depressing the tube. With such a configuration, before driving of such a peristaltic pump, or when the tube remains depressed at any specific portion for a long period of time, e.g., when the pump has been in the halting state, the tube remains deformed, thereby preventing the feeding of the fluid. There is also a problem that any desired amount of flow for feeding cannot be derived because the tube does not return to its original shape.
Herein, although the tube is detachably attached to the pump body, attaching/detaching the tube at the time of driving or stopping may cause operational inconvenience, or may invite human errors at the time of attachment/detachment thereof. Moreover, even if the peristaltic pump is made water resistant, repeating such tube attachment/detachment results in a difficulty for the pump to remain water resistant inside.
Furthermore, when such a peristaltic pump is disposed at a position where such tube attachment/detachment is difficult, e.g., in a living body, the tube is hardly free from deformation and deterioration as described above because the tube remains attached to the pump body.


A power flow controller responsive to power circulation demand for optimizing power transfer is disclosed. When a power flow controller operates at its rated capacity, it can no longer regulate from-bus voltage set-points, line power flow set-points, or both. In such cases, the power flow controller switches to power circulation set-point control without exceeding the rated capacities of the voltage-sourced converters in the power flow controller. Power-voltage (PV) curves associated with voltage stability analysis for maximizing power transfer can be generated and stored for use with a power flow controller operating in automatic power flow control mode.

Flexible Alternating Current Transmission Systems (FACTS) are used for the dynamic control of voltage, impedance and phase angle of high voltage alternating current (ac) electrical power transmission lines. Since the concept of FACTS was introduced, a family of power electronic equipment has emerged for controlling and optimizing the flow of electrical power in electrical power transmission lines. This equipment makes use of large rating (4500 V to 6000 V, 4000 A to 6000 A) gate turn-off thyristors (GTOs) in high power inverter configurations that can be controlled to behave as three-phase sinusoidal voltage sources. FACTS controllers are operated synchronously with the transmission line and can be connected either in parallel, producing controllable shunt reactive current for voltage regulation, or in series with the line, for controlling the flow of power directly. The family of FACTS controllers includes the Static Synchronous Compensator (STATCOM), the Synchronous Series Compensator (SSSC), the Unified Power Flow Controller (UPFC), the Interline Power Flow Controller (IPFC), and the Generalized Unified Power Flow Controller (GUPFC). The basic theory behind the UPFC is described in L. Gyugyi, et al., "The Unified Power Flow Controller: A New Approach to Power Transmission Control," IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, vol. 10, pp. 1085–0193, 1995. The basic theories behind the IPFC and the GUPFC can be found in, respectively, S. Zelingher et al., "Convertible Static Compensator Project—Hardware Overview," Proc. IEEE Winter Power Meeting, vol. 4, pp. 2511–2517, 2000, and B. Fardanesh et al., "Multi-Converter FACTS Devices: The Generalized Unified Power Flow Controller (GUPFC)," Proc. IEEE Winter Power Meeting, vol. 4, pp. 2511–2517, 2000.
For Voltage-Sourced Converter (VSC) based FACTS controllers, a maximum power transfer typically occurs when the controller is operated at its rated capacity (e.g., maximum current, voltage, or MVA rating). For STATCOM and SSSC devices, power transfer at rated capacities can be achieved by relaxing certain operating parameters or setpoints to ensure reliable power transfer. For UPFC, IPFC and GUPFC devices, however, a reliable power transfer at rated capacities is more complex because of the ability of these controllers to circulate active power.
One problem with operating a FACTS device at its rated capacity is the heightened risk of voltage collapse. Voltage collapse occurs when a power controller attempts to serve more load than the output voltage of the controller can support. Thus, a FACTS device operating at its rated capacity should provide maximum power transfer, while avoiding voltage collapse, i.e., maintain voltage stability.
Accordingly, what is needed is a power dispatch strategy for enabling a FACTS device to provide maximum power transfer and voltage stability, while operating at or below its rated capacity. Such a dispatch strategy should be easily integrated into existing FACTS designs, including without limitation UPFC, IPFC and GUPFC designs.

Power flow controller responsive to power circulation demand for optimizing power transfer


A terminal is disclosed including a processor that scales a delay requirement of an intra-frequency measurement based on a synchronization signal block by a scaling factor corresponding to each of a plurality of carriers; and a receiver that receives the synchronization signal block in each of the plurality of carriers, wherein a specified carrier out of the plurality of carriers satisfies a condition, wherein a first scaling factor for an unspecified carrier out of the plurality of carriers is based on a number of the plurality of carriers, and wherein a second scaling factor for the specified carrier is not based on the number of the plurality of carriers. In other aspects, a radio communication method and a base station are also disclosed.

In the UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) network, the specifications of Long Term Evolution (LTE) have been drafted for the purpose of further increasing high speed data rates, providing lower latency and so on (see Non-Patent Literature 1). For the purpose of further high capacity, advancement of LTE (LTE Rel. 8, Rel. 9), and so on, the specifications of LTE-A (LTE-Advanced, LTE Rel. 10, Rel. 11, Rel. 12, Rel. 13) have been drafted.
Successor systems of LTE (referred to as, for example, "FRA (Future Radio Access)," "5G (5th generation mobile communication system)," "5G+(plus)," "NR (New Radio)," "NX (New radio access)," "FX (Future generation radio access)," "LTE Rel. 14," "LTE Rel. 15" (or later versions), and so on) are also under study.
In existing LTE systems (for example, LTE Rel. 8 to Rel. 13), a user terminal (UE (User Equipment)) detects a synchronization signal (SS), synchronizes with a network (for example, a base station (eNB: eNode B), and identifies a cell to which the user terminal is to connect (for example, using a cell ID (Identifier). Such processing is referred to as cell search. Examples of the synchronization signal include a PSS (Primary Synchronization Signal) and/or an SSS (Secondary Synchronization Signal).
A UE receives broadcast information (for example, master information block (MIBs), system information blocks (SIBs), and so on) to acquire configuration information for communication with the network (the information may also be referred to as system information).
MIBs may be transmitted on a broadcast channel (PBCH (Physical Broadcast Channel), and SIBs may be transmitted on a downlink (DL) shared channel (PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared Channel).

