A system for forming an upper plug in a well, the system, comprising lower tool segment that is adapted to land within a wellhead housing under open water conditions, a well control package that is adapted to be positioned above the lower segment and coupled to the wellhead housing, the well control package comprising at least one seal ram, an upper tool segment that is adapted to be positioned through the well control package (i.e., after the well control package has been attached to the wellhead) and operatively coupled to the lower tool segment, wherein at least one seal ram of the well control package is adapted to engage an outer surface of the upper tool segment, and at least one cutting means that is coupled to the lower segment and adapted to be actuated to cut at least one opening in at least one section of casing within the well.

FIG. 1 is a simplistic cross-sectional depiction of a prior art cased and cemented subsea well 200. The sea floor or "mud line" is indicated by the reference numeral 202. In general, in one illustrative example, the cased well 200 comprises outermost conductor casing 204, surface casing 206, intermediate casing 208 and production casing 210. These sections of casing typically comprise several joints of pipe that are threaded to one another. Also depicted in FIG. 1 is production tubing 211 that is positioned within the production casing 210.
The basic structure of the well 200 in terms of the various sections of casing and how they are installed are well known to people skilled in the art. As one simplistic example, the conductor casing 204 may be driven or jetted into the sea floor 202 (or alternatively a spud hole may be drilled into the sea floor) and thereafter cemented in place as indicated by the cement column 212A. The conductor casing 204 typically includes a subsea low-pressure housing (not shown) that is positioned above the sea floor 202. Thereafter, an initial hole or well bore that is sized (in terms of diameter and depth) to accommodate the surface casing 206 is drilled into subsea floor through the conductor casing 204. The surface casing 206 is thereafter lowered into the well bore and cemented in position as indicated by the cement column 212B. The surface casing 206 typically includes a subsea high-pressure wellhead housing (not shown) that is positioned above the subsea floor 202. The high-pressure wellhead housing is adapted to land within the low-pressure housing on the conductor casing 204. Once the surface casing 206 has been set and cemented in place, additional drilling is performed through the surface casing 206 to further extend the depth of the well by drilling a hole that is sized (in terms of diameter and depth) to accommodate the intermediate casing 208. The intermediate casing 208 may then be lowered into the well bore and cemented in position as indicated by the cement column 212C. The intermediate casing 208 typically includes a casing hanger (not shown) that lands in and engages the inside of the high-pressure well head housing on the surface casing 206. Accordingly, the weight of the intermediate casing 208 is suspended from the high-pressure wellhead housing. Once the intermediate casing 208 has been set and cemented in place, additional drilling is performed through the intermediate casing 208 to further extend the depth of the well by drilling a hole that is sized (in terms of diameter and depth) to accommodate the production casing 210. The depth of the well at this point typically corresponds to the final depth of the well which is targeted based upon the depth and location of hydrocarbon-containing formations. The production casing 210 may then be lowered into the well bore and cemented in position as indicated by the cement column 212D. The production casing 210 typically includes a casing hanger (not shown) that lands in and engages the inside of the high-pressure well head housing on the surface casing 206. Accordingly, the weight of the production casing 210 is suspended from the high-pressure wellhead housing. The production tubing 211 is then positioned within the production casings 210. The production tubing 211 has a tubing hanger (not shown) at its upper end and a subsea packer in the bottom end. For a well that uses a so-called vertical production tree, the tubing hanger lands in the wellhead. For a well that uses a so-called horizontal production tree, the tubing hanger lands within the production tree.
Thereafter, various actions are taken to "complete" the well such that hydrocarbon-containing fluid, e.g., oil and/or gas, may be produced through the well. For example, perforations will be formed in the production casings 210 and the cement column 212D at the location of the hydrocarbon-containing formation, a production tree (not shown) will be installed on the well head housing, etc. The well 200 may produce commercially significant quantities of hydrocarbon-containing fluids for many years or even decades. However, at some point in time, the well may outlive its commercially useful life and must be abandoned. The operations that are undertaken to abandon a well are sometimes referred to as "plugging and abandoning (P&A)" a well or simply "plugging" a well. Plugging or abandoning a well involves sealing off and isolating one or more hydrocarbon or pressure bearing geological formations using two or more plugs that are formed within the well. Typically these plugs have been traditionally made of cement, but in more recent years plugs comprised of resin based plugging materials have been recognized and accepted within the industry. The plugs may vary in size, both in terms of diameter and height, depending upon the particular application and any local rules and regulations. For example, some jurisdictions establish a minimum height of the plug as being about 50-150 meters.
The abandonment of oil and gas wells is governed by many rules and regulations established by various governmental agencies worldwide. In general, one goal of such rules is, to the extent practicable, create barriers similar in to previous geological barriers so as to prevent any flow of formation fluids from one zone to another zone, or any flow of formation fluids to an external environment, e.g., into the ocean. For example, such rules and regulation may require that the well must by plugged and abandoned in such a manner that, so far as reasonably practicable, there will be no unplanned escape of fluids from the abandoned well and that the risks to the health and safety of persons from the abandoned well itself, any thing from the abandoned well or in any connected strata are as low as is reasonably possible. There are differing recommended practices for the abandonment of wells of differing complexities and structures, and there are several techniques for forming such plugs, see, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,488,024 and 8,584,756 and US Published Patent Application 2014/0138078.
With reference to FIG. 1, the various sections of casing and the production tubing 211 define various annuli. More specifically, the annulus between the production tubing 211 and the production casing 210 is typically referred to as the "A" annulus; the annulus between the production casing 210 and the intermediate casing 208 is typically referred to as the "B" annulus; the annulus between the intermediate casing 208 and the surface casing 206 is typically referred to as the "C" annulus; and the annulus between the surface casing 206 and the conductor casing 204 is typically referred to as the "D" annulus. Typically, for subsea wells, most regulatory authorities (e.g., in the United States and Norway) require a permanent well barrier be formed in the well to properly abandon a well. To qualify: as a permanent well barrier, the barrier must extend across all annuli, extending to the full cross-section of the well and seal the well in both vertical and horizontal directions In some cases, cement may be pumped down coiled tubing and forced (i.e., "bullheaded") into the producing formation. In other cases, a fluid path is created, and then cement is pumped into the circulation path. When a sufficient amount of fluid is circulated through the well (indicating that the cement is at the desired location), circulation flow is stopped and pressure is applied to both the inlet and outlet of the circulation path, squeezing the cement plug in place to form what is referred to as a "balanced" plug. Oil companies have their own internal procedures as to where and how such barriers or "plugs" are formed.
FIGS. 2-4 are schematic cross-sectional drawings that simplistically depict one illustrative prior art technique for abandoning a well 200. Historically, a "bottom" plug 230 was formed in the well so as to form a barrier in the A annulus and through the production casing perforations in the production casing into the oil bearing geological formation. There are various techniques for forming a bottom plug in a well. One technique involved installing a bridge plug 231 within the production casing 210 and thereafter pumping cement down into the subsea production tree and through the production tubing, and forcing or "bull-heading" the cement down to the bottom of the well and into the perforations and the A annulus, and allowing the cement to cure thereby creating a cement plug 232 above the bridge plug 231. Note the extension of the cement into the formation is not depicted in FIG. 2. After the cement plug 232 sets, and the well is confirmed to be dead, the downhole production tubing is cut below the downhole safety valve and the upper portion of the production tubing is recovered to the surface along with the production tree and production tubing hanger hardware.
Thereafter, and with reference to FIG. 3, an upper plug 240 was formed for the well. In this embodiment, another bridge plug 241 was set within the production casing 210. Next, an additional cement 242 was poured on top of the bridge plug 241 to complete the formation of an upper plug 240, creating the necessary permanent barriers (along with the original cement columns 212C and 212D) to isolate the geological formation below.
With reference to FIG. 4, to complete the abandonment process, all of the casing strings 204, 206, 208, 210 above the plug 240 were cut and severed at a location approximately 3-5 meters below the sea floor location 202. The casing stubs along with the subsea low-pressure housing, high-pressure wellhead, and casing hangers were then retrieved to the surface.
Another technique for forming a bottom plug involved performing various activities through the production tubing to establish a circulation path to enable the formation of a balanced plug. A clear brine (of appropriate weight for hydrostatic overbalance) may be pumped (i.e. bullheaded) down through the production tubing and into the reservoir to kill the well. Once the well is confirmed dead, the downhole production tubing is cut or perforated below the downhole safety valve. Thereafter, a circulation path is established from the A annulus, through the tubing perforations and returns through the production tubing. Next a cement plug is circulated down the A annulus until it reaches the tubing perforations. Then the return flow is shut off while continuing to pump down the A annulus. This will force (bullhead) the cement plug down below the tubing perforations down to and into the production casing and oil bearing formation perforation in the well (pressure balance "squeeze"). After the cement plug sets, and the well is confirmed dead, the production tubing above the perforations is cut and recovered to the surface along with the production tree and production tubing hanger hardware. This is followed by placing a mechanical plug barrier in the production casing above the safety valve and production tubing left in the well. Sometimes an additional cement plug is poured on top of the mechanical set plug to complete the sealing process, creating the necessary permanent barriers, (along with the original cement 212C and 212D) to isolate the geological formation below. To complete the abandonment process, all of the casing strings 204, 206, 208, 210 are cut and severed approximately 3-5 meters below the sea floor location 202. The casing stubs along with the subsea low-pressure housing, high-pressure wellhead, and casing hangers are retrieved. At that point, an additional cement cap may be installed by installing a cast iron bridge plug and pouring cement into the open hole on top of the bridge plug.
In more recent years (e.g., since 2013), some regulatory agencies have revised their interpretation of governing rules and regulations as mandating that an abandoned well must also have an upper plug that ensures that all annuli meet the same geology formation isolation requirements. For example, some regulators now view the rules as requiring that a second (upper) abandonment plug must be put in place such that the B, C and possibly D annuli are also fully isolated. For both bottom and upper plugs, regulations required that a well control device be in place on top of the well as abandonment operations take place. Bottom plug operations historically have used the production tree as the well control device, greatly saving on overall cost and avoiding the use of deploying a BOP (blowout preventer). Operations that are performed to gain access to the outer annuli so as to form the upper plug must be performed with either a BOP or a large bore well-control package (WCP) positioned on the well as an extra pressure barrier as these upper plug abandonment operations are performed. However, the use of a BOP or a large bore well-control package (WCP) during the upper plug abandonment operations can greatly impact the abandonment process. First, there a limited number of vessels that have the capability to handle larger and heavier BOPs or WCPs, and such larger vessels command relatively higher rental rates as compared to relatively smaller vessels that may be employed when forming a bottom plug in a well.
One approach that has been used to form an upper plug involves cutting (severing) and recovering a desired axial length of the production and intermediate casings so as to gain full access to the B, C and possibly D annuli. However, this approach requires the pulling of their subsea casing hangers and annulus seal assemblies. These components typically have an outside diameter of about 470 mm (18-½ inches), and require the use of a BOP with a bore of about 476 mm (18¾ inches) so as to permit the removal of such components along with the removed casing.
The present application is directed to a plug and abandonment system for forming an upper plug in the process of abandoning an oil and gas well that may eliminate or at least minimize some of the problems noted above.

Plug and abandonment system for forming an upper plug when abandoning an oil and gas well


A pouch packaging machine and method of selectively changing the orientation of a pouch packaging machine. The pouch packaging machine has at least one spool for holding at least one roll of packaging film material. The packaging film material advance through a press that joins the packaging film material together to form a pouch. The spools and press are supported on a common housing. The housing has a plurality of sides. Identical mounts are disposed on at least some of the sides of the housing. A base platform is provided. The mounts on the various sides of the housing are all configured to engage the base platform. This enables the housing of the pouch packaging machine to attach to the base platform in one of a multitude of possible orientations.

1. Field of the Invention
In general, the present invention relates to packaging machines that are used to package consumer products. More particularly, the present invention relates to packaging machines that make pouch packages by joining one or more films of material around a consumer product along a peripheral seam.
2. Prior Art Description
Many commercial products are created in an automated manufacturing line where the product passes through successive pieces of automated processing machinery. Typically, one of the last pieces of equipment in an automated manufacturing line is a packaging machine. The packaging machine receives a finished product and packages that finished product for sale to the public. The types of packaging machines that exist in the art are as diversified as the products being sold. However, the present invention is a pouch packaging machine that creates packaging by joining one or more sheets of material together around the product being packaged. Accordingly, only pouch packaging machines are herein addressed.
Pouch packaging machines have been in use for many decades. In this long period of time, pouch packaging machines have been made in a variety of configurations. A pouch packaging machine is loaded with one or more rolls of packaging material, such as plastic film or paper. The packaging material is joined together along a common peripheral edge to create an enclosed pouch or bag. A product is placed in between section of the packaging material as the pouch is being formed. Accordingly, the product becomes packaged within the pouch as the pouch is formed. The products can be solid, granular, liquid, cream or even gaseous. The various pouches are then cut apart to create the individually packaged products that are ready for sale.
Since a finished product must be introduced into a pouch packaging machine in order to be packaged, the size and shape of the product dictates much of the packaging machine's design. For instance, some products are best packaged while in a horizontal position. In such cases, the packaging machine is designed to form the packaging pouch around the product as it runs horizontally into the packaging machine along a conveyor belt. Packaging machines for such situations are said to be configured with a "horizontal feed". Conversely, some products are best packaged in a vertical orientation, where the product is poured into a pouch. In such situations, the packaging machine is constructed to make packaging pouches in the vertical plane. A packaging machine so configured is said to have a "vertical feed".
Packaging machines are often custom designed to package a particular product. In this manner, the packaging machine can be part of the overall automated processing line for that product. However, to justify the significant cost of designing and building a custom pouch packaging machine, the product being manufactured must be manufactured in large quantities. If a product is only manufactured in small quantities or in small batches, it is not practical to design and build a customized packaging machine for that product. Rather, for products made in small quantities, generalized packaging machines are most often used.
Generalized packaging machines are widely available. Such generalized packaging machines are stand-alone machines that may have either a vertical feed or a horizontal feed. Small run products are typically loaded into the machine in batches and are packaged. Thus, the packaging machine is not integrated as part of the automated manufacturing process. Rather, finished goods have to be carried to the packaging machine, loaded into the packaging machine and transferred away from the packaging machine after the packaging process is complete. This adds significantly to the labor and cost associated with manufacture. Furthermore, stand-alone pouch packaging machines are manufactured either to have a horizontal feed configuration or a vertical feed configuration, wherein the configurations cannot be changed. Thus, a manufacturer would need to have two different pouch packaging machines if sometimes a vertical feed packaging machine were needed and other times a horizontal feed packaging machine were needed.
A need therefore exists for a generalized pouch packaging machine that can be selectively changed into different configurations, thereby enabling one packaging machine to fit the changing packaging needs of a manufacturer. This need is met by the present invention as described and claimed below.

Pouch packaging machine having adjustable operating orientations


Systems and methods are disclosed. A controller includes one or more processors; and one or more non-transitory memory modules storing machine-readable instructions that, when executed, cause the one or more processors to obtain environment data associated with a vehicle; obtain trajectory data associated with the vehicle; and identify one or more edge servers associated with the trajectory data. The machine-readable instructions, when executed, cause the one or more processors to obtain edge server state information of the one or more edge servers; select a first set of the environment data to transmit to a first edge server of the one or more edge servers based on the edge server state information of the one or more edge servers; and generate an instruction signal causing the vehicle to transmit the first set of the environment data to the first edge server of the one or more edge servers.

High-definition (HD) maps are digital maps that include information and semantics of a roadway system and a surrounding environment. Vehicle systems receive information from HD maps to execute various functions including, but not limited to, localization functions, perception functions, prediction functions, motion planning functions, vehicle control functions, and/or the like. In order to receive the HD maps to execute various functions, the vehicle systems may communicate with one or more edge servers to obtain the HD maps. The one or more edge servers provide computation and storage capability to the proximity of demand in order to reduce a latency experienced by the vehicle system and an operator of the corresponding vehicle.
In order to generate HD maps, one or more vehicles of the roadway system may obtain raw sensor data indicating various features of the roadway system and the surrounding environment and transmit the raw sensor data to one or more edge servers. One or more computing devices in communication and/or of the one or more edge servers may subsequently generate the HD maps based on the received raw sensor data. However, generating the HD maps based on the raw sensor data may require significant amounts of computing resources. Accordingly, a need exists for providing an optimized schedule for transmitting and processing the raw sensor data utilized to generate the HD maps.

Systems and methods for HD map generation using an edge server network

TOYOTA MOTOR ENGINEERING & MANUFACTURING NORTH AMERICA, INC.


A semiconductor sensor-based near-patient diagnostic system and related methods.