Terminal, radio communication method, and base station


Geographic space may be managed by a system including a plurality of subsystems operable to respectively perform data processing, the data processing relating to traffic, of a plurality of regions, the plurality of regions obtained by dividing a geographic space including routes on which mobile objects move, and one or more servers collectively operable to obtain statistic information of at least one subsystem among the plurality of subsystems, the statistic information relating to a processing load of the at least one subsystem, and divide the geographic space into the plurality of regions based on the statistic information.

The present invention relates to a system for managing geographic space and providing navigational support.
As the geographic space being handled by driving support systems expands, the amount of information being transmitted, received, and processed increases, and the corresponding load might exceed the processing power of a single server. Even if the geographic space is divided, and a plurality of servers are used to process the spaces resulting from the division, automobiles move at high speeds among the plurality of divided geographic spaces, and therefore further communication between the servers is necessary, such that the processing capability may be exceeded even when a plurality of servers are used. Furthermore, when the geographic space is divided, the density of roads, the number of moving automobiles, and the like is different in each geographic space resulting from the division, and therefore there is a difference in system resources and workloads among servers, such that an overall efficiency of the system may drop when a load is focused on a certain server.

International Business Machines Corporation


A suction box for use in a press arrangement in a machine for producing a paper or cardboard web. The suction box includes at least one suction side suctioning the fibrous pulp sheet onto a transport side of at least one felt belt. The suction box further includes at least one non-suction side and at least one slit. A vacuum is created by having air blown out of at least one slit. The vacuum occurs along the felt belt in a run direction of the felt belt. The slit is positioned at an edge of at least one non-suction side of the suction box. The suction box may be disposed on an exit side of a press slit of the press arrangement. The press slit is adapted to treat the fibrous pulp sheet. At least one felt belt is guided, simultaneously with the fibrous pulp sheet, through the press slit. Upon exiting the press slit, the fibrous pulp sheet is suctioned onto at least one felt belt by the suction box.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a suction box for a press arrangement of a machine for producing a paper or cardboard web.
2. Background of the Invention
The present invention includes a press arrangement for a machine for producing a paper or cardboard web. The press arrangement includes a press slit through which a fibrous pulp sheet is treated and through which at least one felt belt is guided. As the fibrous pulp sheet exits the press slit, it runs concurrently with the felt belt.
In such press arrangements, depending on the running speed and the condition of the felt, a more or less strong, undesirable lifting of the fibrous pulp sheet from the respective felt belt can occur in the area of the press slit outlet. In addition, during start-up, a sheet run-up can occur which is problematic.


A bumper beam mounting structure for absorbing an impact at a bumper beam and mounting members thereof in a vehicle minor collision is provided. The mounting structure has the mounting members attached to curved portions of right and left curved ends of the bumper beam. The mounting members are attachable to vehicle body members. The mounting members are in a right triangular shape in a plan view. A sloping portion corresponding to the hypotenuse is formed with a depressed portion for absorbing an impact.

Bumper beams configured to absorb an impact by the bumper beams themselves or mounting portions of the bumper beams in a minor collision (when a small impact is applied to a vehicle body) have been in practical use. This kind of bumper beam only needs to be set small in rigidity at the bumper beam or at mounting portions of the bumper beam for practical use.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. HEI-7-265988 discloses a bumper beam mounting structure in which mounting members are attached to a bumper beam, and the mounting members are attached to a vehicle body. This bumper beam mounting structure will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11.
A conventional bumper beam mounting structure 320 shown in FIG. 10 consists of a bumper beam 321 and mounting members 322, 322 fitted and fixed to opposite ends thereof for supporting the bumper beam 321 on a vehicle body. The mounting members 322 are made from extruded materials and each have a plurality of ribs 324. The bumper beam 321 is made from an extruded material.
As shown in FIG. 11, portions where the mounting members 322, 322 are fixed to the bumper beam 321 are bent to form curved portions 323, 323, and then the mounting members 322, 322 are crushed to form the mounting members 322, 322 in shapes attachable to the vehicle body.
It is preferable to make considerations for a bumper beam or mounting members thereof to absorb the impact of a minor collision when the front or rear of a vehicle traveling at low speed collides with an obstacle (generally called a "minor collision"), so as to prevent front members or rear members located inwardly of the bumper beam from being affected.
In the conventional bumper beam mounting structure 320, however, the mounting members 322, 322 have high rigidity because they are each formed with the ribs 324, 324, and the ribs 324, 324 are crushed. It cannot be expected to absorb an impact by the mounting members 322, 322 in a minor collision.
Also, in the conventional bumper beam mounting structure 320, the bumper beam 321 is not intentionally formed with any portions which promote deformation for impact absorption. Therefore, it cannot also be expected to positively absorb an impact by the bumper beam 321 in a minor collision.
There is thus a desire for a vehicle bumper beam mounting structure which allows a bumper beam or mounting members to absorb the impact of a minor collision in which the front or rear of a vehicle collides with an obstacle at low speed.


A method for designing a non-waisted fuselage for supersonic wing/fuselage configurations that increases the fuselage volume and improves the supersonic aerodynamic performance compared to a conventional waisted-fuselage configuration. The method entails removing the waisted region of an existing waisted-fuselage configuration by linearly reconstructing cross-sections between the endpoints representing the waisted cross-sectional area portion to create a modified fuselage configuration without waisting. This configuration will have increased fuselage volume and improved supersonic aerodynamic performance. The fuselage camber can then be optimized using non-linear aerodynamic methods to further increase the supersonic aerodynamic performance.

The supersonic wave drag of an aircraft is dependent upon the cross-sectional area distribution of the fuselage and wing together. Traditional supersonic aircraft employ a concept known as area-ruling to reduce drag. In area-ruling, the fuselage is often indented or "waisted" at the wing-root location to achieve a smooth combined wing/fuselage cross-sectional area distribution.
The area-ruling method is based on the well-known supersonic slender body (linear) theory. It can be assumed that at large distances from the body, the disturbances are independent of the arrangement of the components of the body, and are only a function of the cross-sectional area distribution. This means that the drag of a wing-fuselage combination can be calculated as though the combination were a body of revolution with an equivalent cross-sectional area.
It is a generally accepted practice among airframe designers that area-ruling must be used to obtain the most desirable configuration to achieve a low supersonic wave drag for a particular Mach number. As stated previously, in order to achieve a smooth cross-sectional area distribution and to minimize the total cross-sectional area, the most common technique is to "indent" the fuselage enough to permit the wing to be added without sharp discontinuities appearing on the cross-sectional area distribution of the configuration.
FIGS. 1A and 1B show the top and side views, respectively, of a waisted fuselage shape of a traditional supersonic transport aircraft that was designed using linear-theory area-ruling in the presence of the wing. This particular configuration was designed to cruise supersonically at M.sub..infin. =2.4. The top view in FIG. 1A most clearly shows the waisting, `W`, of the fuselage in the wing-root region.
Such fuselage "waisting", however, reduces the useable fuselage volume which could be used for either seating additional passengers or carrying additional payload. In addition, the waisting introduces challenges for the fuselage interior layout because the fuselage shape is not constant.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a method for designing a fuselage that does not have a waist, but which still has good supersonic aerodynamic performance. By removing the fuselage waist, and performing optimization using non-linear aerodynamic methods, a configuration with more fuselage volume can be obtained that has increased supersonic aerodynamic performance compared to a traditional supersonic configuration.

Non-waisted fuselage design for supersonic aircraft


A new and distinct cultivar of Rose plant named ‘Chewperadventure’, characterized by its outwardly spreading and low mounding plant habit; glossy dark green-colored leaflets; freely branching growth habit; dense and bushy plant form; freely and continuous flowering habit; large salmon red-colored flowers; resistance to Black Spot; and good garden performance.

The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Rose plant, botanically known as Rosa hybrida, commercially used as an ornamental shrub and hereinafter referred to by the name 'Chewperadventure'.
The new Rose plant is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Brockton, Newport, Shophire, United Kingdom. The objective of the breeding program was to develop new ground cover Rose plants with improved disease resistance and attractive flower coloration.
The new Rose plant originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor in 1997 of Rosa hybrida 'Chewpobey', not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with an unnamed selection of Rosa hybrida, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Rose plant was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination in a controlled environment in Brockton, Newport, Shophire, United Kingdom.
Asexual reproduction of the new Rose plant by softwood cuttings at Brockton, Newport, Shophire, United Kingdom since 2000, has shown that the unique features of this new Rose plant are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.


An apparatus for transmitting a signal corresponding to a rotation of a spherical body. The apparatus includes a housing having an aperture, and a substantially spherical body having a first portion disposed within the housing so as to have a portion of the body disposed within the aperture, the spherical body operable to rotate within the housing. A first and second permanent magnets are disposed within the spherical body, and are operable to emit a magnetic field. A first magnetic sensing device is disposed within the housing, the first magnetic sensing device being operable to detect the magnetic fields and to generate a first output signal as a function of the strength of the magnetic fields. The first output signal is transmitted via a first conductive path coupled with the sensor.