Recent advances in genomics and proteomics now enable use of biomarkers to detect diseases at an early stage, predict optimal therapy tailor-made for specific patients and monitor therapy responsiveness. Despite the promise of biomarkers in screening, diagnosis and treatment, very few biomarker-based tests are currently in clinical use. There is a lag in the translation of biomarker research into clinically relevant tests, in spite of the potential impact of biomarker testing on cost effectiveness of detection and treatment, and on overall economic burden of care. Though this problem arises due to technical, financial and regulatory challenges linked to the development and incorporation of biomarker testing into clinical practice, the central problem seems to be the lack of a low-cost platform technology that can be employed at the point of care within the current clinical workflow.
Specifically in cancer care, there is a need for developing tools that can rapidly classify the individual patient's disease according to its molecular "fingerprint", which may include detecting the presence of hundreds of biomarkers or genes. Such a tool must generally also be relatively inexpensive, in particular for more frequent testing and monitoring at the point of care or in a near-patient setting.
There is a need for near-patient testing for markers for heart attack and stroke that can be employed at the point of care (e.g., home, ambulance, doctor's office, etc). Such a test must generally be done with a device that is small and portable, inexpensive and easy to use. In addition to the need for use by untrained professionals, it is also generally important for the device to provide the test results in a short time frame (for instance, seconds to minutes) so that immediate treatment can be performed. Fast diagnosis is in particular important for disease-related events such as heart attack or stroke that are time critical. In addition, it is generally important for the test results to be shared among care provider professionals including doctors, nurses, emergency service providers and specialists. Furthermore, analysis of the test results may be performed in situ (within the device) or remotely (using cloud-based computing). Such analytics may aid the clinician in providing the best actionable decision. Therefore, it can also be important for the device to possess connectivity (via wifi, Bluetooth or other forms of wireless or wired communication systems) to perform a two-way communication (send and receive) for data analytics and decision-making process.
The current standard in diagnosis and monitoring using biomarkers is a central-lab based device that is expensive and cannot be used at the point of care. This application describes a working prototype, which is a handheld device that enables low-cost testing of the exact same analyte at the same clinically relevant level. This device is based on nanosensor technology, using which a wide variety of biomarkers have been detected at the required clinical levels for early diagnosis, staging and monitoring of therapy.
Furthermore, it has been possible to miniaturize the prototype into a smartphone plugin, where the plugin or the cartridge contains the sensor, microfluidics and measurement electronics, and the smartphone acts as a reader. The disposable plugin cartridge is designed to work with a smartphone to perform multiplexed tests of multiple analytes. In addition to the hardware necessary for detection of multiple markers at the required levels of sensitivity and specificity, the output data is designed to comply with necessary analytics (through multivariate regression analysis and other probabilistic distribution methods) for the proper interpretation and actionable decision by the necessary users and stakeholders (patient, doctor, caregiver, payer etc).

Semiconductor-sensor based near-patient diagnostic system and methods


A top head of a reactor pressure vessel includes control rod drive mechanism (CRDM) penetration pipes arranged in a square grid-like pattern. The CRDM penetration pipes are joined with one another by a tube support member. The top head is placed on a tank and water is filled in an inner region of the tank and the top head. A travel apparatus moves a nozzle lifting and lowering apparatus to a predetermined location. A lifting and lowering mechanism of the nozzle lifting and lowering apparatus lifts a jet nozzle above the tube support member among the neighboring four CRDM penetration pipes. An ejection outlet of the jet nozzle is directed to a weld between one of the CRDM penetration pipes and the top head, and a water jet is ejected. A nozzle turning mechanism turns the jet nozzle, and WJP is executed sequentially to the four CRDM penetration pipes.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a method of executing water jet peening and, in particular, to a method of executing water jet peening suitable for structural members of a nuclear power plant.
2. Background Art
In a nuclear power plant, when there exists tensile residual stress on a surface of a weld of a structural member of a reactor and a surface of its heat-affected zone, water jet peening (hereinafter referred to as WJP) is executed to the weld and heat-affected zone of the structural member to improve the tensile residual stress to compressive residual stress on the surface of the structural member.
The WJP is executed by immersing the structural member whose residual stress is to be improved in water and ejecting a high-pressure water jet from a nozzle disposed in the water. Cavitation bubbles contained in the water jet ejected in the water at high pressure are collapsed, so that shock waves are generated. These shock waves collide against a surface of the structural member in the water. As a consequence, the tensile residual stress on the surface of the structural member is improved to compressive residual stress. The structural member added with compressive residual stress can reduce occurrence of stress corrosion cracking (SCC).
An example of executing WJP to a core shroud in a reactor pressure vessel composing a reactor is stated in Japanese Patent No. 3530005. Furthermore, examples of executing WJP to a tubular member provided to a reactor pressure vessel are stated in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7(1995)-270590, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9(1997)-136261, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10(1998)-10282, and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-308927. In the methods of executing the WJP stated in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7(1995)-270590, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10(1998)-10282, and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-308927 each use, a WJP apparatus provided with a nozzle for ejecting a water jet is attached to the tubular member (for example, a control rod drive mechanism housing) provided to the reactor pressure vessel. On the other hand, the method of executing the WJP stated in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9(1997)-136261 uses a WJP apparatus provided with a nozzle for ejecting a water jet, which is attached to a moving apparatus.
In the methods of executing the WJP stated in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7(1995)-270590 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10(1998)-10282, the WJP apparatus is attached to a control rod drive mechanism housing provided to the reactor pressure vessel. The WJP apparatus has a tubular body and a jet nozzle which is attached on the tubular body and rotatable in the circumferential direction of the tubular body. The WJP apparatus is inserted in the reactor pressure vessel and installed to a control rod drive mechanism housing by attaching the tubular body to the control rod drive mechanism housing. The WJP apparatus is immersed in cooling water filled in the reactor pressure vessel. The jet nozzle ejecting high-pressure water turns around the tubular body, and thus the high-pressure water jet is ejected from the jet nozzle to an outer surface of the control rod drive mechanism housing which is a WJP execution object and to which the WJP apparatus was attached. Cavitation bubbles contained in the ejected water jet are collapsed, as a consequence, the shock waves generate. These shock waves collide against the outer surface of the control rod drive mechanism housing, and the tensile residual stress of the outer surface is improved to compressive residual stress. Adjacent to the control rod drive mechanism housing to which the WJP apparatus is attached, there are other control rod drive mechanism housings and in-core monitor housings (hereinafter referred to as ICM housings). The water jet is also ejected from the jet nozzle to each outer surface of the other control rod drive mechanism housings and the ICM housings. As a result, compressive residual stress can be given to the outer surfaces of the other control rod drive mechanism housings and the ICM housings.
The method of executing the WJP stated in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-308927 uses the WJP apparatus provided with an oscillatable jet nozzle for ejecting a water jet that is high-pressured water supplied, a WJP body installed with the jet nozzle, and a base plate to which the WJP body is removably mounted. When the WJP is executed to an ICM housing using this WJP apparatus, the base plate is mounted to two control rod drive mechanism housings adjacent to the ICM housing executing the WJP, and a water jet is ejected to the outer surface of the ICM housing from the oscillating jet nozzle provided to the WJP body installed to the base plate. At this time, the WJP body is located on a central axis of one of the control rod drive mechanism housings, and compressive residual stress is given to a circumferential half of the outer surface of the ICM housing being the WJP execution object by ejecting the water jet from the oscillating jet nozzle attached to the WJP body. This WJP body is moved to a position on the central axis of the other control rod drive mechanism housing and installed to the base plate. In this state, the oscillating jet nozzle ejects a water jet to the ICM housing. This allows compressive residual stress to be given to the entire periphery of the ICM housing.
According to the method of executing the WJP stated in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9(1997)-136261, a WJP apparatus has a moving carriage; a lifting carriage provided to the moving carriage; a rotary drive axis having a spline structure on an outside, rotatably attached to the lifting carriage; a rotating tube surrounding the rotary drive axis, engaged with the spline structure; a lifting flange attached to a lower end portion of the rotating tube, held to the lifting carriage; and a jet nozzle attached to a rotating plate provided to an upper end portion of the rotating tube. A WJP execution object is an upper cover of a pressure vessel provided with a plurality of pipes, and is supported by a supporting member. The moving carriage moves below the upper cover, this moving carriage places a positioning head provided to the upper end portion of the rotary drive axis directly below a pipe being a WJP execution object, and the lifting carriage is lifted to insert the positioning head in the pipe. A cylindrical cover whose inner surface is in contact with an outer periphery of the rotating plate is lifted by an air cylinder installed to the lifting carriage so that the upper end of the cylindrical cover contacts the upper cover and the cylindrical cover surrounds the pipe. The lifting flange is lifted to lift the jet nozzle to make an ejection outlet of the jet nozzle face a weld between the upper cover and the pipe installed to the upper cover. Water is filled inside the cylindrical cover above the rotating plate, and the pipe installed to the upper cover is immersed into the water. The jet nozzle ejects a water jet into the water in the cylindrical cover toward the weld between the upper cover and the pipe. The rotary drive axis rotates, making the jet nozzle turn around the pipe as ejecting a water jet. Compressive residual stress is given to the surface of the weld.


The invention concerns an impact mill suitable for installation in a container. To this end, the container must have an opening, e.g. a manhole with flange. The mill is designed as a complete and independent module without a separate mill housing, all functional components are mounted on a plate which is flanged onto the manhole.

Grinding units with a variety of different mill types are already known. They consist of a product feed unit, mill, product collection unit and fan. Some products require a high air flow rate to cool the product during grinding, these types of systems are operated in through-air mode. Other products are less temperature-sensitive and can be processed without a separate flow of cooling air. To aid transport of these products, the air can be circulated. The advantage of this solution is that elaborate product collection units such as cyclones or filters are not necessary.
German Patent DE 9300910 U1 describes a system for grinding sugar. In this instance, a mill is top-mounted directly on a container. The ground product is routed via this collection hopper to the discharge. In this example, the air is circulated through the mill, whereby the air from the collection hopper is extracted and supplied to the product inlet upstream of the mill.
Despite this device, improvements are still desirable, and these are now provided by the present invention.