This invention relates generally to control input devices, and more specifically to control input devices using non-contacting magnetic devices and sensors.
In the field of work machines, particularly those machines which perform digging or loading functions such as excavators, tractors, backhoe loaders, and front shovels, the work implements are generally manually controlled with two or more operator controls in addition to other machine function controls. The manual control system often includes foot pedals as well as hand operated levers. There are several areas in which these types of implement control schemes can be improved to alleviate operator stress and fatigue resulting from the manipulation of multiple levers and foot pedals. For example, a machine operator is required to possess a relatively high degree of expertise to manipulate and coordinate the multitude of control levers and foot pedals proficiently. To become productive an inexperienced operator requires a long training period to become familiar with the controls and associated functions.
Some manufacturers recognize the disadvantages of having too many control levers and have adapted a two lever control scheme as the norm. Generally, two vertically mounted levers, such as joysticks, share the task of controlling the linkages (e.g., boom, stick, and bucket) of the work implement. For example, Caterpillar excavators employ one joystick for stick and swing control, and another joystick for boom and bucket control.
One disadvantage of many joysticks, particularly with digital joysticks, is the use of contacting switches. For example, joystick contacting switches are used to control direction of movement. However, such switches are subject to wear, necessitating switch replacement or repair. Other joysticks use potentiometers, or mechanical means to control the direction of movement. These types of joysticks, however, are typically of low reliability. Thus, the long term cost of the above joysticks may be quite high. Further, when a joystick is not operating properly, the machine often cannot be used. This xe2x80x9cdown-timexe2x80x9d greatly adds unacceptable burdens to the machine owner/lessor due to time restrictions on most jobs.
Several attempts have been made to overcome the problems of contact-type joysticks with non-contacting technology. For example, some non-contacting control handles use inductive sensors for detecting the displacement of a control shaft from a neutral position. However, such inductive sensors are susceptible to electromagnetic interference, are complex to manufacture, and require expensive drive circuitry for operation.
Another type of non-contacting joystick uses hall effect devices to detect the position of the control shaft from a neutral position. However, some hall effect devices have problems similar to the inductive sensors discussed above. Further, many hall effect joysticks typically require complicated design and manufacturing for the placement of magnets and sensors, such as mounting the magnets on counterbalances, or requiring other complex mounting schemes. As the complexity of the input device increases, so does its cost. In addition, the likelihood of failure/breakdown increases with the complexity of the design.
The present invention provides apparatus for transmitting a signal corresponding to a rotation of a spherical body. The apparatus includes a housing having an aperture, and a substantially spherical body having a first portion disposed within the housing so as to have a portion of the body disposed within the aperture, the spherical body being operable to rotate within the housing. A first and second permanent magnets are disposed within the spherical body, and are operable to emit a magnetic field. A first magnetic sensing device is disposed within the housing, the first magnetic sensing device operable to detect the magnetic fields and to generate a first output signal as a function of the strength of the magnetic fields. The first output signal is transmitted via a first conductive path coupled with the sensor.


Systems and methods are provided for performing data collection of insurance related submitted data provided by an applicant for insurance on a submitted form. The system may comprise a data input portion that inputs the submitted form so that the submitted data on the submitted form is available to a data entry operator; and a data collector tool, which processes entered data that is entered by the data entry operator, onto an internal electronic form, based on the submitted data submitted by the applicant. The data collector may include a form flow portion that presents the data entry operator with a series of form flows for collection of the submitted data, the form flows progressing through various user interface screens in collection of the submitted data, the form flows using content sensitive logic; and a metadata portion that generates metadata, the metadata containing information about the entered data, the metadata being progressively generated during progression of the form flows through the various user interface screens.

Various processes and systems are known to effect data entry within the insurance industry. Typically such data entry might include a person reviewing a hand written form and transferring the information on the handwritten form into electronic form, i.e., by entering the information into a database using a computer, for example. The various systems that are known contain various pieces of functionality.
However, none of the known systems provide all or the type of functionality that is required in today's competitive market. A data entry person working for an insurance related entity is faced with complex forms from which to retrieve information. The data entry process is often complicated by the manner in which the form was completed by the applicant, especially if the paper form was not specifically designed with data entry in mind. For example, the applicant may not provide complete information, may enter remarks on a margin of a form, may fill in two selections where the question requires a "one or the other" answer or may materially alter entries. Further, when faced with hundreds of forms to complete, every efficiency that can be provided to the data entry person is highly desired.
Accordingly, the systems and methods of the embodiments of the invention provide a novel arrangement of features that address the above needs, as well as others.

Systems and methods for performing data collection


A restrainable manhole, handhole cover and open/close device therewith provides vertical pads at predetermined positions along a bottom edge of a manhole/handhole cover, which are integrally molded with a cover body. This forms an inclined a third edge which is longer than an inner diameter of a manhole/handhole neck such that it can prevent the cover body to bounce up and displace when being overlaid by a vehicle. Furthermore, a plurality of pre-molded flat plates are provided on predetermined locations perpendicular to the neck. A pre-punched hole is provided for each flat plate for accepting the vertical pad of the cover body for restraining the cover body in its position at the same time the cover body is overlaid by a vehicle.