Grinding unit with mill as a complete and independent module


In order to reduce power consumption of an electronic device during wireless communication, the electronic device may transition between a baseline (simple) receiver and a higher-power advanced receiver based on network conditions and/or environmental conditions. For example, the transition to the advanced receiver may occur when it offers improved communication performance over the baseline receiver, such as when there is significant interference and a high data rate, or when there is significant interference and a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is low. Similarly, the transition to the baseline receiver may occur when the capabilities of the advanced receiver are not needed, such as when there is less interference, or when the data rate is lower and the SNR is high. In this way, the electronic device can avoid the added power consumption associated with the advanced receiver except where the communication performance offered by the advanced receiver is needed.

Field
The described embodiments relate to techniques for reducing the power consumption of electronic devices in a wireless network.
Related Art
Many modern electronic devices include a networking subsystem that is used to wirelessly communicate with other electronic devices. For example, these electronic devices can include a networking subsystem with a cellular network interface (UMTS, LTE, etc.), a wireless local area network interface (e.g., a wireless network such as described in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard or Bluetooth™ from the Bluetooth Special Interests Group of Kirkland, Washington), and/or another type of wireless interface.
Because network and environmental conditions can degrade the performance of wireless communication, many networking subsystems (such as those that support High-Speed Downlink Packet Access or HSDPA) include a baseline (simple) receiver and an advanced receiver. Advanced receivers, such as a minimum-mean-squared-error decision-feedback-equalization (MMSE-DFE) receiver can help eliminate multi-path interference in a single-cell scenario, as well as cancelling neighboring-cell interference in a multi-cell scenario.
The advanced receivers typically consume a significant amount of power compared to baseline receivers, such as a linear minimum-mean-squared-error (L-MMSE) receiver. However, in some network and environmental conditions, the advanced receivers provide little or no gain over the baseline receivers. Consequently, networking subsystems that include an advanced receiver may significantly increase the power consumption and reduce the operating time of the electronic device without improving the communication performance, which can frustrate users and degrade the user experience.

Power management based on adaptive receiver selection


A compressed air turbine driven fan having an axial blade fan impeller driven by a partial admission radial inflow air turbine, with both the fan blades and the turbine blades mounted on the hub rim of a single fan-turbine wheel. The turbine exhaust is discharged into a cavity surrounding the shaft of the fan-turbine wheel. In a preferred embodiment, a sound surpressing muffler made of plates having air passage offset from each other is provided with the cavity. Turbine exhaust air exists through the passages to mix with the fan flow.

Removal of smoke or other hazardous gases from enclosed spaces such as refinery tanks, tanker ships, commercial and naval vessels and mine shafts, require high volume, high head fans. These fans may be driven by electricity, water power of compressed air. There are some significant advantages in using compressed air. However, existing high power compressed fans are very noisy. This is because in the typical compressed air fan the exhaust air out of the turbine is moving at supersonic speed. Very often the personnel that are working in close proximity of such fans are exposed to a high pitch noise generated by the exhausting air. Such high pitch noise is usually uncomfortable to the persons exposed to it. Occupational safety laws, generally limit the time the worker could be exposed to a high level noise.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide a compressed air turbine driven fan which operates at substantially lower noise level than the noise generated by state of the art air turbine driven fans.


The invention provides a decoding apparatus which guarantees a decoding speed of a predetermined unit. To this end, the decoding apparatus includes a shifter which detects a start bit of a codeword from coded data, a table which stores decode values of a plurality of symbol data at one address, a table which is used to store a shift amount of the shifter, a table which generates a data length of the decode values of the plurality of symbol data, a decoder which is used to generate an address of the first table from the coded data, a decoder which is used to generate an address of the second and third tables from the coded data, and a packer which couples or separates the decoded values of the plurality of symbol data to data for the predetermined fixed number of bits.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique for decoding coded data.
2. Description of the Related Art
Proposals for speeding up decoding processing of variable length coded data have been made. As one of these proposals, a proposal which comprises a normal symbol decoder and a decoder for specific symbols having high frequencies of occurrence, and simultaneously decodes two symbols when a codeword hits a specific symbol is available (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-174365). According to this technique, a maximum of two symbols can be decoded per clock cycle.
Also, the following variable length decoder has been proposed (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-284142). With this decoder, tables and barrel shifters in a number as large as the number of bits of a maximum code length are prepared, and one decode symbol is selected from outputs as many as the number of bits of a longest codeword to skip feedback from a Huffman decoder to the barrel shifters, thus assuring a high-speed operation.
With the aforementioned related art, when a codeword hits a specific symbol, two symbols can be decoded per clock cycle to achieve a high throughput, as described above. However, when a codeword does not hit, only one symbol can be decoded per clock cycle, and a high throughput cannot always be achieved. In variable length coding such as a Huffman decoder of JPEG, the coding speed depends on a code size, and a decode speed of a predetermined unit cannot be guaranteed in the related art.
In the related art, the numbers of tables and barrel shifters are as very large as the number of bits of a maximum code length, resulting in an increase in circuit scale. In order to achieve a high throughput, a plurality of symbols have to be simultaneously decoded. However, in order to simultaneously decode a plurality of symbols, the number of bits of the maximum code length increases to multiples of the number of symbols to be simultaneously decoded, and the number of tables required to simultaneously decode a plurality of symbols increases to a value corresponding to the number of symbols to the (number of symbols to be simultaneously decoded)-th power, thus considerably increasing the circuit scale.

Decoding apparatus and control method thereof


A method of assembling together by brazing two parts made of composite material, each part having an assembly face for brazing with the assembly face of the other part, the method including: making a plurality of cavities in the assembly face of at least one of the two composite material parts, at least some of the cavities opening out into one or more portions of the part that are situated outside the assembly face; interposing capillary elements between the assembly faces of the composite material parts; placing a brazing composition in contact with a portion of the capillary elements; and applying heat treatment to liquefy the brazing composition so as to cause the molten brazing composition to spread by capillarity between the assembly faces of the composite material parts.

The invention relates to using brazing to assemble together thermostructural composite materials, and in particular ceramic matrix composite (CMC) materials. CMC materials are typically formed by a porous substrate, such as a porous fiber substrate, that has been densified by a ceramic matrix. The fibers of the substrate may be made of carbon or of ceramic. By way of example, the matrix may be made of a refractory ceramic such as a refractory carbide, nitride, boride, or oxide. CMC materials, such as for example C/SiC composite materials (carbon fiber reinforcement with a silicon carbide matrix), are remarkable for their mechanical properties, which make them suitable for constituting structural elements, and for their ability to conserve those properties at high temperatures.
When making structures out of ceramic matrix composite materials, it is common to construct them from independent elements made of CMC materials, which elements are assembled together by brazing. Nevertheless, brazing ceramic matrix composite materials together is technically difficult, and the breaking stress of the brazed joint is often insufficient relative to the forces to which the assembly might be subjected, in particular shear forces.
Pieces made of CMC materials present a high degree of surface roughness, which prevents the brazing composition spreading well in the zone where the brazed joint is formed, thereby creating zones of weakness in the brazed connection.
Also, while the brazing composition is diffusing between the assembly faces of the parts to be brazed together, gas is given off due to reactions between the brazing composition and the ceramic particles used for conveying the brazing composition by capillarity between the assembly faces. Some of that gas becomes imprisoned inside the brazed joint, thereby leading to a brazed joint that is porous, and in which there remain local braze-free areas between the two surfaces. That lack of material leads to defects in the connection between the two parts, and consequently degrades the quality of the assembly by weakening the connection that is made.

Method for brazing parts made from a composite material, with anchoring of the brazed joint

COMMISSARIAT À L'ÉNERGIE ATOMIQUE ET AUX ÉNERGIES ALTERNATIVES


The toilet tank ball flapper and chain assembly is formed as a unitary article of manufacture, with the chain being integrally molded to lie along the perimeter of the base plate of the flapper and being releasably engaged thereto by a plurality of break away nubs.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a toilet tank ball flapper and chain therefor which are formed as a unitary structure.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heretofore, a toilet tank ball flapper has been manufactured as a structure either attached to, or unattached from, a metal, plastic or rubber chain used to engage the ball end of the flapper to an actuator or activating lever therefor.
Such separate forming of the structures has several drawbacks.
One such drawback found when the two parts are separately molded, is complicated packaging. In this respect, the separate chain must be accommodated within the package with excess packaging material. Further, the packaging has an unaesthetic appearance, with a chain usually being loosely received in the package.
A further, and even more expensive drawback, especially where the chain is made of plastic or stainless steel, is the requirement for a further die for making the chain as a separate structure. The extra costs in time and money incurred in this two step manufacturing process, as well as in the packaging, will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art.
As will be described in greater detail hereinafter, the instant flapper and integral chain assembly formed as unitary structure overcomes the drawbacks described above.