1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to a restrainable manhole (or handhole) cover and the open/close device therewith, and more particularly to a manhole (or handhole, it may be represented only by manhole thereinafter) cover with a structure which can retain the cover in its position even overlaid or hit by a heavy object as a vehicle, and a cover open/close device which can be used to hang up and remove the manhole cover promptly, conveniently and easily.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a modern and highly congested city, lots of public facilities, such as electrical power lines, communication wires, and sewer system are installed underground, either in respective underground duct, tunnel, or in a commonly used ductway. Manholes and handholes are therefore required to be built in proper location along the roadway for installation of the necessary equipment, pulling cables, routine inspection and maintenance. As the manhole covers are installed on the surface of the pavement, they are exposed to the danger of being overlaid or hit by heavy vehicles and displaced or even destroyed entailing the severe problems of public security. Some drawbacks of conventional manhole covers experienced in the past are enumerated hereinafter:
1. As being overlaid day and night for a long duration, a manhole cover is gradually worn out and reduces its thickness, and finally cracks. As a replaced new cover and the remaining manhole neck are not formed of the same mold so that the existence of excessive horizontal and vertical clearances between the manhole cover and neck can not be prevented. PA0 2. If the quality of sand used to form the mold for making the manhole cover is poor due to its uniform granular size. The contact surface between the cover and the neck will not be smooth but with an excessive vertical clearance. PA0 3. A manhole cover is deformed due to unappropriate treatment in controlling its temperature during its manufacturing process in sand molding. PA0 4. Imperfect sample test for finished products allows some unqualified products, especially with excessively deviated size, to be considered as qualified. PA0 5. A manhole cover is not properly returned to its original place with some clay or gravels interlaid between the manhole cover and the manhole neck by careless workmanship by installation or maintenance personnel. PA0 6. A particular portion on a manhole cover is overlaid by vehicle wheels in case the manhole is built under the passage of vehicles. That portion of the manhole cover together with that of the manhole neck will wore out severely than other portions. If the manhole cover is not returned exactly to its original position with respect to the manhole neck after opening, cover and neck never keep close matching with each other to make the surface of the manhole cover flat and horizontal with the pavement.
All of the six factors mentioned above will cause a bounce or a displacement of a manhole cover when it is overlaid or hit by a vehicle, or even cracked or whirling away causing danger to public.
A severest highway traffic accident happened on Jan. 23, 1989 was a typical example. A heavy track overlaid a cast iron manhole cover installed on the vehicle passage of Chung Shin Bridge connecting Taipei City with Taipei County. It was a manhole cover for communication duct system. However, the cover bounced up and removed from its position after being hit, which caused a following large passenger bus to stumble over the uncovered manhole and overturned. Unfortunately, the overturning bus collided a car coming from opposite direction just at that moment and caused four persons died who were riding on the car.
The inventor of the present invention investigated the above accident carefully from every angle, the conclusion is described in detail as follows:
According to the design control and criteria concerning Highway Bridge recommended by American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), a shaft distance between front and rear wheels for a typical track Dd is 4.25 m, if running speed is 60 km/hr, the diameter of manhole cover RF is 0.676 m, the overlaying begins at the instant, .SIGMA.T dR=0, where dR.gtoreq.0. the time required for the front wheel to pass over from the rear end R to front end F of the manhole cover will be: EQU T.sub.RF =RF/.upsilon.=0.676 m/(60.times.1000 m/hr).times.60.times.60=0.04056 sec.
the time required for the rear wheel of the track to reach the rear end R of the manhole will be EQU TDR=(Dd-RF)/M=(4.25 m-0.676 m)/(60.times.1000 m/hr).times.60.times.60=0.21444 sec.
At the beginning of overlaying, T.sub.dR =0, the manhole cover was supposed to be at its normal position as shown in FIG. 1, and supposing that the manhole cover was not installed exactly vertically, yet tilted slightly with its front end F uprightly aparted from its correct position with a vertical clearance H.sub.1, from top surface of the manhole neck as shown in FIG. 2. After the time T.sub.RF =0.0405 sec. elapsed the front wheel reached point F, the front end of the manhole cover. As the point F was already apart from the manhole neck with a clearance H.sub.1, an instantaneous impact of the wheel made the rear end R of the cover to jump up with a clearance H.sub.2 which being larger than H.sub.1 (H.sub.2 >H.sub.1) . As the front wheel was about to leave the point F, part of the vehicle weight was exerted on the front end of the manhole cover aparting already a vertical clearance H.sub.1 from its normal position. This second impact would further enlarge upright clearance H.sub.2 of the rear end of the cover. The manhole cover displayed a flip flop action as shown in FIG. 3. Finally at the moment T.sub.DR =0.214 sec. when the rear wheel hit the rear end R of the cover, the cover was entirely removed resulting in a severe traffic accident as described above (Referring to FIG. 4).
Further referring to FIGS. 5 through 9, due to a pulling force or compressive force exerted by the vehicle to the manhole cover, the manhole cover might remove from its position by turning counter-clockwise. The suspected state was as follows:
As shown in FIG. 5, doe to a clearance existing between the manhole cover and neck, when the front wheel of the vehicle overlaid one end of the manhole cover, the other end would jump up. As the wheel exerted a pulling force or a compressive force on the manhole cover, the cover obtained a moment of counter clockwise rotation, at this time highest point of jumped up cover also turned in counter clockwise direction as shown in FIG. 6. At the moment the front wheel overlaid rear end of the cover, the highest point of the cover would move right rearward while it was already over the ground as shown in FIG. 7. After the front wheel had passed through, the cover still kept turning upward by its own inertia as shown in FIG. 8 According to the above calculation, the time required for the rear wheel to reach the rear end R of the cover was T.sub.DR =0.214 sec. Apparently in such a short time, the rear wheel would definitely hit the rear end of the flying cover with so huge impact force that threw the cover in right forward direction as shown in FIG. 9.
From the above description, it should be understood that there is still room for improving the design of conventional manhole covers. The inventor of the present invention disclosed a solution to solve the existing problems in conventional products and acquired a patent of R.O.C. by patent No. ZL96207779.8.
Through a consistent effort, the inventor discloses the present invention hereinafter which is more practicable and effective than the former one.

Restrainable manhole cover, handhole cover and the open/close device therewith

No. 195, Yuan-Chi Rd., Hsin-Min Tsun, Ming-Chien Hsiang


A non-linear current mirror amplifier includes a master diode-connected transistor in series with a resistor to provide a forward diode bias and a resistive drop. A slave transistor is forward biased by the forward diode bias and the resistive drop. A current splitter applies a fraction of an input current to the master diode-connected transistor.