Toilet tank ball flapper and plastic chain assembly formed as a unitary structures


There is provided a circuit configuration which does not require an additional fail-safe mechanism caused by the addition of a changeover valve in a hydraulic pressure control device for an automatic transmission having a function to directly supply a line pressure and hold (lock) an engaging pressure by combinations of electromagnetic valves and changeover valves.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hydraulic pressure control device for an automatic transmission, and more specifically, to a hydraulic pressure control device for an automatic transmission having a function to directly supply a line pressure and hold (lock) an engaging pressure by combinations of electromagnetic valves and changeover valves.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, light-weight, compact, and high-torque automatic transmissions have been demanded. This demand has been met by raising a maximum line pressure so as to ensure a torque capacity that does not cause slip of a friction engaging element. However, if the maximum line pressure is raised, the load of an oil pump becomes large. Therefore, there have been efforts to lower the load by providing a throttle valve interlocking with the depressed amount of an accelerator pedal to change the line pressure depending on each torque situation.
Also, if the line pressure is raised, a difference between the maximum torque and the torque of a gear shift region becomes large. Therefore, as descried in JP-A No. 2001-12588, the control gain becomes large and the controllability deteriorates. Thus, these problems are solved in JP-A No. 2001-12588 by performing gear shift in a control range of an electromagnetic valve, etc., and supplying a line pressure to a friction engaging element by using a changeover valve, after completion of the gear shift.
Meanwhile, in JP-A No. 2001-12588, if the changeover valve has stuck (sticking of a valve body) and remains in the state of supplying a line pressure, the friction engaging element cannot be disengaged although a pressure-reducing control valve (or control valve) and a solenoid valve operate normally. In this case, since it is also considered that any interlock is caused unexpectedly, it is necessary to incorporate a fail-safe mechanism that detects sticking of the changeover valve by a hydraulic switch, etc. and forcefully disengages the friction engaging element so that a vehicle can travel.
A hydraulic pressure control device of JP-A No. 2002-266995 is also of a type that performs gear shift in a control range of an electromagnetic valve, etc., and supplies a line pressure to an engaging element by using a changeover valve, after completion of the gear shift. However, the control device is configured such that switching of the changeover valve is performed by an electromagnetic valve (linear solenoid valve), and the electromagnetic valve and the control valve are normally high (normally open), that is, the output pressure thereof is high when power is turned off (refer to FIG. 12).
FIG. 4 is a view showing a state in a case where the changeover valve in a hydraulic circuit of JP-A No. 200-266995 has stuck on the lock side. As indicated by dotted lines in the figure, even when the electromagnetic valve is turned on or off, a line pressure is led to the friction engaging element C-1. Also, FIG. 5 is a view showing a state in a case where the control valve in the hydraulic circuit of JP-A No. 2002-266995 has stuck on the ON-side. Even in this case, as indicated by dotted lines in the figure, even when the electromagnetic valve is turned on or off, a line pressure is led to the friction engaging element C-1. Further, although not shown, even when the electromagnetic valve in the hydraulic circuit of JP-A No. 2002-266995 fails in an ON state, similar to the case in which the changeover valve has stuck on the lock side, a line pressure is led to the friction engaging element C-1.
FIG. 6 is a view showing a state in a case where the electromagnetic valve in the conventional hydraulic circuit of JP-A No. 2002-266995 has failed in an OFF state. In this case, it is natural that the output remains low.
The output should be low in an ON state of the electromagnetic valve, while the output should be high in an OFF state of the electromagnetic valve. However, at the time of abnormality, the output may become high in an ON state of the electromagnetic valve, while the output may become low in an OFF state of the electromagnetic valve. These problems are not caused by installation of the changeover valve. Solutions to these problems have been sought by a hardware failure or a control software failure on a hydraulic circuit using an interlocking valve or a fail-safe valve.

Hydraulic pressure control device for automatic transmission

Abstract: A changeover valve 20 is disposed between an output port 12 and a feedback port 13 of a linear solenoid valve 10 of the hydraulic pressure control device for an automatic transmission. The changeover valve 20 operates depending on at least an output pressure from the output port, and is switched between (1) a first state (control mode) in which a pressure Pc corresponding to an indicator current is outputted through the linear solenoid valve 10 by bringing the output port into communication with the feedback port, and (2) a second state (lock mode) in which a line pressure PL is outputted through the linear solenoid valve 10 by bringing the feedback port 13 into communication with a drain passage EX and discharging oil from the feedback port.


Provided is a clothing shaking device for clothing care apparatus, the care apparatus includes a cabinet, the shaking device includes a driving member, a first connecting member, a second connecting member, a beam and a connecting structure arranged on the beam, when the driving member drives the first connecting member to rotate and thus drives the second connecting member to move, a swimming structure can apply acting force to the connecting structure to make the connecting structure and the beam move back and forth together. Through the connection between the swimming structure and the connecting structure, when the driving member drives the first connecting member to rotate and thus drives the second connecting member to move, while driving the beam to move back and forth, the movement amplitude of the beam in the direction perpendicular to the beam can be reduced.

When the clothing is being washed in a washing machine, the clothing continuously rolls, rotates and entangles with each other in the washing machine, and the clothing will often have some wrinkles after the washing is completed.
In the prior art, wrinkles on the clothing can be removed by a clothing care machine. Specifically, a clothing shaking device is provided in a cabinet of the clothing care machine. The clothing shaking device includes a driving motor, a transmission mechanism and a cross beam; the driving motor is pivotally connected to the cross beam through the transmission mechanism, and can drive the cross beam to move back and forth; and the clothing with wrinkles is hung on the cross beam by a hanger. When the cross beam moves back and forth, the clothing can be driven to shake to achieve the purpose of removing wrinkles. However, when the driving motor drives the cross beam to move back and forth, due to a large movement amplitude of the cross beam in a direction perpendicular to the cross beam, the hanger will constantly impinge on an inner wall of the cabinet, thereby producing louder noise and affecting the user's experience in use.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a new clothing shaking device for a clothing care apparatus to solve the above problem.

Clothing shaking device for clothing care apparatus


A grounding bracket for use with cable connectors, such as an F81 barrel connector, generally including a conductive body having a first major surface, a connector receiving area defined in the first major surface and adapted to receive the cable connector therein, and a latch member movably connected to the first major surface and positioned in communication with the connector receiving area.

The present invention relates generally to grounding brackets, and more particularly to grounding brackets used in association with connectors for audio-visual signal carrying cables, such as coaxial cable barrel connectors.
Coaxial cable barrel connectors, such as F81 type barrel connectors, are used to link coaxial cables together within satellite, antenna, and cable television systems. Often, little thought is given to the F-81 barrel connector. However, satellite systems in particular, use high frequency signals, and the connectors must therefore have high frequency performance. As satellite services increase offerings, so too does the bandwidth of the satellite system to transport these services. As bandwidth is increased, higher frequencies are employed to transport additional video channels and this challenges the integrity of the F-81 connector.
Inconsistencies from connectors and components within the cable path reduce the quality of the satellite signal at the satellite receiver. In an ideal situation in a satellite communication, for instance, a cable would simply connect the satellite receiver to the satellite antenna. In reality, however, cable splices, wall plates and, grounding brackets/blocks exist between components in the satellite antenna system. Every splice positioned in the cable path adds a potential inconsistency to the cable link. As the inconsistencies increase, the satellite signal within the cable becomes distorted. Signal distortion increases until the satellite receiver fails to receive certain satellite channels—often first evident with the weaker satellite transponder signals. Therefore it is important to use an F-81 connector and associated components that imposes the smallest negative effect in the cable path.
Grounding brackets or blocks ensure a proper ground path between the drop cable and a ground wire. If there is corrosion of the bracket material or a gap in the connection between the cable connector and the bracket, improper grounding can result, degrading the quality of the signal being transported through the cables. Conventional grounding brackets/blocks include a barrel connector integral with the bracket (typically die cast), or a separate barrel connector and bracket that are permanently affixed to one another by a press fit.
With integral barrel blocks, inconvenience and/or unnecessary cost are incurred when a system encounters a variety of installation types with different numbers of lines, as with satellite television. Some subscribers choose service with only one receiver on the dish, while others get service with as many as four receivers, each with a line that must be grounded, while still others have two-line service. Ideally, the system would stock only one type of ground block, but installing a four-line block at sites which only require one or two is costly, and installing four single line blocks is a nuisance.
It is a principal object and advantage of the present invention to provide a grounding bracket for use with signal carrying cable connectors that provide a secure and reliable ground connection for the cable connectors.
It is another object and advantage of the present invention to provide a grounding bracket that can accommodate a plurality of signal carrying cable connectors.
It is a further object and advantage of the present invention to provide a grounding bracket that provides reliable engagement between the cable connector and the bracket.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will in part be obvious and in part appear hereinafter.

Grounding bracket for use with cable connectors


A slip sheet for receiving goods is provided with a compressible tab portion extending outwardly from at least one side edge. The compressible tab portion has a convex airfoil-type cross-sectional area to facilitate grasping of the airfoil shaped tab portion, the compressible tab portion being canted upwardly from a plane defined by the flat portion of the slip sheet to further facilitate grasping.