In a non-linear operational transconductance amplifier the output current is a non-linear function of the input signal level, increasing at a faster rate than the signal at higher signal levels. Typically, such non-linear effect is readily achieved by the introduction of a resistance in a current mirror amplifier (CMA) which forms part of the signal gain path.
This is best explained with reference to the prior art circuit of FIG. 1 which shows a known operational transconductance amplifier. Referring to FIG. 1, the circuit includes a long-tailed differential pair of transistors (T1, T2) whose output currents (I1, I2) form the respective input currents of first (CMA1) and second (CMA2) current mirror amplifiers. The first current mirror amplifier (CMA1) produces a first output current (IO1), of first polarity relative to an output terminal (OUT1), which is applied to the output terminal (OUT1) of the operational transconductance amplifier. The second current mirror amplifier (CMA2) produces an output current IO2A which is mirrored by a third current mirror amplifier (CMA3) to produce an output current IO2 which is applied to the output terminal, and which is of opposite polarity to the first output current relative to the output terminal. That is, for the circuit of FIG 1, N1 "sinks" a current IO1 out of OUT1 and N3 "sources" a current IO2 into OUT1. Under conditions of zero differential signal input to the differential pair of transistors, the quiescent currents (IO1 and IO2) of the first and third current mirror amplifiers are equal and satisfy one another and thereby cause the output terminal to supply zero current to a load connected to OUT1. When a differential input signal causes the output currents of the differential pair of transistors to be unequal, the output currents IO1 and IO2 of are no longer equal and a net signal-current flows into or out of a load (not shown) connected to the output terminal (OUT1).
In a non-linear operational transconductance amplifier, typically each one of the first and second current mirror amplifiers includes an input diode-connected transistor (e.g., NA, NB) whose current is mirrored via an output transistor (e.g., N1, N2). Each one of the first and second CMAs are normally arranged to be non-linear by the introduction of an emitter series resistance (e.g., RA, RB) in the input diode-connected transistor or "master diode" side of the current mirror amplifier. Usually, the input diode-connected transistor (e.g., NA, NB) of the CMA has a larger size geometry than the output transistor (e.g., N1, N2), and the zero differential signal quiescent current in its emitter resistor produces a voltage drop which assures that the amplifier operates in a non-linear mode at a predetermined current level. Typical circuit applications are often near-optimal with similar current levels in the differential and output stages at zero signal. When the voltage drop which the input current causes across an emitter series resistance increases at higher signal levels, the output-current to input-current ratio (that is, the current gain) is caused to increase, providing an output drive capability and efficiency substantially exceeding that of a conventional linear amplifier.
Such an arrangement functions so long as the transistor current gains are very high, that is, so long as the base current requirements are negligibly small compared with the operating current levels.
In practice, typical transistor current gains may cause problems to arise. This can be understood from an example. For instance, consider the condition where the non-linear operational transconductance amplifier of FIG. 1 utilizes current mirror amplifiers wherein the input-to-output transistor geometry ratio of NA to N1 and NB to N2 is 10:1 (e.g., NA is ten times the size of N1). Assume further that under balanced conditions (i.e., I1=I2) and at a prescribed tail current IT of 2.sub.o (where I.sub.o =I.sub.1 =I.sub.2) a voltage drop is produces across RA and RB which is equal to (KT/q)(ln10)=60 mV at 25.degree. C., where K is Boltzmann's constant, T is the absolute temperature in degrees Kelvin, and q is the electrical charge on an electron. Under balanced conditions, the effect of the geometry ratio of 10:1 to reduce the current gain is counterbalanced by the prescribed voltage drop of 60 mV across the emitter series resistance, so that the resulting current gain will be unity.
Now, consider the situation with an input signal to the nonlinear operational transconductance amplifier sufficiently large so that all of the tail current flows through one transistor (e.g., T1). The input current to the corresponding current mirror amplifier (e.g., CMA1) is then doubled, from I.sub.o to 2I.sub.o. The voltage drop across the emitter series resistance (e.g., RA) will also double to 120 mV. Furthermore, the forward drop across the diode-connected input transistor (e.g., NA) of the current mirror amplifier (e.g., CMA1) will increase by 18 mV due to the doubling of the current through it. In accordance with well-known principles, the current gain of the current mirror amplifier will be 10 and its output current can increase to 20 times its zero differential signal current. Under these conditions, the base current requirement of the output transistor will be 20 times its quiescent base current requirement. In the current mirror amplifier configuration shown in FIG. 1, the base current requirement of the output transistor is directly supplied by the input current to the current mirror amplifier. Under quiescent conditions the base current requirement may well be a negligible demand upon the input current. However, 20 times that demand will, in general, interfere with proper operation to an undesirable extent. Thus, when such a current is subtracted from the input current, the postulated voltage drop of 120 mV across the emitter series resistance will be significantly reduced and, accordingly, the desired increase in current gain will not be realized for the current mirror. While it is possible to increase the size of the output device in order to reduce current gain fall-off at higher currents, the input device must be further proportionately increased in size in order to maintain the desired geometry ratio and it thereby tends to become unreasonably large.