The movement of a variety of goods in commerce is dictated by the economics of packaging. In many cases, goods previously transported on wooden pallets have been unitized into wrapped packets attached to a slip sheet, particularly a slip sheet which may be manufactured from recycled polymeric materials near the point of use and either reused or recycled at the terminus point, avoiding the costs of shipping the pallets empty for reuse. Also, there are environmental issues involved with the use of wood, particularly deforestation issues in regions where some of the previously palletized products, such as rubber, are produced. Additionally, wood in pallets and crates are subject to infestation by wood borers and insects, which can introduce unwanted and harmful insects into the ecosystem. Polymeric materials are generally not edible by insects, so the infestation potential is greatly reduced.
In a co-pending patent application, Ser. No. 08/399,490 issued U.S. Pat. No. 5,613,447 on 25 Mar., 1997, the present inventor teaches a slip sheet for transporting goods which has a compressible tab portion of convex airfoil-type cross-sectional area along at least one edge of the slip sheet, with an upstanding wall provided along each edge of the slip sheet. Improvements in that invention now make It possible to provide a slip sheet with the same type of compressible tab portion with the convex airfoil-type cross-section, but in which the construction of the tab provides that the tab be generally upturned for easier grasping by the lift vehicle typically used.


A method for providing caller identification information to instant messaging communication participants can include identifying an online presence for at least a first instant messaging client and determining caller identification information for a user associated with the first instant messaging client. The caller identification information can be provided to a second instant messaging client.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to the field of multi-user communications and messaging, and more particularly, to the integration of telephony services and instant messaging.
2. Description of Related Art
Instant messaging allows users to communicate over a communications network in substantially real time. That is, instant messaging is a service which enables users to send relatively immediate messages to one another over a communications network using communications devices such as wireless telephones, pagers, computers, and personal digital assistants (PDAs). Typically, the instant messaging service is hosted by a server running an instant messaging application which facilitates communications between devices equipped with specialized messaging software referred to as an instant messaging client. For example, an instant messaging client can operate as a standalone application or can operate within a browser.
Instant messaging technology has progressed from single line text-based interfaces to more sophisticated graphical user interface (GUI) based instant messaging clients. These GUI-based instant messaging clients can process still images, realtime images, audio data, text data, and information about a particular user. The user information can be stored within an access device or on a server within a user profile. The information contained in the user profile can include personal information such as a name, age, address, and/or place of birth. General information about a user also can be stored in the user profile. For example, the user profile can specify the user's special interests such as hobbies, sports, and other leisure activities.
During an instant messaging session, in addition to seeing the text typed by a participant or hearing the audio spoken by a participant, profile information corresponding to the participant also can be displayed. For example, within conventional instant messaging clients, communications from particular participants can be identified by a screen name, an alias, or a handle. An affirmative step, however, is required to obtain additional information regarding an instant messaging session participant. For example, the profile for an instant messaging session participant can be presented responsive to a request from another participant. As this profile can be configured by the user, the profile may be incomplete or may not reflect accurate information. In consequence, the personal profile may provide little information to the requesting participant relating to the subject participants' identity. Accordingly, although instant messaging provides a medium for multi-user communication, conventional instant messaging systems provide little in the way of instant messaging session participant information.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Instant messaging with caller identification

International Business Machines Corporation


An adaptive electrical routing system for constructing an LED device. The system takes into account placement errors and tolerance regions for connection of one or more LEDs on a substrate. An optical device captures an image (e.g., comprising positional data of components of the LED device) of the LED device showing the actual placement of LEDs on the substrate and transfers the image to an analysis program. A customized pattern (e.g., a customized electrical routing pattern) can be created in one of several possible ways.

In some aspects of LED apparatus design, there is an evolution toward reducing the size and/or increasing the number of LED devices in an apparatus. For example, video screens can use a large number of LED devices, and reducing the size of the individual pixels of LEDs can in some cases improve the perceived quality of the light output. As more LED components or packages are added to a particular apparatus, the time required to build the given device can potentially increase, as well as the production cost. Accordingly, there are ongoing efforts to reduce the amount of time needed to perform various processing steps, such as placement, electrical routing, coating applications, etc.
One particular area of concern with high-volume processing of LED devices is accuracy and reliability of component production. It is well known that increasing component yield reduces waste and decreases production time. However, as the size of LED devices shrink, it can become more difficult to maintain high yield levels. One approach to improved reliability is adaptive electrical pattern(s) (e.g., by routing) on LED devices. For example, when placing LEDs onto a substrate, there is some variability between ideal (i.e., theoretical) placement and actual placement due to machine tolerances. One known method of limited adaptive routing is through wire-bonding. It is possible for wire-bonding machines to recognize the die position and target the bond pads within a given range. However, this approach currently has drawbacks in that it is not made possible to adaptively change the wire shape, bonding direction, or target pad based on the die orientation. As such, there is an ongoing need for routing adaptability in LED device assembly. The adaptable routing apparatuses and methods described herein is not limited to LED devices, however; they can be applied to any electronic component construction where a component is placed on a substrate (or superstrate) and is electrically routed.

LED device, system, and method with adaptive patterns


A turbine rotor assembly may include a turbine rotor with a plurality of turbine blade slots and a plurality of turbine blades. A root structure of each turbine blade may include a portion shaped to be received in a corresponding turbine blade slot of the rotor. The rotor assembly may also include a seal plate attached to the forward end of the rotor. The seal plate may extend upwards from a first end below the inner end of the blade slots to a second end located between an outermost lobe of the blade slots and the outer rim of the rotor.

A gas turbine engine ("GTE") includes a turbine assembly that extracts energy from a flow of hot combustion gases. Turbine assemblies include one or more turbine rotor assemblies mounted on a drive shaft. Each turbine rotor assembly includes a plurality of turbine blades extending radially outward from a rim of a rotor (or disk) of the turbine rotor assembly. The hot combustion gases flowing through the turbine assembly push on the blades to rotate the rotor, and consequently the drive shaft. The rotating drive shaft is used to power a load, for example, a generator, a compressor, or a pump.
A turbine blade (blade) typically includes a root structure and an airfoil extending from opposite sides of a blade platform. The root structure of each blade is inserted into a similarly shaped slot in the rotor to secure the blade to the rotor. A cooling air supply is directed through the turbine rotor assembly to cool the assembly during operation of a GTE. The turbine rotor assembly may include components, such as retainers, to retain the blade to the rotor and to direct the flow of cooling air through desired areas of the assembly. One example of such a component is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,331,097 B1 Jendrix ("the '097 patent"). The '097 patent discloses forward and aft retainers that are attached to the turbine rotor to prevent the blades from moving in an axial direction and to channel the flow of cooling air through desired regions of the turbine rotor.


A device and a method for sealing an opening in an anatomical structure is provided. The device includes a flexible tube including a proximal portion and a distal portion extending along a common axis. The proximal portion is coupled to the distal portion by a central portion, which extends from a distal end of the proximal portion to a proximal end of the distal portion. The central portion bends away from the axis along a curve so that the distal end of the proximal portion faces the proximal end of the distal portion across a gap formed by the central portion. In use, the device is inserted through an opening in a wall of the anatomical structure so that a portion of the wall is received within the gap. A needle, that is attached to a first length of suture, is then inserted through a first needle lumen to an opening formed in the distal end of the proximal portion and crosses the gap penetrating the wall to enter a needle receiving chamber that is formed in the distal portion. The needle bends around the needle receiving chamber to exit the needle receiving chamber at a point opposite the second needle lumen. The needle is withdrawn from the structure via the second needle lumen and the device is rotated to a second position where a second length of suture is drawn through a second portion of the wall and secured to the first length of suture to seal the opening.

A physician must frequently close openings that are formed in blood vessels during various intravascular procedures. The openings are generally formed in order to allow intravascular instruments such as catheters to be inserted into the vessel. Once the procedure is completed, the opening (or openings) in the vessel is closed, often by applying and maintaining pressure on the skin until coagulation occurs. Effectuating such closures is time consuming for the physician and painful to the patient.
Devices for sealing punctured vessel walls with sutures are known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,890,612 describes a device for sealing a percutaneous puncture in a vessel that includes a tubular body with an expandable closure. The body has an ejecting means that forces the closure out of the body into the interior of the blood vessel, whereupon the closure expands to form an engagement surface. A piece of thread is secured to the closure through the body so that the closure can be pulled toward the puncture in the vessel in order to seal the same. No means are provided for accurately positioning the device relative to the puncture in the blood vessel.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,053,046 describes a spinal cannula device that seals a puncture in the spine created by the cannula. The device includes first and second cannulas, wherein the second cannula is inserted into the first and includes a dural seal with an absorbable suture extending therefrom. The first cannula effectuates the initial spinal puncture. Once the diagnostic or therapeutic procedure is accomplished, the second cannula is inserted into the first cannula until it extends through the puncture. A stylet is inserted into the inner cannula whereupon it pushes the seal and an absorbable suture into the cerebrospinal fluid. The seal absorbs liquid and swells. The cannulae are removed and the physician then pulls on the suture in order to set the dural seal in the spinal puncture. This device would not be effective for sealing an opening in a more flexible structure such as a blood vessel.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,021,059 describes a plug device for sealing punctures in tissue. The device includes a carrier that has an anchoring portion, a sealing portion and a thin filament connected therebetween. The carrier has an end that is adapted to fit through the puncture. In use, the anchoring portion is ejected through the puncture and is then drawn toward the free end of the carrier. The instrument is manipulated in order to draw the anchoring portion against the puncture on the inner surface of the tissue. To completely seal the puncture, the instrument is further manipulated to draw the sealing portion into engagement with the outer surface of the tissue on the opposite side of the anchoring portion. This is a relatively complicated device requiring a large amount of manipulation and a high degree of skill on the part of the user.

Device and method for locating and sealing a blood vessel


Provided is a method of detecting a defect of a pattern using vectorization to increase accuracy and efficiency in OPC modeling and OPC verification. The method includes acquiring a target layout image associated with a target pattern, acquiring a pattern image associated with a pattern formed on a substrate, extracting an edge image from the pattern image, producing a first vector form based on the target layout image, producing a second vector form based on the edge image, and comparing the first vector form with the second vector form.

1. Field
Example embodiments of the inventive concepts relate to a method of detecting a defect of a pattern and/or modifying a layout image to compensate for the detected defects.
2. Description of the Related Art
It may be desirable to transfer a pattern formed on a mask onto a wafer through a lithography process in the same layout as the layout that was designed. In a region having a complex mask pattern or a region having a pattern with sharply changing sizes and line widths, however, the lithography process may be affected by diffraction of light in adjacent patterns. As a result, the layout of the transferred pattern may be different from the designed layout. In order to avoid this phenomenon, a region may be intentionally distorted when designing a mask in an optical proximity correction (OPC) process. However, conventional OPC processes may be inefficient and/or may not sufficiently compensate for diffracted light.


A method for improving thermal conduction in a stator having electrically conductive windings wound in a plurality of gaps formed between adjacent pairs of a plurality of teeth of the stator. A plurality of interstitial spaces are formed within each of the gaps during winding of the electrically conductive windings around the teeth. A plug is arranged within each one of the gaps to close off slot openings. A thermally conductive filler compound is injected into each gap under sufficient pressure to at least substantially fill the interstitial spaces within each gap and to at least substantially encapsulate the electrically conductive windings. The thermally conductive filler compound is then allowed to set.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
With present day electric motors, the teeth of a stator are typically wound with electrically conductive wire having an insulation material thereon. The electrically conductive wire is typically wrapped a number of times around each tooth of the stator. Sometimes wire having a round cross-sectional configuration is used and sometimes wire in the form of a ribbon is used. In either event, however, the winding process typically leaves a plurality of voids between adjacent portions of the conductive wire. The voids are undesirable from the standpoint that they inhibit the thermal conduction of heat out from the conductive windings to the stator material. This can lead to an unacceptable heat buildup in the stator.

System and method for stator slot encapsulation using injected polymer


A method and a system for a reliable LED semiconductor device are provided. In one embodiment, the device comprises a carrier, a light emitting diode disposed on the carrier, an encapsulating material disposed over the light emitting diode and the carrier, at least one through connection formed in the encapsulating material, and a metallization layer disposed and structured over the at least one through connection.

LEDs have been used widely in many applications due to its light sensing capability. In many current semiconductor applications, LEDs are mounted directly on a printed circuit board as individual components and electrically connected to other components, such as power and logic components, on the board. In other applications, LEDs are placed into semiconductor devices using silicone or silicon-based materials. These materials, however, has poor performances due to its high coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), poor adhesive to metal and high moisture permeability. Therefore, a need exists for a method and system to provide a reliable LED semiconductor device that provides a better performance.

Method and system for providing a reliable light emitting diode semiconductor device


In one example, a system for authenticating domains operates by authenticating a first domain and the extensions that make up the URI of an initial or primary Internet network call. Thereafter, the system can enable the owner of the first domain to make assertions or statements about additional domains and URIs that make up the rest of the web page, session or application.

Some existing authentication schemes for web pages rely on Certificate Authority (CA) digital certificates. In these schemes, a CA digital certificate is installed on a server that stores content for a transaction page, such as a home page for a domain. When a client such as a browser attempts to access the transaction page, the CA digital certificate is accessed by the client. The CA digital certificate represents a vouching by the CA (a trusted third party to the transaction between the client and the server) that the content being provided to the client is originating from a server that matches ownership records for the accessed URL.
Some web pages draw content from multiple different servers through a technology such as framing or native browser functionality (native browser functionality is enabled by browser cross domain request objects). In a multi-frame web page, content is pulled together from a plurality of sources with a different network call being used for each source (multi-origin call). For example, a controlling frame of the transaction page discussed above can draw content from one particular server operated by an owner of the domain while another frame of the same transaction page can draw content from another particular server operated by the owner of the domain or a server operated by a separate owner. When such a web page loads correctly, the image appears as a single web page even though the content is assembled from the plurality of servers.
When a client attempts to access a web page linked to a plurality of content servers using the scheme described in the first paragraph, only a portion of the web page will be loaded, or all of the web page will be loaded with only some of the content sources being authenticated, either of which represents a problem with the authentication process. In one case, the resulting image is incomplete, while in the other case a portion of the servers providing the data to the client are unauthenticated, presenting a security hole. The disclosure that follows solves this and other problems.


A broadcast receiver for and a method of providing broadcast channel information in which a broadcast search list is dynamically created and provided to a user, the broadcast receiver including: a tuner unit to tune a broadcast channel from a plurality of broadcast channels and to output a digital broadcast signal of the tuned broadcast channel; a broadcast signal processing unit to receive service information included in the broadcast signal output by the tuner unit; a storage unit to store the received service information; and a control unit to dynamically create a broadcast search list based on the service information and to generate a screen providing the broadcast search list. Accordingly, it is possible to dynamically change a broadcast search list that provides search information regarding broadcast channels and to provide a user with the dynamically changed broadcast search list.

1. Field of the Invention
Aspects of the present invention relate to an apparatus and method for receiving and providing a digital broadcast, and more particularly, to a broadcast receiver for and a method of providing broadcast channel information
2. Description of the Related Art
Digital audio broadcasting (DAB) provides a variety of data services (such as weather, traffic, entertainment, and images) in addition to high-quality audio transmissions with Compact Disc (CD)-level sound quality by using sound coding methods that provide a high compression ratio. For example, EUREKA-147 DAB, a DAB standard that is used in Europe, provides audio services with CD-level sound quality and a variety of additional data services by using a high-quality audio compression technology based on Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) audio layer II. In contrast, digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) is a digital broadcasting standard that is more developed than DAB. DMB provides audio, video, and data broadcasting. Furthermore, DMB is classified into terrestrial DMB and satellite DMB, depending upon the transmission method. The DAB standard, such as EUREKA-147, is used for the audio broadcasting of DMB.
In the case of terrestrial DMB, a broadcast receiver scans broadcast channels when a user inputs an input signal requesting the scanning of broadcast channels. Thereafter, the user searches for a desired broadcast channel with reference to broadcast channel information regarding the scanned broadcast channels. The broadcast channel information, however, may not reflect changes in service information that are made between the time when the broadcast channels are scanned and the time when the user searches through the broadcast channels. Therefore, the user may choose a broadcast service that is no longer being provided or may not be able to choose a broadcast service that is newly added after the scanning of the broadcast channels. In addition, service information is displayed to the user only after the scanning of broadcast channels is completed or terminated. Therefore, the user may have to wait a long time for service information to be displayed while the broadcast channels are scanned.

Broadcast receiver for and method of providing broadcast channel information


A negative electrode for a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery reversibly inserting and extracting lithium ions, and including current collector having concave portion and convex portion on at least one surface thereof; and columnar body formed on convex portion of current collector and including columnar body portions laminated in n stages (n≧2) in which a content ratio of an element sequentially changes in the longitudinal direction of the current collector. The content ratio of an element is different between in an odd stage and in an even stage of columnar body portions.