Non-linear operational transconductance amplifier


A cover for a drawer to prevent objects placed therein from obstructing the movement of the drawer when it is opened or closed. The cover has a guard member in the form of a sheet with a flange member secured on one end there of. The flange member in conjunction with at least one fastener secures the cover to the drawer back. The at least one fastener may be a screw, bolt, or other similar fastener. The flange member may be provided with a number of apertures that corresponds to the number of fasteners. The at least one fastener may be a hook and loop fastener commonly known as Velcro®. The hook and loop fastener allows the user to install and remove the cover without the use of tools.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to storage receptacles and, more specifically, to a drawer cover to prevent objects positioned within the drawer from engaging a structural member, such as the frame of a cabinet which can impede the movement of the drawer while being opened or closed. The device comprises is formed from a planar transparent plastic sheet having a top side and a bottom side with a flange depending from one end forming a means for attaching the cover to a drawer.
The drawer cover of the present invention provides a cover for drawer articles to prevent the drawer from jamming during opening and closing operations.
The present invention provides for a semi-permanent attachment and a releasable attachment as desired by the user. For semi-permanent fasteners the flange has a plurality of apertures whereby fasteners, such as screws, can be inserted therein to secure the drawer cover flange into a mating engagement with the interior back side of the drawer with the top edge of the cover within the rise of the drawer sides. For releasable fasteners a length of hook and loop material is fixedly attached to the drawer cover with a mating length of hook and loop material fixed to the interior back side of the drawer so that the cover can be releasably attached to the drawer mating hook and loop material as desired.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are other cover devices designed for drawers. Typical of these is U.S. Pat. No. 337,798 issued to Sweney on Mar. 9, 1886.
Another patent was issued to Burt on Aug. 31, 1897 as U.S. Pat. No. 589,159. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 1,120,028 was issued to Cole on Dec. 8, 1914. U.S. Pat. No. 1,443,352 was issued to Dysthe on Jan. 30, 1923, and another was issued on Jan. 8, 1924 to Heller as U.S. Pat. No. 1,480,537.
Another patent was issued to Hamm on Oct. 18, 1932 as U.S. Pat. No. 1,883,785. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 2,676,865 was issued to Allen on Apr. 27, 1954. Another was issued to LaVigne on Aug. 24, 1954 as U.S. Pat. No. 2,686,922, and still yet another was issued on Sep. 23, 1958 to David as U.S. Pat. No. 2,852,882.
Another U.S. Pat. No. 4,156,549 was issued to Clark on May 29, 1979 and another patent was issued to Horner on May 31, 1983 as U.S. Pat. No. 4,386,264. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 5,222,789 was issued to Yoshikawa on Jun. 29, 1993. Another was issued to Kadlecek, et al. on Aug. 22, 1995 as U.S. Pat. No. 5,443,311 and still yet another was issued on Mar. 4, 1997 to Slivon, et al. as U.S. Pat. No. 5,607,213.
Another patent was issued to Tu, et al. on Nov. 23, 1999 as U.S. Pat. No. 5,988,779. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 6,525,298 was issued to Hunts on Feb. 25, 2003. Another was issued to Ringelhan, et al. on Feb. 19, 1976 as German Patent No. DE2437552 and still yet another was issued on Jul. 4, 1979 to Doherty as U.K. Patent No. GB2010671.
Another patent was issued to Miesen on Jul. 28, 1983 as German Patent No. DE3202304. Yet another Japan Patent No. JP3170107 was issued to Yae on Jul. 23, 1991. Another was published to Yoshikawa on Jun. 3, 1992 as European Patent Application No. EP0488548 and still yet another was published on Apr. 14, 1993 to Rogic as European Patent Application No. EP0536583.


The development roller adheres toner to an electrostatic latent image on the photo conductor drum in order to develop a toner image. The pattern image generating unit develops two pattern images that are two sets of plural test patches for calibration on the photo conductor drum. Each one of the pattern images includes the test patches corresponding to densities in gradation. Further, the pattern image generating unit sets an interval between a top of the first pattern image and a top of the second pattern image so that a remainder for the interval divided by a density fluctuation pitch is larger than a length of the test patch. The density fluctuation pitch is the product of a periphery length of the development roller and a ratio between a rotating speed of the development roller and a rotating speed of the photo conductor drum.

1. Field of the Present Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to an image forming apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a copy machine, a facsimile machine or a multi function peripheral, calibration is performed as a density correction technique for image forming. In the calibration, light is irradiated to a photo conductor drum by an exposure device and consequently an electrostatic latent image of test patches (an image for density correction) is formed on the photo conductor drum; a toner image is formed by supplying toner to the electrostatic latent image from a development device; and after transferring the toner image to an intermediate transfer drum, densities of the image is optically measured using an optical sensor or the like, exposure light intensity of the exposure device, a surface voltage of the photo conductor drum, a development bias of the development device and so forth are adjusted on the basis of the measured density of the image for correcting densities of image forming.
In an image forming apparatus that includes a development roller arranged in a development device in order to supply toner to a photo conductor drum, if development characteristic is not uniform to rotation angles of the development roller due to eccentricity of a rotation shaft, unevenness of a roller surface of the development roller and so forth, then developer is ununiformly distributed on the outer surface of the development roller, toner does not precisely adhere from the development roller to a photo conductor drum by an expected toner amount, and consequently a whole area of a test patch may not have an uniform density on the photo conductor drum. In such a case, the precise calibration may not be performed.
In an image forming apparatus, in order to reduce density unevenness of a test patch, a test patch is used of which a length on a photo conductor drum is larger than a periphery length of a development roller, and an average value of densities within the test patch is measured.
In the aforementioned image forming apparatus, the length of the test patch is larger than the periphery length of the development roller, and therefore if the periphery length of the development roller is large then the length of the test patch must be large. A large length of the test patch results in a large toner consumption amount on the test patch and a long time required for the calibration.
Further, for example, it may be considered that two pattern images that are two sets of test patches corresponding to densities in gradation are formed and a measured density corresponding to a density setting value is calculated from a measured density of a test patch of the first set and a measured density of a test patch of the second set. However, as shown in FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B, if a position of the test patch of the first set and a position of the test patch of the second set within a fluctuation pitch (i.e. a fluctuation period) of density unevenness are close to each other, the density unevenness still affects the measured densities of the both test patches and consequently influence of the density unevenness is not reduced.

Image forming apparatus with an improved pattern image generating unit using test patterns


A system and method for generating operating system specific kernel level code from one or more data structures that are portable to and compatible with multiple, different operating systems. These data structures are suitable for use with a number of different operating systems without customization. The data structures can contain a plurality of sub-structures, e.g., definitions, function calls and constants and/or a plurality of defines, e.g., system services or function calls, for a plurality of different operating systems.