A lithium ion secondary battery that is a typical example of a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery is characterized by having a high electromotive force and a high energy density while it is light weight. Therefore, demands for a lithium ion secondary battery as a driving power supply of various kinds of portable electronic equipment and mobile telecommunication equipment, for example, a portable telephone, a digital camera, a video camera, and a notebook-sized personal computer, have expanded.
A lithium ion secondary battery includes a positive electrode made of a lithium-containing composite oxide; a negative electrode including lithium metal, lithium alloy or negative electrode active material inserting and extracting lithium ion; and an electrolyte.
In recent year, instead of carbon materials such as graphite that have been conventionally used as a negative electrode material, studies on an element having a property for inserting a lithium ion and having a theoretical capacity density of more than 833 mAh/cm3 have been reported. An example of an element for a negative electrode active material, which has a theoretical capacity density of more than 833 mAh/cm3, may include silicon (Si), tin (Sn), germanium (Ge) to be alloyed with lithium, and oxide and alloys thereof. Especially, since silicon-containing particles such as Si particles and silicon oxide particles are cheap, they have been widely investigated.
However, these elements increase their volume when they insert lithium ions at the time of charge. For example, when the negative electrode active material is Si, the state in which the maximum amount of lithium ions is inserted is expressed by Li4.4Si. When Si is changed to Li4.4Si, the volume is increased by 4.12 times as the volume at the time of discharge.
Therefore, in particular, when a thin film of the above-mentioned elements is deposited on a current collector by a CVD method, a sputtering method, or the like, so as to form a negative electrode active material, due to the insertion/extraction of lithium ions, a negative electrode active material expands/contracts. During repetition of charge and discharge cycles, exfoliation may occur because of the deterioration in adhesion between a negative electrode active material and a negative electrode current collector.
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a method of providing convexities and concavities on the surface of a current collector, depositing a negative electrode active material thin film thereon, and forming gaps in the thickness direction by etching is disclosed (see, for example, patent document 1). Furthermore, a mesh is disposed above the current collector, and a negative electrode active material thin film is deposited through the mesh, thereby suppressing the deposition of the negative electrode active material in a region corresponding to the frame of the mesh is proposed (see, for example, patent document 2).
Furthermore, a method of providing convexities and concavities on a surface of a current collector and forming a film-like negative electrode material thereon in a way in which the negative electrode material is inclined with respect to the surface perpendicular to a main surface of the negative electrode material is proposed (see, for example, patent document 3).
In secondary batteries described in patent documents 1 and 2, a thin film of a negative electrode active material is formed as columnar bodies and gaps are provided between the columnar bodies, thus preventing exfoliation and wrinkles from occurring. However, since the negative electrode active material contracts at the time when charge is started, a metal surface of the current collector may be exposed through gaps. Thereby, since the exposed current collector faces the positive electrode at the time of charge, lithium metal tends to be precipitated, which may cause deterioration of safety and capacity. Furthermore, when the height of the columnar negative electrode active material is increased or the gap interval is reduced in order to increase the battery capacity, in particular, since the tip (opening end) of the columnar negative electrode active material is not regulated by the current collector and the like, it expands more as compared with the vicinity of the current collector as the charge proceeds. As a result, columnar negative electrode active materials are brought into contact with each other and pushed to each other in the vicinity of the tip portion. Thereby, the exfoliation between the current collector and the negative electrode active material and wrinkle of the current collector may occur. Therefore, it has not been possible to prevent exfoliation between the current collector and the negative electrode active material and wrinkles in the current collector from occurring and to increase the capacity simultaneously. Furthermore, since an electrolytic solution is trapped in the gaps between the columnar-shaped negative electrode active materials that have been expanded and brought into contact with each other, movement of lithium ions when discharge is started can be prevented. Therefore, in particular, there have been problems in discharge at a high rate (hereinafter, referred to as "high-rate discharge") or discharge characteristics at a low temperature environment.
Furthermore, in a structure shown in patent document 3, as shown in FIG. 9A, with negative electrode active material 53 formed by inclining at an angle (θ), current collector 51 can be prevented from being exposed and precipitation of lithium metal can be prevented in advance. However, as in patent documents 1 and 2, as shown in FIG. 9B, negative electrode active material 53 expands larger as compared with the vicinity of current collector 51 as charge proceeds. Consequently, columnar negative electrode active materials are brought into contact with each other in the vicinity of the tip ends and pushed to each other as shown by arrows in FIG. 9B. As a result, exfoliation between current collector 51 and negative electrode active material 53 and wrinkles in current collector 51 may occur. Then, when negative electrode active materials are formed in a shape in which they expand but are not brought into contact with each other, on the contrary, high capacity cannot be realized. Furthermore, since an electrolytic solution is trapped in gaps 55 between columnar shaped negative electrode active materials that have been expanded and brought into contact with each other, the movement of lithium ions is prevented when discharge is started. In particular, there is a problem in discharge characteristics such as high-rate discharge, discharge in a low-temperature environment, and the like.    [patent document 1] Japanese Patent Application Unexamined Publication No. 2003-17040    [patent document 2] Japanese Patent Application Unexamined Publication No. 2002-279974    [patent document 3] Japanese Patent Application Unexamined Publication No. 2005-196970

Negative electrode for non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery, method for manufacturing the same, and non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery using the same


A high speed digital recording and reproducing apparatus fo duplicating of a tape at a speed N-times faster than a speed for a normal speed duplication. The apparatus includes a recording head drum and a reproduction head drum having N-times a diameter and 1/N-times a surrounding angle compared with those of the normal speed duplication, 2N reproduction heads and recording heads which are disposed on the head drums, respectively, a signal processor for processing signals transmitted from the reproduction heads to match the high-speed duplication and supplying the processed signals to said recording heads, and a controller for transferring the source tape and target tape at N-times the normal speed, and controlling the head drums to rotate at the rate which meets the condition: N.times.(drum diameter at the normal speed)/(drum diameter at N-times high-speed duplication).times.(the number of rotation in case of the normal speed). Thus, duplication time and power consumption can be reduced while duplicating multiple tapes.

The present invention relates to a high speed digital recording and reproducing apparatus such as a video cassette recorder for duplicating the contents contained in a source tape in a number of target tapes.
Generally, in copying information by using magnetic tape as a recording medium, a reproducer for reproducing the contents from a source tape and a recorder for recording the contents on a target tape are required. Therefore, when the information contained in a source tape is duplicated in 100 units of target tape using one reproducer and 100 recorders, the duplication time corresponds to the recording time of the program on the source tape, but this technique consumes a significant amount of power. Meanwhile, when a one-hour length of source tape is duplicated in 100 units of target tape using one reproducer and one recorder, a total duplication time requires at least 100 hours, thereby requiring significant time and power consumption.

Digital recording and reproducing apparatus for high-speed copying of tape


According to one embodiment, an electronic device comprises a first antenna includes first antenna elements on a first planar substrate, a second antenna includes second antenna elements on a second planar substrate, an orientation of the second planar substrate being different from an orientation of the first planar substrate, and a circuit that forms a first beam pattern using the first antenna elements, forms a second beam pattern using the second antenna elements, and forms a first combined beam pattern using some of the first antenna elements and some of the second antenna elements.

In wireless communications, a beam forming technic is used. The direction in which an electromagnetic wave mainly irradiated from an array antenna is called a beam pattern. In the beam forming technic, the beam pattern is changed by inputting the same signal with different phases and amplitudes to antenna elements of the array antenna. The beam forming technic is also used for receiving an electromagnetic wave.
The antenna elements of the array antenna are formed on a planar substrate. In the beam forming technic, it is easy to form a beam pattern in a direction orthogonal to the substrate of the array antenna. It is difficult to form a beam pattern in a direction other than a normal direction of the substrate of the array antenna. If a direction of the beam pattern deviates from the orthogonal direction of the substrate, a precision of the beam pattern is lowered. If the precision of the beam pattern is lowed, a power of an electromagnetic wave in a main direction is decreased and a power of an electromagnetic wave in other directions is increased. It is hardly possible to form a beam pattern in a direction in parallel to the substrate of the array antenna.
If array antennas are arranged such that orientations of substrates of the array antennas are different from each other, it is possible to form beam patterns of different directions. If two array antennas are arranged such that the orientation of the substrate of the first array antennas is different from the orientation of the substrate of the second array antennas by 90 degrees, it is possible to form a beam pattern in a direction orthogonal to the substrate of the array antenna and a beam pattern in a direction in parallel to the substrate of the array antenna.
In order to form a variety of beam patterns, array antennas must be positioned in accordance with the beam patterns. Therefore, the number of array antennas and the number of antenna elements are increased when the number of beam patterns to be formed is increased. It is difficult to install many array antennas having many antenna elements in a wireless communication device.


A well system includes a drilling vessel, a concentric drillstring extending from the vessel into a subterranean wellbore disposed beneath a mudline, wherein the concentric drillstring is configured to circulate a drilling fluid from the drilling vessel into the wellbore along a first passage, and to circulate the drilling fluid from the wellbore to the drilling vessel along a second passage, and a subsea pump in fluid communication with the wellbore, wherein the subsea pump is configured to manage fluid pressure in the wellbore by controlling a height of a column of hydrostatic fluid disposed in the wellbore.

Well systems include a wellbore or well extending into a subterranean, hydrocarbon bearing formation. The wellbore of offshore well systems extend beneath a sea floor and may include a wellhead mounted at the sea floor for providing access to the well and for supporting equipment of the well system mounted thereto. In some applications, a marine riser extends between a blowout preventer (BOP) coupled to the wellhead at the sea floor and a rig or platform disposed at a sea surface, where the riser provides a conduit for a string, such as a drillstring, to extend from the rig into the wellbore, as well as an annulus conduit for circulating drilling fluid between the drilling rig and the wellbore. In certain applications, the drilling fluid comprises a weight or density configured to prevent an influx of formation fluids into the wellbore. Thus, the drilling fluid may have a weight designed to provide a fluid pressure in the wellbore that is both greater than the pore pressure of the formation and less than a fracture pressure of the formation. In deep-water offshore applications, the differential between the pore and fracture pressures of the formation at a given depth may be reduced due to increased overburden from the water depth. The decreased differential in deep-water applications may, in-turn, require the more frequent installation of relatively short casing joints in the wellbore (i.e., a decreased drilling interval) during the drilling operation to isolate sections of the wellbore from wellbore pressure, thereby increasing the amount of time and cost required to perform the drilling operation.

Managed pressure drilling systems and methods