This invention relates to the portability of code and data structures, and more particularly to the portability of kernel level code functionality using the selected code and data structures to selected operating systems.
Today's burgeoning technology has led to increased automation of factories and other commercial installations. One particular field which is becoming increasingly automated is commercial and industrial process control installations. Modem process control installations typically employ a number of sensors, actuators and other peripheral devices to monitor and to control industrial processes. For example, the sensors might evaluate the suitability of raw materials or monitor the process flow thereof and provide feedback data regarding these and other important parameters. These sensors are typically coupled to one or more processors of a process control system to store data and to generate system control signals in response to the acquired process control data. These processors are typically operated by an operating system which enable the computer to communicate with the process control devices. Representative operating systems include UNIX, DOS, Windows NT, Windows, Solaris SVR4, Microware OS9, and Sun OS.
The installations employing such process control structure also employ commercially available software to facilitate the interfacing of the process control devices with the operating system of the processors of the process control system. This software is not directly integratable with all existing operating systems, however, and thus may have to be customized for a particular operating system by an experienced programmer. For instance, application software designed to operate in a UNIX environment may have to be customized, if at all possible, to operate in a Windows NT or SunOS operating environment. This, of course, increases the total costs associated with installing and operating the automated process control system.
Application programs exist which can interpret a set of software instructions for a first operating system, for example, UNIX, so that they are executable on a second operating system, for example, Windows NT. A known product that performs this type of conversion is the NutCracker software product from Data Focus, U.S.A. This product, however, only allows the porting of software instructions to one particular operating system, and thus may not eliminate the need for an experienced programmer if the software is to be ported to another operating system, e.g., SunOS. Additionally, this software product only generates user level code that performs user level functions.
Due to the foregoing and other shortcomings of conventional application software products, an object of this invention is to provide a software product containing data structures that are portable to a variety of different operating systems.
Another object of this invention is to provide a software product that is relatively easily integratable with existing operating systems.
Other general and more specific objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear from the drawings and description which follow.

System and methods for generating operating system specific kernel level code from operating system independent data structures


The present invention concerns a system and method for identifying and implementing a correction to spectrometer measurements in order to compensate for errors in the measurement values due to second order diffracted light. The present invention in one configuration, measures light reflectance percentages across the same wavelength range for at least one calibration target. From these measurements the portion of the reflectance values resulting from second order diffracted light is identified and corrected for, thereby generating a compensated measurement of the reflectance values of a sample. These compensated values are then provided to a user.

Most spectrometers use diffraction gratings to spread out the light so that it can be analyzed into its constituent wavelengths. This light is then focused onto a detector comprised of a linear array of individual detector pixels. The light that strikes a particular pixel is determined by the angle by which the light departs the diffraction grating. This angle is related to the light's wavelength by the well-known diffraction grating equation d*sin θm=m*λ, where d is the grating spacing, θm is the diffraction angle, m is an integer, and A is the wavelength. With d being a fixed property of the diffraction grating, it can be seen that a given angle (and thus a given pixel) corresponds to multiple wavelengths, each paired with a different integer values m.
Conventional diffraction gratings are designed so that most of the light striking the grating and proceeding to the detector winds up in the "first-order beam", which corresponds to m=1. In the ideal case of no light in the higher order beams (m>1) the light arriving at the detector from the diffraction grating has a unique correspondence between the wavelength λ and the angle θ (and thus the detector pixels). However, some amount of light forms a second-order beam so that the light striking a particular pixel can be a combination of light from the first- and second-order beams. For example, the pixel that receives λ=760 nm first-order (m=1) light might also receive λ=380 nm second-order (m=2) light. Light of different wavelengths is indistinguishable to the detector pixels, so the resultant intensity of light detected by the pixel (and thus reported to the user by the spectrometer) is an unknown mixture of the two wavelengths. Because the purpose of any optical spectrometer is to measure the intensity of light as a function of wavelength, this mixing of light of different wavelengths is a source of error.
Additionally, spectrometers are operated over all or most of the wavelength range of 380-1050 nm, which is the overlap of the effective wavelength range of silicon-based array detectors (200-1050 nm) and tungsten-halogen light sources (380-2000 nm). Embodiments described herein correct errors due to the presence of second-order light using a method of correcting for second-order diffraction effects in spectrometers by processing the spectrometer output that contains the second-order diffraction response, i.e., without having to remove the second-order diffraction with costly optical filters.
To avoid the problem of second-order diffraction, some spectrometers simply measure over less than a factor of two in wavelength range (e.g., 400-800 nm) and restrict shorter wavelengths from entering the spectrometer (or at least reaching the detector). Since many spectrometer uses require a greater wavelength range than allowed by this method, most miniature spectrometers block second-order light from reaching the detector array by aligning a linearly-graded optical high-pass filter in front of the array. The high-pass cutoff of the filter must be graded along the direction of the detector array because different pixels detect different wavelengths and thus require different second-order light to be either passed or filtered out.
Linearly-graded high-pass filters work well to remove second-order light in practice and are manufactured into tens of thousands of spectrometers a year. However, the linear grading makes the filters expensive to produce (approximately $100 each) and they require careful alignment to the detector during the spectrometer's manufacture. Alternatively, US US2013/0258333 to Chalmers et. al, describes a method for inserting small filters over the sensor element to deduce the effects of second order diffraction. However, what is needed is a low-cost effective solution not requiring physical modification of the spectrometer.

System and method for compensating for second order diffraction in spectrometer measurements